So it’s a few days before the next payday but you’re already broke. You look into the deepest parts of the pockets of your jeans: bus tickets, movie passes, receipt from last week’s coffee run. No loose change, nada. White chocolate mocha, dinner buffet, midnight screenings all seems so appetizing now but all of these are in the backseat, on top of your list is this all too familiar problem that not surprisingly appears once of twice a month – where to get enough change to afford a trip to work? What’s for lunch? Hangin, inhale exhale na lang. About your fare back home? That’s what office best friends are for, assuming he’s not stuck in the same rut.
Petsa De Peligro is here and you’re wishing it’s over.
Don’t blame it on your pay that it didn’t come more often or your pay’s too low for your needs.
Blame yourself.
If you don’t change your spending habits I’m sorry to tell you that Petsa De Peligro will haunt you back a few days before your next payday. Fortunately though it doesn’t really take a lot to totally avoid dark days like these. Just a few small tweaks here and there in your spending habits could totally erase Petsas de Peligro in your calendar… Forever.
Why don’t you give the following a try and be surprised how it’ll make your financial life better:
Wake Up Earlier Than Usual
Wake up 30 minutes earlier than usual and you have enough time to cook for yourself breakfast and lunch baon. This way you won’t have an excuse to splurge on fastfood meals just because you’re running late. Yes, even fastfood is splurging, anything that you’re unnecessarily spending on is splurging. An easy 100 pesos slashed from your breakfast and lunch spending by adjusting your alarm.
Wake up an hour earlier than usual and you’ll be able to leave your home earlier and skip the heavy traffic that comes with the morning rush. What could have been a 250 pesos cab ride is now just 20 pesos bus ride. You just saved 180 pesos, beshy.
That adds up to about 6000 pesos a month!
Mental Note: You Don’t Earn More During Paydays
Nope, check it with the payroll department and they will nod in agreement, you don’t get more because it’s payday. So why do spend more? Because you deserve it after a couple of weeks of hard work? That’s BS. You only feel the need to pamper yourself because during the days leading to this glorious payday, you’re struggling and you feel so undernourished because you spent all your money faster than you need to, with reckless abandon on the previous payday. Get it? It’s a vicious cycle that would only stop if you treat every single working day the same. If you really want to reward yourself I suggest that you save up for a vacation where you could exhale all the negativity and recharge your spirits for the work days ahead.
It Doesn’t Taste Better Because It’s Pricier
It’s all in the mind babe. Get your mug, run to the pantry and fix yourself a good cup of coffee. If you’re lucky enough coffee is free where you work but if it isn’t then buy yourself a nice 3in1 coffee, which would set you back less than 10 pesos. Coffee doesn’t have to be expensive to be tasty. If you’re wondering why coffee shops charge you more, it’s because of the ambience and not unless they let you bring a piece of furniture home it’s not really worth the pesos you’ve worked your butt off. If you really insist that coffee tastes better from them then buy their beans instead. Have the beans ground to your liking and make yourself a cup of coffee at home. Dim the lights in your living room, suot ka ng sweater tapos hawakan mo yung red mug with both your hands then look out the window while drinking your joe para may ambiance. Your bank account will thank you for this.
10 pesos instant coffee vs 150 pesos designer coffee – Instant coffee wins by about 3000 pesos a month; that’s 36000 pesos per year!
Same goes for a lot of things. If you could find cheaper alternatives to things you need and want without sacrificing quality then by all means buy them. Don’t pay someone big money for things you have time to do yourself, like making coffee; be practical.
In conclusion, the keyword to avoid Petsa De Peligro is discipline. You should adjust your spending lifestyle with how much you need not with how much earn. Financially free people spend way below their means so if you’re spending more than what you earn then you’ve got some work to do, buddy.
The Hard Working Peso 