money money money

sigh, and i thought i had enough!

upon months and months of trying to save for my trip to manila this christmas, surprise expenses are popping in every direction.

i don't have too much money to spend, but i have enough, and hopefully there will be no more deductions, and in my desperate attempt in saving i have even tried the lottery.. hehe, you never know right?

so with regards to the up and coming new year, i have devised a plan not to be debt-free, (coz lets face it, credit cards are just way too awesome to give up, right?), but at least financially-manageable.

self-tip #1:  get a loan.

they said there is a good debt and a bad debt.  good debt is when you use your borrowed money to invest in proper things, while bad debt is when you use it on holidays trips, expensive material things you have dreamed about since forever, or just spent it little by little until you realize it's gone.

so my plan is not to get into further debts, but to use it to pay off and cancel one credit card, specifically citibank, because it has a higher interest rate than bMi, and start building the apartment i have been planning forever.

because upon finishing the apartment, i will have enough budget to get by (house, grocery, loan, baby, piggybank, and the remaining credit card -bMi) and our income from the apartment's rent will be our savings.

in two years, the apartment's rent will be enough to pay off my loan balance or to buy another lot and continue the cycle of good debt.

self-tip #2: stop using the remaining credit card.

yes, we have that illusion that we can buy anything we want, as long as we use our credit cards.  unfortunately, whatever we buy has to be paid eventually.  and worse, we do not have the common sense in buying because we do not hand out real cash, so we splurge and think only about the minimum interest rate that we have to pay monthly.

wrong.  if you total all the interest you have paid in one year, you will think twice in using your credit card again.  especially if the interest rate is high.  so i give myself one year to say bye-bye to my remaining credit card.  really.

self-tip #3.  set up a realistic monthly budget.

ever since, i have to calculate first my monthly budget to know how much i can spend on nonessentials, or if i have any.  so this year's goal is to assess the profits and losses, coz once i see how much i can save, it encourages me to set it aside.  you might want to try it, you'll be surprised at how much you can save in one year!

self-tip #4.  materialize your goal.

this is the year!  i will start working on our plan and i will give myself two or four years to finish it.  if only i had known earlier that this is what i want, then i would have started earlier, but better late than never.  no more delays, no more excuses.  who knows what will happen in the future, and i might never have this chance to save up again?

self-tip #5.  relax.  and stick to it!

yes, i am tight-fist when it comes to money.  but hopefully if my plan goes well, ill stop worrying about finances, coz i know i shop when im stressed.  this year, i am gonna chill, since i have started my goal and i have set aside the expenses and savings.

i hope i can stick to it though!