5 Best Money Hacks That Can Really Help You Save Year After Year

Guess what is our 2020 most-read story when it comes to money. If you said social amelioration, you are absolutely right. That goes to show you how this year was — there is no other way to say it — brutal.

There is no denying the quarantine was necessary. But the COVID-19 pandemic caused people to lose their sources of livelihood, not just in the Philippines but globally.

The quarantine forced moms and dads to be extra resourceful. The sideline became a full-time job. The weekend hobby became the week’s family income. And that was not enough.

Based on our most-read stories, many of you wanted to know about online jobs (click here to see which one may suit you) and home-based business ideas. It seemed everyone was hustling.

Money hacks to really help you save year after year

Now, when it comes to money advice outside of having a raket, below are the money hacks we think are reliable. These tips are super helpful, whether there’s a pandemic or not. Now more than ever, we have to be wise about money management, and any of the following can do the trick.

Never underestimate the power of the envelope budgeting method!

Madeline “Madz” Ellado, a member Smart Parenting Village, uses a money organizer to keep her family’s expenses and savings in check. “Full-time housewife ako so wala akong naiaambag sa husband ko for the expenses, so ‘yung pagba-budget sa salary niya, ‘yun ang tulong ko sa kanya. Para alam din namin kung saan napupunta ang kinikita niya.” Read her story here.

Don’t think you have enough? Take inspiration from this mom, whose monthly household budget is P20,000.

Isabel Dizon, a member of our Smart Parenting Network, says you need to be strict with budgeting. She sticks to five rules so she can work with what she’s got. Read how she does it here.

Pay your credit card balance in full every month.

In short, don’t just pay the “minimum amount due.” That’s the tip from Alexis Ohanian, who sold his company Reddit for a US$10 million profit. The husband of tennis superstar Serena Williams said he learned from his parents not to treat a credit card like it’s a debit card. “I didn’t really understand or appreciate the value of compounding interest. It’s a concept I wish I would have learned a lot sooner.”

Read “Millionaires Share the Best Money Advice Their Parents Ever Told Them” here.

Try kakeibo, a no-frills approach to budgeting by the Japanese

Kakeibo, which means “household account book” in Japanese, works like how you would track your expenses on Excel. But the method also involves answering a specific set of questions before purchasing any non-essential items. Those who use kakeibo say these questions make you a smart spender. Read the questions here.

Do the P50 ipon challenge because it works

Don’t take our word for it. A stay-at-home mom of three from our Smart Parenting Village shares, she managed to save P5,000 a month because of this ipon challenge. The stay-at-home mom, who has three kids ages 13, 8, at 1, said she managed to do it despite her husband’s salary of “P370 a day pero may sideline, hindi lang madalas.”

You have to read about her experience here.