Remember those days when beepers ruled the land. One needed to call an operator and give the message. The operator would send a set of numbers that the beeper (receiver) would somehow understand when read. Eventually this proved inefficient as messages that were often garbled or mixed up by the operators.

A few years later, the privileged had access to the “refrigerator” type cell phones. Yes to those born in the 90’s, cell phones didn’t always fit the size of your palm nor did it fit your pocket. Motorola dominated this era and Nokia wasn’t available yet in the Philippine market.

But now we have a multitude of mobile devices available. It seems difficult to even imagine yourself without a cell phone. Some individuals today carry more than 4 units, varying in brand, model, function, network provider, etc. Text messaging is such a big industry here that we remain the undisputed texting capital of the world.

The changes in technology highlight one thing: clearly there is a need to communicate. The question I would like to present  to you is: how much do you actually need to spend on it?

At present Juan dela Cruz spends a significant portion of his money on load or communications expenses from simple texting and calling to mobile internet services.  Prior to all these technological advances, costs were minimal (think posting letters and telephone service). Granted that time is the most expensive resource, one would need to spend for paper and postage if a letter was written, or a cup of coffee for a conversation.

Those of us who remember days gone by, remember these things with fondness as they are filled with much meaning and emotion especially when compared to Php7/min. calls and Php1/SMS. (We’re not even considering the cost of the mobile device).

Imagine how much you can save monthly if these usual forms of communication were reduced. But then again, one can argue that there are “unli” promos that give you a bang for your buck. However think again, re-evaluate your actual monthly consumption. For all you know, it could be that you are not able to fully utilize unlimited services. Or if you are an avid user of mobile services and you aren’t using these unli promos, look at what is  available as you might spend less by taking advantage of it.

Most phones have minute trackers and text counters so it’s not like you’d be jotting down numbers after every call or SMS. Compare this with how much you spend on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. If most of your calls are to family members-spouse or children, consider switching to shared plans which allow for unlimited calls/texts or share minutes. Every peso saved matters! It could be the peso that kickstarts your journey to wealth or the peso that finally gets you out of debt.

Use communication to your advantage and spend wisely on it. More importantly encourage your children and young people to be prudent in spending for communication because unlike us, they don’t remember the age where mobile phones and the internet didn’t exist. To them this is normal – for them communication and being on-line are a necessity. Free yourself from the pressure to respond to every text message, phone call and email the second you get it. You have time 🙂

Victor S. Cruz is a Financial Wellness Advocate of Colayco Foundation and a former Project Officer of Colayco Foundation. At present he is an educator who focuses on teaching stock market decision support systems. He also works as a sales executive and tests new business systems. He actively manages his investment portfolio consisting of equities, mutual funds and cooperatives, particularly KSK Coop and Ahon sa Kahirapan.