cannot buy the whole package or do not need much of it, although it is cumulatively more expensive. The sari-sari store also saves the customer from paying extra transportation costs, especially in rural areas, since some towns can be very far from the nearest market or grocery. The store may also allow purchases on credit. The stores also act as trading centers in rural areas. Farmers and fishermen may directly trade their products to the sari-sari store in return for basic articles, fuel, and other supplies. The owners can buy grocery commodities in bulk, then sell them in-store at a mark-up. Trucks deliver LPG and soft drinks directly to the store. The store requires little investment since the products are cheap and only a few modifications on one side of a house are needed to convert it to a sari-sari store. The sari-sari store also allows credit purchases from its "suki" (repeat customers known to the store owners). They usually keep a record of their customers' outstanding balances on a school notebook and demand payments on paydays. The lifespan of sari-sari stores is highly variable, with many closing after a few weeks due to insufficient income or management mishandling by owners who have limited formal schooling. Social value The Magna Kultura Foundation notes that the sari-sari store is part of Philippine culture, and it has become an integral part of every Filipino’s life. It is a constant feature of residential neighborhoods in the Philippines, both in rural and urban areas, proliferating even in the poorest communities. About ninety-three percent (93%) of all sari-sari stores nationwide are located in residential communities. The neighborhood sari-sari store (variety or general) is part and parcel of daily life for the average Filipino. Any essential household good that might be missing from one’s pantry – from basic food items like sugar, coffee, and cooking condiments, to other necessities like soap or shampoo, is most conveniently purchased from the nearby sari-sari store at economically sized quantities that are affordable to common citizens. The sari-sari store offers a place where people can meet. The benches provided in front of the store are usually occupied by local people; some men spend time drinking there while women discuss the latest local news, youths also use the place to hang out and children also rest there in the afternoons after playing and buy soft drinks and snacks. In popular culture