I'm reading a book on how to manage our personal finances

@pahak627 (4558)
Philippines
January 6, 2013 6:38am CST
This is a book written by 2 filipino authors. It teaches us on how to live within 70 per cent of our means with the 30 per cent to go to our savings and for miscellaneous expenses. As of this moment, I like reading it and they applying what I read. Hope it can help me with my financial situation right now. I'm full of debts at this time.
1 person likes this
10 responses
@julyteen (13252)
• Davao, Philippines
7 Jan 13
I love to read such kind of book. I want to manage my finances. Aside from that, I also love to read books related to business how people determine to become successful despite of the hardship they are facing everyday while running their own business.
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
I have bought this book at Fully Booked at Gateway when I was there since the other week until last Saturday. I just bought it for the sake of reading but I was tempted to apply it in my daily life. I also like to read business related books and I love and enjoy it.
@julyteen (13252)
• Davao, Philippines
8 Jan 13
Of course we should apply all the knowledge we got from the books we read. It's not like a pocketbook that after you read and entertain the essence of what we read gone. I have a collection of books written by Og Mandino. If you have time try to search "The Greatest Salesman in the World". Best book I read.
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
I'll take note of that book so that I can also read it.
• Philippines
6 Jan 13
Hi pahak! I recommend Francisco Colayco's books- Wealth Within Your Reach and Make Your Money Grow. They are very informative and fun to read. I especially liked the 2nd book- Make Your Money Grow. Some of the things I learned from him are: 1. Earnings - Savings = expenses 2. We must save at least 20% of our income regularly 3. It is advisable to save and grow money while you are in your 20's and 30's but regardless of age, it is a must to save! 4. Invest. Time and Compounding are our best friends! He also has book entitled Pisobilities which is a summarized version of the 2 books I mentioned at much cheaper price. Two of my goals this year are to handle my personal finances and to establish my net worth. Reading books on finances and actually putting them into action are the best steps in attaining Financial Freedom!
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
6 Jan 13
Thanks for the recommendation, I'll write that in my list. We have the same goals however, I don't know if I can still make it because I have debts. I'm planning to discontinue with my credit card and instead make do with my debit card. But I still have a year to fully pay a debt on installment.
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
7 Jan 13
Thank you so much. I learned so much from your response. Hope I can make it, and I mean it.
• Philippines
6 Jan 13
I discontinued my credit card two years ago. I got to where I owed P15,000 so I paid it immediately in fear of being blacklisted. So now I don't have any debt except for my SSS which I am paying through salary deduction. I don't intend on getting another credit card because it overwhelms me. Haha. Maybe someday if I terribly need it.. You are doing your first step to financial freedom. Pay off all your debts because they accumulate over time and just be conscious on your spending habits. Good luck to us!
@alottodo (3056)
• Australia
6 Jan 13
I don't know your age but I must say any age is good to start managing your finances I learnt it from a young age my father insisted on it[as a female]we should know how to manage money whether we are rich,poor or in the middle he said a good wife should be smart managing the household finances! and I guess he was right! I have manage my household finances for years! good luck I hope you get out of debt soon.
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
6 Jan 13
I wish that I should have started reading this book when I was younger so that at this time, I may have already in a good financial condition though it is said that we can start at any age. Anyway, I'm still lucky to have this book.
• Philippines
9 Jan 13
Yes, Pahak, I also realized that. I should have started saving money while in Highschool.
@grkelly (1206)
• Malta
6 Jan 13
It is a good idea to read such practical books from time to time. Unfortunately I tend to read 'stories' such as fiction and so on. However it is a good idea to devote some time to reading books such as this as you would be learning things that can be applied in practice and you can become a better person in a number of ways ex. learn how to save money, how to utilize funds properly, how to avoid spending money uselessly.
• Philippines
6 Jan 13
Hi grkelly, I like reading fiction books too and sometimes I am torn between "young adult" novels and self-help books.
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
6 Jan 13
Since you're still young, you may not be interested on this kind of books. Maybe when you're older, you may like reading this.
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
Uhmm.. I'm not young anymore not unless you consider 29 years old young.. But nevertheless, when I grow old, I think I would still love reading fiction novels. Young adult especially
• Philippines
7 Jan 13
Hello Pahak! Happy New Year! I have the book Pisobilities. It is very informative but haven't made my pie chart yet. What I do now is, I invest in small scale business and I list all my daily expenses. Sadly, I always exceed in my monthly budget ( at ;east I know where most of our money goes) Because of that book, it made me realize that it is better to invest (even if it is a small time business) than freeze our money in the bank.
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
That's a good book, I guess. Wish I could also read that book, I'll look for it too. I also exceed my monthly budget. In fact, I always withdraw an amount from my savings account in order to defray the excess expenses.
• Philippines
9 Jan 13
I set my monthly budget to 5k a month but I realized that my lifestyle could not afford this budget even though I am frugal. Most of my money goes to groceries and utility bills. This goes to say that, when I retire, ( 30 years from now) 5k will not be enough to suffice my monthly needs. Instead of cost-cutting, I increased my monthly contribution in SSS and Pagibig lols.
• China
7 Jan 13
It is a good idea to manage our personal finances, i think everyone should have the awareness of that. I earn a regular salary every month, but i don't have a plan for that. So, I will follow you to know more information about finance management and then have at try.
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
7 Jan 13
Good, so we'll make it together. There are books by Francisco Colayco that were recommended by one of our responders here. We'll try to read them too. As of now, I'm contented with my book because in our province, there is no National Bookstore in which we can find almost all the books that we need.
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
Thanks Belle, I'll check on that.
• Philippines
7 Jan 13
National bookstore has an online store. Here's the link http://www.nationalbookstore.com.ph/
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
6 Jan 13
Reading that book is a positive step toward getting out of debt. I think one of the most important things to learn is the difference between wants and needs. A lot of people think they need new things when they really don't, they just want them. That's where a lot of most peoples' money goes, toward wants instead of needs. I hope you get it all under control and prosper!!
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
6 Jan 13
For me, I read the book because I wanted to be out of debt in a short time and I just hope that I can attain this goal.
@bellis716 (4799)
• United States
8 Jan 13
Hooray for you. I think it is great that you are taking a reasonable course to reducing your debts. It will take time to accomplish your goal, but it will be worth it. When you are out of debt, I hope you will stay debt free.
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
8 Jan 13
Thanks. I really hope that I will be debt free soon.
@tiffnkeat (1673)
• Singapore
6 Jan 13
That is great. It doesn't matter who wrote them as most basics would probably be the same. It shows you are preparing for the future. If only I could have such foresight earlier. All the best to your financial plans and future.
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
6 Jan 13
It's not late for us to prepare for the future. I guess I'm late for this but because I have accumulated debts which I wanted to be minimized if not stopped, I have to learn on financial management.
• Philippines
10 Jan 13
Hi again Pahak :) It is nice you started reading financial books that could help you increase your financial literacy. You said you are in a financial situation right now? I want to help you coz I've experienced a lot of challenging things in life but a good friend helped me out so I want to return the help by helping other people. We have a project that educate people about finances and teaches filipinos how to save, invest, budget money and other stuff. I'm not sure if we have a team member based in your area that could help you out understand and learn more about financial matters then it is up to you what steps you will take. The teaching is free and the only thing we want is to share what you learn to other people. It is hard to explain everything here but you can ping me if you are interested to learn more and also I can share some notes maybe via online that you could also read. Good luck and Godbless :)