Branded or Unbranded?

Up to this day, at 16 months, my son still uses a ton of diapers. Now, imagine how much a 30-piece pack of diapers cost and multiply it by say 4 weeks (assuming that 30 pieces is enough to last a week, which usually does not happen). Depending on the brand you are buying for your kid, the cost could be anywhere from P1,800 to 2000 or as much as P3000 for some really high-end brands (P48 = $1) such as Mamy Poko. Quite expensive for tushy wrappers, right? That’s branded for you.

When my son was born, like any other parent, I wanted nothing but the best baby items for him. I scoured the internet for brands other mothers highly recommended. I bought the best newborn diaper and for the next 6 months of his life I stuck to the same brand, though in a different size. Add to that my efforts to ensure that he gets all his vaccines, vitamins and well-baby check ups. In the first 6 months of my baby’s life, money was not an object. I was in love.

When we were deciding on the details of his Christening, I had to do a double take. I realized that those first 6 months did quite a number on our bank account. Sad to say, we did not have the amount we needed to hold the kind of Christening we wanted for our son. Oh, we still had our son Christened but it was enough for me to do a reality check.

I went back to the online forums for parents and that is where I was introduced to “unbranded” or generic diapers. I was amazed that there was such a thing! The best part is it cost only half of what a branded diaper would cost. I was ecstatic!

So ecstatic was I that I decided to make a business out of selling unbranded diapers to other “budgetarians” or cost-conscious mothers.

Ever since I discovered unbranded diapers, my son has used nothing but those. And they are not very different from the branded ones he has used except for the plain plastic packaging. The unbranded diapers my son uses are also cloth-like, comes in either Velcro or tape adhesive and is also as absorbent as branded ones. So why spend more when a less expensive one can do the job just as well?

Bon appe-CHEAP

Did you know that aside from the supposed health benefits to be derived from going the vegetarian way, it will save you a lot of money as well? Contrary to popular belief, being a “vegetarian” need not be expensive.

Although true-blue and pure-blooded vegetarians might argue that what I’m cooking is not really in accordance with the established laws of vegetarianism, the fact that my family is consuming more vegetables than what “normal” or average people would is good enough for me. Why? If you follow “eating according to your astrological sign ” (Yup, there is such a thing. Gretchen Barretto swears by it) you will know that Leos and Ariens are supposed to benefit more from eating more meats than veggies. So, we are actually going against our “predisposed diets” in the name of frugality. Hahaha!

Seriously, aside from the health benefits, (I’m sure no one will argue that veggies and fruits are good for you) serving more veggies to your family would save you a lot of money in the long run. Not only are you serving healthier meals, you are saving a good few bucks as well. Who’s not gonna be a believer with that proposition?

With the advent of the swine flu, wouldn’t you want to be munching on lettuce leaves instead of the crispy pata (deep-fried pork legs) or chicharon (pork rind)? You and I know “bawal magkasakit… kasi mahal ma-ospital” (to get sick is forbidden because hospitalization is expensive). Surely you will agree that not getting sick will surely save you a lot of money. As they say, “health is wealth”. But more than the wise adage, Filipinos know that medicines and medical care in the Philippines cost an arm and a leg, as with all others.

So what am I driving at? When I finally had a child, I started to re-think our budget. Like any other parent I wanted to make sure that we have enough money saved up for our son’s future. One of the areas wherein I saw an opportunity to save on was our meals. You see my husband and I love eating at fancy restaurants, even just for the experience. Hey, you only live once.

Before our kid, this love for eating “fancy” extended to our meals at home and at the office. We would often call for food delivery, have food bought to-go or we would prepare some fancy-smancy meals at home to take to work, which is usually meat-based meals. This dried up our savings account.

I often find my wallet empty, so on our way home we would drive by an ATM to withdraw more to hopefully last until the next payday. The thing is the money I was withdrawing was never enough, so I withdrew often. I had a budget yes, but when I find ourselves not having money in our pockets, it was very easy to simply make a withdrawal.

Then it hit me… our savings has dwindled! I whipped out my calculator and computed how much we spent for a full month of eating mindlessly. Boy, was I shocked! From then on, my husband and I have cut back on eating out. I have cut back on meat-based dishes when I’m cooking. You want to know how? The secret is ground meat.

Instead of meat-laden dishes, our meals nowadays are often stir-fried or sautéed veggies with less than ¼ kilo of ground meat just to add some flavor. You might not think much of it until I tell you that what I cook is good for lunch, dinner and my husband’s baon (packed meal), so that means I have a lot of veggies for a small amount of ground meat.

Why not try it for a week and see how much you would save?

Show Me the Money!!!

Are you reeling after paying up your credit cards balances, monthly rent, utility bills, cellphone bills and God knows what other bills you have to pay come 15th and 30th of each month? Do you want to shout at the top of your lungs, “SHOW ME THE MONEY!” (ala Cuba Gooding or better yet, Tom Cruise)?

Well, a lot of people are no strangers to this predicament. Approximately 70% of Filipinos live below poverty level and are sure to be living from paycheck to paycheck, taking out personal loans or even 5/6 just to make it to the next pay period. But did you know that even people who earn well have a mountain of money problems? Of course they do! Because the amount of money one earns is not a determinant of being debt free or having the peace of mind that they would have saved enough for the rainy days (which have started, but that’s for another topic).

Money management is what will determine if a person will live comfortably throughout his life or if he will have to find work even after retirement at 65.

That is the central theme of this blog, Money Whys and How-tos. I have lived 36 full years and 15 years of those I was “handling” money I earned from companies which hired me. I have had money, lost money, saved it, invested it, spent it, managed it for my husband (this I still do up to this day) and I can say I have chalked up enough experience with money to know whereof I speak… or blog about.

I have read books by Suze Orman, Rick Edelman, Robert Kiyosaki, Bo Sanchez, Rhonda Byrne, Francisco Colayco, Michael Losier, Wayne Cordeiro and others who have written anything about money… how to grow it, how to attract it, how not to lose it… I have also gone through a lot of reference materials, magazine articles, bank newsletters, websites on money, online forums and everything else that seem to offer sound advice on money or finances. So, believe me I know what I’m talking about.

I’ve read all these materials because I had a personal goal. I wanted to be “rich”. I wanted to have “a lot of money” at my disposal. Unfortunately, being “rich” or having “a lot of money” is subjective. No one can tell another person that he is already rich or has enough… or a lot of money. This is a determination one makes personally.

But that is jumping the gun. Let us leave the scholarly discourse on values for later posts. For the first few entries let me share with you some lessons I have learned on how to make the most of your money. After all, we are heavily into a recession, everyone could use a saving tip or two. So until the next post.