I believe Summer is the second most expensive season apart from the Christmas Season, especially for families. 

Why? 

Because it is the time when a lot of people tend to travel to various travel destinations for leisure, because the children have no school and it is a great opportunity for family bonding. Second, because of the burning heat, people would just like to be submerged in cold water or turn on the air conditioner for the whole day if it permits, thus the whopping electric charges. Third, Summer is also the time where you spend for graduations in the month of April and for tuition fees come the month of June.

This should also be time where we find ways to save money and be financially efficient. We should not allow seasons nor anything to control us financially, especially if we are still not financially free.

So how can we save money, eh? Here are some ways you can employ right at you own home.

1. Make your own iced treats.

Of course, everyone would love to have and ice cold treat during summer. But you do not have to buy them every time. I remember making iced candies and lollies or halo halo at home when I was still a kid.

A glass of halo halo costs at least 65PHP when bought in malls. But if you have lots of folks at home, you can just make this treat at home and your 65PHP will go a long way. Or you can make mais con yelo or saba con yelo instead, so it would be much cheaper. 

It would be much cheaper if you would just make iced candies and lollies. But I would advise you to make them from natural sources, such as fruits like mango, melon or watermelon which will also provide good nutrition, thus hitting two birds with one stone, right?

2. Share a room with others.

If their are a lot of people in your household, sharing a room with others especially when you are using air conditioner would help you save electricity charges. 

One thing we do in our home is also opening all the windows before 10AM, because at 10AM that is the time when heat is starting to catapult. But before 10AM the heat is still tolerable and the cold temperature that is from night time will be preserved.

3. Turn off appliances that are not in use.

This is a general advice actually, but when you have children at home sometime you tend to forget turning off the appliances when you are already chasing after your kids.

Make this a routine and it will help you save money.

4. Make or buy your own swimming pool.

If you can not afford to go to the resort everyday and your children would really love take a water plunge, then make your own pool.

For children below two, you can make use of a large basin. For larger kids you can purchase a larger inflatable pool. But always make sure that your children are supervised.

5. Play outdoors.

You can play outdoors especially before 8AM and after 4 PM. This way your children can have lots of fun in the sun. 

You can also play under trees if you live in a place with lots of trees around you. Trees provides a cool breeze which can also help provide coolness to beat the summer heat.

Note: This advice goes out to those who wants to save money and be financially free. If you already are, then maybe you've come to the wrong place.

Photo Credit: Morguefile.com

Girls love to shop, that is a fact. However, shopping can be addicting and can cause damage to finances if not done properly. If you are left with stress after shopping because of high credit card interests, or because you have to borrow money from others to be able to buy your wants, then shopping is not really giving you a positive effect. But if you know how to shop wisely, then shopping will be enjoyable and fun.

But not many of us really know how to shop wisely. It was never taught in school. Most people only learn how to manage their finances when they are already confronted with financial problems.

And since shopping is something that most people do, it is important to learn how to shop wisely. Buying clothes is a necessity, because clothing is something we use everyday. However we should all learn how to buy clothes the frugal and smart way so that it won't hurt our finances.

I have curated simple tips to help you and me to shop for fashion items in a financially intelligent manner. I have made these as part of my personal finance values to help guide whenever I am about to shop for our clothing needs.

1. Make a list.

Make it a habit to scan your wardrobe and list items that you need. Listing what you need will help you allocate a budget for that specific item and will give you enough time to save for it.

Make sure are only listing what you need and not what you want. Because when you actually consider what you want, for sure the list will be endless.

2. Plan your shopping.

When you have already made a list of what you need, then it is now time to plan how to buy those items on your list. Provide a budget for a specific item. For example, I need to buy a pair of running shoes, I will allocate 3000PHP for that running shoes. So the shoes I will be looking for should fit on my budget which is only 3000PHP. When I have already saved up 3000PHP in cash, then that is the time that I am allowed to buy the item.

Also plan your shopping according to scheduled mall or store sales. I like to check sales on malls Facebook page. This way, you can schedule your shopping on the day where there is a mall-wide sale.

3. Shop alone.

If you can shop alone, do it. As much as possible avoid shopping with shopping crazy friends because there is a tendency that they will convince you to buy something that is not your list or something that you do not really need.

Shopping alone will also give you focus. Bringing children especially toddlers along when shopping will divert your attention to their needs and will sometimes cause you to make impulsive shopping decisions.

4. Compare prices between shops.

Before buying an item make sure that you have already checked all the shops offering the same product and be sure to only buy the best deal. Also consider online shops when scouring for best deals.

5. Only buy discounted items.

Why buy clothes at full price when you can actually buy it half the price? Most shopping malls and stores always have their mall sales where items are sold at half the price or even up to 70% off, take advantage of those sales.


6. Shop for items that are classic.

It is very tempting to shop for clothes that are in the fad. Ask yourself if you can still wear that style even when it is no longer in the fad. If not, you should just stick to the basics and shop for classic items which you can wear whatever the fad is.

