Despite of the challenges present in this month, I can conclude that it still went well for me. Although I got sick, my partner moved to his new accommodation and there’s a lot of positive cases up until this day, I still feel thankful that I can still work on the goals that I have for this year. In this blog, it will be all about my finances which will serve as my digital tracker. I will make a monthly blog about it so I can easily track and be aware on aspects that I need to work on. Last year, I put my financial progress together with my monthly goals, but for this year, I decided to have a separate blog so I can easily review it.

This blog will be short, specific and concise which will be comprises of the following parts:

1. Savings. Are the amount I saved for each fund (Business, Insurance, Investment, Retirement, Emergency, Joint Account and Local Bank)
2. Expenses. Consist of the list of my expenses incurred for this month (Grocery, Leisure & family support)
3. Financial Plans for the Next Month. This part will be the financial targets for the next month that will serve as a guide for me to choose what I need to prioritize.
4. Ideal Budget for the month of February. This will be the ideal budget which undergo adjustment to meet the financial goals for the next month.
5. Summary. This will be the conclusion of my finances this month and the things I need to work on to meet my financial goals.

As I do this blog, I believe that it will help me to better manage my finances especially that I have a lot of financial goals for this year. From investing in real estate and to my existing investment and insurance, I really need to focus on it so that I can ensure that I can responsibly provide for all of those funds. It’s a big challenge indeed but all I think is that everything will all be worth the sacrifices in the future. As long as I can push myself today to effectively manage my income, I can comfortably live as soon as possible. Of course, I also need to consider my present life so that I won’t be pressured with the goals that I have right now, that’s why I have a budget for my own leisure and cravings.

This blog will not only serve as a digital tracker but also a reminder for me on what I went through in achieving my goals. As I turned 26 this year, I surely need to focus on what I need to do and at the same time enjoy the present moment. I believe that I can only achieved that if I aim for a well balance life wherein all aspects of my life shall be taken care of. Productivity will be my key to achieve that kind of lifestyle. I need to be consistent in everything that I do and ensure that I’ll get most of the day. I should not waste time in my comfort zone but choose to continue to aim for growth and challenges.

“Continue to challenge yourself by aiming on things that fears you.”

“Most of the time the best option is those you’re not comfortable with. Because that choice will let you discover yourself more.”

“Do something that your future self will thank you for it.”

For a recap of my financial goals this year, here are the illustration that will serves as your guide which is also mentioned in my blog “My 2022 Goals”.

Now, let’s see the status of my finances for the month of January 2022.

For me to remember significant happenings in my life, I decided to make a monthly recap of it in my journal and in this blog. I believe that by doing this, it will serve as a reminder for me in every memory that I’d experienced. I can always look back to it anytime I want, and I can also share how I spent my 2022 to my future family. As you know, it’s been my practice to keep memories since I was a kid. My memorabilia back home will be the evidence of it from all the things that I kept throughout my journey. From high school memories up to college years, all the things that reminds me of a certain memory is well kept in my box. Now that I’m working, I do think that this is the right time for me to make my own digital memories.

Now, I decided to put at least 3-5 highlights for this month.  I’ll also include some pictures that I took so that it will really remind me of the things that happened.

Now let’s finally see the highlights of this month!

JANUARY 2022 SAVINGS UPDATE

In the report above, you can see that I successfully secured the amount intended for all of my savings’ funds (Business, Insurance, Investment & Retirement Fund). This is due to the reason that I spent only the amount intended for my expenses. Now, let’s carefully review each funds progress for the month of January:

1. Business Fund. Due to the sudden increase of the budget intended for the renovation, I need to double my effort and ensure that I’ll be able to secure the monthly amount I’m required to save for this fund. Since the budget for the first renovation is done, I need to work now on the amount for the next house renovation. We still don’t have yet the required budget for it so I still have time to ready it beforehand.

2. Insurance Fund.For this fund, I successfully secured the half of my payment for it since the due date will be next month. As long as I’ll finish this first payment, it will be easy for me to save up since the next one will still be on August. Honestly, it is still a challenge for me to cope up with paying this since it’s still not enrolled in auto debit. It will still take time for me to fix everything since I can only do it once I’m home. This payment will mark my 4^th year in this insurance and overall, I was able to save up a total of P100,000.00 for this fund. This fund is intended for my long-term investment so I’m aware that I won’t get the maximum benefits of it now.  Nevertheless, I know that this is one of the best things I did once I started working. I know that it will help me to achieve the ideal life that I’m aiming in the future.

3. Investment Fund. Another successful savings I achieved this month is this fund. Since I have a total of seven months for me to complete the amount, I can say that I’m doing well after accomplishing the first savings for this year. As long as I stick to the amount intended for my expenses, I know that I can secure all the amount for my savings. This payment also marks my third year in this insurance/investment and now, I only have seven more years to finally finish it. This may take more years of sacrifices but I believe that I’ll be able to achieve by God’s grace.

4. Retirement Fund. Since the house rental renovation is still not yet started, I still need to secure an amount of P5,400.00 to complete my yearly premium which is P23,400.00. What I planned is as soon as I received the two months advance and one month deposit, I will send right away the remaining balance so I can finally settle my savings for this fund. I think that I can attain it in April as long as the house can be rented out on March. For the meantime, I need to save up for three more months in this fund.

5. Emergency Fund. As of this month, my emergency fund is still intact. As soon as the renovation will take place, I will probably use my emergency fund meaning I need to save up for it again in this year. The first four months of this year will surely be a busy time for my finances due to the first house renovation which I target for this year. Upon planning my finances, I think that I can start saving up for this fund again starting on the month of May. Hopefully I can strictly follow my budget so that I can achieve my target savings for this year.

