I was glad because I was recently contacted by someone from Good HouseKeeping Magazine of Summit Media to offer advise and tips for their Money Makeover piece. It was a piece requiring tips on the situations provided by their readers.

Let me share to you two of the four questions I have answered. I cannot wait because they said that the issue where I will be featured will come out this coming month of July. So to all my readers, thank you for the continuous support.

Let’s also watch the other personal finance advisors who will be featured. I am excited since this will be my first time to be featured. Thanks in advance Good House Keeping Magazine. You can always count on me.

What’s the ideal percentage of our salary that should go to our savings? Francis and I are working, we’re renting a condo unit for 10k a month and we’re paying bills. We don’t want to end up with zero savings every month, so we just want to know the ideal amount of savings that we need to target. Also, how do we give room for miscellaneous expenses (shopping, travel)? Of course, we don’t want to just spend everything on household stuff; we need to pamper ourselves, too, from time to time. - From a married couple.

My answer:

There is a basic rule in business called Pareto’s Principle of 80/20. In business, you must put most of your efforts on the 20% of things that bring 80% of the income. The same applies into saving, that is, 80% of your savings come from 20% of your frugal strategies. In other words, you must save at least 20% of your salary as a couple. Whenever you receive your salary, it is advisable to pay yourself first by allotting a portion of your salary to savings. Both of you can do this by doing a budget plan on a monthly basis.

Budgeting is like taming your money. As a married couple, both of you should work on it together, compromise, and come to an agreement. Spend every peso on paper before the month begins. Give every peso of your salary a name and that is, every peso should be assigned to either spending or saving category.

Look at your monthly income and match it up with the month’s savings, bills, and debts until you give every income peso an outgo name. However, be flexible on your budget. We don’t spend exactly the same for every month. Doing a budget is not a one-time deal. From time to time, you can include expenses in pampering yourself but you must be conservative in spending on the wants and prioritize more on the needs.

Laging sakto ang budget namin sa bahay [Our budget is always exact]. My kids are already working, so I get a little help paying our monthly expenses (food, utilities, etc. We live in my parents’ house). But what I really want is to be able to set aside money for my retirement. How? - From a single mom with 3 kids. 

My answer:

Hi Gina, maybe you can still stretch your budget more. Think of little ways on how you can budget more. Prioritize more on the needs and less on the wants. Here are some of ways on how you can stretch your budget a little more:

Take care of your health. There’s a saying that health is wealth. With the rising costs of medicines nowadays, you can’t afford to be sick. Exercise regularly. Keep the company of your friends and laugh more often. Laughter is the best reliever of stress.

Skip the junk food. When doing your shopping in the supermarket, try to minimize the need to buy junk foods. Aside from good health reasons, skipping the junk food can also save you money. Back off on the stuffs that aren’t good for you. An occasional treat is okay but too much can drain your budget and your health too.

Throw away vices. If you or any of your children smokes cigarettes, then this is the time to quit smoking. Aside from the dangers it can bring to your health, it can help you set aside more money for your retirement.

Use Less. We live on a consumer society. If you could consume less, then you can save more money. Simple ways such as keeping the flow of water in the faucet at a minimum level when washing dishes, unplugging electric appliances when not in use, using less shampoo in washing your hair, can save you more money by consuming less.

Ultimately, the best tip to save money for retirement is to earn more and desire less. Getting more sources of income like having part-time jobs and spending less is the best way for you to set aside money for retirement.

For other questions, let’s just wait for the July issue of Good House Keeping Magazine. :D

Update: Here are the screenshots of my feature at Good House Keeping Magazine.

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