How One Peso Savings can have Better Rewards

It's almost the end of the month, which means PAYDAY! This usually means time to pay the bills. For most of us though, it means time for some rewards after a couple of hard weeks like:

• family bonding at the nearest Sagmyupsal restaurant with the family
• a visit to the department store because most malls also have these red tag sales on going
• maybe even a scroll to your add to cart section and clicking buy now on the whole list.

We do need to remind ourselves not to over do it, because if you save more instead of spend more, you're actually giving yourself better rewards.


Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas recently did a survey on consumer expectations for the first quarter of 2019. Long story short, 63.4% of pinoy households did not have any savings. Another survey of BSP  showed that only 22.6% of Filipino adults had formal financial accounts (bank, e-Money, microfinance, cooperatives) and the rest remain unbanked. (BSP Financal Inclusion Survey)

This is a sad number because with today's financial technology, new platforms have come up to provide easier ways to pay and to save. Leading mobile wallet GCash for example is encouraging its users to save more by:

depositing at least P1 peso for the first time in your GSave account and get a share from a pot of P2 million. So why save? It’s rewarding!

Emergencies? No Problem, I've saved!

Think about it. That couple times you had milk tea or coffee in your favorite coffee shop for a week would amount to around 300 pesos. If you saved it instead,in a span of 1 month you will have an extra 1200 pesos which could have been used in case of an emergency. I've been there before when we had to hospitalize my daughter, and bills can go pretty high. Emergency funds for yourself or your family is really important.

Me realizing that I should've just bought souvenirs from Hong Kong instead of milk tea. HAHAHA

Capital for High Yield Investments 

If you're consistent enough, your savings will definitely reach a certain level overtime that makes you qualified to get your own official bank account. You can then let your money work for you. How? By investing in things with high returns like stocks, bonds or Mutual Funds. I've got one on MF, and the return of investment is definitely better than those in a time deposit, or those times I had pizza for the whole family cause the money has definitely doubled over time.

Increased Happiness 

In the long run, when you're at a certain age, you will be looking back and wish you have some semblance of financial freedom. Having savings is the first step to getting financial security. Plus you'll be happier that you can take care of yourself even when you're old and retired, plus spoil your family too in the process. This financial security ultimately leads to increased happiness, according to a 2013 survey by Ally Bank of the United States. Respondents in the survey said having spare money in the bank enhanced their well being even more than having a good job, doing regular exercise, or having a healthy meal.

So how about starting your own savings? Start with just a peso TODAY. It will go a long way.