Hard truths young pros need to learn about handling finances

If there’s anything we can learn from the pandemic, it’s that life is extremely unpredictable. One day, you could be living your best life, enjoying all the pleasures money can buy. Then the next could be a total 180 turn. Everything can change in the blink of an eye—from your health to your job—and there’s nothing you can do about it but be prepared.

The only thing constant is change

The past year has muddled the whole concept of job security for businesses across industries as well as workers of all ages. Your employment situation today can be different tomorrow due to many factors such as shifting community quarantine protocols, surging number of COVID cases, and other mercurial circumstances. This big of a change can catch you off guard, especially since you’ve been used to living a certain type of way.

Right now, you may have adapted your lifestyle to the present-day norm—working from home five days a week, ordering food online whenever you want, and constantly adding a beaucoup of tchotchkes and essentials alike to your online shopping cart—but these comforts are not constant. What will you do when a drastic change happens to your source of income? Will you be able to cope financially and still fund all your needs and luxuries?

Metrobank has teamed up with The Philippine STAR to create a miniseries on financial education called #SurvivingWithMissy. These hilarious yet informative videos aim to educate millennials and Gen Zs to be smarter with their money and not just spend it willy-nilly.

To be young and wise… with money

The miniseries follows the lockdowned life of Missy, a young professional twenty-something who’s having trouble coming to grips with how her employer reduced her work week and pay. Deeply upset by the pay cut, Missy’s worry piles on as a stack of bills arrives. She then realizes she has to be smarter with how she spends her money, especially now that she’s making less than she used to. If she fails to, she’ll be met with consequences like incurring a massive amount of debt.

So Missy hops on her laptop to look for ways on how to clear debt fast. There, she’s directed to a Metrobank site where she learns about a five-step game plan on sorting through her finances.

1. Manage your finances

Managing your money means more than just organizing your bills. This also includes budgeting and tracking your expenses. It’s not the most fun activity, but it’s an important course of action to take. After all, handling whatever finances wisely is how you’ll make sure you still have funds in the future.

2. Face your debt

To deal with your debt, you must come to terms with it first and foremost. Sure, it can be painful, but there’s nothing like the sobering reality of your situation to make you realize that you need to change how you handle your finances. In the video, Missy humorously envisioned facing her debt with suffering, with it needing some form of supernatural intervention. The reality is, it isn’t going to be as complicated as that. Nobody should suffer when they face their debt.

3. Create an emergency fund

Although it’s tempting to dip into this budget when the latest gadgets or gaming consoles are suddenly available, emergency funds should not be used for luxury. It’s called “emergency” for a reason. This money should be tucked away for medical emergencies, home and car repairs, and other unforeseen expenses.

4. Create opportunities to better your life

To better your life doesn’t necessarily mean to upscale your way of living. There’s more to life than having all the luxury money can buy. Is that new gadget really worth being in debt for months for?

5. Create sources of income

One common example of how this can be done is through investing in the stock market. However, you can’t expect immediate results nor participate in it like you would in a horse race. Investing means it’s for long-term goals, and it takes smarts to navigate these waters, too.

The first episode of the #SurvivingWithMissy highlights the misconceptions young people often have when it comes to money and clearing debt. Clearing debt and managing finances don’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of work and discipline to form new, smarter habits, but you can do it!

Stay tuned for more episodes of #SurvivingWithMissy on The Philippine STAR’s Facebook page.

For more lessons on financial education, visit https://metrobank.com.ph/learn.

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Editor’s Note: BrandedUp is designed to provide you with insightful, inspiring and educational content created by PhilSTAR L!fe in collaboration with brands like Metrobank.