Have you ever wondered how your weekly expenditures stack up against your peers? While our culture is significantly more open-minded than it used to be, asking someone about financial matters can still be taboo. To help you figure out how you fare compared to your peers, WMN.ph interviewed a few women from a wide range of occupations about their weekly spending habits. Here’s what we came up with.

By Yagi Olaguera

Name: Sarah Cruz*
Age: 32
Occupation: Editor
Civil Status: Married
Children: 1
Monthly Salary: P40, 000 to P50, 000

The monthly rent for Sarah’s home is P27,000 and she pays P3,500 for electricity, P300 water, and P3,000 for her Internet and landline connection. Naturally, her husband also contributes a significant amount to the household budget though it isn’t listed here.

Groceries (food/toiletries/house stuff)= P4,000
Miscellaneous (eating out, etc.)= P3,000
Gas = P1,000
Prepaid phone cards = P200
Total = P8,200

***

Name: Rea Reyes
Age: 22
Occupation: Ateneo de Manila University Graduate Student
Civil Status: Single
Children: 0
Monthly Salary: P20,000 to P25,000

For extra income, Rea works as a graduate assistant for the university’s English Department. She also does other jobs in the campus to help supplement her income. Her parents pay for her rent and utilities, so she only needs to pay for her daily expenses. Most of her money is spent on eating out because she does not prepare her own food at home.

Food = P2,800
Transportation = P350
Toiletries = P200
School materials (books, pens, papers, etc.)= P400
Total = P3,750

***

Name: Princess Coloma
Age: 21
Occupation: Sales Account Planner for Monde Nissin
Civil Status: Single
Children: 0
Monthly Salary: P25,000 to P30,000

Prin Coloma still resides with her parents so there are no additional costs for rent and utilities. Her weekly expense list seems relatively frugal compared to the two initial subjects that we interviewed, with only a total of P900 spent on non-essentials like her weekly tennis lessons, occasional movie, or dinner.

Food = P1,000
Transportation = P700
Tennis = P300
Miscellaneous (movie and dinner) = P600
Total = P2,600

***

Name: Tebs Gomez
Age: 27
Occupation: English Instructor, Berlitz Language Center, Makati
Civil Status: Single
Children: 0
Monthly Salary: P15,000 to P20,000

Tebs doesn’t have utilities and rent to worry about. Her food expenditures depend on whether she eats with her parents or goes out with her friends. For her groceries, she spends most of it on toiletries along with coffee. She’s also taking interior design classes so she needs to spend extra for her school materials. She also owns a few fish and a Jack Russell Terrier, adding a few more pesos to her weekly expenses.

Food = P2,500
Transportation = P200
Groceries (toiletries, etc.)= P1,000
Miscellaneous (materials for school, etc.) = P200
Pet supplies = P500
Total = P4,400

* Name has been changed