STUDENT FINANCE | How saving helped me chase one of my dreams

Probably one of my little accomplishments in life, which took so many years before it paid off, is having to pursue one of the dream hobbies I really, really wanted to do.

I think it was in Grade 4 - I was 11 years old - when I first realized how it feels to be punched in the stomach by extreme poverty. At that time, Mama only gave me 10 Php for the day. I was too shy (and very embarrassed) that I cannot join my peers in buying lunch at the cafeteria. I can recall our lunch meal was around 25 Php for a fried chicken meal. Worst, I had to eat only when I was about to go home as my kind bus-mates had excess snacks to share.

It was at that moment when it dawned on me to make every peso provided to me count and to assist my parents in our family's expenses. I aimed to be admitted into the best schools my intellect, strong will and determination can bring me. I learned to practice saving, hiding money behind picture frames, within the pages of the Bible, inside my drawers, and even underground (which at one point got me surprised and confused because when I dug it a few months later, I realized it was gone haha).

First Love

By the time I reached the ending year of high school, I realized I wanted to capture memories, to shoot for beautiful scenery, and relive moments at just one click. I wanted to become a photographer.

Unfortunately, SLRs at that time were very expensive. I looked up to people who had beautiful digital cameras and SLRs as if it was decoded in mind that they belonged to the upper echelons of society. Most of them looked fulfilled; others had it just for show. For me, photography was something internal; I didn't truly comprehend why it became an urge, but it was there. It was not a luxurious want, but a defying need.

"I will have that in time," I comforted myself during my high school graduation. It was a dare to myself.

College life began; it was my first time to be far away from home. I had to survive, on my own. Living in NCR was very hard for someone who was just weaned off his family's love and affection. I cried every night for the first two weeks of college out of homesickness.

Soon, I became more challenged. The funny thing is eventually you'd get the hang of it and just get tired of crying, projecting your need for love towards your new found friends.

Months passed by, I got to see more people having SLRs and better phones. To be honest, I envied them. It was my calling to join the world of photography. 

Every time my allowance (which was really just enough for my food and shelter) is sent, I only withdrew what I needed for the week which meant employing extra tight budgeting. There were cases I missed lunch or just ate crackers to fill my tummy, but that was because my class schedule was a bit full and intoxicating. You know, in our university there was a shortage of professors so there's very high demand for subjects, the last solution of which would be opening new slots that sacrificed lunch breaks. Eventually, I was able to adjust.

I was determined to keep money - first, out of the fear that Metro Manila life is scary when one doesn't have money, and second, out of the tethered longing to pursue photography. While most of my peers were busy eating at fast food chains and posh restaurants, I was satiated by food offered by carinderias (their homemade food were really yummy!). Occasionally, I'd join my friends to eat out as a reward (usually after exams).

To cut the story short, I graduated in college with a sigh of disappointment because I wasn't able to buy myself an SLR. At that time, my priorities changed. I let go for a while, with the thought that I might need the money in case of emergency. And so, my savings (just a few thousands) were left untouched in the bank.

But the longing didn't stop. It was my first love, some passion my heart was really yearning for. It was for me.

(RIGHT) Three years later, just this year, I accidentally found a post about a DSLR being sold in an online store at a bargain price. It was secondhand but had no defects and just a little less than 2k shutter count. I felt it was the right moment for me; I needed to give myself something I worked hard for and something that would motivate me more to succeed.

I bought it. I felt so elated, with that ounce of pride having been able to buy a DSLR out of more than six years of dedicated saving! Wohoo! I felt I responsibly decided for myself. It was something I wished to have since my teen days. I never regretted all the years of waiting; seemed like God told me, "take it, My child, it's for you."

No to worship of money, yes to frugality at best

Indeed, I got to buy a DSLR, but still retained a chunk of my savings. My hands were really excited to maneuver the buttons that glossed out of it.

One thing that didn't stick with me, all throughout the wait, was worship of money. I know money is somewhat important but it's not the most essential thing in the world. Bear in mind, though, that it could be some means to achieving happiness - for my case, I am happy I got to practice photography even if I had to wait for years. I was content I got to bond with friends even in just the most sketchy places (pero yun pala, the best eateries I dined into).

The thriftiness I acquired stayed. As you can see below, saving is petty much instilled in me. This is just to add pun to my post haha. It's funny because my coins don't even have their proper shelters (alkansya haha). 

Yep, I just laid them on the floor. I sometimes use some of my (non-bank) coin savings (from last year), which I taped by denomination, to buy load haha. The salesladies won't mind if I pay them piles of coins late at night hehe.

