Since people started using barter or money, spending for things both needed and wanted have continued like clockwork: day in, day out, goods are exchanged for a cost. Of course, with the infamous wealth distribution pyramid, the outflow differs from one social class order to another. Fairly, everyone has their own sets of financial worries—The Ayalas may worry what Cadillac color to get, the average Juan Dela Cruzes worry which one is a good bang for the buck—Vios or City, while the less privilege ones worry when the next jeepney fair price hike will happen. All are financial worries nevertheless.
I’m not transforming my blog into something like Francis Kong’s business article but I’d like to share some of my tips–or more like my note to self–with regards to spending wisely.
Obsolete items have to go. The unstoppable electricity bill made me decide to sell (another of my online selling adventure) our old air conditioner and replace it with a new one that has a timer so it can switch the electric fan at a specified time without me having to perform a half-sleepwalk just to reach and turn the air con off.
Be on the lookout for best 2nd hand (used) deals. My wife showed her haggling talent and got a 5-month old Canon IXUS 70 at 25 percent less than the original price. Not bad.
Drive as if you’re participating in Petron’s Extra Mile challenge. Been doing it lately and I’m seeing an improvement both to my sanity and fuel economy. It’s also one way to discourage your friends from riding with you – who wants to be in a new car without an air conditioning on? Hahaha. Just kidding.
Pay only for good movies, catch the bad ones on HBO. Last week we watched “What Happens in Vegas” and we quite had a good laugh at it. Cinema: P240, watching Aston Kutcher and Cameron Diaz: Priceless.
Read restaurant reviews before dining in. This is what we learned with Fish & Co. where I read in some forums that even those known rich people find it overpriced. Too bad I read about it late enough. Last week was a different story; we had our sweet revenge in Bollywood. I enjoyed our dinner—wifey didn’t—in this Indian cuisine restaurant and that made me dream of going to India to savor more of their foods. I’m wondering if there’s any other way we can commute there other than their trains – I have some “issues” with it. If there is, Bombay, count me in.
Pay and download only the music you like. When I heard about it from my wife, I immediately agree with the idea; rather than buying a full CD (single artist) and feeling shortchanged later on after learning that your favorite artist himself has actually only one favorite song in his own album. Ti abi. But then again, I’d like to emphasize that this is not a reason to patronize pirated music. Buying pirated materials is not spending wisely. It is stealing. Period.
Grab every chance to join a raffle or contest. My wife got her pair of limited edition Havaianas 7 Waves for free after being included in the first 70 entries for their contest. That will keep her from buying another Spartan enemy for now. I’m thinking if I can sell this pair in ebay. Shhh.
There’s a rule to having a successful diet: do not deny yourself of your cravings as doing so will just make you binge in the end. Instead, eat everything (edible) in moderation. Spending is no different. Cutting every expense out at once will have its repercussions. It is better to moderate it at first and depending on the availability of resources–in this case, money–try eliminating the unnecessary ones one at a time. Good luck.
Marcus Can Blog 