Smart Ways to Spend Your 13th Month Pay
- by admin
- November 27, 2020
- Investment | Tips
December is just a few days away. And if you are an employee, there is only one thing that you’ve been waiting for and that is your 13th-month pay. You may be even thinking of buying some new clothes, gadgets, appliances, etc. right now. But before you do some major spending, keep calm and take a deep breath.
Are you sure you need these?
To help you make better decisions when it comes to spending your 13th-month pay, here are some options to make sure every cent is worth it.
1. Prioritize paying your debts
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us at some point borrowed money just to pay bills. Some also requested for a flexible payment scheme for car loans, home loans, credit cards, etc. The lockdown period is indeed a difficult financial time for all of us.
That is why with the coming of your 13th month pay, it would be smart to prioritize paying off some of your debts. This way you and your family can easily enjoy the holiday not worrying about it. Moreover, you will also start the new year in a debt-free state.
In paying your debts, it is recommended to list down and sort them according to priority. Put the largest and highest-interest as your priority followed by the small and less urgent ones.
2. Invest in properties
If you don’t have debts to pay, better to invest your money on something that will help you double it up. Avoid buying unnecessary items that will just become a liability in the future. Yes, you’ll be happy about having a new phone. But in the long run, that new phone will get old and outdated to the point of having to buy a new one. It is really not that practical.
Better to invest your 13th-month pay on assets that will bring you more money. You can use your 13th-month pay on paying for the downpayment of a low-cost housing that you can turn into a passive income.
**See more low-cost properties that you can turn into assets in Porac, Mabalacat, Angeles City and San Fernando.
3. Buy insurance
Insurance is a very important investment that you need to have. You can use your money in buying life insurance to protect you in the event of an unexpected death or critical life conditions. You can also invest in car insurance in the to prepare you for a car accident. You can also invest in home insurance so you can have financial protection against residential property loss and damage.
** Fiesta Communities and Hausland Development Corporations already have home insurance in all their properties. Read here to learn more.
4. Create an emergency fund
The COVID-19 pandemic caught us all off guard. Many of us were lost financially because many didn’t have enough emergency funds to survive this crisis. So before you start thinking of buying stuff, why not use your 13th-month pay as a start in building up your emergency fund.
Use it as your safety net with whatever unexpected crisis happens to your life. The rule of thumb in building an emergency fund is at least 3 months worth of your salary that is in your savings account.
5. Spend wisely
Now if you don’t have debts to settle, assets or insurance to buy, and have built up enough emergency funds, is it okay to spend your money on other things? Yes, but you need to spend wisely. The holiday season is brimming with sales and promos. Take advantage of that. As much as possible avoid paying for the full price if there are discounts and promos available. If you can also get rebates on using credit cards, then do so.
Final thoughts
It is really tempting to buy almost everything when we have excess money. But in this new normal, more than ever, we need to be wiser when it comes to spending. We must, at all cost, avoid impulsive buying decisions, which is very common during the holidays.
So the key to using your 13th-month bonus or your money, in general, is to spend, invest and save wisely.
Enjoy the holidays!