(LEFT) Another area where I place my current savings. I use these for my day-to-day living. I eat 50-peso meals, and just drink the cold water that the carinderia offers. Sometimes, though, I eat inside malls but only in the food court (where it's cheaper) haha. My phone is an obsolete, annoyingly malfunctioning Nokia which just got replaced when my friend lent me his secondary phone a few days ago.

Always take aim

What's more valuable to me is the realization that I can live life with that street-smart attitude and frugality I acquired throughout the years of independence and struggle in Metro Manila. One more important thing I set my mind into is to make sure that I don't step on anyone's shoes. Money can't buy class; I'm not yet rich, but I sure know how to empathize with people from any socioeconomic class.

Whenever I take photos of people in the streets, I  always ask permission from them and thank them for giving me the opportunity to render service to them.

(RIGHT) I also apply semantics - meanings hidden within frames. Whenever I take shots, I make it a point to convey something. To me, the mind can interpret a photo differently - to each his own.

I took a photo of a bull when I went to Rizal Park because it reminded me of the PH stock market. In addition to that, I feel bullish (hehe) I could learn so much more from established mentors in different finance-related groups of which I am a part.

I have survived the toughest financial difficulties in life and I know there are a lot more coming, but my outlook and character will always take me somewhere, evident of which is the achievement of this dream I long thought was impossible to have. Life will always give you surprises; sometimes they're pretty cool surprises, other times they're extremely mind-boggling and stressful. So, it's important to seek guidance from elders, friends, and even (in extra-rare conditions) enemies.

No man is an island; you can't live life on your own. A bull needs a matador in order to play its game. A matador sees a bull as integral to his life. 

There will be triumphs and defeats. It's up to your perspective, how you see things. Turn misfortune inside out; convert weakness as your strength. My longing for familial love became my strength to keep up with college life's pace. Financial debacles didn't hinder me from obtaining a DSLR; instead, it pushed me to strive harder.

I always believed in myself. I know I can surpass whatever stones life hurls toward me 'cause there are people out there who I can ask for support. And there's Someone who'd always catch me whenever I fall down. 

Just keep pushing forward; there will always be a way to solve a difficult problem. Anyone can be whoever you want as peg in life, or you can tread a different path and live uniquely. It's a matter of setting your eyes on the prize - on your goals, aspirations.

As Norman Vincent Peale once said, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." 

SURPRISE: Church owns at least 30 billion PHP worth of stocks

Has it come to mind that your humble donations every time you hear mass might not be directly going to where you intend them to be? Did you ever think of the possibility that not all your donations help feed the needy and less fortunate?

Have you ever thought of, not donating to the Church, and instead saving up your donations and using the lump sum to buy food and give them to street children? Do you even need to donate money to the Church to help?

If the Church has existed to help the less fortunate for so many years, why are there still many poor people in the country? Why are there expensive Catholic schools (e.g. UST, St. Paul's, private schools) and hospitals? Why aren't churches destroyed by Yolanda and the Bicol earthquake easily repaired despite the fact that the Church receives donations every day? Why are there few orphanages (considering children are susceptible to the human-ness of priests as they too may commit mistakes?) and missions?

These are questions that we need to ponder on. And I am not slapping it to them, as if they have an obligation to fulfill. But what's disappointing to hear?

Rappler recently release an article exposing (once again) the enormous wealth the Church has accumulated through time. It alleges that the Church (through its own dioceses and parishes) owns/ed at least 30 billion pesos in stocks!

30 BILLION PESOS, a major stockholder of the Bank of the Philippines Islands (BPI)! This could just be the tip of the iceberg. Imagine how far and how many poor people that 30 billion pesos could have reached (considering that most of it came from people's intended out-of-pocket donations) and helped.

Source: Rappler

Apart from BPI, the Church owns/ed stocks in First Philippine Holdings (FPH), Concrete Aggregates Corp., Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT), Philex Petroleum (PXP), ISM Communication Corp., and Philodrill. All these stocks owned by one archdiocese, the Archdiocese of Manila, which for the renovation of and repair of the Manila Cathedral didn't spend a single centavo - everything was paid for by philantropists! Plus, the government does not even tax religious transactions!

But wait, there's more! Here are some other stocks owned by the Church.

