“Why it goes up or down?”

In our house, we are six all in all. My father, mother, brother and I , one household helper and sales lady in our store. All of us by day have a certain things to do. Like my father and mother have to go to work and my brother and I have to go to school every day. So there would come a time that in our house only our helper was left. Then by night it is the time where all of us is at home from school or work. Our house is not that big or that small but just enough to shelter all of us.

Income is the amount of money or its equivalent received during a period of time in exchange for labor or services, from the sale of goods or property, or as profit from financial investments. The main source of income of our family is the salaries of my parents. It is where we get the money so we could buy our family's needs and wants and some were placed in the bank for savings and future use. Another source of our family's income is the profit from our businesses. The money we got there some are added in paying our monthly bills, salary of our workers but some is save for the maintenance of businesses. Some of our businesses that help a lot in our family's expenses is the profit from our apartment and store because we gain a lot and so it helps us in handling some of it.

Expense is the cost required for something. We as six in the house our expenses is just enough to satisfy the needs of everyone. Our expenses may vary according to occasion, prices of commodities, and preferences. Sometimes our expenses become high or low depending on the priorities in a certain week or month. Every week we buy our groceries for the supplies in the coming week. Our expenses for a month comprises of water, telephone, internet, cable and electric bill, fees in school, allowances, salaries of helpers, and some recreational expenditures. Especially this period of time we have a lot of expenses because both my brother and I is going to a higher level and fees are getting higher. So we must be careful of spending our money or buying anything which is not necessary.

To attain a good and happy family life, it is important to know how to manage your finances. Though most of the people earn considerably large amount of income, they are totally unaware of the concepts of managing their finances. This can lead to future financial issues in the family. Today most of the countries witness sudden economic changes with rising food prices, hike in fuel charges and soaring inflation rates. All these changes affect most of the people adversely leading to financial dearth. Therefore it is necessary to pre-plan your financial budget so that you can manage your finances in the future. Our budget every month is ranging from 8,000-15,000 pesos. Budgeting is done by my mother and I can say that it is effective. Because we never felt that we were in a crisis or shortage because my mother divides it properly according to priorities. It is first things first when it comes to budgeting and mind about the future so when it comes, you will not rush where to get money for tuition fees, food, and whatsoever. Setting your priorities is quite essential

to plan your finances. Segregate your needs and wants. Understand your needs and spend on the most inevitable needs. Try to avoid spending on less important items by postponing purchase if the income is insufficient. And sometimes it takes a wise mind to budget money for a month. But we should initiate not to spend too much so in that way we could still save some resources and use it for the next month.

Their are many factors that may influence our consumption. First of all we must consider the income of the family. Because the income will set on how much we must spend on needs and wants. Simply our consumption depends on how much income we have. A German statistician, Ernst Engel, said that a large portion of the income of man goes to basic needs like food, when the income is low. But when the income is higher, lesser amount is spent on food while a bigger part is spent in buying other things. The analysis of Engel clearly defined the essence of his Law of Consumption. Second is the price of the products. In our family prices affects us greatly when the price is very expensive we find some alternatives or other stores offering lower price. We also tend to ask the price first before buying something. We Filipinos celebrate many occasions every month there is certain occasion that we celebrate. Birthdays, Christmas, New year, Valentine's day, Graduation day, Baptismal, Festivities, and other occasions that people celebrate affect consumption. Like us my mother usually cooked different dishes whenever there are celebrations. Our attitudes, behavior, and values affect our consumption. Preferences are also directly affected by personal values. If we value thriftiness, we plan out the things we need to buy and as a result we do not become impulsive buyers. Seasons affect our consumption since some things are bought depending on the weather. We usually bought umbrella and rain coat during rainy season, and not during summer. Advertisement is a way of convincing and motivating people to patronize certain products. It uses well-known personality or celebrity in presenting their advertisement. It is like hypnotizing consumers with their idols to buy the product advertised. In that way it affects the consumption of people. As we imitate what the other people buy, we consume more of the same product. We get curious when many people buy a certain product so we will also try it and see what is in that product. We want to consume the things that our idols, friends, and neighbors consume.

