Managing money can be challenging, especially when you’re trying to fit everything into your budget. You have bills and daily expenses that require your attention. Without a solid understanding of your finances, handling these responsibilities can become quite tricky. Sometimes, we don’t even recognize our bad habits when it comes to managing money.

During a recent roundtable discussion with the entertainment media at the Kamuning Bakery in Quezon City, popular motivational speaker and financial advisor Chinkee Tan addressed common mistakes people make when managing their finances.

Chinkee, 60, said the first mistake that people often make is lifestyle inflation, where individuals spend beyond their means.

We cannot control inflation, but one of the biggest mistakes Filipinos are committing is lifestyle inflation, he said.

Chinkee mentioned, Remember your first salary? Maliit lang siya pero nagkakasya at minsan may sobra pa. Noong lumaki na (ang sweldo), nagkulang na at may utang pa tayo. (It was small, but it was enough. When the salary increased, we lacked money, and we were in debt.)

The problem is not the income, but the person handling the income. Noong lumaki na ang kita natin, naging iba na ang mindset natin. It's like we're saying, 'Ito na ang panahon ng paghihiganti.' Lahat kinakain mo na. Yung dating hindi mo pinupuntahan, pinupuntahan mo na. (When our income increased, our mindset changed. It's like we're saying, 'This is the time for revenge.' So you've eaten everything. You're going to places you don't usually go.)

Nasanay na tayo. Ang income natin hindi naman stable. Kaso ang taas na ng lifestyle mo eh. (We're used to it. Our income isn't stable. But your lifestyle is already high), Chinkee pointed out.

Another mistake is the lack of financial literacy, he said.

May pera ka pero hindi mo alam ang gagawin mo sa pera. Kapag ganyan, dahan dahan mauubos yan. Pero kung wala kang pera pero may karunungan ka, mabubuhay ka. (You have money, but you don't know what to do with it. When that happens, you will slowly run out of money. But if you don't have money and you have the wisdom, you will survive), Chinkee said.

Chinkee reminded the people not to invest in something they don't understand.

Mahirap gawin ang isang bagay na hindi mo alam. Mahirap pumasok sa isang negosyo kapag wala kang alam tungkol dito. Malulugi ka. Mahirap mag-invest sa isang bagay na wala kang alam. Ma-scam ka. (It's hard to do something you don't know. It's challenging to enter a business when you're unfamiliar with it. You're going to lose money. It isn't easy to invest in something about which you know nothing. You're going to get scammed.)

Never invest in something that you don't understand, no matter how profitable it is. Kung hindi mo naiintindihan ang stock market huwag kang mag-invest dyan. (If you don't understand the stock market, don't invest in it), Chinkee added.

Grateful

Chinkee is married to Nove Ann Tan. They have three children. He reflected on the challenges in his life that motivated him to work hard and succeed.

He remembered that when he was 12, he became depressed because his father's business had failed. What hurt him the most was that their electricity was cut off for a week because they did not have enough money to pay the bill.

Mahirap maging mahirap. Iba ang tingin sa'yo ng tao kapag wala kang pera. Kapag marami kang pera, marami kang kaibigan at kamag-anak. Pero kung wala ka ng pera, wala ka na ring kamag-anak at kaibigan. (It's hard to be poor. People look at you differently when you don't have money. When you have a lot of money, you have a lot of friends and relatives. But if you don't have money, you don't have relatives and friends either.)

He was in his 20s when he earned his first ₱1 million. He revealed he didn't finish college.

I entered the sales field by selling toilet paper. I also sold shirts and shoes. Halos lahat nagbebenta ako (I've sold almost everything). So I've been in the sales field for 48 years, he said.

Chinkee vowed never to be poor again, so he was careful with his spending when he started earning money. He also promised to help fellow Filipinos by educating them about financial literacy.

Nagpapasalamat ako sa Diyos kasi sa buhay pala, hindi mahalaga kung saan ka nanggaling. Ang mahalaga saan ka patungo. Hindi kasalanan ng Diyos na ipinanganak tayong mahirap. Pero malaking kasalanan sa Diyos kung wala tayong ginawa at namatay tayong mahirap. (I thank God because in life, it doesn't matter where you come from. What matters is where you are going. It's not God's fault that we were born poor. But it's a big sin to God if we did nothing and died poor.)

We all go through things in life. However, the problem lies in the means of survival; we are struggling. I hate being poor. I want to help Filipinos free from financial stress, Chinkee said.

Stars align

A part-time actor, Chinkee named showbiz personalities Aga Muhlach, Richard Gomez, and Coco Martin, who he believes possess an impressive ability to manage their finances.

Chinkee described these stars as his idols in terms of their financial management. But he believes other celebrities handle their money well, but he's not close to them.