The One Million Peso Challenge

I’m done with one-tenth in 10 months

August 2020

Mom giving money lecture to kids:

If you want to have one million pesos in your name, you have to start saving while you are young. You already knew how to save through your piggy banks. Now, we will advance, I’ll teach you how to invest. But first, give me your view on what does it take to have one million pesos.

Eldest son:

To have one million pesos, I need to study hard, finish college, have a good job and start saving the moment I earn my first salary. One million pesos is a big sum. It’s hard to save the entire amount.

The answer of the youngest son opened our minds:

It’s easy to have one million pesos. Just buy one million candies and sell them at a mark-up of 1 peso each. Maybe you don’t have to really sell to 1 million people because your friends, neighbors, and relatives will buy more than one. Maybe they’ll buy a hundred. Simple. Once all candies are gone, one million is there for you.

June 2021, after 10 months

Money saved: Php 120,256.00 (around $2405)

No, I didn't peddle candies to 120k people. Definitely, no Ponzi scheme involved. What I did is simply substitute saving instead of selling as conceptualized with the kids. This activity curbed spending, encouraged saving, and made me appreciate all the money blessings coming in.

I remembered wanting some pizza that night but we ended making our own. Kids said it’s money supposed to be spent but ended up safe in my pocket. So I have to set it aside as savings and record it in a notebook. That is Php 1000.00. That equates to not having to sell 1000 candies to 1000 people. A big hassle that I was spared from just because I set aside the urge to order a pizza.

At last, I got it.

Every day, I list down ways that money was saved or came in for free. When neighbors give food gifts and we spared the supposed budget for snacks, then I write it down in my savings diary. When I feel like going to the parlor but ended up convincing myself that it’s not yet safe and I did my own nails, then record the corresponding money saved.

The list went on and on. Money saved on: transportation because I work from home; school uniforms because the kids attend classes online; discount on tuition; food gifts; credit card rebates; food items given by the government during the pandemic; veggies from our garden that we consumed, and many more.

When I listed them down, it dawned on me that by curbing my impulse to shop and by appreciating that money comes in different ways, I actually don’t need to sell candies to 1 million people to have one million pesos. I saved face and effort. I began appreciating even a Php 5.00 discount because it equates to foregoing selling to 5 people.

I opened a stock market account for that activity and used the weekly savings to purchase blue-chip stocks. I used the peso cost averaging strategy. And it didn’t take long because after 7 months the money gave birth to more money. I got Php 1619.57 dividends in my Manila Electric Company shares.

Without selling anything, I was able to invest a substantial amount of money. I just have to go through a very simple exercise borne out of my kid’s simple thoughts on how to have a million. I also enjoyed writing in my savings diary every day to appreciate the blessing of money that I decided to stay and those that are most welcome when they come my way.

Indeed, a penny saved is a penny earned. We are hopeful to finish the One Million Peso challenge in less than 10 years. [Note: 1 million pesos is around $20,000]

This story is for informational purposes and only expresses the personal views of the author. It should not be taken as strict financial advice.