Hello! How are you? It has been more than a year now since this pandemic started.
What have you learned so far?
As for me, If there is one lesson that this whole pandemic situation taught me, it’s how to manage our finances better. Even though I am already a mom for 3 years, I have to confess that I am not the best person to handle our budget and finances. Gastodora Alert! 😀
But, after everything that has happened. I learned that I have to become better at this.
I need to be better when it comes to handling our money so during tough situations, we are prepared financially.
As you know, Even though I don’t want to, I still wonder every now and then what would happen in case anyone in the family gets sick or if anything happens.
Anyway, here are a few tips on how we can handle our finances better:
1. Only Buy Necessities
I have been struggling with this but I am trying my best to only buy what’s necessary so I can save up extra money instead. You’d never know what might happen so instead of buying stuff that would end up in your clutter bin at home, they might as well save it for emergencies. I know this is hard because we constantly feel the need to reward ourself and I guess that’s okay as long as we don’t overdo it. Besides, having a secured future is one of the best feelings ever!
2. Set up Financial Goals
This is what my husband and I both learned. It’s important to sit down and talk about your financial goals so you can work together towards achieving them. Why do you want to save money? Is it for a new house? Insurance? Emergency fund? A new car? What do you want to buy after this pandemic ends?
We need to also know our priorities so we can determine what kind of lifestyle to follow.
3. Set an Emergency Fund
Life is unpredictable. One moment, everything is okay, another minute, it’s not. What can we do to make it better for our family? PREPARE. Save up at least 10 to 20% of your income and don’t spend it unless there is an emergency. It’s better if you can create a separate account for it just to make sure that you won’t be able to spend it.
4. Get Insurance for your Family!
I have pointed this out in the past before. Having an insurance makes you feel secured so I think it’s really a great investment. We want to make sure that our family is completely insured.
It doesn’t have to be expensive! For example, PhilLife has insurance that you can use in case anyone in the family gets involved in an accident. Malaki nga ang gastos sa pagpapagamot at pagpapalibing (kung saka-sakali), na maaaring umabot ng libu-libo. Pero kung nakabili ka ng Family Accident Secure ng PhilLife na Php400 ang pinakamura, baka ‘di mo na kailangang galawin ang savings mo.
Another thing, this June is the start of the dengue season so it’s also better to prepare for this. Take it from me, getting hospitalized due to dengue can be really expensive.
But, if you have insurance like PhilLife na P1,200 that covers up to 4 members of the family, it gives you up to Php30,000 for medical expenses coverage per person. Sulit din, diba?
What’s nice about PhilLife, is that they have an online shop that you can access via mobile phones or laptop. This is important since you don’t need to go outside just so you can get an insurance for your family. If you want to now more about their insurance products, check out PhilLife: https://phillife.com.ph
Again. knowing that your family is secured is one of the best feelings ever so make sure to prepare for it.
