When it comes to shopping and giving Christmas gifts, no one can beat Pinoys.
What if I told you that there’s a sure-fire way to help you plan, budget for and actually purchase Christmas gifts – without draining all your bank account savings and without all the hassle and stress of the holiday?
After all, financial freedom isn’t about depriving yourself of life’s luxuries.
It’s also not about splurging on every little thing you see and hold.
Financial freedom is a balance of enjoying today and preparing for tomorrow.
A little something set aside today is better than nothing.
Live in the present while preparing for the future by following these early Christmas shopping tips today:
1. Who’s naughty or nice?
It seems like most Filipinos are in the habit of buying Christmas presents for just about anyone in their lives: including, but not limited to, extended family, neighbors, officemates and bosses, clients, and even random acquaintances that happily invite themselves over whenever you throw an “intimate” Christmas party. 🙂
So many recipients, so little money?
Here’s what you do: You prioritize people on your list.
If you have more than twenty people on your gift-giving list, then you don’t really have a priority!
Put the names of people who truly matter to you. This way, you won’t feel irritated or forced when buying them gifts.
Worried at the office? Suggest a Secret Santa scheme so you need to buy a gift for only one co-worker.
Do NOT forget to include yourself in your Gift List.
2. How much is enough?
For every VIP in your life, set an amount that’s going to be your Maximum Allowable Budget (MAB).
Once you total them all, you now have an idea as to how much your overall gifting budget is.
Obviously, you can only know how much your budget is by figuring out what kind of items your VIPs will appreciate.
Need an idea? Head on over to their Facebook/Twitter/Instagram profiles and stalk mercilessly.
Or better yet – ask subtly.
“I think a gift certificate to a spa sounds amazing. Tingin mo?”
“OMG. If someone bought me a tumbler, I’d love them forever. Ikaw?”
“I don’t think giving a health prepaid card is a bad idea for a gift, no?”
3. It’s never too early to get a Christmas gift
Starting today, you can either:
– buy a Christmas gift for every week ONLINE; or,
– buy two Christmas gifts every two weeks online to save on shipping.
I prefer to shop online, usually via BeautyMNL, DealGrocer or Zalora. 🙂
This way, you have more time you have to compare prices and make sure you’re getting the best deal. Just don’t buy anything that’ll spoil and find a nice place to hide them all in.
The best part about this?
You get to budget small increments for presents, instead of spending a huge amount that can set you back thousands of pesos.
Let’s face it: Christmas shopping is expensive, no matter how many sales you take advantage of.
If you just shell out small (but planned and budgeted!) amounts every payday, this can make the whole amount seem less overwhelming.
Lastly, you’ll have an opportunity to realitiscally pay down your credit cards as you go rather than getting a huge, scary and hard-to-open/pay bill in January.
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—–Want to:
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Let me help you. Simply fill out this form.
—–Want to get started managing your money/budgeting/investing?
Contact me, your trusted financial advisor, through the following:
Email: liannemarthamlaroya@gmail.com or liannemartha.m.laroya@sunlife.com.ph
Twitter: @MsLianneLaroya
Mobile: 0906 243 5059
We can even meet personally for a FREE financial planning session! Let me know so we can finalize a schedule that works. No obligation to do anything – except maybe share what you learned with your friends! 