Even when I first entered the workforce at a young age, I felt I was a fairly responsible person 💰. I already understood the importance of saving, and I truly believed that this alone would set me up financially.
Like most people, I saved because I dreamed of a time when money wouldn’t feel so heavy. I wanted to earn more, worry less, and provide generously for myself and my family 🤍. Saving felt like the obvious solution — and of course, having an emergency fund sounded like the first thing to do.
So why is it that, looking back now — over a decade later (yes, OMG 😅) — it’s only in 2025 that I’ve managed to gather a small amount that I can finally call an emergency fund?
This is what I realized.
Even though I knew the importance of saving, I was never able to maintain it keep it -as it keep it aside. I think this is what's logically happened. To start of with savings, to make room for it, I often adjusted my food budget 🍚. It felt like this is the easiest place to cut back.
My thinking was simple:
That was the logic I followed & apparently the biggest mistake that I made in my life that affects my finances.
Even though I saved consistently, I kept running into the same problem.
My savings were never really growing — they were constantly being used to patch up basic necessities.
I would dip into them because:
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I didn’t have enough money to last until payday 💸
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I needed money for food 🍽️
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I needed transportation 🚍
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I had to replace worn-out work shoes 👟
(I might write a separate post about this — I want to start with what I did wrong starting about food here 😂)
That’s when I began to understand something important: being low income comes with a hidden premium.
The Hidden Cost of Cutting Food
Cutting back on food may look smart, but the body eventually demands proper nutrition. Maybe not today, but tomorrow — when hunger catches up and your body asks for real nourishment 🍽️.
Yes, fish is healthy 🐟. A piece of fried chicken 🐔 sounds yummy too. But a small portion doesn’t always meet your daily protein and nutrient needs. Back then, I lived very simply — even a meal from a popular fast-food chain in the Philippines felt like a luxury to me.
Eating this way kept me constantly hungry. And because of that, I often ended up spending more on food than I originally planned.
This cycle followed me for years (like I said, over a decade, it's unreal) of my working life. I dreamed of saving more, but the money kept going toward survival — mostly food and other basic needs.
What Finally Changed
Once I realized something was wrong, I went deep into self-help and self-care 🧘♂️📚 and experimented with different diets until I eventually stumbled upon the carnivore diet 🥩. Gone were the days of eating just to eat, without thinking about proper nutrition 🍽️. & thank God I finally let go of my childish behavior of eating fast-food that I thought was the best thing in the world.
I started choosing my food more intentionally — not at a professional dietitian level 👩⚕️, but in a simple, practical way. For me, beef naturally provides essential nutrients, especially B vitamins 🧠⚡, without requiring much overthinking. I may be a bit biased here 😅, but compared to chicken 🐔 or fish 🐟, when I eat beef in a day 🥩, I feel:
Yes, it’s that simple.
With a properly nourished body & felt full longer - much longer- my money decisions became clearer. I could finally set a food budget that made sense — and actually stick to it.
I stopped overspending, and for the first time, saving and building my emergency fund felt possible. More importantly, being properly nourished helped clear my mind — no more brain fog or constant forgetfulness — which allowed me to plan my life and approach my finances with intention. I finally felt grounded, with a real foundation to face life’s challenges, including money.
Who knew that a simple change — choosing the right food — could set you up for success in whatever you’re aiming for, even something as simple as starting an emergency fund 🙂
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