Filipino actor Aga Muhlach has a special way of teaching his kids about financial management.
Talking to Vice Ganda in an interview on February 4, 2024, Aga relates how his twins with Charlene Gonzalez—Andres Muhlach and Atasha Muhlach—learned to budget their expenses while studying abroad for college.
Read: Aga Muhlach reveals wife Charlene Gonzalez is "practical" shopper: "Hindi magtatapon ng pera iyan."
Aga is proud to relate how the twins prudently handled their allowance while studying in Europe—Atasha for her business program at Nottingham in the United Kingdom and Andres for his Arts degree at a university in Spain.
He beams, "Akala ng iba, iniisip nila they're rich kids, spoiled kids. No, no, no, no.
"Yung baon nila, kunyari yung lalaki ko, pag nagka-inuman silang college students, ganyan.
"Kung anong ginastos niyo roon at naubos niya yung ano niya, kunyari may ganito siyang amount na ito, wala siyang kakainin. Hindi siya puwede tumawag sa akin."
Surprised, Vice reacts, "Ah talaga, walang extra."
Aga continues: "Akin naman siyempre yung apartments nila, sa amin yun, ano. I mean, everything's there. But yung baon nila for food?
"Monthly, I'll tell you, 400 euros [PHP24,121.77] and then that became 500 [PHP30,152.21].
"At the most, 600 euros [PHP36,182.65], 36 a month. 36,000 pesos."
Vice notes points out that while this monthly budget may a bit too much in the Philippines, it's relatively modest in the European countries.
He says, "Kasi kung dito mo gagamitin yung PHP36,000, malaki yun. Sa Pilipinas, ha.
"Pero kung sa ibang bansa mo gagamitin, ang liit nung 36,000 ha. Kasi iba yung value ng pera doon. Iba din yung cost of living."
Agreeing, Aga shares, "Maliit yun. So, alam namin. Yung food niyo, makibagay kayo diyan.
"‘Or matuto kayo gumawa ng paraan kung paano kayo gagawa ng pera diyan.’"
PRACTICAL APPROACH
Aga goes on to share an anecdote that illustrates how the kids have learned their lesson about applying practical life skills in order to stretch their monthly budget.
Read: What Aga Muhlach told Atasha and Andres about entering show business
He recalls, "May kuwento nga si Andres, minsan daw, nung pumunta kami ron, tapos pag-alis namin sa apartment niya, ilang weeks pa, may pagkain siya, daming stock!
"Then one day daw, he went out. And pag-uwi niya, naubos niya yung pera niya, then there was no food. Walang pagkain, nagkakalkal siya.
"Tas pagbukas niya sa sulok, may nakita lang siyang peanut butter na naiwan namin.
"Parang kinikuwento niya lang sa akin, parang 'Hallelujah!' yung peanut butter na iyon na talagang sabi niya [makes slurping sounds].
"Kasi wala siyang pambili tapos wala siyang pagkain, tapos madaling araw na. Nung nagising siya, wala siyang pagkain.
"So that's being irresponsible kasi sa kanya," he explains. "Kasi dapat, yung mga groceries mo, i-i-stock mo diyan. Magtipid ka, di ba? Magluto ka, mag-ganyan ka.
"E, napagastos ka sa labas, e, di ubos ka."
Impressed by the Muhlach siblings' approach to money, Vice acknowledges, "Ibang learning iyon.
"Learning na wala don sa eskuwelahan. And it's very important to learn those things."
Aga concludes by revealing that this practice has shaped his children's responsible habits: "So now, even with them growing up, di sila humihingi ng pera. Nahihiya sila."
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