Welcome to my March 2020 net worth update! The reason why I do net worth updates is to stay accountable with my finances.
I publish my real numbers as it is with the mission to continue to bridge the financial literacy gap for Filipinos one content at a time.
I hope you enjoy today’s post.
March 2020
How do we even begin looking back for the month of March 2020?
Just when we all thought the crazy moments of 2020 are over, March proved all of us wrong. It went even crazier, changing our lives forever.
By March 17, Luzon was placed under enhanced community quarantine.
Transportation was halted, everyone was forced to stay home. And it also means, I have been working from home most of the month.
Just recently, President Rodrigo Duterte also signed the extension of the enhanced community quarantine until April 30.
This means I will stay working from home for the whole month of April as well.
Financially, it was a good month.
I have been saving a lot of money from commute, lunch allowance, and frequent dinners after work. But, there are also family decisions made over the quarantine period which affected my savings.
Because of the COVID-19 scare, the family decided it’s best for my parents (both in their 60s) to stop their store operation until the enhanced community quarantine is over . Thus, we (siblings) had to support their basic needs for March and April. You will see the big drop on my emergency fund later.
And it doesn’t stop there.
You all know the trip I had last 2018, visiting my parents home in Eastern Samar?
Well, their plan to live in the province will happen sooner than expected. As soon as the enhanced community quarantine is lifted (and here’s to praying a vaccine is ready by then), our parents will have to live in the province for good.
This is too much to process for now but we made a pact as siblings to provide an amount that will cover all the necessary financial things our parents have to settle before living in the province for good.
So, there will surely be changes in my emergency fund in the coming months. Our target for the big move is July.
I am eternally grateful to have such amazing parents. And I will be happy knowing they can now live comfortably without worrying, and without working too hard. I just want them to take a rest and enjoy their retirement years.
Anyway, enough about my parents. For now, I hope you are safe and healthy. The COVID-19 continues to affect us in ways we couldn’t even have imagined.
Just keep the faith strong.
You can go to my personal blog for more inside story of what happened to my life for the month of March.
March 2020 Blog Updates and Highlights
I like to start by thanking everyone who has been following SavingsPinay on Instagram. Thank you for being supportive.
We now have 107 followers already. Thank you so much.
For March, I was able to wrap up only four (4) blog posts.
And in case you missed any of my posts for March 2020, here they are:
Reader Question – Where Should I Invest My Money?
The Importance of Saving Money
Managing Your Finances During COVID0-19
However, because of the enhanced community quarantine, I stopped doing Facebook Live on SavingsPinay. I plan to redo some videos even though I have limited space in the house and it’s really noisy here.
Still you can watch my recent videos on the SavingsPinay Facebook Page or IG TV.
March 2020 Goals
I posted my 2020 goals not long ago and something I learned to be very effective in life is the power of measuring your progress.
Excited to share with you how I’ve been moving in terms of my goals for 2020.
Financial Goals
End 2020 with Php 500,000 net worth
In 2019, even though my salary didn’t move at all, I was able to save and invest Php 100,000.
This led me to ending in the Php 250,000 mark in 2019.
For 2020, I made an ambitious goal and that is to end with Php 500,000 net worth.
The reason I made that goal is because I am believing for a career breakthrough of promotion this 2020 which already happened! Yes!
I got the promotion I prayed and hoped for, for the last three years. Hooray! God is good. With additional salary, I believe this goal is not too far from reality. Of course, I should still couple it with frugality and intentional spending.
Save Php 60,000 Emergency Fund
This has been a long recurring goal since I started this blog. I have no words. I started investing my money early and I do have good benefits from the company so I became hard headed in this area.
I am still contributing Php 2,000 every month to this and automatically adding the cash benefits I receive such as holiday pay, medical allowance, etc.
For March 2020, I had to shell out Php 10,000 for the expenses of my parents since they cannot open the store due to COVID-19.
Max-out Php 48,000 invested in Funds
I have been investing since I was 19. It was the most daring financial move I did, but one I will never regret.
Definitely thankful I started to make my money work for me early. Same as last year, the target money I am committing to investments is Php 48,000. My saving and investing rate is still at 30%.
Do Spavings and record it
I first heard about the term Spavings from Budgets Are Sexy. To put it briefly, spavings is a combination of “spending + saving”.
Sometimes we get unexpected discounts or savings from our purchases.
With spavings, you are required to save the amount you saved instead of putting it back to spend mode.
Here’s my own explanation post for the topic of Spavings.
For March 2020, it was hard to take note of my spavings. The current spavings still at the moment is Php 1440.00
Do the 1% Money Saving Challenge
I’ve blogged about the 1% Money Saving Challenge before and will try to complete this year. I am looking forward to another vacation on my birthday so I’m hoping this could be the very fund for it.