Source: Rappler

This is an eye-opener. We all have met people who (blindly), even with so little money that they have, give most of what they have, in the belief that all these will return to them somehow, many-folds. But, if this is what the Church continuously preaches, then why hasn't the Church used even just a fraction of  its money reserves to alleviate the sufferings of the needy or help educate bright minds without brainwashing or forcefully imposing on them their teachings?

And whether or not the Church has sold its stocks in these companies, the truth is it's wealthy. And with big cash piles, and a portfolio of private schools, hospitals and other businesses, it can do better to lift people out of poverty. The Church exists not only to guide us, but in order for us to serve God, to give back, with FULL trust that the Church will act according to its purpose - to change people's lives and help those who faltered rise  up again.

I know the Church has its good side. It's able to make people more human, more emphatic, more gentle, more loving. But the Church can do more in this society. It can play a great role in shaping the future of generations that will come. It can wield power and influence the less knowledgeable - to do better and be better.

It can make use of its cash (our donations) reserve to really make a difference and really show to those who turned their backs against them, that the Church is sincere in contributing to progress, that it is a reliable institution, that it is as God wanted it to become - the venue to praise and glorify Him by making life less difficult for others, not the other way around.

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On a brighter note, at least we now know the Church cares for its financial future. We're assure the Church can still help people ten, twenty, thirty years from now. :)

MONEY MATTERS: Two financial lessons I learned from Mama and Papa when I was a kid

If I were to be asked what two lessons on handling (cash, money) my finances I learned from my parents in the past, it would be that:

1. SAVING SAVES.

I was born to parents who had problems budgeting our monthly income before. 10 to 15 years ago, their spending habit was a bit "regularly overwhelming", enjoying the fruits of their labor after working their asse* all day long.

I was in third elementary grade then when I first observed what happens to a family when it runs out of cash - it's heartbreaking. At a young age, when the multiplication table was once one of my interests, I felt I needed to do something. Being the eldest, I knew I had to take responsibility for my brothers (and perhaps for my parents as well; it's kind of amazing you may say, but I don't know ganito lang talaga ako).

I thought what if one of my siblings gets sick? Where would they get the money? If my Papa, who contributes a bulk of the family's income, gets sick, where would we get funding for our tuition fees in school (back then, my parents knew education was key; they enrolled us in private schools)?

So, the simplest thing I could do was really to be thrifty (this word I didn't know of until I entered high school). I cut my baon (yes, elementary baon) and place what I saved behind picture frames, within the pages of the Bible (because back then, I thought the money would grow haha) and some magazines, inside jars and my alkansiya (flash forward to 5 years after, which was then stolen by our kasambahay).

There came a time that saving did save us from starving for a day! At that time, my parents' salaries (which were relatively low compared to what was then offered in Metro Manila counterparts) haven't been released yet, and we literally had nothing.

On that memorable day, my eagerness-to-save-the-day attitude hyped, and I told them not to worry 'cause I had a backup savings. I opened the back of the photo frame, and viola, my money brightened the day's mood. We were able to eat at that moment. Hence, from that day and on, saving became my happy habit. :))

There were even instances my Mama, Papa and siblings would be surprised that at just 9 or 10 years old, I was able to give them gifts on their birthdays.

At present, we're no longer having really deep financial struggles - just humps and bumps. In a few years' time, we'll be financially well-off, I hope - thanks to saving!

2. AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, DON'T MAKE CREDIT (UTANG). 

The second thing I learned from them is not to owe money from someone or make credit; this is the reason why we don't have credit cards (except Papa when he has to purchase something asap and he has no cash with him). I'm not campaigning for a snub of credit cards; these can help too (only when you know you're capable of settling your financial obligations ON TIME).

I always made sure that I won't borrow money, if I have no money with me. Probably my shyness has helped me deal with extravagant spending hehe. 

Today, with no debt to worry, I still live below my means; living below my means doesn't mean I'm not eating well or what. It only means I make financially sound decisions when it comes to my finances. As a student, who has gone through algebra and the higher math, I should know my limits. And by knowing my limits, I can figure out ways to reach these limits, and set new ones. 

If I can't afford something right now, pretty sure that by not spending the money I have today or by not making utang, I'll be able to buy something that's way, way better in the future. :)

P.S. Hope you guys enjoyed reading this short post. If you did, please like Spotlight Philippines to get updated with what I do in life financially. :)

P.P.S. If you're interested in reading more life-based money stories, here are some of them:
5 Awesome Tips to Help your Parents in your Finances

5 steps that may help students (actually anyone) become rich (Part 1)

5 steps that may help students (actually anyone) become rich (Part 2)