How do you spend your first paycheck? A finance expert weighs in.

When one begins to start earning their own money, one of the most daunting tasks is learning how to manage it. Senior Financial Advisor, Certified Associate Financial Planner, and content creator Antonette Aquino shares tips on how to build good financial habits for yourself as early as your first job, or if you’ve been working several years and want to improve on your money management:

 

1. Prioritize spending on needs and avoid splurging on things that will not bring you value in the future. Aquino also says that we can treat ourselves once in a while to enjoy the fruits of our hard work…for as long as it doesn’t jeopardize our future.

2. Pay yourself first. Before paying for bills, commit to setting a percentage of your income to savings and investments. This includes putting money into your investment accounts and buying insurance. Make sure to do this consistently!

3. Use the bucketing method to separate your finances. For people who are still trying to get the hang of saving, Aquino recommends trying out the bucketing method which allows you to have a clearer view of your spending and saving habits when all your funds are separated. Instead of having all of your money in one savings account, It is best to have four kinds of accounts:

1. Operating Fund - Allocate money for recurring expenses such as quarterly, monthly, or annual bills in this account.
2. Emergency Fund – Allocate 20% of your income to this account for unforeseen expenses such as a medical emergency or a job loss.
3. Financial Freedom Fund – This account is for the achievement of life goals and dreams, which include retiring early or going back to school.
4. Happy Account – This account is for all of your leisurely expenses like travel.

4. When you earn more, don’t immediately upgrade your lifestyle. If you continuously level up your belongings and lifestyle every time you earn more money, you will never be able to hit your targets. Remind yourself to live below your means until you’ve begun to hit them.

5. The longer you put off investing, the harder you’ll need to work to get to the same level of financial freedom as someone who starts investing earlier. If you start saving and investing as soon as you start earning, you will reap the benefits of financial freedom sooner rather than later.

6. The importance of saving money is simple: It allows you to enjoy greater security in your life. If you have cash set aside for emergencies, you have a fallback should something unexpected happen. Once you’re in the habit of saving, you’ll forget there was ever a time when you didn’t save. In this area of life, the habits you build will make all the difference.

 

Start your financial journey with GSave

For those who want to begin their journey to financial stability, look no further. GSave, the first-ever savings account which you can open and maintain on your GCash app, has now built the GSave Marketplace — helping you control your money conveniently through safe and secure digital banking.

 

The GSave Marketplace lets users select a bank partner depending on their needs. Whether it’s interest rate or account accessibility, GCash provides trusted bank partners for you, including CIMB Bank and BPI.

 

With CIMB Bank, your money can grow at 2.6% interest per year - one of the highest rates in the country.. Meanwhile, with BPI, users can now open a BPI MySaveUp account through the GCash App, allowing them to easily view their balance, deposit and withdraw at their own convenience. BPI account holders will also be issued an ATM card for their account, so they can access their funds via BPI branches and ATMs nationwide.

 

Following through with its promise to provide a hassle-free experience to its customers, all you have to do to start your banking journey with GSave is a valid ID to verify your GCash account. Through GSave Marketplace, users can rely on and easily access where users can choose from a variety of saving products.

 

Get started on your savings today with GSave!

 

To know more about the service, visit https://help.gcash.com/hc/en-us/sections/360004696233-GSave

 

About GCash

GCash (G-Xchange, Inc.) is the #1 Financial App in the Philippines. Through the GCash App, customers can easily purchase prepaid airtime; pay bills at over 1,400k partner billers; send and receive money anywhere in the Philippines, even to other bank accounts; purchase from over 5M partner merchants and social sellers; cash-in and cash-out at 232k partner agent network; and get access to savings, credit, insurance and invest money all at the convenience of their smartphones. GCash is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mynt (Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc.).

 

GCash was recognized by The Asian Banker (TAB) and by the IDC in 2021 for its outstanding digital financial inclusion programs impacting more than 60 million Filipinos in the country today.

CIMB Bank Announces 500,000th Customer and Expands strategic partnership with GCash

“CIMB Bank PH is surely the fastest growing bank in ASEAN, a wonderful achievement, and a strong testament of things that can be achieved in the regime of digital-only banks. We are motivated by this and will continue to innovate for our customers. Well done to the teams. The partnership with GCash was central to us achieving this milestone. It is a live case study of bank-tech partnerships, a combination of banking expertise and technology platform plays, and the opportunities it allows both parties to access. I look forward to developing more propositions with GCash to further establish our mobile banking presence in the Philippines.” ~Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul Aziz, Group CEO, CIMB Group

Malaysian all-digital, mobile-first bank CIMB Bank PH, was launched in early 2019 with a goal of bringing a unique and differentiated banking proposition to Filipinos announced that it has garnered 500,000 customers, approximately six months after opening its doors for business in the Philippines and partner Philippine fintech leader Mynt is excited to announce a landmark achievement in its aim toward digital financial inclusion for Filipinos. The milestone was reached anchored on a strong proposition of co-creation and partnership between CIMB Bank and GCash. 

