5 Smart Ways To Spend Your ₱500

March 3, 2015

Due to the ever increasing rate of our country’s inflation, the things you can do with 500 pesos become lesser and lesser. You can blow most of it at the coffee shop or you can take in that summer blockbuster you've been dying to see. But it shouldn’t hinder you to still make the most of our 500 pesos and get our money’s worth.

How long will your 500 pesos in a month go? You can spend it on something that will make a lasting change -- and actually make your life better in some way.

From food to finances, here are 5 smart ways to spend your 500 pesos.

1. Magazine Subscription

Knowledge is power and learning never stops. Yes, we get that. But up to what extent do we really go out and feed our minds to continue learning? How much effort do we exert in gathering relevant information that actually does something to stimulate us?

Subscribing and reading educational magazines like the Reader’s Digest and Time’s Magazine Asia, could be one of the many ways to sharpen our minds. Not to mention a subscription costs you less than 500 pesos!

So take a break from your usual TV series and sleep in with a good magazine and increase your knowledge.

2. Give to your favorite Non-Profit Organization

Why don’t we put into reality the saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”?

Why not donate your monthly 500 pesos to your desired Non-profit organization? There are tons of NGOs out there that stand for meaningful socio-political causes. Such as Unicef, Red Cross, World Vision, Habitat for Humanity, and Green Peace to name a few.

Giving accomplishes in you more than what receiving can.

3. Once a month night-out with friends

A healthy once in a month movie night-out with your friends is okay, if not necessary, to help you relieve your stress and keep you sane after a hard day’s work. Give yourself some treat! Besides, you need to get out of your cave and strengthen your ties with your friends. So go ahead and enjoy.

4. Save it!

It is wise to allot a bite in your income for the long haul. Your P500 a month would go a long way if you save it in a bank. Make it your goal to always set-aside at least P500 a month from your salary or, P250 per cut-off.

Just imagine if you save P500 a month, by the end of the year, you get P6000 of savings plus 3% compound interest. That’s not bad at all! Now, if you do this religiously for 10 years, you will earn an income saving of P69,895.96, just enough for an emergency fund!

5. Get a health insurance

One of the best ways to spend your 500 pesos on something that would give you a lasting value is through getting a health insurance. Once you get hospitalized your HMO may handle most of the hospital bills but what about other expenses like the Doctor’s Fee? Or your prescribed recovery medicines? How about the expenses spent in food and transportation of those who tend for you?

Health Insurance shouldn’t be laden with premiums that would make your savings bleed. A good health insurance instead, gives you optimum cash benefits for a very affordable premium. Insurance need not be a financial burden. On the contrary, it shall give you the protection you need without burning a hole in your wallet.

So go ahead, use that money wisely. Do not think only of today as you spend it but spend it with an end in mind.

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