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Financial Lessons I've Learned in 2013


Few days from now, we would be saying goodbye to 2013. 2013 is one great year for me most especially in my financial aspect. As such, I would like to share the financial lessons I’ve learned to close one beautiful year.

Invest on investments. My outlook before was to invest my money in banks be it time deposits or savings account. Little did I know there are still many options I can consider that would yield greater returns on my end. This is where I opened my finances to stocks and mutual funds.

Salary – Savings = Expenses. I’m lucky that our university cooperative can easily stash a few percent of my salary to my savings then what’s left would be my net income. As such, what’s normally deposited in my ATM would be my expenses account. With this formula, I can be able to control my spending while prioritizing my savings.

Building an emergency fund. I just know this year that having an emergency fund is necessary most especially to us employees. An emergency fund is an amount enough to sustain your expenses for three to six months should you get unemployed or something ill happened to you.  This must be separate from your savings account.

Cut down your credit and credit cards. There was a time when I hoarded varied credit cards from different banks. Little did I know that such practice backfired and crippled my finances. That is why this year I made one crucial elimination process. I paid my dues and cut down my cards. Today, I am maintaining only two cards. One is currently not activated and another one with a smaller credit limit.

Going prepaid. I once had a group plan in a certain network brand. Each month I paid 3,000+ for this. The moment the 24 months expired, I decided to cut down my post-paid plan and go back to prepaid. It was one of the best decisions I made. Now I only maintain 500 pesos each month for my unlimited load. Imagine the huge savings! And remember the three million load that went viral online? Good thing I won’t worry with that anymore. 

Control.  I was once splurging on dresses, shoes and bags. Whenever I see one great dress I would hastily buy it. Then that item would just be hanging in my closet. Hence, I wasted money for that. Now, instead of buying items that I think is trendy, I opt for basics and the classics. Now I am controlling myself whenever I go shopping.

Share. Money is simply an instrument in our lives. It could make our life better and we can buy things we want. However, more than earning for yourself, it is always best to share it to your church, to your family, friends and other people who you think might need it most. 

How about you, what financial lessons have you learned this year?