Financial Fridays #1: Top Limiting Beliefs About Saving Money!

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For roughly 3 years, I've managed to save more than half a million in cash. I couldn't believe it either. I couldn't believe how I was able to accumulate such an amount. But I did.

I know what you're thinking right now. I can sense it even if we are miles and miles apart. You're thinking at least one of the following upon reading the first paragraph of this article:

• that I came from a rich family
• that I am the only child
• that I'm only looking out for myself and has no family to feed
• that I have no responsibilities at home whatsoever
• that I'm well compensated at my one and only job
• that I only pay my only bills
• that I am a caveman who doesn't have a social life
• that I have a sugar daddy (although I'm hoping you wouldn't think I have one 🤣)
• that I bet in Lotto and won a minor prize once or twice (I can only wish 🤣)

Well, I can continue listing down whatever things I could think of whenever I hear someone say "I've saved more than half a million" and before I know it, the list will be too long.

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Why am I starting my Financial Fridays series?

Financial Literacy is one of my many advocacies. Since when did Financial Literacy become an advocacy one devotes herself into? Since the day I encountered people who unfortunately without the foundational knowledge of managing their finances end up losing whatever hard-earned money they have (whether they got it from their paycheck or profit from a business or from winning the lottery) without securing the fundamentals (i.g. emergency fund). And it saddens me because if someone could only guide them or if the basics of Financial Literacy are introduced as early as high school or college, perhaps they'll be better at this aspect.

You may ask if I didn't learn it from school, where did I learn it? As for my case, I really don't know how my parents did it, I mean how they raised me to be great at this. One thing's for sure, I owe most of my skills in managing money to my parents by their good example.

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What are we going to talk about today?

If you ask me "So, how do I start saving?" I won't tell you to automate your savings and get 20% of your total income and save it right away. That's not how things will work. It might work but will not be sustainable in the long run. And just to be clear, managing your finances is more than just saving, saving, and saving. And with the limited experience and knowledge I have, I'll share as much as I can here in Hive. 😊

Just like anything else, say achieving your target muscle to fat ratio, or your goal weight or another personal best in running in terms of speed or distance, there's one thing we need to influence. And once we get this one thing right, we become unstoppable. Any idea what this one thing is? 🤔

MINDSET. MINDSET. MINDSET.

That's why today, we'll talk about some money mindsets that have been making us prisoners of our own doubts and beliefs founded decades ago that sadly have been passed on generation after generation.

And today, I'll share my personal experiences with these limiting beliefs. Starting in 3, 2, 1! Let's go!

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This is perhaps the most popular limiting belief we grew up with. If you're poor, the last thing expected from you is to save money. If you're poor, the default is that it's okay not to save anything. On the other hand, the rich people are expected to be richer and richer and richer as the years pass by.

But at this early, let me tell you this, saving and Financial Literacy, in general, is not merely for the rich, it's for everyone to learn and to apply.

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As you may have heard, Filipinos are all over the globe. Nope! Not to travel for leisure but to work. Based on the data provided by Philippine Statistics Authority, there's a whopping 2.2 million (as of 2020) Overseas Filipino Workers in all parts of the world.

I have friends and relatives who went abroad because they have to support their families. They see that going abroad was, perhaps, the only way out of poverty. But I believe, although yes, going abroad can make things better, this is not the only way there is to live a better life.

And did you hear about stories of OFWs earning 6-digit figures for years and going home without savings, without life insurance, without emergency fund, without any investment whatsoever? Sounds familiar, right? The sad point is that when they come home, they go back to square one. That is where Financial Literacy should come in.

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At 20 years old, I was out of school just like the rest of the kids in my neighborhood. We're done with college and we're happy to be out and running in the real world.

To be honest, I felt too young that during my first year of working in the corporate world, my goal was to leave no penny behind. That means spending whatever is left from my paycheck after paying what needs to be paid, bills and all.

I'd go trekking weekend after weekend with friends, workmates. Aside from traveling, I spent most of my hard-earned money on food, unhealthy food which led to my obesity (We'll definitely talk about how I regained my Health and Wellness one of these days!)

Then one day, when my mother was advised to get knee surgery, that I need to start saving for it. Then it hit me, if not now, when am I going to start?

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I've heard this limiting belief more than my fingers could count it. That saving means giving up EVERYTHING you love. But I love slurping a cup of chocolate-drizzled frappe on my red days, I love to go on long backpacking trips around my country during summer, I love wearing clothes that will magnify my confidence and dependability as a leader in and out of the office. I love dining out with my close friends in restaurants we haven't tried. I love spending weekends on staycations with my boyfriend. Then there's this belief telling me to entirely give up my lifestyle and no matter which angle we look at there's no way we can give up things we truly love.

Whoever inculcated this limiting belief in us is crazy. Paying close and serious attention to your finances is not all or nothing. It's not choosing between what you love versus saving that emergency fund.

