Day #5: Pick 2 No-Spending Days This Month
Here’s today’s installment:
Today’s Task: Pick 2 no-spending days this month
Look at your calendar. Pick two days, it doesn’t matter if they’re one week apart or if you pick two succeeding days. Then, label these days as your no-spending days. Write it down somewhere, preferably a desktop calendar or something that you look at every day. Then, commit to it.
Sure, it’s impossible to have absolutely no spending in one day. After all, we use electricity, food, and water daily. In this case, when we say “no spending” we mean no cash out. Don’t even charge your credit card.
But what about transportation? Well, you can either pick a day where you don’t have to go to work or run errands. Or find a way to get to your destination for free (carpool, walking, biking) – as long as it’s practical. Or you can simply aim to spend less on transportation that day (take the jeep instead of a taxi, etc.).
What about food? Cook. I’m amazed when I hear about people who are college graduates and have been employed for a while yet can’t cook anything. That’s a very, very basic skill that everyone needs to learn. It’s your nutritional intake, for crying out loud. Kahit pagsaing lang ng kanin o paglaga lang ng itlog. Don’t know how to do these things? Learn. Kaya nga may Google.
Why do this at all? It’s not just about lessening your expenses, it’s also about doing a practical experiment to see what you can cut back on. It’s easy to overlook spending on daily coffee, convenience foods, and other unnecessary daily expenses, then wonder where your paycheck went. By seeing how little you can spend on some days, you’ll have a more realistic idea about the expenses you can do without. Who knows, you might end up having one no-spending day each week.
Personally, I’m picking December 5 and December 7.
Read MoreFree Ebook: Thriving on Less
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
Almost the entire world is facing a financial crisis. During times like these, it’s important to cut back on our spending and save for the future. But is it possible to do that without sacrificing your enjoyment of life?
Leo Babauta’s new free ebook, “Thriving on Less: Simplifying in a Tough Economy” addresses the steps we have to take to lead more enriching lives – and save money in the process. A much needed message in tough economic times.
Here’s what you’ll learn from the ebook:
- How to create a simple lifestyle
- How to focus on “enough” instead of “more”
- How to beat the effects of advertising
- Steps on how to make small financial changes
- How to look at large, long term expenses
- Tips on how to change spending habits
- How to get out of debt
If you want to download a free copy of this ebook, simply click here.
Read MoreMaking the SuperFerry Stateroom More Affordable
Last week, my partner and I went to Cebu and Bohol on our vacation. Since the ferry trips took 24 hours or more, we wanted to make sure that our accommodations were comfortable.
The Manila-bound tickets we initially bought were for cabin accommodations. This was okay, since the 2 of us were the only ones in the cabin, so we had our privacy. Cabins can accommodate 4 to 8 people, depending on the vessel, and each cabin has its own TV and bathroom. But when we were going back to Manila from Cebu, our cabin had 5 other people in it, so we had to upgrade accommodations to have our privacy.
For the SuperFerry 1 vessel bound for Manila, getting the stateroom accommodations in the SuperFerry offices meant paying P3,962.99 for two people (net fare including taxes and fees, and without meals). However, by getting the upgrade on the ship itself,we were able to save P1,843.19!
How did this happen? When we approached the vessel’s front desk, the person in charge told us that we only had to add P700 to our original fare (which was P1,419.80). That’s only P350 each! This would make our new fare P2,119.80, which is much cheaper than the P3,962.99 that we would’ve paid if we purchased stateroom tickets in the first place.
This was a real bargain because stateroom accommodations have a much bigger bathroom, a bed for two (rather than one small bed each), and a private viewing deck. Also, your TV gets a wider range of channels (the TVs in other accommodations can only view GMA and ABS-CBN). You also have a desk, chairs, and a nightstand. You can also request hot and cold drinking water to be brought to your room.
The only downside to doing this is that if all the staterooms are full, then you can’t get an upgrade. Also, you’ll have to reserve your upgrade as soon as you get on the vessel, or others who want to request an upgrade might get ahead. But if you travel during off-season or the shoulder season, there’s a good chance that there will be empty staterooms and fewer passengers to compete against.
I also don’t know if you can have the same amount of savings in other vessels, but I think that it’s likely. After all, you’re already on the ship, and if there are vacant staterooms, at least SuperFerry can still earn from them because of your upgrade.
Have you experienced this yourself? What do you do to make ferry accommodations more affordable? Please share any tips or comments with us 
Note: Prices are accurate at the time of writing.
Read MoreFree and Inexpensive Valentine's Day Ideas
It’s two days away from Valentine’s Day! Are you prepared? If you’ve got someone special I have a suggestion – forget the usual rose bouquet and expensive chocolates.
Honestly, I pity the nervous and sweaty guys and girls who panic at the last minute and go out and buy the most expensive flowers, stuffed toys, or chocolates they see at the store. Valentine’s Day should be a happy, relaxing day for lovers – not a cause for stress.
Here are more wallet-friendly ways to spend Valentine’s day:
Write something. Whether it’s a card, poem, or letter, creating something with simple pen and paper is so rare these days that this kind of effort would be appreciated.
Cook a meal together. Not only is it cheaper than a romantic restaurant, it’s fun too. Besides, with a few candles and a small table set up perfectly, you wouldn’t be lacking in ambiance. What if you don’t have the funds to buy extra ingredients? Check out SuperCook. It’s a great site that gives you recipes based on the ingredients you already have at home. If you make mistakes, that’s fine You’ll have something funny to talk about for the rest of the year.
Handpick and arrange flowers yourself. If you have a garden (or have access to one), it’s much more creative to handpick flowers yourself. Roses are so commonplace during Valentine’s day that it’ll probably be refreshing for your significant other to receive something else. Besides, the prices of roses tend to skyrocket during Valentine’s Day.
Speaking of flowers, if you find scattered petals laying around (or if the flowershop would be willing to give you some for free), you can use these. Whether it’s to decorate a bathroom, bedroom, or dinner table for V-day, they’re beautiful and cost-effective.
Take a walk together. Never mind going to Baguio or Tagaytay and spending thousands of pesos for lodging (I have a friend who spent P10,000 on just an overnight stay!) A nice walk or hike around UP, Antipolo, and some grassy areas in Marikina can lead to great conversations. If you prefer an indoor walk, there are several museums you can visit. The Vargas Museum in UP Diliman currently has a Florante at Laura exhibit you shouldn’t miss.
Watch DVDs. True, you can watch a movie in a mall theater, but so will every couple in Metro Manila. It’s bound to get crowded – which is hardly romantic or private. Odds are, you and your significant other have some unwatched DVDs. Now’s the perfect time to finally watch them. Or, you can rent DVDs from a video store.
What are your plans for Valentine’s Day? How much has it cost you in the past?
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