Bakit natin inuuna yung gamit sa bahay?

I went to visit my friend at his house yesterday. He lived in a nice condo and I commented on his nice furniture and appliances. He even 'invested' in a nice entertainment system. That was all great until I found out he was just renting his unit. To make matters worse, he didn't have any savings and all of the stuff he bought was on zero installment...

I spoke to another person about her plans and goals for the future and one of the first things she told me was - 'Gusto ko na magkapera para magkaroon na ako ng gamit sa bahay.'

I'm at the house of another friend who is about to send a balikbayan box back to the Philippines (I’m overseas right now). It was full of groceries and 'gamit para sa bahay'!

Why do we give so much importance to the stuff we have for the house? Bakit natin inuuna yung gamit sa bahay?

Why can't we give priority to our long term financial future instead?

Is it because it was on sale? Is it because we think we need it? Is it because we just liked it and bought it? Or, is it because we grew up thinking that the 'gamit' we have rewards our hard work and shows our success in life?

Honestly, I don't know the reason. Different people have different reasons. But what I know is this:

• Most of the time, the stuff we buy for our house we don't really need. It's nice to have but we don't absolutely really need it. The 'gamit' depreciates as fast as you buy it. This means the moment its in your house you can't sell it for what you bought it for.
• Saving the money that you spend for gamit and investing it means that you are one step closer to having a comfortable retirement.

When I was younger I dreamed of the nice car, nice clothes, nice house, travel and all the 'gamit' that I ever dreamed of. I used to dream that I would get this high paying job or have a big business that I would get my income from. But then I learned two important things:

1. No matter how much money I earn I can NEVER have all the gamit I ever want. There is always something newer that comes along and my bank account was always EMPTY!
2. I met two very important people that changed my life. I met a guy who I thought was successful. He had all the stuff and the lifestyle I wanted. But there was one big problem. He wasn't wealthy. He had to work harder and longer just to maintain his expensive lifestyle. Then I met another person. On the outside a very simple person, didn't have all the things that I wanted in my life but there was one thing she had that I REALLY wanted. At age 40 she was already retired. She didn't want to work her entire life so she saved her money little by little until she had enough to retire. Now she wakes up everyday not needing to work, she does the things she wants to do. It's a beautiful way to live.

For more information on how I can help you email me on hoover@barongroup.com.ph.