Do not be a fashion victim. Instead create your own style and stick to that style of your when buying for fashion items.

7. Buy quality items.

Shop for items that can survive the wear and tear longer. It is sometimes enticing to buy the cheapest piece only to find out that it can be worn out with just one use. Always check the quality of the products that you are buying.

Look for quality products especially when buying shoes, because you wear shoes more often and carry the weight of your body so they are much easily worn out. As much as possible go for brands that are known for their quality. Comfort and quality are your first priority when looking for shoes.



8. Pay in cash.

You read it right. Pay in cash. Don't use credit cards if you can not pay it in full because it will only incur interests and will lure you into the debt trap.

Save money for the things you like to buy instead of using your credit cards. If you think you do not have enough knowledge about credit cards, do not use them. But if you can pay your credit cards in full, all the time, then maybe you can use it. Or better yet, use a debit card instead.

When I started this blog, I wanted to share how I can manage to have fun with my kids even with a meager amount. Me and my family have been doing this for the past two years for we were saving up for our Canadian dream which unfortunately was not granted to us. So as of January 2015, we are picking up the pieces of our shattered dreams, moving on and making new dreams for our family.

I also have been following Mr. Chinkee Tan about how I can be able to manage my finances wisely. It is very timely for us, since we only have a very small money to rebuild our dreams and start anew. But when you have goals in life and you know where you want to go, you can face any challenge that confronts you.

Me and my husband came from a family that were not financially intelligent, no one taught us anything on how to properly handle money. Just like any typical Filipino family we were taught to get a college degree, then find work to have a stable income. But what comes next after having an income stream? That is something we were not taught.

We were struggling financially that's a fact. I personally don't want to work as nurse anymore because the income I will receive from that job will never be sufficient instead it will create a more negative balance on our finances and will also not be beneficial for my young children especially if I work night shift. My husband on the other hand, struggled with his computer business not earning as much as it does 3 years ago. But even if we regain a stable income stream we realized that we need to have a plan and change our ways so that when time of drought like this comes, we will not be greatly affected.

I have been maintaining several blogs that provides me with passive income and one of these blogs is this one : The Frugal General. Just this March, while updating my blog I received a message on my Facebook page, which I only created a few days back, from a stranger wanting to have a collaboration with my blog. Just when I thought that nobody reads this blog, finally someone has read it and appreciated my efforts.

It was Mr. Sagarit from International Marketing Group that invited me to a free seminar about Practical Money Management and Investment Strategies. I was hesitant at first, thinking what's in it for me? So i gave it a try and I was very pleased with the first seminar I attended.

The seminar taught me a lot of things that I have never learned before. I used to read Rich Dad, Poor Dad and some of Mr. Chinkee Tan's financial literacy books, but what I have not learned is where to actually invest my money and when is the right time to invest.

The best thing perhaps that I have learned from that seminar was how to Build a Solid Financial Foundation, and it includes these steps:

1. Increase Cash Flow
Yes, this first step may seem obvious, but you really have to increase your cash flow if you want to be able to suffice for all your needs and to have a positive financial status. If you have an increase in cash flow the tendency is you have more money to budget, and more money to spend and save.

But the question is: How? Well first, don't rely on your hand to mouth monthly income. You need to find ways on how you can generate more income.

Apart from increasing your cash flow, you also need to leave within your means. If you spend more than your income, even if you earn a lot, you will still have financial deficit.

2. Invest on Healthcare
Secondly, you have to save for your healthcare. Because your health is your greatest investment, if you suddenly got sick but do not have health insurance, all you investments will go down the drain because you have to use your other investments so you can save your health.

3. Insure Proper Protection
This calls for investing Life Insurance. Because we are all uncertain for our future, if you are the breadwinner in the family, it is important that you have to acquire a life insurance. However, if you have already saved up enough money in the bank which your family can immediately use once something inevitable happens to you, then you can skip this step.


4. Manage Debt
If you have debt, you can start paying them when you already have secured healthcare and life insurance. You should have a repayment plan in managing your debt and make sure that your goal is to pay all of your debts so the rest of your income will be used either for savings or acquiring assets.

5. Create an Emergency Fund
An emergency fund is a sum of money in your savings that is intended solely for emergency purposes. A sum of 3-6 months of your average monthly income is the amount you have to save for your emergency fund.

Failure to save up for an emergency fund can also damage your finance when certain unexpected circumstances happen. So it is a must that you are prepared when that time comes.

6. Acquire Assets

Lastly, when you have already achieved the previous steps it is now time to start acquiring assets through various investment vehicles. You can now buy a real estate property, invest on stocks, buy mutual funds and so on and so forth.

This only the first series of the 33 seminars that they conduct. However, only the first two series can be availed for free. The other series are free for members of IMG.

To learn more about investing and personal finance, you can attend a free seminar conducted by the International Marketing Group through their Wealth Academy.

If you are from General Santos City, I can help schedule a seminar for you by sending me an email through jangfalle@gmail.com.

Or you can answer this simple form below so I can be the one to contact you.