I can never stick to a budget even if my life depended on it.
And forget about bank savings! I'm too lazy!!
I'm more of a "living for the next payday" kind of girl. I'm daring like that.
But yeah.. I try, sometimes. I even downloaded a bunch of money-management apps on my phone and bookmarked r/personalfinance on my laptop.
Still not a millionaire.
After lurking around a bit on reddit, I came across the Envelope System. I thought it sounded simple enough, so I tried it out. Using this system, you divide up your money in envelopes and only take money from specific envelopes. (Or any other way that's best for you.) Sounds simple enough... I tried doing this for a week, I think.
Surprise, surprise: it didn't work! I ended up taking money from the other envelopes to watch Star Wars: Force Awakens on iMax. lol.
But then one day, I got a bunch of sticky notes from my boyfriend .. Seeing all the tiny sticky notes made me want to label everythingggg.. (you know that urge)..
I also wanted to give the envelope thingy a second try but on a micro-level.
I also wanted to give the envelope thingy a second try but on a micro-level.
So I labelled my wallet:
 |
| YES. Those are tiny sticky notes stuck inside my wallet. So organized! So.. responsible! |
I separated my wallet into three compartments:
Food - when I buy food, or get groceries, I take money from this side of the wallet.
Transpo - when I can't help but ride a cab, I take money from here.
Misc - when I buy a random thing, I take money from here.
How I Do It:
After a bit of self-negotiation and random calculations (?!), I decided on a weekly budget.
I withdraw around P1000 each week. then I divide that into three.. so that's around P300 per category (food, transpo, misc)..
I withdraw around P1000 each week. then I divide that into three.. so that's around P300 per category (food, transpo, misc)..
And whenever there's some left over, I divide that into three again and refill the three categories.. then add that to next week's P1000 budget.. So if I've got P100 left over per category, I'd have a 400-peso budget for the next week. pretty simple, right?
Then if each compartment reaches P1000 each compartment, I stop withdrawing my weekly allowance and live on that money for as long as I can (or maybe until next payday).
Does it Work?
What's great about this method is that I get to see my spending habits in real time -- so if I notice my transpo money's too low, I stop myself from getting a cab..
I've only been doing this for two months but the little sacrifices DO add up! One less iced latte here, and saying "no" to McDo there~ and by the end of the week, I've still got some money left over for next week.
So far so good..In just two months, I've saved up enough money to buy a decent phone!
But I'll have to test this budgeting style for a few more months.. I'll probably write an update next payday..
Stay tuned to find out whether or not I go bankrupt! lol.
Stay tuned to find out whether or not I go bankrupt! lol.