^{The Exciting Adventure in the Local Market}

Saan aabot ang wantawsan piso mo?
^{How far will your one thousand peso go?}

Kung crypto ang bibilhin mo sa ngayon, well pak na pak yan. Kasi ang mumura ng lahat, bargain ba parang tatlo bente ganyan bili-bili na kayo mga suki!
^{If you'll planning on crypto-shopping now, I'm pretty sure you'll get the best deal ever. Evereything seem to be on sale right? It's like getting three great things for a quarter!}

Pero kung sa palengke o supermarket ka pupunta... saan nga ba aabot ang isang libong piso mo?
^{But if you'll buy from the local market, where can your thousand peso take you?}

Makakabili ka ng isang kilong sili. Tas yun na yun. Hahaha, running joke nga na ang mga yayamanin daw sa Pilipinas ngayong 2018 ay yung mga kayang bumili ng isang sili-lei at isuot lamang ito. Na di ko maintindihan bakit gagawin nino man yan. Pero kanya kanyang trip, kung yan e isa sa mga trip mo, suportahan taka.
^{You'll be able to buy a kilogram of chillis. And that's all. Hahaha, running joke now that the Philippines' 2018 richest are only those who can afford to buy chilli-leis, buy them just so they can wear these, an act which frankly I wouldn't understand why anyone would choose to do. To each its own I guess, and if indeed you'd be doing this, you have my full support.}

Basta alalahanin lang na wag kusutin ang mata pagkatapos hawakan ang sili, baka kasi maiyak ka lang. Sayang naman yung isang libong pinambili ng lobo. Este sili pala.
^{Just remember to not touch your eyes after touching the chillis, or you might be cryinh bucketsful. Would be a waste use of a thiusand peso, one would prefer to at least get smiles instead after blowing off this amount right?}

Ok, so medyo old news na to. Mga dalawang linggo na rin yata ang usapin ng pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin.
^{Ok, so this is a bit of an old news. The discussion on the price increase of basic commodities has been ongoing for almost two weeks now.}

Pero ang mahal naman talaga ng bilihin ngayon e, mapa-bigas, gulay, prutas, karne, isda o de lata.
^{But 'tis true. Everything is expensive right now- rice, vegetables, fruits, meat, fish and even canned goods.}

Sabi ko na nga ba this day will come. Na mapapakinabangan ko ang aking stored fats.
^{I knew this day will come. That I will be able to make use of my stored (baby) fats.}

Hindi ko man narerealize noon, pero ito pala ang pinaghahandaan ko sa ilang taon kong pagkain ng unli-rice.
^{Without realizing it then, for years now I unknowingly had been preparing for this. Think profit-taking on my food investment!}

Mabalik tayo sa katanungan na saan aabot ang isang libo mo.
^{Let's go back to the question- where will your thousand peso take you?}

Depende sa bibilhin e. Kung mahilig ka sa karne ng manok at baboy, swerte ka kasi mas abot-kaya ang presyuhan sa mga ito.
^{It depends on what you'll be buying. Lucky you if you prefer meat or chicken, as their price is more budget-friendly than the rest.}

Pero kung mahilig ka naman sa isda, gulay at prutas, medyo iiyak ka ng kaunti sa presyuhan ngayon. Tignan mo nalang ang datos ng Philippine Statistics Authority para sa presyuhan ng mga bilihin sa Metro Manila nitong 4 Setyembre 2018. Pansinin ang pagbabago sa presyo ng isda, gulay at prutas nuong Agosto at ngayong Setyembre.
^{If you prefer seafood, veggies or fruits, it's gonna hurt a bit when you look at current prices. Just look at the data of the Philippine Statistics Authority for the Metro Manila commodities prices as of 4 September 2018. Notice the difference in prices from August to September.}

^Source:

Ok sige, naestablish na natin na tumaas ang presyo ng bilihin, at mas mababa na ang buying power ng isang libong piso ngayon kesa noon. Ang kasunod, at higit na mahalagang tanong diyan ay-
^{Ok ok, we've established that prices indeed increased, and your thousand peso lost a little of its buying power now. The next and more important question now is-}

What will you do about it?

