Most people expect that when you are single you will have enough savings tucked away in the bank. Since you have no family to feed, they always think that you can always put away an amount of your salary. But as Filipinos, this is not always the case. Most single Filipino men and women are filial children. They want to try to help their families as much as they can.
Single with No Savings
This is the story of Janine, a 23-year-old single woman from Cagayan de Oro City. She is the middle child with an elder brother and a younger sister. She is a teacher in a private school.
Humans of Cagayan de Oro – Janine at Seven Seas Waterpark
Teacher Janine said, “Now, when in it comes to ‘savings’ thingy. I am not that consistent. Though I tried and I do save money for my own stuff pero nagagamit at nauubos ko rin. Not because I spent it for nonsense pero nauubos siya dahil my family needs it the most. Isa na sa pang bayad ng mga utang nila, sa mga emergency, hindi naman pwede na mamahala nalang ako dahil ako rin lang po ang inaasahan nila. They can’t ask help to my elder brother because he has a family already, they can’t ask help also to my younger sister dahil huminto siya sa trabaho. As much as I wanted to save money for myself, pero mas kailangan ng pamilya ko. Kaya sila muna bago sarili ko.”
As much as she wanted to save, she always ends up with enough money just to survive until the next salary. When she has extra money, she saves it but most of the time her savings end up helping her family. She helps pay off her parents’ debts or contributes whenever their family has an emergency. Her siblings, who now have a family, can’t really contribute. So most of the time, her savings always goes to her family’s needs.
This is Not the End
As she realizes the need for saving, Teacher Janine can confidently say #PlsSaveMe. She understands that whatever the situation is, we all need to save. Not only for ourselves but even for our family. She believes that this is not the end. She will be able to save somebody. Personal financial management, that includes saving, can be learned. And we Filipinos can learn.
#PlsSaveMe
We all have financial difficulties in life. Only a few Filipinos admit this. Most Filipinos shy away when sharing about their financial problems in public. But a lot of Filipinos have started to be openminded. They are starting to acknowledge that they need help in learning. They need help in managing their finance. They need help in saving. More and more Filipinos are becoming brave in admitting that they need help and they want to improve.