Since graduating from college last year, Leon Barretto admits he has been doing well since moving out of his family home with mom Marjorie Barretto and his siblings to live in his own space. The 23-year-old earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Integrated Marketing Communication from the University of Asia and the Pacific and is now renting his own condo in the metro. PUSH ABS-CBN caught up with Julia Barretto’s only brother to talk to him about his new adulting life at the Uratex World Sleep Day event launch held last March 13 at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall in Pasay City.
“It was definitely challenging at first but it’s just so rewarding because it happened post-graduation. So I’m currently working right now. I’m a full-time content creator so everything that I’m doing is honestly just to make the space better. But it’s nice to have my own personal space and something that I can call a safe haven di ba?” he told PUSH ABS-CBN.
During the World Sleep Day event, which advocated for better sleeping habits called the 8 Hour Movement, Leon also shared his not-so-healthy sleeping habits. “If I were to be completely honest, my sleep habits are very inconsistent. My body clock is very inconsistent. But I need to prioritize eight hours of sleep always. Even thought let’s say my hangouts usually end past midnight, I need to make it a point to at least finish that eight hour sleep because I feel like I could feel the benefits of it. Rather than it being less than eight hours. I’m a night owl, admittedly,” he said.
The Uratex celebrity ambassador divulged that he would rather not have any dreams while he is in bed. “Believe it or not, I define a good sleep kapag wala kang dreams (laughs). I don’t know. People kasi think kapag when you’re in deep sleep and you’re dreaming, that means your sleep is good. But for me, hindi eh. Kasi may awareness pa rin ako sa mga thoughts ko. I like it na as in knocked out ako and when I wake up I feel fresh and energized. That’s how I would define a good sleep,” he explained.
READ: Leon Barreto moves out from family's house after graduating from college
As an independent person, Leon said that his biggest challenge living solo is paying for all the expenses. “So I’m independently paying my electricity bill, my rent and all of that. But again, it’s just so rewarding and it just makes me more motivated to work. When it comes to my biggest expense, alam mo, I can’t really think of anything. I think it’s just as a whole, you know. Whatever I pay monthly, it’s medyo also quite pricey so I think that’s a big expense already in itself. Thankfully kasi, I was so smart with budgeting all the things that I bought for my house,” he admitted.
When it comes to paying the monthly bills, Leon shared that his eldest sibling taught him an organized system for his earnings, “Oh yes. Actually it was with the help of my eldest sister, Dani. Whatever I earn, I distribute it into three accounts. So the first account is definitely for my condo, either that be for the rent, the electricity, the water bill, the wi-fi bill. And then the second account is for personal use, my everyday spending. And then the third one is the travel fund. Because I feel like good investment ‘yung travel. So I’m going to go around the world this year for sure. So I’m very excited.”
As for how he enjoys the fruits of his labor, the mestizo content creator said it does not take much for him to feel happy in his first solo home. “How do I reward myself? You know what, to be honest, even though we’re at the topic of having my own place, just generally, I reward myself just by resting at my safe place which is my condo and being surrounded by the people I love the most, which is my friends. So I think thats the best reward I could receive, hanging out at my place with my friends,” he admitted.