Growing up, my priorities changed at the same time. Especially in terms of my finances, I really pushed myself to work on my target every year in order to fulfill my dream to become financially free in the future. Given the circumstances that I experienced growing up, I built a kind of mindset that in order for my future family not to experience the same thing, I need to work as early as possible. Right planning plays a big role on the things that I achieved at this moment. Without doing it, maybe I’ll still be clueless and with no direction in life. The challenges that I experienced became my driving force to come up in a strategy and plan on things that I can do today. Some people who don’t know my story usually says the same statement which are:

1. I’m lucky because I’m not a bread winner of the family.
2. I can save more because I don’t send money for anyone.
3. I’m lucky because I’m young and I don’t have any responsibility yet.

To summarized every statement that I usually hear from the rest, they concluded that all of my achievements came out from luck. Every time I hear the same thing, I choose not to response knowing that it’s not worth it. This is because of the fact that it’s their own opinion and whatever I do to change or correct it, it will just be put into waste. So, rather than spending time telling the real thing, I just choose to spend it by doing something that will help me progress more. Let’s just say that I’m so busy with my goals and I don’t have time to meddle in negativity.

In this month financial assessment, I can conclude that I achieved my goals and at the same time follow the budget that I planned. Like how I did on last month’s financial review, 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.

During this period of working for my goals, I can slowly see how I became more mature in dealing with the present. Rather than being cope up with my plans for my future, I learned to balance it in a way that I can enjoy the moment at the same time. These baby steps that I am having right now may not be comparable to those who are now successful in life, but I believe that time will come for me. As long as I can continue what I started, no matter how challenging the journey will be, I can come out successful in the end. This will be the starting point of everything and one thing I’ll know is that, once I’ll look back on what I did in the past, my future self will be really proud of me.

In these past few months, I ‘d been considering different means to expand my cash flow. I realized that I should not rely in my salary alone because it is only for temporary. Another factor is that, once I will start my own family, it will be very hard for me to balance my time if I’m working. Because of these reasons, I wanted to do something now that will help me achieved my financial goals as early as possible. With my current situation, I wrote down things that I can slowly work on which are the following:

1. Salary Increase through promotion.
2. Look for a job higher than my current position.
3. Continuously invest in house rental business.
4. Expand my social media accounts that will help me to work on another stream of income.
5. Think of a possible business or mid-term investment.

In these options above, I believe that somehow, I can slowly work on it. I planned to start on working on these once I’m done with my vacation so I can somehow free my mind from my existing thoughts. I also think that on that month, it will be the best time to consider applying in a job since I already reached two years in my current company. Although I feel scared somehow in taking another adjustment, I just need to think that everything is for my own goals. If I settle for what I have right now, probability is that I’ll be in my comfort zone and it will be hard for me take another opportunity considering my age.

To remind me of my plans that I need to work on, here below are the things I must do before I retire:

1. LONG-TERM INVESTMENT: Secure Payment for Insurance, Investment and Retirement Fund. (Source of income will be from 2 House Rental Monthly Total Amount Needed: P7,700.00)
2. PASSIVE INCOME INVESTMENT: Minimum of five rental house under my name which provides a P6000 monthly rental for each. Target monthly income before retirement is minimum of P40,000.00.
3. MEDIUM TERM INVESTEMENT: Pag-ibig Fund MP2 initial investment of P250,000.00
4. FAMILY SECURITY: Secure insurance of Kids when they reached five years old. The target amount is P200,000.00- P250,000.00 (Source will be from medium-term investment)
5. OWN VACATION HOUSE IN BACOLOD: 150sqm-300sqm mountain house.

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in, and day-out.” – Robert Collier.

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 May 2022.

MAY 2022 SAVINGS UPDATE

In the report above, it shows where most of my funds goes. In terms of savings, I finally settled two of my obligations right now. The couple of months will be intended for the settlement of my 2^nd Insurance and the renovation of second house rental. The rest will be intended for the savings of my vacation on October. To summarized everything in this month, I was able to saved 45% of my income from salary. That percentage will be divided based on my other priorities. For you to be able to have a brief idea for my savings fund, this will be a summary of what I did for this month. Let’s now carefully review each funds progress for the month of May:

1. Business Fund. In this month, mostly my priority is the settlement of my retirement and second insurance fund. Despite of that I’m still working on the amount that I set for this fund which is PHP 125,000.00. Based on the cash flow, I can work on it until the month of July, so within these two remaining months, I need to saved up as much as I can.

2. Insurance Fund. In this month, I finally settle the remaining amount for my insurance fund. Even though the payment is still on August, I’m happy that I was able to secure it as early as this month. For the next year, the payment will be on February and August. Once I renovated the second house rental, I will have a source of payment for this fund and the same goes for my retirement fund.

