I'm all for keeping a nest egg you can tap in times of financial drought. But in tough times, saving can be rather painful. Fortunately, it's not entirely impossible. You can, with a little effort, a lot of willingness and a smattering of creativity, increase your income, build your savings and sleep tight at night knowing you'll be waking up the next day with money in your pocket and in the bank. Here are some tips you might consider using:
Hoard your income.
There are some people who earn money nearly effortlessly but for most of us, income = sweat and tears. That's why it's incomprehensible why some Pinoys spend their hard-earned dough like there's no tomorrow.
If you want to increase your income (or at least your take home pay), be protective about your money. Sure, go ahead and spend for stuff you need -- food, gas, utilities, rent -- but be wary about purchases that you can actually do without. Be selective though. A new pair of shoes, for example, may be an impractical purchase if you have several dozens already in your closet. But if you only have two or three pairs and all of them are outdated, a new purchase may not be too bad.
Don't spend more than you can afford. Look at it this way: if you spend on unnecessary items, you're only making other people rich. If you want to increase your income and build your savings, be super careful about how and why money leaves your pocket.
Set aside a set amount of your income.
Ever heard of the phrase 'pay yourself first'? This is what it means. From your income, decide on a set amount of money you can save and then live off of the amount left. Let's say your take home pay is P10,000 a month (I'm merely using that amount because it's easier to compute :-)) and you decide to set aside 20% of that. You will only be left with P8,000 to spend on a monthly basis.
Now P2,000 may or may not cramp your style but 2,000 bucks translates to P12,000 after six months and P24,000 after another six months. Plus, you could be earning an interest by then. Get a chunk out of your salary, bonus, commission, even income you earn from your part-time job.
Try this trick for at least 3 or 6 months and you'll see how effective it is.
Found money? Put it into your piggy bank.
From here on, make a resolution to keep all loose change you find in a piggy bank or alkansya. Most people scoff at saving coins these days but you'll be surprised at how easily they can pile up over time.
You could also actively collect coins from all your expenses. Let's say you have a P3,000 budget on groceries and spent only P2,650. Drop the P350 in your home-based savings account and don't put it back into your wallet where you can easily whip it out and spend it.
Make it a Swiss account.
The 'Swiss' account is not exactly one, unless you have millions to stash away where the government can't touch it. The Swiss account is a term used to refer to a secret account some husbands or wives keep that their significant other doesn't know about.
If your spouse is a spend-happy person, you might want to open one. If you're single and has a tendency to spend too much, you will need to open one. If you have a partner who can manage your finances, you still might want to open one. This Swiss account should be a savings account that is difficult to touch, such as one that is accessible only through passbook-transactions (no ATMs). That, or you could keep a good chunk of cash in a time deposit.
By setting aside money that's not easy to get your hands on, you'll be least likely to withdraw it and spend it. Look for banks with a low initial deposit and then regularly, faithfully deposit a set amount to it. If there's a bank that accepts just P2,000 for opening an account and you could save P500 a month for a year, that's P8,000 already. Not bad just for setting aside a small amount.
Get a part-time job or use your hidden skills and talents.
These days, earning an income from just one source is no longer practical. Try your hand on a home-based business or even an online job. If you have a hobby that you can make money from, why not spend weekends creating things you can sell? Some of the most popular home-based businesses I have encountered includes baking, catering, wedding invites and souvenirs, graphic arts, copywriting, candymaking, Web design, scrapbooking, photography, jewelry, even selling cars and real estate.
Start small. Most of the time you probably won't need a big startup capital. Be careful, though. Not every job opening posted online comes from a trusted source.
Try to earn passive income.
Passive income comes from one-time deals or jobs. Some of the most popular sources of passive income include commissions, royalties, rent and interests. Commissions can be earned through network selling while royalties are earnings from work you've previously done, such as books, music, computer programs, etc. Mutual funds and insurances can be good sources of passive income but only after the account has reached maturity and you can begin reaping the fruits from your premium payments.
Read more on this article...
