Skip to content Filipinos are known to be one of the few nations who really make an effort to spend the holidays in the best ways that they can. However, a lot struggle in maintaining budget when Christmas is approaching but in this article, we are going to teach you a few tricks that can make your holidays non-lucrative but fun and exciting.
Set a budget for gifts
Gift-giving during the eve or the salubong is one of the most anticipated days of most Filipinos which is why they really prepare when the countdown starts. There are a lot of inexpensive but good-quality gifts that you can give your friends and loved ones. It is recommended that you plan your gifts accordingly and that it would fit your budget; ensure that your gifts won’t go over a certain amount. This is why you should research and buy gifts ahead of time.
Read: A deeper look at 50/20/30 money saving rule
Budgeting your Noche Buena
Though most Fiipinos treat Noche Buena as their most extravagant meal of the year, you can still make it look extravagant on a tight budget. Here are a few tips on buying food for Noche Buena:
- Buy ahead of time because groceries and markets may increase prices of certain food when the holidays is near.
- Buy meat in grams. A cured ham costs somewhere around P300-P700 pesos in the supermarket but you can buy 300g of ham for less than You can buy cheaper meat if it is uncured – same goes with bacon.
- Pasta is a little bit more expensive than rice but hey, this celebration just happens once a year, right? You can buy inexpensive pastas in groceries that have the same quality as the expensive ones.
Try to set a budget for every food you get so that you can keep a watch on how your budget decreases.