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by Stephanie Dychiu
7. Go bra(nd)-less. Did you know about 20% of the price you pay for toiletries goes to the advertising bills of the products' manufacturers? Next time you go to the supermarket, browse through aisles featuring store-brand products and check out which items you can betray brand loyalty for. "I love Rustan's Sure Buy and SM Bonus!" gushes Candice, a fresh grad. "I mean, toilet paper is toilet paper, and cotton is cotton, right? Why should I pay more for just the name?" Often, the manufacturers of generic grocery items are also the big-brand companies trying to use up the extra production capacity at their factories, so the quality of store-brand items is comparable to the well-known labels. Give it a try, simply switch back to your usual brand if the generic version doesn't work for you. For certain products, it's worth paying full-price. "I'm pretty brand-conscious about cosmetics, soap, and shampoo kasi hiyang ako only with certain brands," says Candice. "Pero with the stuff I throw away after use-naku, I don't care!"
8. Save lunch bucks with your lunch box. "Nakakasawa kasi, eh," says Elisa, a secretary, when asked why she prefers to have lunch in the mall everyday even if it's more expensive than bringing her own food to the office. "At home, my mom can only cook sinigang, nilaga, or daing. That's all, paulit-ulit lang . Kawawa naman ako kung yun pa rin ang baon ko." Tess, a programmer at a telecoms firm, cites another reason for wanting to have lunch out. "I sit in front of the computer eight hours a day. Lunch break is the only chance I get to have a change of scenery, so I really make it a point to go out-magastos nga lang. The food is expensive, plus I tend to make unplanned purchases when I see the pretty window displays at the mall."
These are all valid reasons, but serious savers must be prepared to make little sacrifices. Elisa's "nakakasawa" issue can be resolved by forming a five-member lunch group with her officemates where one person brings her leftovers from home to be everyone's fare for the day. Tess can enjoy a "change of scenery," without changing the contents of her wallet, at a different time of day so she can stay in the office with her packed lunch. If you still have qualms about resurrecting your Coleman and Tupperware set, remember that cutting just P150 a week from your lunch expenses can result in about P6,000 savings in a year.
9. Walk your way to health and wealth. Health club membership fees are soaring, add to that the cost of maintaining spiffy exercise outfits in case you run into hot guys at the gym, plus parking and gasoline expenses for trips to and from home, and you'll realize how strange it is to be spending so much to lose something, in this case, fat. After spending tens of thousands of pesos on hyped-up weight-loss programs and overpriced massage treatments, 30-year-old Yolly concluded it takes only one thing to be trim, and it's free. "Strong willpower," she says. "That's all you need. I've lost more flab doing brisk walking around my neighborhood every morning than lying on a physical therapist's table getting pounded into shape."
If walking is too boring for you, try alternating it with taebo sessions with your friends using the famous Billy Blanks video. Exercising with friends is fun and helps you stay disciplined. More importantly, they won't mind if you show up in your ratty high school intramurals t-shirt.
10. Hold a garage sale. As the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure. Economics graduate Trina recalls fund-raising garage sales she used to hold for her organizations in college. "The members would donate their old but usable stuff. The garage sales lasted for only one day, but we would make as much as P10,000. For nothing!" Garage sales are more successful when you take a more focused approach.
For example, you can gather up old college textbooks and hold a sale for undergraduates from your alma mater. Ask for "donations" from your batchmates to build up an inventory of textbooks to sell. If you have a collection of old furniture and appliances, student dormitories and condominiums can be a good target market. Just make sure everything you sell is in good condition and fairly priced: 50% off the cost of a brand new item is a nice rule of thumb, but remember to be flexible. Hold the sale on a weekend, but not the holiday weekends when people tend to go out of town. Choose a covered location to be safe from the rain and use e-mail and flyers to publicize your sale. "Garage sales are the best," Trina enthuses. "It frees up space at home, and brings enough money to buy new things so you can fill up that space again!"
11. Be a winner, not a whiner, at work. Love your work and your work will love you back. Whether you're under somebody's beck and call, or lucky enough to be running your own business, the rules of the game are the same: Put up or shut up-and go. Amabel, who has worked for three companies in the past four years, observed that no job can have everything you want. "I think I was very unrealistic to expect that a company would change the way it did things simply because I didn't like it." This year, aim to be the best you can be wherever you are. When you enjoy your work and are good at it, the chances are greater that your employer will reward you with a promotion or raise. Plus, you'll feel good about yourself, and that's priceless.
12. Feed your spirit, not just your pocket. Ultimately, we gain so much more by giving than by taking away. "Just put your own stuff aside for a moment," says Jackie Waldman in the book The Courage to Give. "Get out of yourself then go out and do something. It doesn't have to be grand. You don't have to start a foundation."
The best gift you can give is your time, not your money. Find a cause that is dear to you, whether it's the environment, politics, preserving national treasures, rehabilitating street children, or caring for the disabled and the aged. If you are too busy to do volunteer work, focus on the people you encounter everyday. Is there a day care center in your office where you can read to children at break time? Say a few friendly words to the security guards and maintenance people. Take extra time training less-experienced colleagues even if it is not your primary function to do so. Be kind everyday to the ordinary people you meet or interact with. You will soon realize that the bestthings in life are indeed free.
Reprinted as authorized by Cosmopolitan Philippines January 2001