Saving through PAG-IBIG Fund

One of the buzzwords of the early 21st century among Filipinos is financial literacy, especially among the millenials.  Millenials are those who were born in the 80s and have reached the age of 20 or thereabouts in the 21st century.  In a society where saving is not a popular concept and people are conditioned to buy and accumulate material possession, saving money seems a thing that is slowly gaining ground.  Nowadays, it seems that Filipinos have gone into a "financial literacy revolution" and they are starting to be conscious about spending wisely, saving and preparing for the future.   

One of the easiest and fastest way to save is by the PAG-IBIG Fund.  When I was younger, IBIG stood for Ikaw, Bangko, Industriya at Gobyerno.  So it was a consolidated effort of the employee, banks, industries and government that the fund was created.  

If you are a member of the Pag-ibig Fund, you have access to short-term loans otherwise called Multi-Purpose Loans for as much as 80% of the total contribution value (TAV) as well as a housing loan wherein members are charged very low interest rates and very affordable payment terms.  

The good thing about Pag-ibig is it is savings without being so conscious about it and employers have a portion or share in the savings.  And the earnings are government-guaranteed with a tax-free dividend annually.  The fact that it is tax-free is already a big thing.  I have always thought that that's why Filipinos don't save at banks that much is because the interest where your money earns is not that high, and on top of that, it is taxed by the government, so it's not a very pretty picture, in fact it is discouraging.  That is why saving through Pag-ibig Fund is a great way to save.