07 July 2010

GT: Financial State

Girls Talk

Interesting I must say. It's very seldom that a blogger would share his or her financial status. I'm going to make this GT of mine very specific.

To make things different, let me start by sharing that I don't do the budgeting. That's right ladies, I let my man do it. We learned it from my parents. We talked about it, and so far everything is working perfectly fine. Since my husband is the one working, he is more suited to gauge whatever is best when it comes to money.  Including checks. As for me, I make a list of the things we need for the house and for our home such as groceries, maintenance, utilities and the things "i want" like decorations, plants, new curtains or throw pillows, scented candles, all those girly things. 

Sometimes, I don't even have to make a list, my husband would take the first step and tell me: "come with me, let's buy this and that, I think the living room will look better". And it's far different and fun.

Well that's how we work things out as a couple, least we need inside the house is an argument about money. Talking things through with your other half is very important. Compromise. It was easy for us,  because we're very similar with almost everything. And now I am free from the stress when it comes to budgeting and accounting.

Personally:
Since I am a HOUSEWIFE, literally,  I stay at home 24/7. I greatly rely on the allowance my husband gives me. Half of it I save and deposit in the bank, half I go shopping. I shop for whatever " my son 's needs including mine".

I don't count on blog money 100%. It's just additional income that I use for charity , online shopping and the rest still goes to savings.In terms of keeping my money safe, you will only find 2 wallets inside my bag. My ever reliable Kate Spade in Black  that carries my bills, my ids and debit card. 
The other one is just a coin purse. (from Hershey's and Red Ribbon). Sometimes I only bring my coin purse and my cardholder.
If you noticed I didn't include owning a credit card. Yes people, I don't use a credit card. I make it a point to always pay in cash or use my debit card. Well, I got traumatized some years back when I still own one.
Upon application, the bank people told me that they will not include any membership fee or any other fees on my monthly.  After a month of using it, they billed me with a membership fee of almost php4,000 a month.  Some common incidents are promos and offers. Sometimes,  even without your consent they will enroll your card at some promotion or insurance policy. Like what they did to my mom, an agent made an offer  through a phone call that made my mom say yes. They talk fast, will mention several confusing terms etc. That's their strategy, so be very careful. 

On the other hand, with some reliable credit card companies, if you always pay on time, they will reward you with stuff, I remember my family getting a boom box and 2 bean bags.

That's just my point of view when it comes to credit cards, we all have our own preferences. But I gotta tell you, once you make it a point to always pay in cash, you will avoid  further debts and it will grant you the deeper meaning of SAVING.

Pure discipline, and it entitles you to a rewarding feeling after purchasing your dream bag or  your favorite shirt  knowing that they're all already paid for.

Important:
  • Never Spend Beyond Your Means
  • Keep it Real and Simple
  • Prioritize
  • Save, Save, Save, Save, Save!

Share your financial point of view with us @ Girls Talk

20 comments:

Chris said...

totally agree.. i am so glad that we got to finally pay off our credit card debts after a number of years. now, we wont use it anymore to avoid incurring debts!

joy said...

In our household, it's a different thing. When my mom passed away by dad is the one that did the budgeting until he got sick with renal disease. the responsibility of budgeting our household expense became my task because i'm the eldest and the only girl in the family. i must say that i'm good at it because we always got we need. and no one in our family owns a credit card because we don't believe in getting things on credit. we either save up or wait till we have the money to buy what we want.

Race said...

well that's a very good discipline for yourself and your family, i agree with your comments on getting purchases through credit cards, i maintain one credit card only and that's for my online purchases and for some of my domains, actually a backup if ever I don't have paypal money to pay for my yearly renewal. for my family and my personal things I would buy on my blog income and I would only withdraw needed cash, the rest will be left on my bank. hubby takes care of utility bills, i take care of market expenses. our savings are for the kids' education.

i also learned my lesson on credits and it's really a nice feeling buying on cash, i also get good buys on cash purchases though i really seldom shop for myself, i love to be simple in everything, sa kitchen lang ako magastos 'coz i love cooking! i admire your financial discipline and learned a lot also from reading your post, thanks for the very informative and useful advice, regards! tc!

Enchie said...

@ Chris that's good news :)

@ Joy I understand what you mean being the eldest too. Your next in line with your parents being responsible. I agree on saving up on whatever we want. It's what's needed that's important.

@ Race Pereho tayo magastos sa kitchen :D basta pagkain walang problem :D

I almost got a credit card last year, I was thinking for back up too and for online shopping and maintenance of my blogs. I resulted on using my debit card instead.

Tetcha said...

I agree with you on a lot of things, but mostly about savings. I don't have savings right now because almost half of my salary finances my parents' medications. My father is hypertensive and mom is diabetic and had just recently undergone heart bypass. The importance of savings couldn't be more evident when you're faced with a family crisis, such as when we needed the money for my mom's operation. I hope I can really save money this year; that will really make me a less stressful mom.

