Typical Filipino Depositor’s Bank Balance...

[dr. d]

I'm confused with these data. Are these GROSS family income or are they NET take home income?

you're right.
i perused the quoted paper.
i could not find the words "gross" or "net" or any other word suggesting either...
either i am not well-versed in their language, or they made a minor "mis-declaration".

[CVT]

I'm confused with these data. Are these GROSS family income or are they NET take home income?

They're just there for general guidance...

[_Qwerty_]

kung take home yan.. Net yan..

[_Cathy_]

So if middle class kayo, paano yung nasa 30-80k monthly income lang? Just trying to be consistent here.

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Depende. Basta that's how I feel

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[uls]

Depende. Basta that's how I feel

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ang rich kasi para kay Cathy ung meron mga building sa Makati

[Wave24/7]

Way to go, bro.... You're working on being financially secured, or you're there already...

Of course, plus you part time gigs...

Thanks bro, we're only on our late 30s, but we are doing fine.. I could say that we would be already financially secured if we will migrate back to our motherland. It's just hard to do it when you compare your monthly income here to there. Maybe one day..

Oh yeah, the gigs of course! You can't go wrong on getting paid (plus tips) while just having fun!

[Verbl Kint]

https://pidswebs.pids.gov.ph/CDN/PUB...idsdps1820.pdf

In a fairly recent study (Dec. 2018) by the PIDS (Philippine Institute for Development Studies), titled Profile and Determinants of the Middle-Income Class in the Philippines, data from 2015-2017 states the following:

Income Cluster	Definition: Per capita income	at 2015 prices	at 2017 prices
Poor	less than official poverty threshold	Less than PHP 9,100	Less than PHP 9,520
Low income (but not poor)	between the poverty line and twice the poverty line	Between PHP 9,100 to PHP 18,200	Between PHP 9,520 to PHP 19,040
Lower middle income	between two-and four-times the poverty line	Between PHP 18,200 to PHP 36,400	Between PHP 19,040 to PHP 38,080
"Middle" middle income class	between four-and seven-times the poverty line	Between PHP 36,400 to PHP 63,700	Between PHP 38,080 to PHP 66,640
Upper middle income	between seven-and twelve-times the poverty line	Between PHP 63,700 to PHP 109,200	Between PHP 66,640 to PHP 114,240
Upper income (but not rich)	between twelve-and twenty times the poverty line	Between PHP 109,200 to PHP 182,000	Between PHP 114,240 to PHP 190,400
Rich	at least equal to twenty times the poverty line	At least PHP 182,000	At least PHP 190,400

[Verbl Kint]

How Much Cash Should I Keep in the Bank?

Meanwhile, in an Investopedia article (dated June 29, 2019):

"Most financial experts end up suggesting you need a cash stash equal to six months of expenses: If you need $5,000 to survive every month, save $30,000. Personal finance guru Suze Orman advises an eight-month emergency fund because that's about how long it takes the average person to find a job."

This number may change if you're debt-free. The Philippines job market (5.2% unemployment rate) is also quite different than the US (3.7% unemployment rate), you may also be in an industry that may have a hiring glut or in hyper-growth (i.e. BPO's in the early 2010's). Also, the standard of living in urbanized areas are far removed from that of a rural town. In short, YMMV. I generally stick to the 3 month number, to be honest, but that's because I don't have any debt.

Given the lack of financial literacy among Pinoys of all income classes, I'd say that bank deposits are generally not an indicator of how financially health a Filipino is.

[uls]

Cash is actually hot potato

as soon as you get a lot of it (like in a windfall) you gotta look for assets where you can park it

really rich people have most of their wealth in assets

cash is a very small percentage lang

[Sebastian Bach]

IMO, here in the Philippines, most people only see & prefer to be CASH RICH rather than ASSET RICH. If your savings account is crap, you're poor. A typical poor person mindset.

The rich people I know aren't liquid.

Ref: What does it mean to be asset rich but cash poor? And is it a good thing to be asset rich? - Quora