Big purchases and expenses don't choose a season, nor do they care when payday is about to hit. They come up unexpectedly, catching even the most disciplined savers off guard and disrupting a carefully planned budget.
To help everyday consumers make smarter financial moves, Skyro, a reliable SEC-registered lending app, has created a simple guide to help you make the most of installment payments, where it works for your budget, rather than against it.
When these sudden financial obligations arise, most Filipinos are initially uncomfortable about taking on debt, but the convenience of installment plans eventually draws them in. What started as a reluctant consideration becomes a highly attractive option for managing the bill.
In Skyro’s latest PISOlophy podcast episode titled “Installment Lang Yan (Pero Ilan Yan?),” they address the well-known love-hate relationship with installment plans, but also how you can make them an asset rather than a problem.
Building good financial habits begins with a clear and comprehensive view of one's financial standing and capacity. Beyond tracking total monthly income, consumers must take careful note of their essential, fixed expenses such as food, rent, utilities, and other non-negotiables. Before committing to a new installment plan, ensure that the total monthly payments remain comfortably between 10% to 15% of take-home pay after all fixed expenses have been fully covered.
Smart shopping requires being entirely honest about what we put in our carts, because not everything is a need.
It’s easy to get tempted to pay for items at a later date, but you’ll want to save this for essential items rather than impulse purchases. While installments are a way to preserve your cash for that rainy day, taking on too many at once can also quietly eat into your monthly budget.
The goal is simple: to ensure that your payment plan is shorter than the product’s lifespan so you’re not dealing with an outdated bill.
For items such as phones, gadgets, and small appliances, the ideal installment plan is typically 6 to 12 months. On the other hand, big-ticket items such as refrigerators and air conditioners should have longer installments of 12-24 months.
Not all installments are made the same, so make sure to prioritize what needs to be paid first. By focusing first on essential productivity tools or household appliances, you ensure that your most critical assets are always secured and your budget stays on track.
If you are actively paying off an existing plan, it is often wise to hold off on making new installment purchases. Pausing new financial commitments until older ones are fully settled gives your budget the necessary time to breathe and recover.
Catch “Installment Lang Yan (Pero Ilan Yan?),” the latest episode of Skyro’s PISOlophy series, on the official Facebook and YouTube pages of Skyro Philippines.
For more information about Skyro and its latest updates, visit skyro.ph and follow its social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok.
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