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Aneth Ng-Lim, Paying It Forward

Aneth Ng-Lim

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/173561498632720240101-new-year-quezon-city-MT6.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A fireworks displaylights up the sky during the New Year’s eve celebration at the Quezon Memorial Circle. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A fireworks displaylights up the sky during the New Year’s eve celebration at the Quezon Memorial Circle. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div><br/></div><p>All set to welcome 2025 with a bang?</p><p>Most people celebrate the new year with loud cheer – festivities with good food, happy toasts, maybe even sparklers and firecrackers (where allowed) in the background. But the turn of a new year can also be a time for quiet reflection. We can take a moment (or more) to be grateful for the past year, the family and friends that surround us at the present time, and the dreams and goals we have set for the future.</p><p>The start of a new year is also a good occasion to be honest about our money situation.  If you started 2024 with money resolutions, how did you do?  And what do you hope to achieve with your money in 2025?</p><p>Let’s reflect on our money past, present and future, using the three key goal posts in personal finance: saving, spending and sharing.</p><div><strong>Save, save more and keep saving</strong></div><p>When it comes to saving, it’s never too early, never too late and never enough.  Make saving a priority in your budget by paying yourself first, meaning setting aside savings before paying for anything else.  This habit will help you develop a saving discipline and grow your money.  Do this long enough and you will have money for emergencies, money to pay debts, money for dreams (like owning a home or car), and money to invest, which will secure your financial future.</p><p>Are you ending the year with the savings you need or want?  Whether your answer is yes or no, my advice is to keep saving.  No one can ever say they already have enough savings.  Even billionaires continue to set aside savings for themselves and their families.  </p><p>A good rule is to put aside 20 percent of your income.  If that’s tough for you, start with what you can, 5 percent? 8 percent ? 10 percent? Then build that up over time until you hit 20 percent or more.  Paying yourself first is one sure way to have a healthy relationship with money.  If you’re faithful in 2025, your money reflection next year will be full of pats on the back (and cash too).</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TXEMNvA8Vr8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><strong>Track expenses to cut back on spending </strong></div><p>It’s not easy to track expenses.  If budgeting is tough, writing down where your money goes is tougher.  Yes, it can be boring, but if you do it for a week, then a month, then 3 months, you will be surprised to discover just where your money goes.</p><p>If you failed to track your spending last year or did not do it often enough to matter, the good news is you can try again, and there’s no time like the present.  It’s important to track for as long as possible to see a trend in your expenses.  It will be good to see how much you spend on things you don’t really need in a month, like signature coffees, dining out, and drinking out.  When you see your spending, you can decide how much to cut back or to quit altogether.  </p><p>Not all spending is bad.  After all, we do need to spend for basic necessities, including paying for our home, our groceries, our utilities and the list goes on.  A good benchmark is to earmark 50% of your income on spending.  This way, you will have enough left for saving, and for sharing.  If your spending goes higher than 50%, you will have to adjust for the rest, but make sure that there is always something left for the other two.</p><div><strong>Make a positive difference by sharing<br/></strong></div><p>Have you heard of charity begins at home?  That’s sharing too, when you give to family and friends.  But to make a greater impact, consider sharing and giving back to your community, and to many non-profit organizations that support children, women, Mother Earth and many more causes that need assistance.</p><p>The holidays are the most rewarding time of the year for charities, as they experience a surge in giving with many people in a generous mood.  Imagine how much positive good can happen if the giving happens year-round, and people commit to planned giving?</p><p>Children are actually taught about these 3 money goalposts – that is save 30 percent of their money, spend 50 percent and share 20 percent.  With smaller sums involved, you may say kids have it easier.  But you can switch the percentages to what you are comfortable with, just making sure that you spend wisely, save regularly, and share generously.  Do your best with all 3, and your money reflection next year will be sure to be filled with more gratitude.  </p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eXm2imfYbZg?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The start of a new year is also a good occasion to be honest about our money situation. If you started 2024 with money resolutions, how did you do?</p>

The start of a new year is also a good occasion to be honest about our money situation. If you started 2024 with money resolutions, how did you do?

As 2024 ends, let's reflect on our money past, present and future

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As 2024 ends, let's reflect on our money past, present and future

Aneth Ng-Lim

Published Dec 31, 2024 11:22 AM PHT

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