For March 2020, I added Php 600 for the Travel Fund. 9 more months to go.
Personal Goals
Get a promotion
The completion of this goal is totally out of my control. But I am definitely praying for it to happen soon. DONE, effective February 2020.
Read 20 books
In March 2020, I was able to read and finish two books. I am still one book delayed from my 2020 Reading Challenge. I am sharing updates of the books I read in my personal blog, www.izzaglinofull.com.
Blog and Business Goals
Launch SavingsPinay Podcast
One of my big projects for 2020 is to launch my own podcast. A lot of readers have been sending this request over and I thought it would be nice for me to relive as well my dreams of becoming a DJ. I am hoping to make it available on or before April 2020 instead.
Blog 100 Times
Last year, I was missing-in-action on the blog. I never really made an effort to write and publish a new post every week. I got caught up with my new role at work that I slowly turned to the “I’m busy” card instead of pushing myself.
For March, even though I have more time writing, I still end up with four posts. The target every month should be 8 to 10 posts. Here’s to hoping I can make up this April.
52 YouTube Videos
Last February 2020, I started doing live videos on my Facebook Page. I was planning to upload the videos on YouTube and start publishing new videos every Tuesday!
Although I already have two videos as a backlog for editing, I still didn’t publish them for March because the enhanced community quarantine happened. I don’t want to publish two videos back to back only to stop uploading again.
So, I’m really thinking if I can film at home. My space is limited plus there is a lot of noise in the neighborhood but I hope I can make it work in April.
Fun Goals
Hike
The outbreak has yet to settle down so I don’t think this is possible anytime soon. Not even in the first quarter of 2020. Hopefully, I will have people in my circle arrange one.
March 2020 Net Worth Update
The first thing you will notice in my March 2020 Net Worth Update is that my Emergency Fund became less. My brother already paid me in full so I don’t have any receivable money anymore but as mentioned earlier, I had to give Php 10,000 for my parents.
My investments are leaking from every side. The market went downhill and has entered the bear level. Sad!!! But I am a long term investor and I still believe that the market will recover.
Sharing this image just to remind myself (and you reading this who are investing as well) that the market will always go up. The chart doesn't lie! It’s a matter of patience and persistence in the midst of volatility.
In case you are interested to invest here are the posts I’ve made about the different investment vehicles available in the Philippines:
SSS FLEXI FUND, REAL ESTATE, STOCK MARKET AND MORE – BEST INVESTMENTS FOR OFWS
ETF, INDEX FUND AND PERA: BEST INVESTMENT FOR RETIREMENT PHILIPPINES
CROPITAL, PHILCROWD AND FARMON : BEST ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT PHILIPPINES
BEST MUTUAL FUNDS IN THE PHILIPPINES FOR 2020 | AN UPDATE
I am still hopeful that 2020 will be a better year. As for me, I choose to stay invested no matter what. I just follow my investment strategy, Peso-Cost Average since I don't need the money any time soon.
Next Month’s Plan
For April 2020, I do not have any planned expenses. I will also try to stay away from activities on weekends that will make me spend money.
Last month, one of my goals was to do more FB Lives. However, due to the enhanced community quarantine and the situation I live in, I wasn’t able to do any new videos for March.
On the other hand, I’m grateful for the savings I’ve been making. The commute and lunch allowance alone is big enough of a blessing for my finances.
Last Month’s Goal:
- Track my expenses – Pass
- Save on commute (max 320/min 250) – Pass
- Finish reading Your Money or Your Life – Pass
- Do FB Live 4x – Fail
- Publish new YouTube video – Fail
- Achieve a No-Spend March – Fail
Money Goals this Month:
- Launch SavingsPinay Podcast
- Upload YouTube videos again
- Read and Finish You are a Badass at Making Money Book
- Consistently make content
For April 2020, my main goal is to allot my time and efforts on the extra income projects I have. The SavingsPinay Podcast has to happen. So is making consistent content whether it be on YouTube, Blog or my social media accounts.
Final Notes from SavingsPinay
It has been a crazy month of March. I don’t even look at my investment portfolio because I know how bad they are now.
The good thing is that they are all paper loss for now. I am a long term investor and I do not invest money I will need anytime soon.
For now, I just keep on investing hoping that in the years to come the market will recover. I don’t want to miss this chance to stay invested.
I don’t know what will happen for April 2020.One thing’s for sure, I will be staying home for the whole month.
I know I would like to take this rare opportunity to act on my goals for 2020. To get a headstart.
Stay safe and stay healthy.
That’s it for March 2020.
How’s your finances for March 2020?