Still wasting money on unnecessary and want to find a working strategy to manage your finances? My Ipon Diary teaches you how to achieve your ipon goals.

Chinkee Tan is a household name in finance, sales, business, entrepreneurship and leadership. His social media accounts are among (if not) the most popular for netizens who want to find advice in finances. He is also an author of many books, creator of planners and tipid kits.

My Ipon Diary is one of his most popular books. In his book, he emphasizes on the importance of saving money, sharing a straightforward strategy to saving, and how to maintain the discipline to achieve the ipon challenges.

The book is easily digestible. This is not the typical 500+ pages of financial guides, but something that is quick and can be implemented right away.

So, are you ready to plan and achieve your ipon goals? A quote from the book which says, “A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline,” encapsulates the essence of this masterpiece.

The Story of Marco and Paul

Tan started the book with a simple story. It was about best friends Marco Tipidna and Paul Luvina. Marco is thrifty, while Paul spends excessively.

This can be likened to the fable The Ant and the Grasshopper, where Paul would frequently tease Marco to enjoy life or YOLO while the other advises him to save money as this in itself brings fulfillment.

Story ends with Paul having to borrow money from Marco, realizing his mistake and starting to save money just like Marco.

It’s like the narrative we have been told when we were kids but never learned the lesson. Chinkee Tan, here, proposes strategy to accomplish it.

The Strategies to Saving Money

There are at least 15 Iponaryo Tips detailed and explained by Chinkee Tan in the book. To take all the lessons from those 15 tips, you’ve got to buy the book. I’ll share three that resonates with me.

1. Setting a Goal. Tan discussed the importance of finding a goal which keeps you going, transforming the excitement to achievement. Otherwise, doing the task will depend on mood alone or bara-bara. He proposed the SMART goal setting which means: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
2. Cutting Unnecessary Expenses. The author emphasized that spending on unnecessary items (impulsive buying) adds up; therefore, the formula LAKI KITA – LAKI GASTOS = WALA TIRA. Recalibrate and become a conscious buyer.
3. Financial Literacy. Literacy on finance is a lifelong endeavor. Tan advises his readers to invest in knowledge on finance, he said there are affordable books and online webinars to help.

To Ponder on Saving Money

There are three quotes mentioned in the book that is worthy of sharing.

1. A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline. This quote emphasizes on planning (hindi bara-bara), discipline in execution, and a deadline as challenge to achieving the goal.
2. What are you willing to sacrifice? This refers to having a deep reflection, analysis and resolution on the items that you overspend or unnecessary. Cut those expenses and focus on what matters; also means needs over wants.
3. You are the average of five people you spend the most time with. This means surrounding yourself, engage with and find individuals who have interests to improving their lives, such as finance.

Monitoring Your Savings

So, how do you start saving money? Well, Chinkee has created several tools to help you stay on track (monitor) your savings. Included in the book are:

1. SMART Ipon Chart – a guide to how to implement saving money
2. Stickers – visual reminders to excite and motivate you to save money
3. 52-Week Ipon Challenge – a popular trend to save money
4. Tipid Monitoring Chart – chart to monitor the money you’ve saved
5. Panatang Iponaryo – an oath to saving money

Final Thoughts

The book My Ipon Diary is a straightforward, simple, and easy-to-implement guide to saving money. Chinkee Tan is the financial expert who would not bombard you with complicated terms and techniques but goes straight to the point.

This is very easy to read – both fonts and wordings. This is something a grade school pupil could read and implement with ease. Target audience is common Filipino who are developing interest to saving.

If you are interested to learning a straightforward method to saving money, Chinkee Tan’s My Ipon Diary (Maging Iponaryo Para Maging Milyonaryo) is a great book to purchase. This can be purchased on local bookstores or on online shops such as Shopee.

Here’s a link to purchase the book on Shopee website. [click here to purchase] (Disclosure: Affiliate links help the website grow. When you buy through links on the site, we earn a commission at no additional cost to you.)