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On May 12, 2025, Filipinos will troop to their voting precincts again to elect their senators, congressmen, governors, board members, mayors, vice-mayors and councilors. The midterm campaign period is not as heated (and toxic) as it is during presidential elections, and it might be a good opportunity for us to reflect on how we have been voting (or not voting) because the way we vote mirrors not just our political views but also our money mindset and life beliefs.
While we look at elections as our civic right and duty, they also reveal our deeper personal life philosophy: how we think about opportunity, responsibility, fairness and the future. In short, your ballot is actually a reflection of how you manage your money and make other important life decisions.
Let’s look at how our different voting choices reveal different money and life beliefs.
1. If you vote for candidates who promise quick handouts and instant relief:
Your mindset: Scarcity
You believe that there’s not enough to go around, so it’s best to grab what you can now. You’d rather take the money now and succumb to the vote-buying and other similar tactics of some candidates. You prioritize short-term survival over long-term growth and development.
2. If you vote for candidates who focus on education, job creation, and system reforms:
Your mindset: Abundance
You believe that opportunities can be created, wealth can grow, and the future can be better if we invest in the right programs today. You think long-term and are willing to delay gratification for bigger rewards later.
3. If you vote for candidates based on what they can personally give you:
Your mindset: Entitlement
You see elections as transactions. You expect personal benefits such as favors, money, perks, and special treatments in exchange for your vote. In managing your money, you may have a habit of waiting for external help instead of building your own financial independence.
4. If you vote for candidates who demonstrate integrity, competence, and fiscal responsibility:
Your mindset: Stewardship
You view leadership and money as resources that must be managed with care, transparency and foresight. You think beyond yourself, considering how today’s choices affect not just your own but also future generations.
5. If you vote for candidates who promise to “save” or “rescue” you from a broken system:
Your mindset: Victimhood
You feel powerless to change your situation on your own, so you look for a strong figure to fix it for you. Haay… we see this happening all over the world, electing despotic leaders in the hope of improving our lives. In personal finance, this often shows up as blaming external circumstances rather than taking proactive steps toward improvement.
6. If you choose not to vote at all:
Your mindset: Apathy or hopelessness
You believe that your action doesn’t matter, that the system is too broken to fix. This mindset may mirror financial disengagement—giving up on budgeting, investing, or planning because you feel it won’t make a difference anyway.
An appeal to Filipino voters
Let’s not take for granted our duty and right to vote. In our country where inequality persists and opportunities and uneven, this is the time when each vote counts the same, regardless of your status in society. Let’s use it wisely.
For as long as the majority of our population continues to vote based on scarcity, entitlement, victimhood or apathy, we will remain trapped in cycles of poverty, corruption, and missed opportunities. Right here, right now, let’s just do what we can in the coming elections. Treat your vote as an investment and ask yourself these questions:
- Am I voting out of fear or hope?
- Am I choosing short-term gain over long-term prosperity?
- Does my choice reflect the kind of future I want for myself, my family, and my country?
I hope you can use this checklist as guide to clarify and simplify your exercise of suffrage. Pass it to the people you love and those in your circle of influence, in the hope of seeing more Filipinos vote from a place of abundance, stewardship, and empowerment.
Come to think of it, how you vote and how you handle your money are deeply connected—both reveal not just what you believe in, but who you are becoming.
Cheers to clean, honest and sensible outcome of the coming elections!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Please use your right and privilege to vote wisely. If you want to look for your precinct, click this link: https://precinctfinder.comelec.gov.ph/voter_precinct.
2. Do you know where you are now in your FQ journey? Take the FQ test, click here.
3. Get your copy of the FQ books to start your FQ journey now. Click here.
