Frugal Living

Have you noticed more sale mark everywhere? Aggressive marketing schemes are now on the works everywhere as the effect of deflation is beginning to manifest itself. Although prices of oil is in its fast decline, this is not exactly a very good sign since the decline is too fast– too soon. Companies are cutting down on costs. And cutting down on costs would mean removing redundant positions. Dell, Citigroup, and other big companies like GM had laid off thousands of employees and cutting production. This Citigroup lay-off news last week has caused their value to decline and has lost half of its value in a span of four days. If that doesn’t cause you to be wary and anxious perhaps the news that the costs of price paid for crops in the US has dropped so fast than the cost to grow them.

So what has the US economy has to do with us? Plenty. Because our local market relies so much on international trade, our economy will soon feel the ripple effect soon. That actually scares me.

So what can you do now?

Secure your employment.

If people who have steady monthly income feels the anxiety of the troubled market, then people who have nothing much will more than feel the pinch. But what else can we do? If you have a job, you better find ways to secure your job. If you are in the danger of getting laid off, get your act together and begin showing your boss what the company will miss if they kick you ass out. Or if you are already on the verge of getting kicked out, you might want to start looking around now.

And if you were already laid off, here are some ways to use those free time (other than looking for another job- that is..)

Increase your monthly savings and try to cut corners, especially if you are not Jessica Agbunag, the woman who just scored $2.4M in Las Vegas.

More people are actually holding on to their money. I am one of them. I am pledging 2/3 of my income to savings for next month. I know it is Christmas, but I have already done our Christmas shopping this November, and if there is anything that has to be settled, it would only be the utility bills, nothing more. I have already started an emergency fund, and next month, I am starting emergency fund number 2.

Teach your children how to save.

If you have the intention of cutting corners, then it is important that the family is supportive of your plans to curb expenses to the minimum at least until the recession is over. If you have yet to inform your family members yet, this is the time and the time for your children to practice saving. My daughter actually has started saving her own money now. She is 7 years old and gets P20 a day allowance. Her allowance includes her transportation fare which is P10, which leaves her another 10 for her snacks. I actually thought she is using up all of her allowance, but every Friday, I noticed she has more money in her wallet. I asked her and she informed me she only spends P4.00 for snacks everyday and she saves P6.00. That is 30% savings every week or P30 savings each week. Not only that, she has decreased her cell phone use. She gets P2/day of pasaload from me.

Cut down on your utility bills.

Begin with your electricity bills. Unplug unused appliances and do not turn on the lights during the day unless it is really necessary. I have some easy tips here to help you curb down your utility bills.

Secure your investments.

If you have come cash tied up in some fund held by insurance companies, you might want to find out fast if these investments are even insured, if not, you might want to pull them out now and put it somewhere safer. I am thinking a slowdown in car sales, luxury items, insurance, real estate as homeowners will be forced to downsized and tend to keep their money in. Anxiety and depression will build up so, doctor’s and pharmaceutical industry will probably remain okay. Oh, the suicide rate will probably increase too.

In short,

Things will become nastier soon. The earlier you start to get a grip of your own finances and secure whatever you have NOW, then we should be ok…