While the whole nation cringes at the ostentatious display of spending pattern of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration, overshooting its cumulative travel budget by roughly a P1 billion, frugality is fast growing to be a norm for the rest of the populace.

This standard, of course, only holds true for those who have the means. Others are just holding their breath, salivating on the financial capacity and the whimsical, capricious way by which the delegation of the Revered Resident of the Palace by the River spends money as if it grows on trees.

While we are on the subject of the unabashed, grandiose expenditures, I recoiled at the bravery, alright, audacity of Ilocos Norte solon Bongbong Marcos’ joining the bandwagon of critics, lambasting the virtual complete disregard of the current dispensation on the value of money. Mr. Bongbong commented that the Le Cirque and Bobby Van’s dinners were “in bad taste” amidst the gruesome poverty statistics in the country.
 
Tell me about it!
On a personal note, such comment was uncalled for. It left a bitter taste in the mouth. This, just when the Marcos siblings won my admiration for fearlessly going to the sea of yellow supporters to pay their last respect to the democratic icon, Tita Cory.

Sorry, but history tells us that it was your parents Mr. Representative who siphoned off the wealth of the country.  Again, tell me about splurging! I do realize his desire to be in the news with his plan to seek a national position this coming election. But, please do not engage the people into another debate of who is the bigger spender.

On the other hand, hats off to your Mom, the former First Lady, who remained tightlipped on the issue of flamboyant expenditures. Madame, known globally as the lady with more than a thousand pairs of shoes, to my mind, was more careful and sensitive, if not altogether mellowed.

In golf parlance, the solon shot a double par but the Madame, the epitome of how splurging should be done, scored an ace.

Spendthrift
In this fragile economic situation, there is no substitute for frugality—setting aside a portion of one’s resources for the so-called rainy days. Despite the glaring reality of virtual disregard of one’s resources by some people, yuppies, on the other hand, have adopted a more guarded attitude in parting with their hard earned money. This stance holds throughout the world, from the Asia-Pacific rim to the oil-rich Middle East and the African region as well.

In a recent survey conducted in March this year by MasterCard involving 9,211 consumers in 21 markets, 73 percent of the consumers below 30 years old were vocal about their intention to save more in the next six months. Topping the list of savers is the Vietnamese with 52 percent of the respondents embracing prudence as a way of life, followed by the Bombays at 47 percent with Filipinos taking the sixth place at 45 percent.

In the Philippines, the economic uncertainty has prompted 83 percent of Filipinos to become financially forward looking and tightwads. They see the need to maintain or increase their level of savings in preparation for unforeseen emergency expenditures.

Based on the survey, majority of Filipino consumers, 47 percent, intend to set aside at least one percent to as much as 10 percent of their monthly income. Among the different age groups, those in the 18-30 age bracket, representing 89 percent, are most concerned about saving for a rainy day compared to their older counterparts, 31 to 45 years old, with only 42 percent claiming they would embrace frugality.

It, too, showed that the older ones get the higher compulsion to spend. About 41 percent of the respondents falling under the 46-55 years old bracket claim they plan to save and further down to 37 percent for 56 and above age bracket. This indicates that the yearning to spend is more prevalent for the older genre, who believes in enjoying their life now.

Dissecting the survey further to genders, 48 percent of the female consumers, say they plan to save up compared to 43 percent for male consumers.

Savings levels are a leading indicator of consumers’ future spending patterns. Dr. Yuwa Hedrick Wong, economic advisor, Asia-Pacific MasterCard worldwide, explains that a lot of households save so that they can spend later on the purchase of large ticket items. “From this perspective, such savings are merely indicators of future consumption. Precautionary savings are, however, qualitatively different. They represent a net subtraction of total spending because funds are put aside and untouched when people worry about the future. Therefore, precautionary savings affect consumer spending in ways that other forms of savings don’t.”

Form of Payment
While, Filipino consumers are getting to be more financially savvy, savings for some is a way of satisfying their thirst for owning a must have electronic products and/or a property.

I must admit, shopping is one of my favorite past times, making me one of those who belong to the 38 percent of the MasterCard respondents, who would save for intended item purchase.

This brings to mind the recent comfort product that Globe Telecom in tandem with Delbros unveiled to its customers, the GCASH Click. A maneuver that would further endear the telecom firm to its clients, GCASH Click is believed to be Globe’s answer to a growing number of shoppers online without worrying about hackers.

Globe’s chief executive officer Ernest Cu points out that with GCASH structure as well as Delbros’ reputation for safe and secure deliveries, one is “free to shop online without worrying above delivery. It doesn’t just make shopping convenient, we’re out to change the way it’s done.”

Just to backtrack a bit, GCASH is synonymous to your cellular phone being your virtual wallet.

A risk free way to shop, GCASH Click handles the payment, pick-up delivery of your online purchase courtesy of Delbros. Shopping security is ensured with the online shopper protection system as it takes care of both buyer and seller by establishing an awareness of the transaction in progress. An added security is in place as GCASH Click parks the buyer’s payment up until the item purchased has been delivered. It is only then that the final settlement is credited to the seller.

Way to go Globe!

‘Til our next filibustering.

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