u/homebase99

I created an online Time Deposit at Metrobank a few days ago. P200k for 180 days at 4.5%, expected return after 20% tax is around P3620. Just to try it out.

I was curious about the "Terminate Early" button, and when I clicked it, the app showed my expected return. It's a tiny part of the interest earned and a big P700+ deduction on something called Document Stamp Tax.

The expected return if I end today would be -700 than my original amount.

My questions are:

• Is the Document Stamp Tax only there for early termination, or do I have to deal with that deduction each time I create a Time Deposit?

• Does the Stamp Tax mean longer cycles are better than shorter cycles since the deduction would take a bite out of every return? For example, 200k at 30 days and up to 179 days have the same 4.250% interest rate, are both the same or will the 30-day one be worse since there's a -700 each time?

• Or is the Doc tax just there as a way to prevent early termination, and I should expect P3620 (assuming rates don't change) every 180 days if I set the time deposit to auto-renew?

I created an online Time Deposit at Metrobank a few days ago. P200k for 180 days at 4.5%, expected return after 20% tax is around P3620. Just to try it out.

I was curious about the "Terminate Early" button, and when I clicked it, the app showed my expected return. It's a tiny part of the interest earned and a big P700+ deduction on something called Document Stamp Tax.

The expected return if I end today would be -700 than my original amount.

My questions are:

• Is the Document Stamp Tax only there for early termination, or do I have to deal with that deduction each time I create a Time Deposit?

• Does the Stamp Tax mean longer cycles are better than shorter cycles since the deduction would take a bite out of every return? For example, 200k at 30 days and up to 179 days have the same 4.250% interest rate, are both the same or will the 30-day one be worse since there's a -700 each time?

• Or is the Doc tax just there as a way to prevent early termination, and I should expect P3620 (assuming rates don't change) every 180 days if I set the time deposit to auto-renew?

I needed a new phone but my unsecured Ze-Lo (200k) can't do installments for Shopee/Samsung store, so I signed up for an M Free scc (50k) because I was told it's faster processing. It still took over a month to arrive, and by the time it arrived, I already purchased a heavily discounted S25FE on Shopee (non-installment) using Ze-Lo.

Now it feels like the M Free is redundant, I don't have any use for it. I think I'm looking at 3 options:

• Just cancel the card, wait 35 days for the collateral to return to my account, then use the 50k on a Metrobank time deposit
• Keep the card and use maybe 1k monthly for my groceries/subscriptions, then attempt a conversion to unsecured 6 months from now
• Cancel the card, use the 50k for a time deposit, use THAT to sign up for another scc??

What do you guys think. Because I think my Ze-Lo can handle regular expenses and I'm not anticipating any big purchases (or purchases that might require installments) this year.