Do you consider yourself a smart buyer? If you’re not and you wanted to become one then this post is intended to give you simple guides as to how to become one.
What is a smart buyer?
In my own humble opinion, a smart buyer is someone who spend using his head rather than giving in to his or her desires and wants thereby avoiding unnecessary expense.
Daphne just received his first pay salary since joining the corporate world a month ago. To go out on a bang, she went straight to SM to buy the bag of her dream. Yes, she loves bags. Feeling that she deserved to reward herself big time, she went straight to a Gucci boutique.
After an hour or so of looking, inspecting, admiring, and repeating the process all over again for countless times, she decided to buy the vinyl monogram large tote bag priced at P9000.
The price was more than one-half of her paycheck but she reasoned that since it was her own salary she could do anything with it. At the back of her mind she was thinking that in case she ran out of money for taxi fair, she could always ask from her dad.
The following payday, she went straight to SM again to go “malling”. This time a few of her lady office mates came along with her. When they passed the Guess boutique her sharp eyes spotted the glitters of a shiny red shoulder bag. She immediately called the attention of her friends who obliged to her plea that she will only take a few minutes. After an hour or so, Daphne came out of the boutique proudly carrying a paper bag with the guess logo on it; inside was a P2000 red shoulder bag.
After six months, Daphne had a closet full of bags worth P30000. What was disturbing was that she did not use all of these.
Are you a Daphne when it comes to purchasing items? If you have a bottomless pocket or a sugar daddy or a sugar mommy then it doesn’t matter. But if you’re like most of us, then turning yourself into a smart buyer would do more good to you and your love ones.
THREE SIMPLE GUIDES TO BECOME A SMART BUYER
To become a smart buyer one has to ask at least three questions before making a purchase.
(1) Do I really need this item?
If you have something similar at home that is still in good condition then you don’t really need to buy the item. If you have enough spoons, forks, glass and plates at home (even if you have guests) then you don’t really need to buy those kitchen utensils even if these are on sale for 50%, unless you want to go into a catering or food business. That is being a smart buyer.
(2) How soon do I need this?
Granting that you do not have anything like this item at home, and you can really use it then you need to determine how soon do you need the item. If you don’t need it soon then it is smart buying to forgo the purchase. Instead you can invest the money into something so that it will grow. Remember that money has a time value.
(3) Can I afford this now?
In order to become a smart buyer you need to keep a budget. If your budget states that you can only spend P500 to purchase an item for now then it is not smart buying to buy a P800 worth of teapot. It is smart to keep the P500 in a safe place and wait for the next payday when you can add P500 to the money you save today.
Being a smart buyer means you discipline yourself to follow your head and not give-in to your wants and desires or to the wants and desires of those around you. If people start calling you stingy, "kuripot" or "tihik" then think about this: Would you rather be called names than be a person who collect items that you won’t need or worse be a person who looks well-off but in reality is buried deep in debt?
Make the wise choice, be a smart buyer today, and save yourself from debt!
PS: If you want to know more how to save money, how to avoid debt, how to get out of debt, and how to make a budget then click HERE. This is the home page of my blog where I shared my knowledge and experience in budgeting, expense tracking, financial planning, and making a budget that is not only doable but I actually proven for 8 years. I also shared tips, which I actually use regularly, on how to save money, where to save your money, and in the process you will know how to avoid debt. Learning to avoid debt is easier than getting out of debt so I put more emphasis on staying out of debt. As a bonus, I also assembled information on how you can make your own financial planning and budget software. To get all this information for free, please click HERE.
PS: I am interested to know if you find this article helpful so please feel free to drop some comments.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Money Saving Tip #1: Avoid Unnecessary Spending
We Filipinos like spending for imported goods most specially those made from the Big Apple or US of A. For us, it's not just quality but most importantly, a status symbol.
One of the American made we Filipino embraced is the idea of "Keeping up with the Joneses." In our dialect, "inggit" or "suya." Unfortunately, this cultural tendency is what usually put us into bad debt.
Take for example the simple case of Miguel and Rolly. Both live in the same apartment building though in different doors, and they've been sharing San Miguel beer for quite some time already. Miguel worked as a mason while Rolly worked as a carpenter. Both were young and single.
At around June of last year, Rolly bought a surplus 12" colored TV on credit. The main reason was that he wanted to watch the PBA. From that day on, both neighbors turned Miguel's 2mx2m apartment into a noisy, smoke-filled, beer-smelling hangout as they both watched Mark Caguiao, Jimmy Alapag made quick, and fearless shots to the hop. However, most often they got into heated argument as to whose team was better -- Miguel's Genebra or Rolly's Talk n' Text. At one time the argument got so bad that from they refused to look or talk to each other.
Five days later, a brand new 12" colored TV was delivered to the Rolly's door; he bought his own TV (on credit) even though with his meager salary he wasn't how to sustain the monthly amortization. But everytime he remembered Miguel his blood would race, and then he would reasoned out that God will sustain him somehow.
A week later, Miguel bought a 75W stereo on credit. (His income was stretched beyond the max. level. But he could never stomach the thought that Rolly was better than him so he said to himself, "Bahala na! (Come what may!)"