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Tips for Pinoys Who Have Lost Their Jobs (Or About to)
Are you one of the increasing number of Pinoys losing their jobs? Being shown the door is very rarely a happy event, especially in tough times such as these when jobs are hard to come by and whatever job openings are available are just way below or above your current skills. If you have already lost your job or are just thinking you might be the unlucky recipient of a termination notice, here are some tips on what to do:
Network. Now.
Sometimes, the best next step is just right under your nose. Start looking for a possible next employer. Tap the sources you know, particularly officemates (those you can trust not to yap about your latest jobhunting efforts), industry contacts, friendly suppliers and customers.
Do this even if you truly like your job and want to stay. If things don't go your way, at least you have a real job waiting for you.
Get all necessary documents from your employer.
If you lose your job, make sure your employer gives you all your employee documents. Ask for a Certificate of Employment and other support documents including your letter of termination, clearance, quit claim form, etc.
Make sure you also have a copy of all documents that pertain to your finances -- salary (including last pay), certificate of payment of loans (whether you've paid them in full or still have a balance) and copies of other information regarding SSS contributions/loan payments and BIR deductions.
Start living a stingy life.
When you lose your job, you need to protect all the money you have. Do not make the mistake of not having enough at the time your employer shows you the door. If you fear you might lose your job at any time, cut your expenses immediately. Skip the Starbucks coffee, the fancy lunch and the after-office drinks. A thousand bucks saved is a thousand bucks you can grab when you truly need it.
Update your professional and transferable skills.
The point here is to make yourself relevant to whoever your next employer might be. If or when you lose your job, you'll be much more employable compared to other jobhunters at your level. If you haven't lost your job right now, check to see what resources or tasks you can sign up for that will improve your skills, both professional (finance, human resources, management, manufacturing) and transferable ones (customer service, communication skills, negotiating, leadership, etc.).
Enroll in government-sponsored trainings.
Government agencies such as TESDA have programs for people who may be out-of-school, in between jobs or just want to expand their skills. If you lose your job, the last thing you might want to do is to pay for expensive re-training courses and TESDA might just be the perfect tool for that.
The agency offers these trainings for free. Sure, you will have to pay for other expenses such as transportation fees and lunch and probably some materials but the cost is nearly negligle compared to what you could have spent if you enrolled in classes offered by private training schools.
If you want to know what TESDA offers at an area near you, here's a link: TESDA
Get a temp job.
Sure it's just temporary or part-time but so what? It's still a job. And when times are this hard, you're lucky to actually have one. Usually, the pay is way down your salary scale. If you've been earning P700 a day, don't be shocked if a temp job offers you a measly P270.
But look at it this way: P270 a day is still P270 more that you'll have in your wallet. At the end of the week, this translates P1,350; at the end of four weeks, that's P5,400.
Since it's a part-time job, you'll probably only work for a few hours -- two, maybe four or five. You can still use the rest of the day to look for work or get more training.
Get an online job.
There are plenty of online jobs you can apply for in case you need a transition job or a job that will help earn you something while you transition to the next phase of your career. Most online jobs require some sort of training or skill (Web development, Web design, Java and PHP, medical transcription) but there are others you can do almost immediately (content writing, SEO, paid-to jobs such as blogging, posting in forums and surveys, online selling and auctions).
Losing your job
Many Pinoys view their job as an important part of themselves, so much so that their identity is tied to it. You know how it is... 'Tanungin mo si Engineer...' or 'Ayan na si Manager...' This is why it can be a real blow to lose a job because for many of us, it's what defines us as people or professionals.
But a job is often temporary. It's just something you do to earn a living, not who you are. Do not think you will lose yourself as a person if you are stripped of a title or get demoted to a lower rank as a result of getting fired. Of course, the loss of an income source can be very difficult but with a little work and creativity, it can be remedied.
Instead, view it as a chance to examine your goals closely. Is this what you really want to do? Is this what you want to be doing for the rest of your productive years? Ten, twenty years from now, what would be your biggest regrets about this job?
