I was reading Yahoo News and 1 article caught my attention- ‘How to Handle awkward money situations’. The article gave some tips and pointers on how you can escape awkward money conversations and situations. I actually got some of the things I actually experienced in the past as well as learning I got from mentors. Here it goes.
How much is your Salary? How much is your income?
When I started working, this is like one of the most sacred info in the office. As much as you’d want to ask your co-worker how much is his or her salary, more or less you already know that you’re not going to get a straight answer. Just the same, when someone asks you, I’d bet your answer will be a simple ‘SECRET’.
As I attended seminars about finance, I learned of a better way to answer such question. When someone asks you, “Magkano sweldo mo?”, you should say “Tama lang”. When he goes “Magkano nga?”, you say “Tama lang nga”. And if he goes, “Magkano nga please”, answer him “Tama nga lang. Pag di ka pa tumigil, tatamaan ka na”. Har har.
Can I Borrow Money? (Pautang Naman)
I have to say I learned this the hard way. Basic rule of thumb is that “Never lend to family and friends, period.” A lot of good relationships were destroyed due to this common practice. And to think it’s very common to Filipinos to borrow (mangutang). And guess what, problem usually arises when the borrower refuses to pay.
So how do you handle if a friend or family is borrowing money? Instead of lending him the full amount, try to give ‘some’ instead. Say your friend is borrowing P10,000.00, just tell him that you don’t have that spare cash. If you can ‘give’ him P1,000-P2,000 without expecting any returns, that would be a better way than lending money.
Other awkward situations are dining out with friends, your friend did a poor job on a project, giving to charity. If you want to read the whole story, check it here ->
I know it’s never easy when you’re in those kind of awkward money situations. I’ve been there a couple of times and I’m not even sure if I can handle it smoothly in case I’d be in another in the future. But reading ideas like this can surely equip you with better solutions and excuses.
How bout you, have you had any awkward money situation before?