Money, Fixed in 30 Days

Payday arrives. By the 10th, you're not sure where it went. There's the GCash transfer you forgot about, the buy-now-pay-later reminder at 7 a.m., the padala you didn't plan for, and the tita who lent you ₱15,000 in March and hasn't brought it up since. (She remembers.)

Most money stress isn't really about math. It's about not wanting to look.

Money, Fixed in 30 Days is a Philippines money workbook for finally looking, calmly and without judgment. It's seven short chapters, each quick enough to read on a jeep ride, followed by pages you fill in right away. You read a little, you do a little, and after a month you know where your money actually goes.

It's written for real life here: GCash and Maya, utang to banks and to people, sending money home, income that changes month to month, and the 13th month pay that somehow vanishes by January.

What you'll work through

• Seven Days, Every Peso — one honest week of tracking, cash and e-wallet
• My Three Leaks — spot the three spending habits costing you the most
• Every Utang, One Page — all your debts in one place, with the real interest and a payoff order
• My Payday Split — decide where your money goes before it lands
• My Fund — start an emergency fund, with a tracker to watch it grow
• The Family Number — set a padala amount you can sustain, and what you'll say when asked for more
• The 13th Month Plan — give it a job before December does
• Weekly and monthly check-ins, plus a letter to Day-1 you

It's for anyone who earns decently but still feels stuck, including fresh grads with a first salary, OFWs and their families, and anyone quietly tired of the payday-to-payday cycle. It can also be a thoughtful gift for a new graduate starting their first job, before the habits set in.

It isn't financial advice, and it won't make you rich overnight. What it gives you is clarity, a plan you wrote yourself, and 30 days of small, doable steps.