Step 5 of 6
Meet Juan
Juan is 26 and works as an admin assistant in Quezon City. He takes home ₱25,000 a month, lives with his parents and helps with the household bills. He pays ₱2,000 a month on a salary loan and wants to start saving, but says his money "just disappears." We'll follow Juan through the rest of this guide. (Juan is a fictional example.)
Step 1: Juan's cash flow
- Take-home pay
- +₱25,000
- Essentials (household share ₱5,000, commute ₱2,500, work lunches ₱3,500, load and internet ₱1,000, sibling's school allowance ₱1,500)
- −₱13,500
- Debt (salary loan)
- −₱2,000
- Wants (eating out ₱3,000, shopping ₱4,000, streaming ₱500)
- −₱7,500
- Cash flow
- +₱2,000
Reading your cash flow statement
- What does my result tell me? A positive number means you earn more than you spend, and that surplus funds every level above. A negative number means savings or debt is covering the gap, so fix this first.
- What needs my attention? Your biggest expense category, any spending that surprised you, and how much of your income goes to debt payments.
- What should I do next? If it's positive, give the surplus a job with an automatic transfer to savings on payday. If it's negative, cover essentials first, review your debt payments, and look for one realistic way to earn more.
Reading your net worth statement
- What does my result tell me? A positive number means you own more than you owe. A negative number is common early in your career, especially with student or salary loans. The direction it's moving matters most.
- What needs my attention? High-interest debt like credit cards and online lending apps, and assets that look valuable but are hard to turn into cash.
- What should I do next? Pay down your highest-interest debt first, then update your net worth every six months.