What’s Draining Your Wallet?

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Other Ninja Expenses You Should Know of Bakit hindi ka pa nag-iinvest? Saan nga ba napupunta ang pera mo? In my previous blogs, I introduced you to ninja expenses – those small purchases you normally ignore but can pile up if left uncontrolled. In this post, let’s examine what else could be draining your wallet.

INTERNET CAFE

Kung wala kang internet connection sa bahay, baka ito ang isa sa mga ninja expenses mo! Sa bawat kanto, meron tayong makikitang mga internet cafe. For as low as piso per minute, connected ka na sa mga social media accounts mo. Aside from social media, kids nowadays turn to the internet for their research, homework, school projects, and online games.

Sa sobrang affordable ng piso per minute, minsan hindi na napapansin ang ginagastos para dito. Kahit ba piso lang yan, kung several times a day mo na ginagawa, baka di mo namamalayan you’re already spending around 50 pesos per day. Multiply that to thirty days, that’s P1,500 per month!

VICES – CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL

Prices of cigarettes and alcohol increased last January because of the implementation of the sin tax law. Packs of cigarettes are now P5 higher compared to last year. For a smoker, they don’t really have a choice but to deal with the price changes unless they quit. I know some people from our live workshop (where we examine each participant’s spending habit) who spend around P3,000 per month for packs of cigarettes!

Now, I am not in the position to tell them to stop their vices, however, wag sila magtataka kung bakitparang hindi lagi sapat ang pera nila para mag-simula mag-save o invest.

CATCH THOSE NINJAS!

Kung titingnan natin, mukhang maliit na halaga lang ang mga ninja expenses: P1 sa internet at P5 increase sa cigarettes. But as we have seen, these small expenses may add up to significant amounts in months and years. This might be one of the reasons why kahit gusto mo mag-save at invest, parang hindi laging sapat ang pera para dito.

One way to help you catch these ninja expenses is by monitoring where your money goes daily. It can be very difficult listing all your expenses at first but if you are really determined to change your financial life, this practice can be very helpful. However, it doesn’t end there.

It’s what you actually do with the information you gathered that will help you determine which expense you can minimize or eliminate completely. Once you are successful in doing so, hopefully you’ll have some extra cash which you can put in your savings or investments.

I’m sure each one of us has a ninja expense of our own. The truth is, wala naman kasing masama sa mga ito. Ang importante lang, alam mo kung saan talaga ang pera mo dahil walang ibang mag-aalaga nito kundi ikaw.