Financial Discipline

Early this morning, as I hurried out to catch the early bus ride that usually beats the traffic at Cubao area, my cellular phone sounded its usual text tone. A message appeared from an unknown source when I opened it that said: 

Hirap pumasok na ang sahod ay pambayad lang ng utang pamasahe na lang ang naiwan.

Perhaps a wrong sent item, but such is an enlightening message. 

It connotes that one wage-earner must not be overconfident of his/her regular pay, no matter how huge it would seem. As an earning individual, we have this tendency to avail of debt/loan, or buy stuffs especially cellphones on credit, or pawn our ATM card to afford some things at once. Yes I do have reasonably huge monthly earnings that I can buy 40” TV in one month, then iPhone 5, iPad or Samsung Galaxy tab in another. 

But I don’t… I can’t… I won’t.  

I was once doing the same until I learned financial discipline. Financial management is a sacrifice and must consider the hierarchy of needs. For working individuals, program the spending in such a way that the first chunk of the money must be savings, say P150/week, then for transportation and meals costs (to afford uninterrupted working days), then utilities (who would want to live without light and water, sans cable TV), then the extra, if any, will be for luxurious items. If one cannot even satisfy his/her primary needs, then luxury has no value yet. If one needs instead the luxury before subsistence, then he/she must redefine his/her priorities and start defining financial discipline.

Just saying.