Money Health Check

Do you actually check if your payslip deductions are correct, or just net pay?

Swipe for how SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG are calculated, based on 2026 rates, plus a quick way to check your own payslip.

Save this before payday.

Free bank transfers are becoming the norm, not the exception. Updated as of July 7, 2026.

Good news: you can start playing pickleball in the Philippines for under ₱5,000 all-in. Bad news: the upgrade trap is very real.

Swipe to see the full cost breakdown before you get sucked in.

RCBC just joined BPI and Landbank in cutting InstaPay fees…but read the fine print!

On RCBC DiskarTech, all person-to-person InstaPay transfers are completely free. No minimum amount, no monthly cap.

On RCBC Pulz (the main banking app), you get 30 free transfers a month, but ONLY if each transfer is at least ₱100. Go below that or past the 30-transfer limit, and it's ₱10 per transfer.

Pulz users, don't expect the same "unlimited" deal DiskarTech gets.

This move follows BPI's permanent fee removal on InstaPay and PESONet just days ago. Will the other banks follow suit?
https://diskartech.ph/fund-transfer-2/

The Philippines is now officially an "upper middle income" country (even if we don’t feel it in our wallets)

The World Bank has one main way of sorting countries: average income per person, called GNI per capita. Ours just hit $4,850, crossing the $4,636 line that separates "lower middle income" from "upper middle income."

We were stuck in that lower bracket since 1987, so yes, totoo naman siya.

This is an average and it includes OFW earnings sent home. It doesn't mean our paychecks grew. Prices are still high, underemployment is still high.

Yes the label can help long term (credit rating, investor confidence) but it won't change your budget tomorrow.

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.PP.CD?locations=PH

Don't confuse this with cheaper electricity. The World Bank just approved a $1 billion loan and someone still has to pay it back.

In 2001, the government opened up the power industry to private companies with the same promise: more competition, more investment, and eventually, lower prices. 25 years later, we still pay among the highest electricity rates in Southeast Asia.

Every big promise to fix our power sector has been funded by borrowed money, with the savings coming later.

The lower bills (if they ever show up at all) take decades, and usually get swallowed by something else: rising prices, new fees, or the cost of paying back the loan itself.

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2026/06/25/world-bank-group-backs-philippines-push-for-energy-and-water-security

Ready to quit, or just tired today? Here’s the real check.

Know your situation before you know your next move.