HALF-MILLION DIGITAL SAVERS. ASEAN universal bank CIMB celebrates the milestone achievement of 500,000 users of the GSave mobile savings account on its partner platform GCash, the leading mobile wallet in the Philippines. Photo shows (from left): GSave’s 500,000th user Seigfred Barcelona, CIMB Bank Philippines chief executive officer Vijay Manoharan, Mynt president and chief executive officer Anthony Thomas, CIMB Group CEO Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, CIMB Group Ventures & Partnerships chief executive officer Effendy Shahul Hamid, and GCash head of savings Kim Aimei Seng.

Anchored on a DNA of strong strategic partnerships and solving customer pain points digitally, CIMB Bank PH had forged a partnership with GCash, to allow GCash’s customers direct, paperless and seamless access to savings account services, a product termed GSave. GCash is an epayments platform owned by Mynt, the revolutionary fintech startup of Globe Telecom, Ayala Corporation and Ant Financial, an affiliate of Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group.

In line with this, CIMB Bank PH and GCash also announced that the GSave bank account will be exclusively offered only on the GCash platform. The companies also said they will be working together to make added suites of financial services products available to GCash customers in the future. These services will be announced in due course. 

Anthony Thomas, President and Chief Executive Officer of GCash

“The acquisition of 500,000 users is a clear testament that the partnership between GCash and CIMB Bank through GSave is a success. We welcome this achievement and the deepening of our collaboration with CIMB Bank, and assure our users that we will continue to provide more innovative services to address the banking and financial needs of Filipinos who aspire for financially better lives for their families.” ~Anthony Thomas, President and Chief Executive Officer of GCash

Anthony Thomas, affirmed its shared mission with CIMB Bank to increase the accessibility of financial products and services for all Filipinos.

The 500,000 GSave users are now enjoying the benefits of CIMB’s savings account, which is available as the Save Money feature on the GCash app. GSave offers an interest rate of 3 percent per annum, which is more than ten times higher than those interest rates offered by most Philippine banks. 

Additionally, GSave does not require an initial deposit or maintaining balance, nor does it impose service charges for transactions—greatly reducing the barriers for ordinary Filipinos to open and maintain a savings account.

For more information, please visit https://www.globe.com.ph/gcash. To learn more, visit us at www.cimbbank.com.ph or Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Instagram @CIMBBankPH. Download OCTO by CIMB Bank in App & Play stores today. 

About CIMB Bank Philippines

CIMB Bank, ASEAN’s Top 5 largest bank present in over 16 global markets, has extended its reach in 2018 by providing Filipinos a whole new banking experience. CIMB Bank Philippines Inc. is an all-digital mobile bank headquartered in Bonifacio Global City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

CIMB Bank Philippines offers 24/7 safe and secure banking with their seamless account opening in 10 minutes, the best in market rates, no initial deposit or maintaining balance requirements, convenient deposit and withdrawal locations, and zero transaction fees, all done through OCTO by CIMB Bank mobile app.

CIMB: The Way Banking Should Be.

About CIMB Group

CIMB Group is one of ASEAN’s leading universal banking groups and is Malaysia’s second largest financial services provider, by assets. It offers consumer banking, commercial banking, investment banking, Islamic banking and asset management products and services. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, the Group is present in all 10 ASEAN nations (Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Philippines). Beyond ASEAN, the Group has market presence in China, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Korea, the US and UK.

CIMB Group has the most extensive retail branch network in ASEAN of around 740 branches as at 30 June 2019. CIMB Group’s investment banking arm is also one of the largest Asia Pacific-based investment banks, offering amongst the most comprehensive research coverage around 600 stocks in the region.

CIMB Group operates its business through three main brand entities, CIMB Bank, CIMB Investment Bank and CIMB Islamic. CIMB Group is also the 92.5% shareholder of Bank CIMB Niaga in Indonesia, and 94.8% shareholder of CIMB Thai in Thailand.

CIMB Group is listed on Bursa Malaysia via CIMB Group Holdings Berhad. It had a market capitalisation of approximately RM52.3 billion as at 30 June 2019. The Group has over 36,000 employees located in 16 countries.

About Mynt

Mynt is a partnership between Globe Telecom, the Ayala Corporation, and Ant Financial, that provides innovative and first-in-world fintech solutions to consumers, merchants, and organizations. Its vision is to enable financial access for consumers and merchants by disrupting traditional channels through digital financial technology services. It operates two fintech companies: GCash, a micropayment service that transforms the mobile phone into a virtual wallet for secure, fast, and convenient money transfer, and Fuse, a tech-based lending company that enables Filipinos to get microloans to business loans without the traditional requirements set by banks and other lending institutions. For more information, visit mynt.xyz.

About GCash

GCash is an internationally-acclaimed micropayment service that transforms the mobile phone into a virtual wallet for secure, fast, and convenient money transfer. GCash can be used to buy prepaid load, pay bills, send money, make donations, shop online, and even purchase goods without the need to bring any cash.