Madami ang syempre magrereklamo lang. Isisisi sa gobyerno.
^{Of course a lot of people will have incessant complains. Blame will be thrown to the government.}

I say, this is a good time as any to maybe evaluate our current purchasing and consumption pattern and look at potential improvement opportunities.

O di ba purchasing and consumption pattern daw. Ano yun? Hahahaha. Ang ibig ko lang namang sabihin beshies, since medyo times are harder, tignan natin kung meron pa ba tayong magagawa sa ating budgeting para naman mas ma-stretch natin ang ating salapi.
^{Purchasing and consumption pattern? What's that? Hahaha. Friends, what I meant to say is, since times are harder, let's take a look at how we budget so we may stretch out money more.}

Sinisimulan ba natin ang araw-araw with a steaming cup of coffee from a coffee shop? 150 piso sa isang araw? Sa isang buwan 4500 piso din yun a. Kung coffee enthusiast tayo di ko naman sinasabi na mag 3-in-1 nalang. Pwede rin nating tignan na bumili ng coffee grounds at tayo na ang gumawa ng kape natin. Tiyak na makakamenos tayo dun.
^{Do we start our day with a steaming cup of coffee from a coffee shop? 150 pesos daily? In one month that's already 4500 pesos! I didn't mean for coffee enthsiasts to just get instant coffee, but we can maybe buy coffee grounds and brew a cup ourselves. For sure we'll be saving a lot there.}

Pag ba mag grocery tayo may listahan ng mga kailangan bilhin? O iniikutan natin ang tindahan at inilalagay sa cart ang mga magustuhan? Alam na alam ko yan kasi ganyan ako dati. May few items in mind na sure ako na hahanapin pero along the way andaming nadadampot. Pero pag inisip e di naman kailangan ang karamihan. Kung may listahan kasi nagkakaroon tayo ng sapat na oras na reviewhin ba ito at matatanggal natin ang mga hindi talaga kailangan. At kung susundin strictly ang lista makakamenos ka.
^{When grocery-shopping do we have a list of things to buy? Or do we just go around and take whatever we like? I'm very familiar with this myself, having a few items in mind that I'm sure to get, but then picks up a lot of other extra things that I see, items that when you thhink about it aren't really necessary. Having a list gives us the opportunity to review and select really only the things we need. And if we stick to our list, we'll be able to save for sure.}

Mahilig ba tayo sa mga sale sa mall o sa online shops? Dalawang uri ang sale para sakin-nakakatulong at nakakaengganyo sale. Mainam maka diskwentro sa mga bagay na kailangan natin, halimbawa sale sa diaper ni baby ganyan 'nakakatulong sale' ito para sa akin. Kung 30% off ang diaper, nakamenos ka talaga ng 30%. Pero kung ang sale e sa bagay na hindi naman kailangan talaga, halimbawa 50% off sa isang bag tapos marami naman na talaga tayong bag, ito ay 'nakakaengganyo sale'. Hindi ko masasabing nakatipid ka dito, gumastos ka sa bag na 50% priced. Take advantage natin ang nakakatulong sale pero hanggang maaari stay away from nakakaengganyo sale.
^{Are we fond of mall or online shops sale? There are two types of sale for me- helping sale and enticing sale. It is nice to get necessary items on a discount, example baby diaper's sale and the likes, I think of them as helpful sale. Getting the diaper at a 30% discount means you saved 30% from your usual cost. Sale on stuff that we don't really need, example 50% off on a bag, and we already own plenty, then I would say it is an 'enticing sale'. I wouldn't say you saved here, instead you spent on a bag at 50% its usual cost. Take advantage of helping sale and as much as possible stay away from enticing sales.}

Ilan lang yan frenies sa mga bagay na pwede nating tignan tungkol sa ating pagbabudget. Para makatipid pwede rin tayong magtanim sa paso ng ibang gulay gaya ng okra, talong, kamatis at syempre, sili!
^{This are just a few of the things we can look at on our budgeting. To save further, we can even plant in pots some veggies like lady fingers, eggplants, tomatoes and of course, chilis!}

Ikaw, ano ang budget strategy mo?
^{How about you, what is your budget strategy?}

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