Finance Friday: How Will You Spend Your Christmas Bonus?

It's December once again! For most of us, that means Chrismas is near. For many of us who belong to the employed sector, that also means more moolah!

This is the time of the year when many of us receive Christmas bonuses and 13th month pays. Unfortunately, since I am technically a freelancer, I don't receive these kinds of benefits. What I do is work double-time (since I am in charge of my time) so that I will have extra money for Christmas.

Last year (woah time flies!), I talked about suggestions on how to use the 13th month pay. It's an awesome post so please read it haha!

But what about the Christmas Bonus?

If you read my post about using the 13th month pay, I suggested that we donate 10% of it to charity. That's because I consider this regular income. It means that it's something expected so we can include it in a regular budget.

However, the Christmas bonus is not considered regular income because first, it is not always certain, and second, we may not know how much it is or when we will receive it. So I have a different view about it.

Finance Friday: How Will You Spend Your 13th Month Pay?

Okay, I actually don't receive 13th month pay. Nor a Christmas bonus. Much less a 14th month pay. That's just one of the perks of working from home, I guess. In fairness to my job, we do get bonuses from time to time, but they are not as regular and certainly not certain like those received by people working 8-5 jobs.

However, I do notice several people talking about their 13th month pays over Facebook already. Cue in music: It's the most wonderful time of the year! Which leads me to ask this question:

Since I can't really ask you that question, I'll just try to answer the question myself. Now, what will I do if ever I receive a 13th month pay this year?

Let's assume that I work for the government and receive yearly bonuses and nth-month pays. Or we can just assume that out of the blue, Uncle Henry Sy gave me a sum equivalent to a 13th month pay. I like the second scenario better. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. What would I do if I receive that sum of money? Let's assume that I will be receiving 20,000. Here is my plan:

1. I would donate 10% of it to charity. That's P2,000.

This is considering that I have already tithed from the month's actual salary. Actually, this is a no-brainer. It's easy for us to move on, but our brothers and sisters from various places in Visayas still need a lot of help. Why not spare a small amount to help?

2. I would save 20% of it to add to our emergency fund. That's P4,000.

We're still growing our emergency fund and let me be the first to tell you that it's hard. Hard but not impossible. The emergency fund is an essential fund that anyone should have to be prepared for, well, emergencies. Others call it the security fund. If I happen to receive a 13th month pay this year, I would certainly contribute a part of it to our EF.

3. I would spend another 20% for myself and for gifts. That's another P4,000.

I won't pretend that I don't drool over mall displays or repeatedly visit online shops to "window shop." No. Apparently, it's a hard habit to break. So it's expected that I'll be spending a little amount to treat myself and others. A new blender would be nice as well as a planner...

On the other hand, knowing me, I'm pretty sure the entire amount would just be spent on Yuri-stuff.

4. I would invest the remaining 50%. That's 10,000.