I'm Afraid Many of My Fellow Filipinos REFUSE to Make Financial New Year's Resolutions

WWD

I really hate December because of the heavy traffic. Some say that people do last-minute Christmas shopping because they just live paycheck to paycheck. However, the way things go during payday can tell why they can't have the money to do some early Christmas shopping. An irony indeed that Christmas comes early in the Philippines (September) but not the Christmas shopping.

Indeed, so many should realize that living paycheck-to-paycheck should be a warning not to splurge on it (read here). Instead, they choose to many stupid activities. Maybe, call in the one-day paycheck where they immediately go splurging the paycheck when it arrives. They would focus more on their wants than their needs. I guess that's why some fools are demanding the stupidity of higher salaries and lower price of goods aka Sahod Itaas Presyo Ibaba. I'm afraid that such a move isn't economically feasible (read here). Even if they do get a high-income job (or even become an OFW for better income), they can still fail to build wealth if they continue with their bad habits (read here).

We often hear of New Year's resolutions. My question is when will more of my fellow Filipinos ever start to make them? I guess they enjoy the cycle of living beyond their means from January to November, waiting for their Christmas bonuses and 13th-month payments. I even heard from other people that some people even splurge their 13th-month pay so they have no money for the Noche Buena. The "solution" is to borrow money for the Noche Buena. I could imagine grocery stores getting unusually long lines on December 20-24 because they failed to do early Christmas shopping. Sometimes, I saw it while I did some Christmas deliveries. Even worse, they do their Noche Buena so extravagantly that they run out of money for the New Year's Party (read here). I even experienced poorer neighbors hiring a music band they simply can't afford.

In Cebuano, there's the statement of "Sa Disyembre lipay-lipay. Sa January likay-likay." In English, it means, "Enjoying December, escaping in January." I wonder if Indian restaurants getting fully booked so soon in January can be linked to 5-6 lenders? I guess the abundance of motorcycle-driving lenders in January is because they're after their capital. Another reason for the 5-6 lenders eating at Indian restaurants in groups is probably either they're recovering their energy or they're celebrating their successful loan collection. Some of them may now be hiding. I heard loan sharks can be very notorious. I heard from some people that 5-6 lenders can use various means to get the money back.

January is supposed to be when they learn their lessons. Sadly, many don't and the same cycle repeats itself. It's because it's very difficult to make financial resolutions. Why make resolutions when there's an easy way out? You can have these practices like (1) blaming the rich for one's poverty, (2) blaming capitalism for one's bad choices, (3) rally for Sahod Itaas Presyo Ibaba, (4) getting into get-rich-quick schemes such as Ponzi schemes, (5) gambling hoping to get rich quick fast, (6) investing in stocks hoping to get rich quick fast, and that's but a few of many that can be named.

In my case, I started to learn to be more investment savvy and stop relying on business school knowledge. I never learned other ways to invest in stocks even during my MBA days. I believe that they should've talked about investing in stocks via UITFs (and an index fund is one of them). Business school has become too theoretical. I even got scammed during my MBA days. It wasn't until I did more research finding out why the Philippines is still left behind and how certain improvements happened.

Sadly, some people seem to enjoy the financial troubles they're always getting into. If that's the case, the best thing that I like to fire out is, "Do you ever wonder why you're still poor?" I guess such people will still blame the rich, capitalism, etc. The reason is that it's always much easier to blame others than own up to one's mistakes.

COMMUNIST Vietnam Has Defeated DEMOCRATIC Philippines Again This 2025

Cổng thông tin Trung ương Đoàn TNCS Hồ Chí Minh A few days ago, I wrote about warning Filipinos that they shouldn't wait for more unmitigated typhoon disasters, before realizing that the Filipino First Policy isn't working ! There's a statement that says, "Just because being tanga (inattentive) is libre (free), doesn't mean you should be tanga!" Analyzing the different policies: why policies matter I found a Business World article, written by Cesar Polvorosa, Jr., on my Facebook news feed discussing the Vietnamese economy . In fact, it would be better to share some hard truths that the article offers about what really went wrong with the democratic Philippines compared to Communist Vietnam : DIVERGENT ECONOMIC MODELS Vietnam pursued an export-oriented manufacturing strategy which has proven significantly more successful over the past half century than the Philippines’ service-heavy, remittances-dependent model . Export performance alone tells a compe...

