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What Does It Mean To Be Financially Stable?

Having a significant amount in the bank, a friend said. If I can pay for all my needs and I still have money left in the bank.

How much is “significant amount”? What needs are you talking about? I asked.

My friend can’t really figure out how much, the amount keeps on increasing and the needs keep on expanding.

For most people, winning the lottery is the only way to be financially stable. Otherwise, it will always be a struggle financially.

I read that becoming a financially stable person is achievable with focused attention to your spending habits and future thinking. The key to being financially stable is to know where you are financially today and know where you want to be.


I found some pointers in different websites on how to become financially stable. Most of them are easier said than done and it takes a lot of discipline to do it. But nevertheless, it’s not impossible.

I am going to share a few of what I already did and my personal experiences with it.

Spend Less Than What You Earn

This is very popular but very unpopular when it comes to people doing it. Had I done this, considering the number of years I have been working, I would have substantial amount in the bank right now. What makes it difficult? I can provide a number of reasons. Believe me, I am what I am talking about. I will make a different post on this topic.

Have a personal financial plan

I did this for a while. It started when I work as volunteer in a mission organization. It’s not really a plan at that time. It was only a simple listing of my daily expenditures. The good thing was, I knew where my money goes and knew at the end of the day whether I made the right decision with how I handled my finances.

My real plan started when I quit working in the organization, maybe because I was already earning or getting paid for my work. The thought of having a plan was essential, especially that I was not working fulltime, my income was not regular. It worked for me. But, something happened somewhere. I got lost. I can’t even remember when exactly I stopped having a plan. It seemed like I fell asleep and woke-up in trouble with my finances.

My plan was really simple. Why should I complicate something for myself? I just listed what I really need against my expected income. There’s a qualifier “really” in the need. Not just “need”. Part of what I “really need” is forced-savings. Forced savings is like a sinking-fund. It doesn’t have to be big. It can be ridiculously small but it’s a lot better than nothing at all.

Income – savings = expenses. You probably heard of this formula before. It is quite similar to what I did but this formula is difficult to do. Nothing is constant in that formula. When everything is variable, it means you have to keep changing everything. Changing everything almost every time will take most of your time and it means a lot of work.

Financial Stability Is An Attitude

I would like to end this post with a really nice and so far the best definition I heard about being financially stable. Many years back I watched three Filipino celebrities being interviewed on TV. The topic as far as I can remember was about “When is the right time to get married.” Being financially stable was the most important factor being considered. The two actors almost had the same perspective about being financially stable; the third one got my attention. He defined financial stability as “an attitude towards money”. It’s not about how much money you have, but how well you handle what you already have. Whatever your economic status, you can be financially stable. It’s only a matter of attitude.

22 comments:

  1. ui..pers onor ako...wee..

    i agree with that agen..

    it's a matter of attitude..madalas kapag lumalaki na kita ng tao..dumadami na din ang luho niya sa buhay..at nagmamahal na ang mga necessities..

    hays..di naman nakukuntetno ang tao eh..sad to say..

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  2. sabi nila, the more you make money, the more you need...

    because when you have more, chances are you want to spend more...

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  3. ako poor ako haha

    at magastos salamat sa post na ito hehe

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  4. @vanvan and @roy, sana mas dumadami pa ang income kaysa gastos ano? hehehe...

    @Mac, poor din ako.. at magastos din, kaya kailangan talaga maghanap ng paraan..

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  5. i've been doing things that u've mentioned and still dont have substantial savings...

    question: hanggang kailan ka tutulong sa pamilya? on my case, i could save for my future if i will stop sending money to them. di ko sila matiis...

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  6. @MrCens, helping your family has no end, because it doesn't have a beginning. Helping your family is not a responsibility, it's something that you love. Just as you have said "di mo sila matiis", same with me, my income goes to my family, my brothers, my pamangkins and even goes beyond to my uncles... but it is something that we love doing, it is something that will make us happy to the point that we are in pain... You know mrcens, kahit ubusin mo ang pera mo sa luho mo, you will not be happy kung mga mahal mo sa buhay at naghihirap.