Not to be outdone, Rolly bought a 100W stereo. He knew that he could not afford it anymore but everytime Miguel hit the max. volume of his stereo, and his glass, plates, spoons and forks began to shake, he had to get his own stereo by hook or by crook.
The war blasted on until Nov. By this time, the recession in the Big Apple finally reached the shores of Cebu. And to cut it short, both got laid off. As a result, both their TV's and stereos were either sequestered by the appliance shop for lack of payment or mortgaged to buy rice and daing (dried fish).
When it comes to money, don't allow yourself to be your own worst enemy. Before you decide to buy anything, take a hard look at you income and see if you can still pay for your basic needs -- food, water, clothing, etc. If not then you only have two smart options: don't buy or look for extra income to pay for the amortization. Don't close your eyes, cross your fingers, say "bahala na" or deny the fact that you can't afford it. Any of those won't help you pay the collector.
If you think owning a new TV, stereo, cellphone, etc. is cool even at the expense of being buried six feet under debt, think again. Today you may be the top dog in your circle of friends, school, office, village, but tomorrow, if you cannot pay your debt, you will be the hottest topic of gossips.
Lastly, God will only help people whose intentions are noble and good. Envy is definitely not in that list.
So be cool and make the smart choice today. Get out of debt or save yourself from debt!
PS: If you want to know more how to save money, how to avoid debt, how to get out of debt, and how to make a budget then click HERE. This is the home page of my blog where I shared my knowledge and experience in budgeting, expense tracking, financial planning, and making a budget that is not only doable but I actually proven for 8 years. I also shared tips, which I actually use regularly, on how to save money, where to save your money, and in the process you will know how to avoid debt. Learning to avoid debt is easier than getting out of debt so I put more emphasis on staying out of debt. As a bonus, I also assembled information on how you can make your own financial planning and budget software. To get all this information for free, please click HERE.
PS: I am interested to know if you find this article helpful so please feel free to drop some comments.
One of the American made we Filipino embraced is the idea of "Keeping up with the Joneses." In our dialect, "inggit" or "suya." Unfortunately, this cultural tendency is what usually put us into bad debt.
Take for example the simple case of Miguel and Rolly. Both live in the same apartment building though in different doors, and they've been sharing San Miguel beer for quite some time already. Miguel worked as a mason while Rolly worked as a carpenter. Both were young and single.
At around June of last year, Rolly bought a surplus 12" colored TV on credit. The main reason was that he wanted to watch the PBA. From that day on, both neighbors turned Miguel's 2mx2m apartment into a noisy, smoke-filled, beer-smelling hangout as they both watched Mark Caguiao, Jimmy Alapag made quick, and fearless shots to the hop. However, most often they got into heated argument as to whose team was better -- Miguel's Genebra or Rolly's Talk n' Text. At one time the argument got so bad that from they refused to look or talk to each other.
Five days later, a brand new 12" colored TV was delivered to the Rolly's door; he bought his own TV (on credit) even though with his meager salary he wasn't how to sustain the monthly amortization. But everytime he remembered Miguel his blood would race, and then he would reasoned out that God will sustain him somehow.
A week later, Miguel bought a 75W stereo on credit. (His income was stretched beyond the max. level. But he could never stomach the thought that Rolly was better than him so he said to himself, "Bahala na! (Come what may!)"
Not to be outdone, Rolly bought a 100W stereo. He knew that he could not afford it anymore but everytime Miguel hit the max. volume of his stereo, and his glass, plates, spoons and forks began to shake, he had to get his own stereo by hook or by crook.
The war blasted on until Nov. By this time, the recession in the Big Apple finally reached the shores of Cebu. And to cut it short, both got laid off. As a result, both their TV's and stereos were either sequestered by the appliance shop for lack of payment or mortgaged to buy rice and daing (dried fish).
When it comes to money, don't allow yourself to be your own worst enemy. Before you decide to buy anything, take a hard look at you income and see if you can still pay for your basic needs -- food, water, clothing, etc. If not then you only have two smart options: don't buy or look for extra income to pay for the amortization. Don't close your eyes, cross your fingers, say "bahala na" or deny the fact that you can't afford it. Any of those won't help you pay the collector.
If you think owning a new TV, stereo, cellphone, etc. is cool even at the expense of being buried six feet under debt, think again. Today you may be the top dog in your circle of friends, school, office, village, but tomorrow, if you cannot pay your debt, you will be the hottest topic of gossips.
Lastly, God will only help people whose intentions are noble and good. Envy is definitely not in that list.
So be cool and make the smart choice today. Get out of debt or save yourself from debt!
PS: If you want to know more how to save money, how to avoid debt, how to get out of debt, and how to make a budget then click HERE. This is the home page of my blog where I shared my knowledge and experience in budgeting, expense tracking, financial planning, and making a budget that is not only doable but I actually proven for 8 years. I also shared tips, which I actually use regularly, on how to save money, where to save your money, and in the process you will know how to avoid debt. Learning to avoid debt is easier than getting out of debt so I put more emphasis on staying out of debt. As a bonus, I also assembled information on how you can make your own financial planning and budget software. To get all this information for free, please click HERE.
PS: I am interested to know if you find this article helpful so please feel free to drop some comments.
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