Celebrity couple Dianne Medina and Rodjun Cruz opened up about how they managed to build their dream home through years of disciplined saving.

In an interview with Karen Davila for her YouTube vlog, the couple revealed that they had already developed the habit of saving money together early in their relationship.

“Nung nagsimula kaming mag-relationship talaga meron kaming joint [bank] account agad na kapag kumikita kami, dun namin nilalagay,” Rodjun relayed.

Dianne and Rodjun initially invested in a property. “Nahuli kami ni mommy na bumili kami ng property, naghulog pa lang naman ng condo, 2009 ‘to, I was doing Banana Split eh, tandang-tanda ko ‘yun kasi bawat sweldo ko, nilalagay namin dun ni Rodjun,” she recounted.

Dianne’s mother later advised her to take a more cautious approach. “Sabi ni mommy, ‘Ana halika I will talk to you. It’s okay naman for you and Rodjun na mag-ipon ng ganyan but I do not suggest buying a property agad at a very, very early stage [of] your relatonship na hindi ka pa naman sure. Ang hirap i-divide ang property in case maghiwalay kayo,’” she shared.

Instead, her mom suggested they save through a joint account. “What she suggested was magbuo na lang kayo ng account. Split it into half [kung] maghiwalay kayo, [hahatiin] ‘yung pera, parang ganun. So ganun ‘yung ginawa namin 2009 onwards,” the actress recounted.

Their shared commitment to saving eventually led to the realization of their dream home just in time for their marriage. “We were saving and saving together. Kaya nung nagkaroon kami ng house, when we had this built, maraming nag-bash because they were thinking na hindi naman kayo big star, hindi naman kayo lead star, paano kayo nakapagpatayo? Nag-iisip sila ng masasama,” Dianne recalled.

Rodjun expressed pride in what they accomplished: “Ako siyempre super proud kami sa achievement namin so if ever nagpo-post kami just ito inspire people. Kasi ‘yun nga eh nung nag-start kami di ko naman naisip na magkakaroon kami ng ganito, so we are very thankful and blessed kay Lord na meron kaming ganito.”

He also admitted that negative comments on social media affected them.  “So ‘yung mga nagsasalita sa social media, siyempre naapektuhan din kami kasi hindi nila alam ‘yung hard work na pinagdaanan namin, ‘yung sipag namin ni Dianne na talagang hangga’t kaya kahit anong role, kahit anong work,” Rodjun pointed out.

Dianne emphasized that their journey was built on hard work and wise choices. “Hindi kami namimili. Hindi talaga. Parang every work for us is a blessing from the Lord. Ang thinking lagi namin ni Rodjun it is not about how much you earn but how much you save. So we save more, invest wisely. We just don’t work hard, we work smart.”