3. Investment Fund. For this fund, I can finally settle it in this coming month. The amount will be good for one year payment until October 2023 which can help me to prepare funds for my other financial obligations. Since this fund is payable for ten years, I need to secure a payment for this until I reach the age of 33. Now that I still have at least five years to pay for it, I decided to source a passive income stream so I can secure the money for payment. My plan is to acquire it before my marriage so I can at least feel safe that even I don’t have a job, I can still pay for my financial obligations.

4. Retirement Fund. This month, I was able to secure the payment for this fund from acquiring one passive income stream from house rental business. Now, I only need to do is to send the balance payment every year which cost only around PHP1500 for this fund and my 1^st insurance. As long as I secure the 2^nd house rental renovation, I can finally have a source of payment for this fund which will greatly help me to focus on my other savings.

5. Emergency Fund. Due to the vacation that I planned this year, I can only work on my emergency fund on November- December. Because of the limited time I have this year, I also decided to cut it from 5000 Qar to 3000 Qar. For me, it is still more than enough given the passive income streams that will help to secure my finances. As long as I expand my cash flow, the more I can be secured in my future.

6. Joint Account Fund. Like I mentioned in my previous financial review, one thing that I will give up this year is my savings for our joint account. I tried to adjust my budget to at least give way for this but sadly, I can’t really push through with it given the projects that I have for this year. Despite of that, I can assure that by the start of the year 2023, I can secure an amount intended for this since I can’t neglect it anymore given the plan that me and my partner have for our wedding. By the end of this year, I can secure an amount for opening a bank account which is our target to do.

Even though I am at short budget for my wants this time, I believe that as long as I focus on building passive income streams, time will come that I won’t hesitate to buy for myself. This period of my life really requires effort and sacrifices, so as long as I can push myself to do it, I will do. The right time will come for me and I will continuously trust this long process towards success.

As I realized everything that happened to me this month, I try to applied it in my life and consider all the scenarios of the people I met in every decision I make. By doing this, I will be more cautious in my spending habits and prioritized the things that I must do in the present. These sacrifices that I’m doing in the present will soon be worth it in the end. Everything will make sense and I will never give up in making my goals possible.

“Long-range planning does not deal with future decisions, but with the future of present decisions.”

— Peter F. Drucker.

MAY 2022 EXPENSES UPDATE

In this month of May, most of my expenses is from my leisure activities and the wants that I bought. Regardless of that, I was still able to stick to my intended budget for the month. As you can see, the grocery budget was used in buying stuffs like Hair Straightener and Hair Color which has been my target ever since I worked. Since my finances is tight in this year, I don’t have a budget in other stuffs that I want. The only budget that I have for expenses are for Family, Grocery and Leisure, so if ever I need to buy something for myself, I need to use either of the three. It is very challenging to do this for a year that’s why I’d been stopping myself to think of the things that I want to buy. It requires discipline and focus to do it that’s why for the next year, I will increase my expenses budget for me to at least buy something for myself without compromising the rest of my savings.

For the next month, I carefully planned the things that I’ll include in my expense budget so that it will serve as a guide for me not to overspend. To tell you honestly, sometime I feel pity on myself because I failed to do what most people same of my age does. From hanging out every now and then, buying things that they want, eating their favorite foods whenever they wanted to and a lot more other things that I can’t do right at this moment. I just realized that I’m really sacrificing a lot of things for my goals. I may see it sometimes as a hindrance for me to be happy, but I just let myself think that I can be happier at the right moment, and now is not yet the right time for me. The harder the journey it will be, the happier I can be once I become successful. I know that when the time comes, I will harvest all the fruits of my labor and sacrifices. I just need to believe on myself and have faith on His plans for me.

“Sacrifice is a part of life. It’s supposed to be. It’s not something to regret. It’s something to aspire to.”

― Mitch Albom, ‘The Five People You Meet in Heaven’

Once this year end, I can somehow enjoy my income a little bit. Now that I’m in the marrying age as well, I need to double my efforts on things that I can do today. I need to invest more, build passive income, secure our future especially our kids and at the same time have my own home. Even though I’m still starting, I feel so excited for the years that will come. Even though I feel pressured sometime thinking of my goals, I believe that everything is attainable once you commit to it. This year is just the first step towards my goals. I promise to myself that I will enjoy this moment at the same time so that I will not regret anything. As long as I can balance my goals, work and happiness, I believe that this journey will be very memorable.

