The Budget Series v.1 Setting a Daily Allowance

For us common employees who have fixed income, setting aside a fixed amount for daily expenses is a must. However, being “fixed” makes it all the more difficult to budget. And yes, the ever increasing prices of basic commodities and everything else makes this task all the more overwhelming. So the key here is determination, discipline, and dedication. To help you out, I’d like to share how I came up with my daily allowance:

Daily Fare to work – P16

Lunch – this is free from the company I’m working so I’m lucky!

Afternoon Snacks –P8 minimum

Dinner – P25 minimum

Total – 49

For the sake of convenience, I rounded it off to P50 per day. 

Now this amount maybe unbelievable to some, as it was for me the first time I drew up this budget plan. But I started one step at a time and there were days I was able to hit the 50 budget mark, and there were days I wasn’t. Also, there were days that I didn’t have to spend all the P50 allocation (if I had free dinners, for ex.). So I didn’t become discouraged of sticking to the budget. There’s no point of being harsh to myself so whenever I get to overspend, I would also repay it by spending less the next day. The secret is to make the budget a daily habit. Well at first, it will really feel like a big sacrifice like what I felt before. But when I fell into the same pattern of spending every day, it felt like just normal for me to spend the same amount over and over. And that’s when I made it a habit, not a sacrifice. 

Next on my budget series will be how I spend money during weekends.