09/04/2026
| ๐๐๐ผ๐๐๐๐
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐๐ผ
Every peso has a story. Some are hard-earned through long hours in a sari-sari store; others slipped away unnoticed, lost in the blur of daily expenses. There are days when profit feels within reach, and others when it seems to disappear entirely. And in between these moments lives a constant string of questions: Where does the money go? Why does it never seem enough?
On the afternoon of April 7, 2026, what took place inside the MSU-IIT IDS Auditorium was more than just a seminar hosted by the Math, I.T., and A.B.M. Department, and Grade 12 ABM students. The quiet struggles of small business owners from Brgy. Hinaplanon was finally acknowledged. Uncertainty met explanation, and the everyday realities of these individuals were no longer treated as isolated problems, but as shared experiences waiting to be understood.
At the center of the discussion was CPA Nina S. Palantang of the MSU-IIT Cooperative, whose talk grounded these struggles in something many participants had never formally encountered: financial structure. Rather than offering abstract advice, she broke down the everyday anatomy of a business, revealing how money flows, and more importantly, how it leaks. Expenses, she explained, are not limited to what is written down. Beyond inventory and operating costs lie the hidden expenses. Transport fares, waste, and small untracked spending are slowly chipping away at income.
For many, it was a moment of recognition. The problem was not just how much they earned, but how much they unknowingly lost.
One of the most confronting ideas came in the form of the โtwo-wallet principleโ. Framed simply as โbulsa ni nanayโ versus โbulsa ng tindahan,โ it exposed a deeply ingrained habit among small business owners, the merging of personal and business finances. What often begins as convenience gradually turns into confusion, where capital is unintentionally consumed, and growth becomes impossible. In that moment of reflection, it became clear that many businesses do not fail overnight; they slowly fall because their foundations were never clearly defined.
Yet the talk did not dwell on shortcomings. Instead, it reframed these struggles as starting points for change. Through the concept of a sinking fund, Palantang introduced a discipline that many found both challenging and empoweringโsaving before spending.
In environments where income is uncertain, setting aside even a small percentage can feel unrealistic. But it is precisely this habit, rooted in the idea of โpaying yourself first,โ that begins to shift a business from survival mode toward stability. The four pillars of saving: Resilience, Opportunity, Trust, and Peace of Mind, gave language to something many had long felt but never articulated. Financial security is not a luxury, but a necessity in managing a business and navigating it towards a sustainable, profitable future.
The conversation deepened as it turned to credit and financing, another area where many small businesses struggle. Debt, as Palantang emphasized, is a double-edged sword. It can be a stepping stone for growth, allowing owners to expand inventory or operations, but it can also become a trap when taken without a clear purpose or understanding. In communities where quick loans are easily accessible, the danger of predatory lending looms large. By urging participants to read terms carefully, calculate real costs, and compare options, the talk reframed borrowing as a decision that demands as much thought as any investment.
Underlying every topic was a quiet but powerful truth: many small business owners are not failing because they lack determination, but because they lack access to the right knowledge. Financial literacy, often taken for granted in formal education, becomes a barrier in real life. Without it, even the hardest work can fall short of its potential.
In this light, โKwartaseryeโ at its core is more than just a mere โfinancial talkโ. It acknowledges the gaps, names the struggles, and offers practical ways forward. Students, too, found themselves part of this narrative, recognizing that the lessons they learned could extend beyond themselves and into their families and communities.
As the afternoon drew to a close, conversations grew quieter and more reflective. What lingered was not just information, but a sense of clarity, and perhaps for some, a renewed sense of control. For small business owners, progress does not always come from big leaps.
Sometimes, it begins with understanding where every peso goes, and choosing, from that point on, to make it count.
Written by Marian Verdida
Proofread by Mikhaela Castillano
Captured by Shalbiyyah Amerol and Sir Rovic Perocho
