Building Brighter Futures Through Budgeting and Digital Finance

While doing community service in my mother’s hometown in the Philippines, I encountered many things that were new to me. One of the first things I recognized was the tight knit family culture. This was visible in the local shops and markets, where families could be seen laughing, eating, and enjoying themselves. However, I also learned that many families in the Philippines are haunted by shallow pockets and poor financial decisions. For instance, people often don’t earn sufficient wages to take care of themselves and their families. However, there was also a culture of spending a full month's salary shortly after payday. Even if some of the money was spent on essentials, many times, locals would treat themselves to non-essential rewards. Similarly, the locals would have to pay their debts which they rely upon to sustain their living, causing a majority of their paycheck to repay their debts. I recognized that decisions such as these are contributors to poverty, and they are a result of the lack of financial literacy, which is why I decided to teach financial literacy in the Philippines this summer.

The first topic that I’ll cover during the course will be Digital Finance & E‑Wallets. These have become increasingly prevalent in societies. Although they provide secure digital money management, many learners hesitate to embrace apps like GCash or Maya since they fear digital risk or simply don’t know how to begin. By portraying e‑wallets as tools for convenience, organization, and simplicity, the problem of inefficient, untracked spending will be mitigated. In our sessions, students will set up a mock digital wallet, learn how to set up their account, learn how to cash in (from a local shop or a 7-11), send and receive money, and utilize the budget features available on the app. Through hands-on exercises such as sending pesos to a family member, paying sample bills, and reviewing a transaction history, they will gain the confidence to navigate these platforms, and leverage budgeting features that automatically sort expenses into essentials, discretionary spends, and savings buckets.

Another topic that we will be covering is budgeting and saving with the “Alalay” Envelope System, which addresses the struggle between impulse purchases and long term security. When receiving a weekly or monthly paycheck without a plan, savings goals are easily forgotten and unexpected costs can hinder progress. By dividing income at the start of each period into three physical envelopes of Needs, Wants, and Savings, students learn how to prioritize money to put some towards each category. In our classroom, everyone will receive play pesos and a scenario sheet with typical teenage expenses. They will do things like allocate funds according to their priorities, then learn to adapt on the fly when a surprise expense, like a lost item or gift comes up. This process not only teaches the discipline of planning ahead but also sparks discussions about what it feels like to sacrifice wants for needs and how to adapt to certain situations.

Similarly, Financial Goal‑Setting & SMART Savings Plans will encourage tracking progress and accountability through clear milestones. Many times, the idea of saving money can be drowned out by many other essentials, especially when not tracking progress. By unpacking and explaining each SMART criterion: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time‑bound, and co‑create examples such as saving pesos for four weeks for some essential. Students then design their own SMART goals, sketch out a visual progress tracker, and commit to accountability partners who send weekly check‑ins. By translating dreams into clear deadlines and actionable steps, students will discover that tracking small wins by checking every sticker on the chart or checking in on their spreadsheet will build momentum and reinforce positive habits that last a lifetime.

By teaching financial literacy to the students in the Philippines, I hope to spread knowledge that will help them make better decisions for themselves and their future. My goal is for the activities to provide a real sense of how to do things such as making a budget, using an e-wallet, and setting financial goals, so that the students learn how to apply the lessons learned in the real world. Throughout this process, I want to learn more about the students' culture and how they address the issues of the lack of financial literacy.