To give you an idea on where most of my expenses went this month, here are some pictures of it which I also shared in my previous blog:

EID HOLIDAY

FINANCIAL PLANS FOR JUNE

Now that we’re in the halfway of the year, I only have two more financial goals that I need to settle so I can finally work on my next project. As I look back in the past months, I can say that I’m doing pretty well since I was able to finished some of my financial goals. These coming seven months will be intended in working for the rest of it and preparing myself for the next year. I know that 2022 is the crucial year since this is the beginning of everything, but I know that for the rest of the years, this experienced will greatly helped me not to back down. I’m still starting and I’m so excited to know until where I can go.

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

For this month of June, the top priority that I need to do is to settle my whole year payment for my 2^nd Insurance. Once settled, I can rest assured that I have a payment until October 2023 since I secured it this June. If I will achieve all of my financial goals this year, the only obligation that I will do is this 2^nd insurance and the joint account savings. Hopefully I can purchase a new house next year that I can put on rent, so that I can settle the payment for this in a long run. It may take time but I will claim it as done. In this way, I will be more motivated in achieving more of my goals.

Now to check my progress for the month of May and the plans I have for the next month, here below are the two illustrations of it:

1. Collect last debt payment. Finally, this month of June will be the last payment of the balance debt amount. Once I settled this, I can now rest assured that I was able to finally secure my money. Through this experienced, now I know how will I handle it once the same situation arises. I’ll be wiser in handling my finances and at the same time properly assess the situation first. I should also put myself first above anyone else because by this, I will be cautious on giving help if I know that I’ll suffer in the end.

2. 200 Qar intended for “Supplements”. This month, I planned to use my grocery budget for buying supplements. Since I still have food items balance from last month, I will just use it first before buying stuffs. In the month of May, I also realized that I should buy only the things that I need especially in my food items. It’s ok to buy some snack but in regulations, because I’d seen how I eat junk foods a lot as long as it’s available. So, cutting it off also means I can save money.

3. 200 Qar Intended for Leisure will be saved for next month. This month, I will not have any plans on hanging out because I decided to use it for July. By doing this, I will not use excess amounts intended for my leisure.

4. 60 Qar Buffer. Since I will not hang out this coming month, this amount will be intended only for dine out. Me and my partner decided to eat in yellow cab together with his friend on our monthsary on June 24.

4. 3150 Qar intended for 2^nd Insurance. Another financial obligation that I’ll pay this month is the whole year payment for my 2^nd Insurance. Once this is settled, I can solely save for my vacation and the 2^nd house rental renovation.

With these priorities for this coming month, I’ll be able to manage well my finances and follow the budget that I did. By doing this, I can help myself to focus on things that I should prioritize for June. As long as I’ll be specific on the things that I must do, the more I can easily make plans and decide things.

IDEAL BUDGET FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE

For this month of June, I decided to use my grocery budget for buying a supplement. Since I still have eggs, and canned foods available right at this moment, I think that I can still manage it until next month. Because of my planned vacation, I cannot use more than the intended budget for my expenses. That’s why, in order to buy something that I want, I need to compromise either the grocery budget or the leisure budget. Once this year is done and I accomplished all of my financial goals, I will add an amount for my expenses so that I can buy the simple things that I want. Since in that time I will have another cash flow that will be intended for the settlement of my retirement and 1^st insurance payment, I believe that this is the time to at least pay myself. These remaining months of the year will be for all of the pending savings, payments and targets that I have.

The guide that I’d been doing every month, greatly helped me to manage my finances. By reviewing it every now and then, it reminds me of the amount that I’m only allowed to spend for the month and at the same time my financial priorities. I find this strategy very effective that’s why I’m doing it consistently.

Here below is the guide that I made for myself in this coming month:

As I reached 30 years of age, I realized that I need to double my effort in this remaining four years. Whatever I do at this moment will surely determine the kind of future that I’ll be having. Now, in order to make my goals possible, planning and assessment should take place. Every hour and minute of my day are the chance given to me to work on it, thus, all I need to do is to make use of it efficiently and wisely. There’s no time to waste and be at ease. To be able to achieve my dream goal which is to be financially free, I need to really focus on my plans and make all of it possible.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

In this month of May, I finally settled two of my financial obligations which is the 1^st Insurance and the retirement fund payment. After this, I can finally work on my next target which is the 2^nd insurance payment that needs to be settled on the next month.

Truly that these three months (May, June & July) will greatly affects my savings and expenses budget. As long as I can stick to my plans and budget, I can be at ease on the next year since I will be having another source of income.

I believe that everything that we wanted to pursue requires effort and sacrifices. In this year that I decided to work on expanding my income, I really need to develop the right attitude like delayed gratification in order to make my targets possible.

My chosen journey will never be easy. But there’s no more chance to back down. I choose to continue what I started and won’t let my future self be disappointed.

“When you master your mind and your deep unconscious abilities, you will move ahead faster and achieve more in a shorter period of time than perhaps you could even imagine today.”— Brian Tracy, Transform Thought For The Day