    But all of the above is not an excuse for you not to have savings.. di naman kailangan malaki ang e set aside mo every payday, kahit 1% lang nga income mo goes to savings, in time, it will grow. Huwag mo lang galawin.

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  7. sir yong, salamat sa advice mo! parang sa dart, na hit mo ang bull's eye.

    did u know that i was in great pain now while reading this, ang sakit kasi ngipin ko.. arrraayyy!!!

    nevertheless, my Php. 100 worth of call to my mom eased the pain a little bit. bwesit na camera to, nasa tabi ko na sya, wala man lang naitulong! "kahit ubusin mo ang pera mo sa luho mo, you will not be happy kung mga mahal mo sa buhay at naghihirap."

    my love for my family is endless and myself follows... kaya certified no bf/gf since birth ako, meron fling lang! hahahaha...

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  8. "kung mga mahal mo sa buhay AY naghihirap." mali spelling...

    Bakit pala kung love mo ang family mo... di ka mag bf/gf... hehehe... di ka pa noon, dalawa na mag mahal sa family mo...ikaw at ang iyong partner... hehehe...

    Warning, ayaw ibalik sa ako ang pangutana ha... hahahaha!!

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  9. Tama ka dyan Elyong. It's all about attitude and spending less, a lot less than we earn. Kuminsan kasi pag may savings tayo, kumakati ang kamay natin para gastusin. :-) The thing is we should really control our money and try to only spend for what we need.

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  10. I agree. I agree. That's why I'm TRYING to live a frugal life. But then there are just times when one can't help but splurge on little things once in a blue moon.

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  11. sir, copy and paste lang yun from your text, hahaha!!!

    bakit napakaDEFFENSIVE mo? do you think makakapasa ako sa standards mo kapag niligawan kita, hahahahah!!!

    i hope my question is not related on what you warned me not to throw it back to you... :)

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  12. @ron, attitude is something not easy to change because it is develop overtime... great discipline and a mentor would be of great help.

    @bisaja, being frugal is something not many of us have.. me too is trying to be one... or better not TRY, but i'll just do it.

    @Mrcens, hehehe hindi namann ikaw ang kinorek ko eh, nakita ko lang yon after you have copied and pasted it.. hahahaha... i was correcting myself. You caught me offguard with that question... nag blush tuloy ako.. hehehe..

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  13. this is a very helpful post.

    unfortunately,for most of us,job means

    J - ust
    O - ver
    B - roke

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  14. hayst for me self discipline is the best way to get rid of those unnecessary expenses

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  15. everything is relative

    ang malaki sa isa, maliit naman para sa iba
    yan ang realidad ng buhay
    =)

    happy weekend, elyong

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  16. wow. this blog is so nice and very informative. i'll be a regular visitor. good work my man!

    TL
    thecrazylifeoftl.blogspot.com

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  17. this are just common sense tips but are usually taken for granted. thanks for the reminder!

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  18. I like this post.

    Most people tend to forgot to be financial stable is not about how much you earn but how much you save.

    Buy only necessary things :)

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  19. I like the advice listed here - great stuff, for sure. Perhaps if more people paid attention to this, we would have fewer problems in the world.

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  20. @flamindevil, nice acronym.. hehehe

    @bluedreamer27, you're correct, discipline is the key.

    @Raft3r, yup, iba ang laki mo kesa laki ko. :)

    @Crazy TL, thanks.. :)

    @Ming Meows, usually the basic thins in life are taken for granted..

    @Faisal Admar, yup, anyone can be financially stable because it's not about how much you have..

    @bryan, thanks bryan... i visited your blog.. you have a great one too.. ;)

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  21. yay sapul ako dun hahaha.
    sigh, ako magastos, lahat ng bisyo alam, shoppaholic, galit sa pera (masama ang loob pag my hawak na pera gusto palagi gastusin lol), sana naman mamulat nako sa katotohanan at maisip kong tumatanda nako hahaha.

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  22. "Whatever your economic status, you can be financially stable. It’s only a matter of attitude." I like this quote. I have an entire blog devoted to this topic. check it out here.

    ReplyDelete

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