The new year is always a good opportunity for a fresh start. For those renting a condo, wouldn’t it be great if you could become a better tenant? We’re not saying you aren’t, but there’s always room for improvement such as these renter’s resolutions for 2019.
Increase your financial capability
One of the most important tenant’s new year’s resolutions is to increase financial capability. Well, it actually should be in everybody’s financial new year’s resolution to increase their financial capability. That’s to avoid the impact of inflation – especially in the Philippines – that puts a strain on everybody’s budget.
Increasing your financial capability through investing in the stock market, setting up a business, creating passive income, and a high-paying job with good benefits should be a priority this year. This will help you in the long run – especially when your landlord decides to increase rent.
Prepare emergency funds
Preparing your emergency funds is very important. So much so that it should be done as soon as you start working. Having this kind of fund ready will help prepare you for a dry spell such as sudden loss of work, health emergencies, and shortage of budget. If you don’t have one yet, it would be best to include that in your list of new year’s resolutions.
How exactly do you prepare your emergency funds? How much is enough? There are plenty of ways to start saving for your emergency funds. Here’s the simplest way to do it – separate one-third of your salary every payday until you reach the desired amount. Experts say that your emergency fund should be at least three times your actual net salary and that it should constantly grow. It should also be something that you can easily withdraw.
Pay ahead of the deadline
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Do you feel stressed because of your monthly deadlines? Why not include paying your bills as soon as possible your new year’s resolution? The sooner you pay your monthly bills, the better you’ll be able to save up or spend your money for the things you
Increase monthly budget for payments
Increasing your monthly budget for bills payment can hit two birds with one stone. First, you’ll be able to separate the budget for your monthly bills. Second, by increasing your budget for monthly payments, you can use the excess to help build your emergency fund and save for something big in the future, like your own house! This may strangle your daily budget, but if you do the previous resolutions you’ll probably have the money to do this, too.
Use bank apps to pay household bills
We now live in the digital age where everything can be paid with a tap of your finger. Use your bank’s online/mobile banking system to pay your bills and save money. Yes! You can actually save money through apps.
Imagine this, you go to a payment center to pay bills. Let’s say your electricity bill is around Php1,000.30 and you pay Php1,001. We’re pretty sure that the Philippine currency doesn’t have 30 or 70 cent coins, and the cashier doesn’t always have the exact change. What happens here is that more often than not, we simply give away the change and lose money.
It may look like small amount to you now, but if you keep doing that twelve times a year for the next decade or so for different bills, you’re looking at a huge sum that could have been yours.
So aside from saving by paying the exact amount, you can also cut your budget for traveling to the payment center. And that looks like a good way to start the year.
Conduct general cleaning at least once a month
Part of being a good tenant is being able to clean the place you’re renting. That’s why we think it would mean a lot for the landlord if you conduct general cleaning at least once a month. Not only do you clean up the place for them, you also keep your home a healthier place to live in. Think of it as a healthy new year’s
Be a responsible energy user
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A nice new year’s resolution for your apartment and your wallet is to become a responsible energy user. This means turning off appliances when nobody is using it or when the room is empty. It’s a good way to save money, as well as prolong the life of your appliances.
Be an eco-warrior
Having a clean home is a huge plus for your landlord, your neighbors, and yourself. Improve condo living conditions by becoming an eco-warrior. Learn how to segregate trash properly, reuse and recyle items, and avoid using single-use plastic. You can even teach your neighbors how to make eco-bricks to help the less fortunate. Eco-bricks are plastic bottles packed with plastic to create a set density and create a reusable building
Repair or replace broken items
In feng shui, it’s a bad way to start the new year with broken items in your house. It invites negative energy instead of free-flowing chi. Even if you don’t believe in feng shui, wouldn’t it be great to start the new year with everything up and running in your unit?
Buy your own home
Condo leasing is a good way to move closer to work or have your own place quickly, but this is temporary. At the end of the day, wouldn’t you want to have a place where you can change things as you please? Wouldn’t it be great to have a place that you could truly call home? With the saving resolutions listed here, you can save up enough money to buy your own home at DMCI Homes and start living a full life.
Ultimately, our renter’s new year’s resolutions are there to help us become better. That includes our financial and physical state. Hopefully, you can follow through and save enough money to stop renting and buy your own condo or house.