It is about balance tho. It is about prioritization. It is about discipline. But above anything else, it is not all or nothing.

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I can remember the time when I told my parents that they can stop working and I'll take care of everything for them.

Don't raise your brows just yet.😁 It is easy to say that we shouldn't be the retirement plans of our parents. I've always admired parents who were able to secure their retirement while making sure their kids get the best life altogether. But as for my parents, they didn't make it to highschool; Ma not even fourth grade. But they've successfully raised four kids, sent them to the best school in town, gave them wonderful lives, and most importantly broke the cycle of poverty for their kids.

My father is now 77 years old and my mother is 66 years old. My mother has osteoarthritis in both knees which prompted me to convince her and Pa to stop the operation of our small eatery. And from then on I've been providing for everything in our house from water and electricity bills, to food and other groceries to medical needs and even the things you couldn't predict when to run out. Yup, I'm talking about the gas for cooking! 😞

Since I got my first salary, I have never asked for money from my mother. I've been supporting myself from allowance, transportation, travel funds, clothing, personal care, and others. It's liberating, you know.

But it's also liberating to be allocating about 30-35% of my salary to support my family's needs since 2016. That's a big chunk. If I wasn't supporting them, I'm already a millionaire now. But would I change anything? No. No matter how difficult things have been for us, I never felt I lacked anything. Ma and Pa always ensured that we ate the best food, get the best education, sheltered with warmth and protection in our humble abode. And yes, at 20 I've been raising a family of four (4). Looks like I'm practicing for my own family someday. I'll be an expert by then. Haha!

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I have nothing against my sister who works as a full-time mom and a full-time freelancer who earns twice, thrice my salary, and my eldest sister who runs several general merchandise stores in one of the key cities in Cebu.

And here I am, the youngest in the family, a corporate slave for the past six (6) years who apparently doesn't have any inclination to doing business even with a Management degree.

"You'll never go big when you are working for others" "You'll just live paycheck after paycheck and save nothing at the end. The corporate world will just exhaust your energy".

One day, I might change my mind, who knows? But right now, my company and my job have provided me endless opportunities for stability and growth.

And yes, I managed to save a little money after a few years of working. Not bad, right? Although I know I can certainly do better. But I'm trying to strike a balance between earning money and doing something I truly find genuine growth, pleasure, happiness, and fulfillment. And so far, my current provides all of the above.

If one thing's certain, I couldn't be working just for money. I don't live for money alone.

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"I only earn a minimum pay. Saving is impossible." "I'll start saving when I get promoted" "I'll start saving when I get a new and better paying job"

It's tempting, isn't it? To fall prey to this limiting belief. I'm now paid twice as much as my first salary. But if I didn't start being disciplined when my salary was small, I don't think I can handle managing my salary now.

There is no such rule that says you can only save when you put in 20,000 in your savings account. The only established rule is to save 20% of your salary, regardless if your salary is minimum or above the minimum. But you can always veer away from this, you can put in 500 or 1,000, and in no time, you'll complete your emergency or travel fund.

If we keep putting things on hold, we might find ourselves not starting anything at all and that's an area of concern we keep finding ourselves trapped inside. It's fine to be trapped once, twice but to be trapped all our lives is certainly another story. Now ask yourself, do you want to be trapped forever?

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With absolute clarity, I can remember the time when my mother kept adding water to the boiling pot of water because my father is still finding a way to buy cornmeal that my mother's supposed to cook for our supper that day. I can only imagine the frustrations of my mother, the thoughts that if and only if we have enough money, we'd never have to go through this scenario. But this paved way to all the efforts I've put in to make sure that if I'm the one providing for them or for my own family in the future, this will never happen again.

Despite the real hardships that my parents went through, I've seen that poverty never stopped them to give better lives to me and my siblings. And if not for their belief that one day it's possible to break the cycle of poverty, I won't be here sharing my story with you.

I put this as last on my list because this resonates with many of us. And this is one powerful limiting belief that has been stopping people to be better at anything actually not just in terms of finances.

And the next time this reaches your eardrum, tell yourself: So what if I'm poor now? In no time, I'll be out of this situation.

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It's not entirely my fault or your fault if, at some point, these limiting beliefs have stopped us from taking a step further towards better days and better lives.

Let me just highlight this before we end:

We are not our limiting beliefs. But we are what we do to conquer these limiting beliefs. We are what we do to break free.

So the next moment you doubt if you can do it, think about it. Will you be a slave to these limiting beliefs forever? I bet you don't, you know you don't.

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I'm loving Financial Fridays! I'm feeling the thrill one gets when you share what you're truly passionate about. ❤

Thank you for being here as I launched my first ever Financial Friday post. In the next Financial Fridays, I'll talk about some practical tips on how to control your money and not the other way around. These practical tips are too practical you'll be telling me why the heck I'm writing about it. Sometimes what's obvious is rarely seen as important.

That's it! I hope this post reaches someone who needs to hear/read what I just shared! 😊

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