Unstoppablepedestrian.blogspot.com said...

Agree Sis, kaya ako hindi talaga ako nakuha ng credit cards kasi I know my capacity, magastos ako sibra.. so better not to have it kesa naman mabaon ako... ang sarap naman ng buhay mo Sis parang sobrang lite lang nya.. *winkwink

Happy Girls Talk

Unknown said...

Me too, I don't agree with credit cards.

I'm not very good at handling money / budgeting, so I also let my husband take care of it. I tried doing it once, and we both agreed that I should never do it again. :D

Kero said...

two similarities, Mommy Enchie!

1) My husband does the budgeting;
2) We don't have credit card =)

I think our hubbies are lucky they married such financially sensible women hihiiiii

hope you can visit my entry here sweet life you got and you well deserve it for working hard!

my GT entry is here http://kcelebration.blogspot.com/2010/07/money-money-money.html

Paula said...

It took us years to get a credit card because I've heard a lot of horror stories too. Now that we have one I'm glad we have not fallen into the trap and still pay everything in full.

It's nice to be able to peek at other people's financial habits. :) Here's mine.

charmie said...

Good thing to know about credit card sis, I don't have any but I plan to get . After reading your post I realized na mas maigi na din yon I know how to budget what's on my hand. Though I'm a breadwinner at parang lahat ng income ko noon was nothing left just for my family and for my school, Ngayon ko na pamper ang self ko. Pero I will take your adive about credit card hehehe!

Thanks for this.. You are lucky you have a husband who are financially stable and can give what needed including your wants. You are blessed. Happy GT

Verna Luga said...

So true, money was never an issue to us because I'm no extravagant.. we don;t have credit card too, I just opened a debit card for my blogging purposes, but not in my dreams that I'm making this a source of living.. I justr uly enjoyed this thing... thanks for dropping by... Woman’s elan vital

Rossel said...

i hate credit cards too sis, my husband has 3 but i am glad we paid all of them last May and promised not to use them except for purchasing domains.

i agree with you in prioritizing and saving.

Momi Jes said...

hi sis! i really appreciate your visit! =)
yeah bago kasi nag buy ako domain and nagpa host ako..para ma approve ako sa PAYU =P i really want to earn here kasi sa 'artscow' ahahhah =)) kasi wala laman ang paypal ko eh you know that ehehehe =)) like you i dnt wanna use my card anymore..though sometimes na te temp ako hihihhi =))
pero kasi medyo na trauma n dn kme kasi may time na naubos nmin ang limit! =P

about WP nmn naku bago lang eh =) d ko pa gaaung alam sa blogspot nga madami p ko d alam eh....=P

Momi Jes said...

hihihi youre welcome kahit wala ako nbgay na info ahahah =)) pa host ka ke mom rubz para makatulong k dn sa fund raising nya for baby bella =)
san mo b plan buy ng domain? mura sa godaddy ngyun but you have to ask for coupon ata...bngyan lng ako ni mom rubz ng link e =) goodluck satin...miss ko n kumita sa paid post =)

K said...

very well said mommy enchie! and i admire your setting in the house ha. kakaiba, the husband is the "budget officer". ako kasi since i'm the breadwinner, ako talaga un nagbabudget. but i wish hubby does that, too. sakit sa ulo e. hihi.

ako din wala credit card. pangpasakit lang din ng ulo un. hihi

see you again next week! :)

Rechie said...

my husband is the one who budget our money too because he is the one who has the salary/money. when it comes to my blogging naman, sa kin lang he doesn't take a cent from it kasi pinaghirapan ko daw kaya inispend ko na lang sa education ng mga kapatid ko so i can help my parents

Clarissa said...

I don't have credit cards,too but my husband has--credit card ang ginagamit nya for gasoline kasi malaki ang points na makukuha nya.Nasa pagha-handle lang siguro yun noh?Meron kasing iba na talagang nababaon.

♥♥ Willa ♥♥ said...

wow! pareho pala tayo ng style financially, I let hubby take care of everything since he's the one who earned it,might as well, let him know where it goes. I don't want it to be the reason for our misunderstanding,asking me where his money, and we are doing perfectly fine with it.

Lucia ♡ said...

It's a great thing that you can rely on your husband when it comes to budgeting and also that you two work together on getting to an agreement when it comes to finances (and also all the other things). That is something every couple should do; talk, talk and talk and simply be able to communicate and make everything work. You are lucky to have your husband dearie <3

AC said...

wow, ate ench, thanks so much for this! so far naman wala pa kameng an experience sa credit card na ganyan... we treat our credit card as cash naman... parang dinedelay lang ang payment para kumita muna ng ineterest sa bank... hehe... malaki kase interest dito... pero we never pay for extra charges... we always pay what's due... ako din, I don't budget and I don't care so much about our finances... kaso yung allowance, wala ako nun...
siguro yun ang dapat naming gawin... set allowance for ourselves noh? hhmm... masabi nga yan kay hubby... hehehe...

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