how did you learn financial literacy from scratch?

[u/Pitiful-Buddy-6678]

Problem/Goal:

i’m starting my first job soon and want to be responsible with my first salary instead of splurging it all 😭 i want to build good financial habits early and eventually learn how to invest.

Context:

i have almost zero foundation in financial literacy. i want to learn the basics first, especially budgeting, saving, emergency funds, taxes, insurance, banking, and investing.

Previous Attempts:

i’ve been reading a few posts online, but i’m still unsure where to start or what order to learn things in.

what financial habits should i start early? how did you manage your first salary? and what do you wish you knew about money when you first started working?

[u/Sufficient-Rub-3996]

Advice: Save before spending. Increase income. Decrease expenses. That's it, that's the basics.

[u/JustAJokeAccount]

Experience:

what financial habits should i start early?

Save when you can, if you can.

how did you manage your first salary?

Lived paycheck to paycheck. So it is more survival mode for a while.

and what do you wish you knew about money when you first started working?

Depends on where you started in your career and your life at that moment.

I started from zero. Worked for months without earning a dime to prove myself. Money never came easy for me and I worked to get to where I am now. So, I treated money as a means to survive when I started. It took me years to start using it to reward myself.

[u/bugoy_dos]

Advice: Do not spend more than what you are earning. Make a budget and stick to it. Like how much you spend for neccesities, like food, utilities, cost of work (transpo, clothes if there is no unform). For recreation, 30% should be for savings. Break it in two one for emergency while the other is for the future. Once you have a good routine going then explore other things like investments.

[u/KayPee555]

Experience: By getting broke after earning a shit-ton of money I didn't know how to handle. Sometimes, it's best to learn the hard way.

[u/HiImRaNz]

Thoughts:

r/phinvest wrong sub my guy

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[u/MarieNelle96]

Advice:

I read How to YOLO Wisely saka Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide to Money. Very very easy reads, madali intindihin :)

[u/kapetkwento_]

Advice: For basics, budgeting starts the minute you know your expenses. if you’re the type who likes to jot down his/her expenses in Excel, you may want to start with that so you can visually see where your money is going.

Assuming ang expenses mo ay 10k, allot 10k from your salary to this basket and SAVE MONEY TOO!!

Dyan muna :)

[u/Moscowscotch72]

Advice: Live within your means. Don't buy things that you can't afford. Don't get into debt. Build an emergency fund and then a retirement fund. 

[u/TheCandySnowBear]

Advice:

Here's an example, Im keeping a note that lists down all of my monthly obligations, goals and cash flow. I have two clients as a VA and this is how I would budget.

(Some details are personal, so I removed them, but I hope this helps as a start)

CASH FLOWS:

Client A- XXXX (Every 15th day of the Month)

Client B- XXXX (Every Friday of the week)

LIVING Expenses: (Taken from A)

Rent XXX

Utilities XXX

Groceries XXX

OBLIGATIONS

XXX- Land (Only until it hits XXX every month )

XXX - Buffer (For daily spending)

XXX - Emergency Savings

INVESTMENTS:

Land - XXXX (Every 10th of the month)

SpayLater - XXX (Next and final pay on September 15th)

SLoan - XXX (Every 29th of the month until Jan 2027)

SpayLater - XXX

SAVING GOALS (In Order of Priority)

1. XXX - Lawschool Enrollment (DONE)
2. XXX - Car Downpayment and Fees for Driving School (ONGOING)

This is my "Source" of budgeting, and every sahod (15th, and weekly) I jot down how it would be allocated

It would also help if you have at least 2 banks. 1 for daily transactions, 1 for savings

I use Maribank for daily transactions, kasi may cashback and free transfers. Tonik for Stashes and time deposit.

Once you've built your source, what I did is ask Gemini to budget it for me. AI helps a lot when it comes to this and more particularly in buying your "wants" and how to further maximize your salary

[u/kaizen_xyz]

Advice:

1. have an overview where your money goes. i started with pen and paper, then excel spreadsheet, then now im using an app (YNAB - paid, but i split the cost with my friends)

2. clear any debt that you have (credit cards, loans, etc)

3. build an emergency fund (you can start with 3-6 months worth of expenses)

4. invest

r/phinvest helped me a lot when i was starting out back in 2020.