“Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are.” – James W. Frick

The most fundamental of issue on personal finance is money management.

One of the most common questions I ask all my financial counseling session is this – ‘how do you spend your money’? The first things we need to establish is reviewing the cash flow statement. Looking at the expenses gives me a quick look at the financial situation of a person and most of the time, I’m pretty dead on.

The cardinal rule on being wealthy is this – “Spend less than what you earn and invest the difference.” The first and most difficult hurdle is often the spending less part. I’ve always believed that there are only two forms of an expense – its either a need or a want. Lo and behold, most people I know (me included) who had a problem having a healthy cash flow are those who have difficulties controlling their ‘want’ expenses. In extreme cases, I’ve witnessed some people bring down their ‘need’ spending just to maintain their ‘wants’ – yikes!

The prudent thing to ensure we will have a healthy cash flow (where inflow of cash is far bigger than its outflow) is for us to be sensible in the way we spend. There is really nothing wrong on spending on ‘wants’ but when those spending are causing you to have a very unhealthy cash flow or worse, being in debt, it’s time to STOP.

Our income is always finite therefore we must be very wise in the way we spend it. Priorities should be clear, communication between spouses and between children should be open so that everyone in the family will understand about priorities in the family income. I implore parents, specially fathers to take a strong lead role in coming up with a healthy family finance so there will be peace and harmony.

I strongly believe that we have the power to curb our wants. We are all rational and logical – its time our finances reflect our real priorities.  “Reason should be superior to emotion; you are what you think, not what you feel.” – Francis Kong

A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly. – Proverbs 14:29, NIV

A lot of emphasis has been made towards growing your wealth by investing it, something I totally agree with. Investing properly can maximize your savings and when properly undertaken, it should amount to something substantial in the future.

However, the issue on saving money has always been relegated as something that is so basic that it is assumed that everyone knows how to save… but do we? Us Filipinos continue to have very low savings despite that drastic improvement of the economy and our income. In my travels to teach Filipinos not only here but abroad, I am a witness on how low our savings are and how little emphasis we put on savings. When you ask people if saving is important, everyone will agree with you that it is – however, their bank accounts will say otherwise.

Why is it so hard for us Pinoys to save? The culprit is the way we spend. Unfortunately, we have developed a liking towards too much consumerism that many of us have developed a spending problem. People do not save because they spend more than what they should. I know that it may be an overly simplistic statement but that is the hard truth! While I agree that many of us are finding it difficult to save because of low income, there are also many of us with above-average income who still find it difficult to save.

Proper spending will lead to proper savings. When we take charge on the way we spend, savings will automatically follow. Not all spending are the same and we often hear about needs and wants. Yes, that is a very basic concept but it is truly fundamental. Spending on needs is hardly pleasurable – do you know anyone who is excited paying his or her bills? However, spending on our wants will always give us the warm feeling inside, even if it is momentary. Without proper control, our spending on wants and not on needs often causes us a lot of financial problems and in most cases, it can cause us to be in debt.

Here’s a simple tip to get those spending in check –- create and stick to a budget! Again, an overly simplistic approach to personal-finance but it is so important that the foundation of all our financial goals should start with our ability to control the amount of money that leaves us. A budget will do wonders to our financial future because if we are aware of our spending, we can control it better. Dave Ramsey says “before spending paper, spend it on paper” – that’s what budgeting is all about. It is best for you to identify your expenses and start allocating for them properly. Include your want spending in your budget too because everyone needs to spend on something that will give us that warm feeling inside too. Just make sure that your ‘want’ spending has a limit and that you do not go over that limit.
When you know how much you need to spend, including your ‘wants’, you can save better and more consistently. When preparing your budgets, make sure that there is enough money left for savings – you can use a certain percentage as a minimum for savings, like 20% of your income and build on from there.

For those of us who have a difficulty of setting aside an amount of money for savings regularly, I suggest you enroll in an auto-debit arrangement with your bank and make sure that you do not touch that account, otherwise your savings will not grow. When you have built up enough savings, which you can also use as your emergency funds, you can now begin to invest your money to build on your wealth.

Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling, but a foolish man devours it. – Proverbs 21:20, ESV

Here is a guest post by my good friend and wonder boy Dodge Ronquillo. Awesome read!

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Rethink Expenses and Spend Happily

Expenses are things we spend money on, sometimes wastefully. That’s why all successful businessmen and all respected finance gurus advocate living disciplined lives and reducing expenses–to set aside money for savings, investments, and emergencies.

However some of us may think that to have a wealthy life, we should scrimp out on everything else until we amass a big amount of money. I think that living that way is missing the point. Save up a good chunk of your money and place it in places where it can grow and spend the rest–but stay within budget and don’t get in debt. Expenses are and always will be a part of our lives (unless we live in self-sufficient farms with a water supply and a source of renewable energy).

Ironically, that means we are free to spend. The question is, how do we spend the money that we work for? This is not a blog post on how to save more. This is a post on how to spend more happily.

Two Kinds of Expenses

I believe that there are two types of expenses. The first kind is what we normally pay for. Let’s call these requirements. In other words, our cellphone bills, utilities, association dues, transportation costs. We need these to live.

The other kind of expense is the kind we splurge on. Let’s call these happy switches. Our movie tickets, dinners out, gadgets, books, clothes. We want these to reward ourselves.

Now, do you feel better spending Php 1,200 on your cellphone bill or on a few new tops or new Mac accessory? I hope you see what I’m getting at. If we aren’t happy with how much we earn, then we should probably rethink how we spend. Don’t reduce spending; rethink it. How much of your money goes to paying bills instead of going out with friends?

So yes, the trick to being happier is reducing our expenses, but just one kind–the requirements. I suggest cutting down on requirements and spending more on happy switches. I don’t think I know anyone who prefers paying bills over going out to dinner with friends.

Two Things You Must Understand

1) This assumes you follow a rule for saving up. I like I like a ratio shared by a friend of mine (According to him it’s T. Harv Eker’s ratio): 10% Savings, 20% Investments, 10% Charity, 10% Education/Self-improvement, 50% Expenses. Spend happily but don’t go beyond 50%.

2) This is a way to feel rewarded no matter what our income level is. It’s a realistic and short-term way of enjoying what we work hard for. This allows us to feel rewarded while still saving up money for the future. I’m sure I’d prefer to watch movies and go out for dinner rather than give that money to the bank for my credit card bill.

Apparently, there is a way to be happy now and in the future. Go ahead and spend happily!

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