One of the BEST BUYS ever!

When you think of a New gadget, do you feel like buying it ASAP?

As soon as you have the money, do you run off to the nearest store and buy "that new toy everyone's dying to have?"

I just had that frenzy! The gadget I sooo wanted to have was a digital point-and-shoot camera. But I remembered these principles as the urge of having one grew intensely.

1. SAVE..SAVE…SAVE

Have you noticed that money saved is hard to spend? Yeah! Imagine, you working you’re as* off, then in a blink of an eye you loose it. Guh!

I learned this when I started working at the age of 17. Earning money early teaches you to be frugal with your spending. Since I was receiving a minimum salary for a start, this taught me how to save.

20% of my earning automatically goes to savings.

Saving is for EMERGENCY. Instead of borrowing money, use your savings. Why?

If you borrow money you will be paying PRINCIPAL LOAN+ INTEREST. Which is more. But if you save, you may not have savings left, but it definitely is not borrowed money! Make sense?

Save for what you want. Set a target amount. For my camera I had a target amount of P8,000.

2. WAIT...ASK…THINK ABOUT IT!

Waiting is an essential discipline I learned while I lived in the Farm. I learned that prolonging my decision for a few more days or weeks gave me more time to think about an item I wanted.

While I was waiting I started asking people who are camera enthusiast, I started searching the internet and I literally went to Hidalgo, Quiapo to check what kind of camera I could get for P8,000.

I was downhearted after going to the camera shops in Hidalgo. The kind of camera I could get for P8,000 are good cameras but not exactly the kind of quality I was looking for. Still hoping to find ‘the camera’ I wanted, I checked eBay Philippines out of curiosity. Miraculously I came across this person who was selling a black CANON IXUS-100IS model. I fell in love with the camera the moment I saw it. Knowing that it was 2^nd hand I was hesitant. But I still called the owner to inquire.

Just to give you a little background on the CANON IXUS-100IS. A brand new unit costs P17, 500. When I went to Hidalgo, the black colored one was sold out and they were down to their last few units. I asked the clerk what their best-seller on the point-and-shoot was, he said “CANON-IXUS 100 IS was the best seller. And we will be phasing it out soon.” After hearing that, I was fully convinced that this was the camera I will be buying.

Like I said earlier, I called up the owner of the camera to inquire and asked if the unit was still available. He said that 2 people called earlier to check the camera that day. But I knew that camera would be mine! I just knew it!

Going on with our conversation I asked him “So where do you stay? I’m willing to get the unit if it’s still in good condition.” He assured me that it was hardly used and he was selling it to buy a DSLR. He gave me his address in Alabang! (an hours drive w/o traffic) good luck!

2 days later, I scheduled to drive all the way to Alabang to look for this eBay seller not knowing if I’ll be buying the camera and if I’ll be able to find his place. Risky huh?

Going there wasn’t hard. 11:15 I arrived at his place and we went straight to business. I checked the camera. I kept on asking the history of the camera. ASK ASK ASK!

After testing the camera over and over again I made up my mind. I was going to buy it! So asked him “How much are you selling this?”, he replied “P7,500. Mura nay an. (that’s cheap!)”, in response I added “What does this go with?”, he said “4GB memory card, charger, and a pouch.” Being kuripot, I still negotiated for a lower price. He smiled and said “Last price na po yan sir.” In my mind I knew P7,500 was a good deal. I paid him cash right there and then.

What lesson did I learn in all of this?

First I saved for something I wanted/needed. Second, wait and ask the opinion of other people. Never rush a decision! Proverbs 15:22 reminded me that “..with many advisers a plan succeeds.”

Remember my budget was P8,000? I bought the camera for P7,500. And I used P500 to gas up the car. TOTAL EXPENSE: P8,000.

SAVE…WAIT…ASK..THINK ABOUT IT!