How do we balance living for the present and for the future? It’s a dilemma present in all of our life decisions, but the issue is especially prominent during the New Year: How does one set and pursue goals while still being able to enjoy and relish the present moment?

This apparent contradiction sets the backdrop for the third and final part of our resolutions series, ABS-CBN.com’s three-part discussion on the most common New Year’s resolutions. As the clock strikes midnight, we promise ourselves new futures and new habits to become better.

Most resolutions focus on three major topics: health and exercise, finance and spending, and personal growth, like reading or pursuing hobbies and skills. Our final topic talks about money, saving and spending, which provides a good opportunity to unpack the present-versus-future dilemma.

In the past three years alone, the global cost of living has spiked 20 percent, making many essentials like food, fuel and housing difficult to secure. In the Philippines, the cost of living has soared 82.3 percent over the past 20 years.

Wage growth and increases in spending power have failed to keep up with the cost of living, which means that many of the things people save money for — houses, cars, families — have become harder and harder to reach. This desperate situation has led to a culture of “little treats.”

Since saving for decades still won’t guarantee that you’ll be able to afford a home, you might as well use your money to bring yourself small joys, whether it’s takeout coffee, an article of clothing, or an experience like pottery workshops or gym classes with friends.

Little treat culture has its merits: rather than depriving ourselves for decades chasing goals we are unlikely to ever reach, we can use our spare money to make ourselves happy now, rather than when we may be too old and sick to indulge in our hobbies. For many, tucking away every spare peso will still not be enough to buy full financial freedom.

Many will still be forced to rent, live with their parents, commute or borrow money for medical emergencies and necessary expenses. Little treat culture insists that joy is still allowed for these people: it’s a valid case for living in the present.

However, the classic logic of saving up for the future still holds true. Saving allows us to go on trips abroad, invest in more costly passions that require equipment and tools, and also leave us better-prepared for emergencies and rainy days. It’s an equally valid argument for preparing for the future.

When it comes to New Year’s resolutions about money and savings, we often formulate goals by naming what we wish to acquire or attain: travel to Japan, move out, treat yourself more, invest in better clothing and other items. Observing these statements, we notice that money-related goals are focused on saving for something we will enjoy. This approach combines the aspect of little treat culture that is concerned with prioritizing our joys, with the prudent, forward-looking concerns of saving money for a big purchase.

One doesn’t have to give up small joys to reach big goals. When it comes to setting money aside, it may come down to choosing which areas of spending to prioritize. This begins with tracking and monitoring our current spending habits, before we can go about reassessing and changing them.

Less than a third of students track their expenses. Surveys show that they rely mostly on memory, which leads them to underestimate how much they’ve spent on food, transport, fashion, entertainment, and other areas. Using a spending tracker makes our habits more visible, and therefore easier to assess and modify.

Explicitly setting amounts to save will also make a huge difference. A survey revealed that 25.6 percent of Filipino families had money set aside for savings in the last quarter, marking a three-year low. Choosing an amount of money to save makes success more likely, and frees us to spend on ourselves better.

We don’t have to fully resign ourselves to little treat culture, nor do we have to restrict ourselves to a tightly-controlled savings program: We can still spend on ourselves, while saving up for larger purchases that would improve our quality of life. By tracking our budgets, selecting how much we can save, and determining what exactly we want to use the savings on, we can successfully find the balance between living in the moment and preparing for the future. (ABS-CBN News)