There are a lot of reasons why our consumption of water and electric bill became high or low. One is the number of people using electricity and water. Because their use of it contributes to the total consumption. Another how these people use the resources is it productive and there's no waste or is it wasteful that everything seems unlimited and free. Appliances you have in your house also affect your bills. If everyday your air conditioner is on and so with computer, television, refrigerator, and others no doubt that your electric bill will get higher and higher. And also if you have a swimming pool, bath tub, aquarium, and the like that is needed to be replaced with water surely your water bill will rise also. Feeding energy hogs or big appliances, like dishwashers, clothes washers and clothes dryers have insatiable appetites for

electricity and using them too often can drive your electricity bill way up. In fact, the average American family does almost 400 loads of laundry a year and uses almost 40 gallons of water for a full load. Price of electricity and water is one factor. For example, your electric bill last year is ranging from 1,000-1,200 pesos but this year because MERALCO raised the price of electricity per 200 kWh for about 35 pesos your electric bill increased for about 1,700 pesos same with the water bill. When the weather is quite hot we tend to use aircon and electric fan and sometimes we misuse it like ceiling fans only affect the temperature of the room in which they’re installed, so it makes no sense to leave a ceiling fan on if nobody’s in the room. Additionally, ceiling fans have a toggle switch that allows the blades to switch direction for optimal efficiency based on the season. If you’re not switching the direction of your blades according to the season, you’re wasting money when it comes to using your ceiling fans. And we like to take a bath several times during summer days that is why our electric and water bills go way up and drops down during wet season it is because of the season. Using old appliances is probably one of the bigger reasons why you’re paying more on your electric bill. The fact is old appliances simply use more energy than new energy-efficient models. If you don’t want to upgrade your refrigerator, dishwasher, clothes washer, clothes dryer, stovetop or oven, you should probably settle for spending more on your monthly energy bills. And also look around your home at all the technology that uses chargers: cell phones, MP3 players, iPads and tablet PCs, electric razors, electric toothbrushes, laptops, portable game systems and a whole slew of similar devices. The more tech- and gadget-oriented you are, the more likely you are to have these devices plugged in and sucking energy from your home — and the more likely you are to pay an expensive electric bill because of them. Showers are convenient, and many people prefer showers over baths. Some people are under the impression that showers are the most economical way to get clean, and this might be true in some cases, but that depends on showering habits. If you do not stay so long it might not affect your water bill but if you're like years better ready your wallet. Those are some causes why your bills is high but the only reason why you have low bills is it is because you are wise consumer.

Mostly receiving a high electric and water bill have a negative effect on your wallet but receiving low bills has a positive effect. That is probably the reason why we consumer appeal to any increase in the rates because they know that it will end up having high bills and spending much money. People are very allergic of high prices. They are turned off when something is very expensive. Because when we are paying a large amount for bills it might disrupt our budget and lessens the money for other important things. Unlike when it is only low you may spend the excess money for food or other basic needs. Worst is when the bills get bigger and bigger and can no longer paid for it end up in the disconnection of electric or water supply.

In the past two months, I conclude that our electric bill slightly increased while our water bill slightly decreased. I tried to save electricity and water myself and tell other members of the family to do so but may be because of many factors affecting why it increased or decreased. Because I’m not just the only one using electricity and water. And I can’t control their consumption since I’m going to school every day. My brother also is using computer overnight because he is using it for some homework and projects. Our household helper also is trying to save water as she can so our water slightly decreased. The contributing factors mentioned above has greatly affect our bills why it goes up or down.

Project In

Araling Panlipunan

Submitted By:Vincent William C. Reyes

Submitted to:T. Denmar