Tinipid Ngunit Kulang: Why Filipinos need to learn how to save better

Filipinos are a generous people. We give as long as we can, without question. But what does this mean for our finances? Let’s find out.

We have a very communal culture, and it is reflected in the financial obligations that we engage in, and the way we manage matters concerning money.

For example, fiestas are a big deal for Filipinos – there is a feast day or a festival every week in some part of the country, and we prepare a banquet and invite people to our homes. This is more prevalent in the provinces, where people know each other and literally open their doors so anyone can freely partake. We share, and we spend, and we think nothing of it.

We take care of our own. It is not uncommon to meet someone who is supporting their relatives either in paying for school, or paying for medicines or hospital bills. But is there such thing as too much?

Utang na loob

This sense of utang na loob, of deep gratitude, rooted in our culture of generosity, can only be repaid by an equal act of generosity. It is a cycle of care that is common in our culture. It has become a social obligation, where the only expectation is for the other person to match our generosity in one way or another.

It extends not just to social obligations, but to social convention as well. Paydays are a time for celebration, and it is tradition to spend your first paycheck to treat your family, friends, and/or co-workers to something. Birthdays are pretty much the same thing – the celebrant is expected to treat their friends, family, and/or coworkers, which is the direct opposite of some western cultures where the celebrant is the one that is treated, and does not spend a single cent.

It can even be argued that this communal culture results in another well-known Filipino trait – the “bahala na” attitude. It may be a subconscious thing, where we know that we got each other’s backs, so we choose not to worry about things that we “cannot control.”

This mindset has both positive and negative aspects. We do not sweat the small stuff, but sometimes we also just choose to ignore the future and enjoy the now – meaning, we immediately spend what we have when we have it. This leads to the phenomenon of Petsa de Peligro, or the days leading up to the next payday, when we have to deal with the consequences of our earlier spending habits.

The point is that it pays to be aware of the impact of culture in the way we manage our finances. Financial literacy is something that is always worth improving on. However, not knowing that we behave in certain ways is also as detrimental as not knowing how to save for the future.

We need to strike a balance between generosity and frugality. We owe it to ourselves, and to each other. It feels good to celebrate and help, but it would feel better if we did that outside the context of living from one paycheck to the next.