Very often, a job loss is not a loss, it's an opportunity to find something that will be so much better and more rewarding. Now that you don't have a job to distract you, ask yourself if it's truly a loss. For all you know, this could just be the chance for you to finally do what you truly love and get paid for it.
Read more on this article...
Network. Now.
Sometimes, the best next step is just right under your nose. Start looking for a possible next employer. Tap the sources you know, particularly officemates (those you can trust not to yap about your latest jobhunting efforts), industry contacts, friendly suppliers and customers.
Do this even if you truly like your job and want to stay. If things don't go your way, at least you have a real job waiting for you.
Get all necessary documents from your employer.
If you lose your job, make sure your employer gives you all your employee documents. Ask for a Certificate of Employment and other support documents including your letter of termination, clearance, quit claim form, etc.
Make sure you also have a copy of all documents that pertain to your finances -- salary (including last pay), certificate of payment of loans (whether you've paid them in full or still have a balance) and copies of other information regarding SSS contributions/loan payments and BIR deductions.
Start living a stingy life.
When you lose your job, you need to protect all the money you have. Do not make the mistake of not having enough at the time your employer shows you the door. If you fear you might lose your job at any time, cut your expenses immediately. Skip the Starbucks coffee, the fancy lunch and the after-office drinks. A thousand bucks saved is a thousand bucks you can grab when you truly need it.
Update your professional and transferable skills.
The point here is to make yourself relevant to whoever your next employer might be. If or when you lose your job, you'll be much more employable compared to other jobhunters at your level. If you haven't lost your job right now, check to see what resources or tasks you can sign up for that will improve your skills, both professional (finance, human resources, management, manufacturing) and transferable ones (customer service, communication skills, negotiating, leadership, etc.).
Enroll in government-sponsored trainings.
Government agencies such as TESDA have programs for people who may be out-of-school, in between jobs or just want to expand their skills. If you lose your job, the last thing you might want to do is to pay for expensive re-training courses and TESDA might just be the perfect tool for that.
The agency offers these trainings for free. Sure, you will have to pay for other expenses such as transportation fees and lunch and probably some materials but the cost is nearly negligle compared to what you could have spent if you enrolled in classes offered by private training schools.
If you want to know what TESDA offers at an area near you, here's a link: TESDA
Get a temp job.
Sure it's just temporary or part-time but so what? It's still a job. And when times are this hard, you're lucky to actually have one. Usually, the pay is way down your salary scale. If you've been earning P700 a day, don't be shocked if a temp job offers you a measly P270.
But look at it this way: P270 a day is still P270 more that you'll have in your wallet. At the end of the week, this translates P1,350; at the end of four weeks, that's P5,400.
Since it's a part-time job, you'll probably only work for a few hours -- two, maybe four or five. You can still use the rest of the day to look for work or get more training.
Get an online job.
There are plenty of online jobs you can apply for in case you need a transition job or a job that will help earn you something while you transition to the next phase of your career. Most online jobs require some sort of training or skill (Web development, Web design, Java and PHP, medical transcription) but there are others you can do almost immediately (content writing, SEO, paid-to jobs such as blogging, posting in forums and surveys, online selling and auctions).
Losing your job
Many Pinoys view their job as an important part of themselves, so much so that their identity is tied to it. You know how it is... 'Tanungin mo si Engineer...' or 'Ayan na si Manager...' This is why it can be a real blow to lose a job because for many of us, it's what defines us as people or professionals.
But a job is often temporary. It's just something you do to earn a living, not who you are. Do not think you will lose yourself as a person if you are stripped of a title or get demoted to a lower rank as a result of getting fired. Of course, the loss of an income source can be very difficult but with a little work and creativity, it can be remedied.
Instead, view it as a chance to examine your goals closely. Is this what you really want to do? Is this what you want to be doing for the rest of your productive years? Ten, twenty years from now, what would be your biggest regrets about this job?
Very often, a job loss is not a loss, it's an opportunity to find something that will be so much better and more rewarding. Now that you don't have a job to distract you, ask yourself if it's truly a loss. For all you know, this could just be the chance for you to finally do what you truly love and get paid for it.
Read more on this article...
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