(a) twenty [20] pesos per day

A 20 pesos, this can go a long way!

I can still remember the first time that I got hold of a twenty peso bill for myself. It was Christmas season. A time for every child to earn money! The easy way. We just have to go to our ninongs/ninangs and viola! We now have something for visiting them, an "Aguinaldo" as what we call it here in the Philippines. One of my ninong gave me the famous “20 peso bill”.

We managed to go to several ninongs and ninangs and have an aguinaldo. At the end of the day, we counted our earnings. Lucky for me, I was able to have a fair amount of money. My mom told me then to give the money to her and she will open a bank account for me. This was the first time that I saved money. It was a nice idea from my mom to save the money, she told me that she’s doing it for future use.

After that Christmas, on the next school year, I had my first “baon”/allowance in a form of a cash! A 20 peso bill! Yey! I had baon before but it was in a form of food. I was so happy when I got my first baon/allowance, but before she handed me the money, she told me that I should learn to save it, because I still have my packed lunch and snacks so there is actually no need for me to spend my baon.

Can you guess when was the first time that I got that allowance? It was during my fourth grade in elementary. Yes, it was only until I reached my fourth grade. I only had 20 pesos per day. Thinking about it, 20 pesos is not that much for a child. Image what you can buy for a 20 peso.

Estimated price of items sold in school:

    Spaghetti (snack)    P 10.00

    Coke                     P  7.00

    Candy                   P  1.00/piece

    Lunch                   More than 20 pesos

    Biscuits                 P  5.00/pack

    Ballpen                  P  7.00

    Pad Paper              P 10.00

    Fishball                 P   5.00/10pcs.

    Kikiam                   P   2.00/pcs

    Tex                      P  2.00/pack

    Palabunutan           P  5.00/bunot

    Manga/Santol         P  5.00/piece

    And other miscellaneous items…

As a child, all of us wanted these things. But way back those years, I wanted those things myself. I try to think and think again if I need those things or if I just want it. I try get those things that I need instead of the things that I want.

As the market value of items rises, so does my allowance. I got an increase! I had my increase when I reached my First (1st) Year in high school. The 20 pesos then became the 50 pesos. My mom still reminded me of saving the money. I had a 50 peso allowance per day until I graduated my high school days. Did I mention that I still have my packed lunch and snacks during these days?

It was until I reached my college years that I had another increase in my allowance. The 50 pesos then doubled. It’s now called the 100 peso. A great increase if you will think about it. Not as much as you think because during these days, I don’t have(want) a packed lunch nor snack. I only have an allowance if I have school. So if I don’t have classes for the day, I don’t get an allowance.

Now, thinking of how can I say that a twenty pesos can “GO A LONG WAY”? Here’s how. I only spent 5-15% of the daily allowance that I get. I try to think and re-think if I need the item or if I just want it. Separating the necessity from the luxury. Imagine how many school days we have in a school year. Less a 5-15% for the expenses. That is what I have as savings. I did save a fair amount of money until I graduated from college.

Now, those savings are now called investments. I manage to put up a small business from the savings that I had since grade schools. It was a tough decision for me because I saved that money for almost a decade.

The twenty (20) pesos will go a long way… if you know how to maximize it! Start saving as early as now, think first before you buy.