The OFW Working Abroad and Their Family on Christmas

It's a few days before Christmas. I don't like December because of heavy traffic, some people prefer Christmas shopping at the last minute (since procrastination is a common habit in the Philippines), the stress of year-end work, and December is the end of the year's cycle. I decided to write this entry. There's nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas or having a good time. The problem comes when one celebrates beyond one's means (read here ). That means having extravagant Christmas parties that require a music band that one can't afford, inviting the whole village, etc. when one can't afford it. Speaking of which, these incidents remind me of OFW families. I remember a study presented at the University of San Carlos. If I remember correctly, it was done by accounting students. It was a study showing the spending habits of OFW families. Outstanding Filipinos Worldwide Facebook Page Here's a meme on Facebook that I found. For the sake of non-Tagalog spea...

Economics 101: Pre-Colonial Philippine Natives Already Did Business with Foreigners

Art by Hugo Yunzon It's finally August or Buwan Ng Wika (Month of the Language), though it may be better to call it Buwan Ng Kultura (Month of the Culture). Buwan Ng Wika programs tend to focus more on the uniqueness of several types of Filipino people. What I recall back in my high school days (late 1990s) is how I was asked to play an "American" in a Buwan Ng Wika program. There were also other people asked to portray the Chinese traders, Arab traders, Indian traders, and the Japanese occupation. It would be good to do a review of the pre-colonial Philippines. The name Philippines was derived from the Spanish king, King Philip. Back then, the natives were called Indios which sounds very similar to Indonesia . Yes, most Filipinos are either Malay or Indo. A look at the Indonesians and Malaysians would have one mistake them for Filipinos. A note is that the Chinese population there usually speaks Hokkien. From Purdue Filpino --here's some basic information about Fili...

Are People Who Insist That Workers Own the Means of Production Be Willing to Open a Business Where Workers Own the Means of Production?

Last 2022, I wrote two articles on the means of production. One article I wrote refutes the idea that workers, not the business owners, own the means of production . Another article discussed whether or not anti-capitalists have no choice because capitalists own the means of production . The other day, I wrote a dare where I want people who insist on #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba economics (higher salaries, lower prices) to open stores that operate on that mindset . I'm afraid that what I wrote was merely the tip of the iceberg . With that in mind, I'd like to ask people who say that the workers own the means of production to open a business, where the workers own the means of production. What's their reasoning behind the logic that the workers own the means of production? The common logic is that because the workers did all the hard work they own the production. They say that the businessman can die but not the workers. It's because according to these smart alecks--it's b...

Meet Topokkiman--Cebu's Superhero for Korean Food Cravings

ZeroThreeTwo Years ago, I remembered the Dakimong restaurant which had branches in JY Square Mall, M.C. Cuenco (where Bollywood Tandoor is currently renting), and SM Consolacion. The closing down of Dakimong was probably one of the saddest moments in my food-tripping life. Fortunately, a new "superhero" known as Topokkiman (hence the logo) has arrived in Dona Rita Village and later in Ayala Central Bloc. I haven't eaten (yet) in the Talamban Branch but looking at the pictures--I might dine-in there one of these days. Though, I've ordered their food a few times from Food Panda and Grab. Delicious food should never always be associated with expensive food. Instead, it should be associated with food well-prepared whether it's casual dining or fine dining. Topokkiman proves that with its casual Korean foods. The main attraction is topokki hence the name. However, what I usually order at Topokkiman is their really delicious kimbap which comes in different flavors. I w...

Business & Economics Perspective Blogger

Search This Blog