6. Joint Account Fund. One thing that I will give up this year is my savings for our joint account. This is due to an accident which let both of us decided to just halt our savings and let the amounts intended for it be in our local bank. Despite of what happened, we just took it positively and learned from that experience. I believe that I can still have a chance to work on this as long as I can focus on gaining more income streams. Hopefully, I can work on saving for this fund next year since it’s also the year which we planned our wedding.

JANUARY 2022 EXPENSES UPDATE

For the month of January, I successfully achieved my intended budget for my expenses. In this list, you can see the specific things I purchased and where it mostly goes. Before the start of this year, I divided my own expenses into two which is for my needs and the other one is for my wants. By doing this, I can ensure that everything is well balance and I won’t overspend. Based on experienced, I found this strategy very effective since I started to be cautious in everything that I buy. I always have this thought that if ever I will use more than I’m allowed to, my savings will be compromised.

In this month, I can say that I’m starting to get used to in this set-up. I was able to live within the budget and at the same time enjoy myself. One thing that I just hope is that I can be consistent on this in these coming months. It is indeed really hard to live within the budget but for my targets this year, I badly need to stick on it. I need to sacrifice things in order to achieve what I am aiming for in this year. I believe that I also need to work on achieving more income streams so that I can suffice the target amounts I set for my funds. As long as I have the means, I can also have that freedom to provide on things that I want.

In the past years, I’m aware that I’d been very thrifty on myself. For the sake of achieving my financial goals, I’d been compromising things that I’d been wanting to do. At first, I thought it was ok, but as days passed, I figured out that it was draining me. I keep putting pressure on myself without rewarding it on what it really deserves. I thought that it’s just a kind of sacrifices that is considered a must in anything you’re hoping for, but in the end that approach was indeed wrong. Now, I am trying to enjoy little things so I decided to have an amount intended solely for my leisure. By doing this, I can somehow reward myself and enjoy the present moment. From the past years that I came to know that I’d been pretty occupied investing in my future and forgot to focus on the present things, in this year, I made it sure that I can somehow enjoy the moment.

““Life gives you plenty of time to do whatever you want to do if you stay in the present moment.” — Deepak Chopra

“Focus on opportunities not setbacks. Focus on what you can do, not what you can’t. Focus on the present moment, not the past or the future. Empower yourself!” ― Akiroq Brost

As I successfully accomplished this month. I am hoping that everything will go well for the rest of the year. It won’t be always perfect and for sure I will overspend at some point, but one thing I need to do is to remind myself that everything will be ok. I should not let myself be pressured to the point that it will drain me. I will take things lightly and just trust the process.  I believe that with the help of this blog, I will eventually achieve all that I am aiming for.

FINANCIAL PLANS FOR FEBRUARY

Everyone knows that I’m a fan of planning. Growing up, it helped me to be on track by taking it as guide in every decision that I will make. Every time I plan, I always feel excited and determined to do something. It serves like a motivation for me to make things possible, because I believe, having a right plan will be an edge for anyone who have target goals. As I start this monthly budget review, I decided to have a monthly financial plan that I can always review. For me to ensure that everything will be on track for the next month I listed out things that I must do. This will be my guide on the budget that I need to follow and at the same time push myself to stick to it. I also designated the things that I think I will spend for the month so that I can be more specific in planning.

Here below are the things that I need to prioritized for this coming month of February. I will also print out this illustration for me to easily review it every day.

FEBRUARY FINANCIAL PLANS PIC

1. 1^st Insurance Payment Secured. Since the first payment of my insurance is on February, I need to secure a total of P12,500 for it. Now that I successfully saved the half of it this month, I just need to complete the amount and pay for it the next month. The next payment will be on August so I will still have time to secure it after this 1^st payment.

2. House Rental Renovation 1^st & 2^nd Phase Budget Secured. As we started to finalize things, I need now to secure the amount intended for the first and second phase of renovation. I planned to secure the 1^st payment in the first week of February and the other one will be in the mid or end of February. Hopefully we can officially start it so that we can put it on rent as soon as possible

3. Additional Birthday Leisure Budget of P2,800. A I celebrate my 26^th Birthday next month, I add an amount for my usual leisure budget. With this, I will have an idea on the maximum amount that I’m allowed to spend for the next month.

Now that I set my priorities, it will be easy for me now to plan my budget for the next month.

IDEAL BUDGET FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY

With the details mentioned above, I can now easily set a budget for the next month. I will continue to have my tracker for my expenses and savings so that I’ll know where my money goes. This budget will be based also on my current project for the month of February. As you all know, this coming month will be intended for our renovation, so the sudden adjustments are due to this reasons.

As you can see, changes always take place in one’s life. The changes that took place for the month of January had driven me to change my plans. Now, my main focus for the first half of this year is our house rental. So in the first half of this year my budget will be focus on that.

Despite of what happened, the plans I previously made really helped me to choose the best choice. With this experienced, I learned that I need to be flexible in any changes and at the same time be optimistic in handling it. I’m still positive though that I’ll be able to reach my financial goals in the end of this year. Like I always say, I WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN!

I think goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.” —Michael Phelps

In this month of January 2022, I successfully achieved the budget amount for my expenses and at the same time my savings such as the 1^st insurance, Investment and retirement fund. There are also changes that had taken place in this month which result to some of my plans change. Despite of that, I choose to be positive and believe that I can still able to achieve all the things that I’m planning for this year.

Now that I will officially end this month, I can conclude that everything went well. All I need to do is to ensure that I’ll be consistent on this. This blog will be my guide and tracker towards the goal that I am aiming. There will be more challenges that will come for sure, but all I know is that, I will always be ready for it.

JOB WELL DONE, LEA PEARL!