Day#21: Prepare for the holidays – for next year.
This is Day #21 of “25 Days to Healthier Finances”, a series of blog posts where Frugal Pinoy readers and myself work on 1 task a day to make our financial lives better. Please stay tuned for the next installment of this series, which will be up tomorrow. Here’s today’s installment:
By now you’re probably feeling the stress of spending for the holidays – if you’re most people, that is. I’m sorry to say that I’m one of those people. Here I was, saving up for my emergency fund and retirement and before I knew it, it’s Christmas already. As for me, my main issue is that I often feel guilty about forgetting to send greeting cards to friends and relatives abroad. By planning early, I hope to avoid that, among other things.
Today’s Task: Prepare for the holidays – for next year.
That’s right, next year. So that we’re not caught by surprise, as well as be sure that we can afford the celebrations we want to have. While the holidays need not be expensive, they are an added expense that you often don’t see reflected in your monthly budget. But if we plan early, we can have worry-free holidays next year without worrying financially.
First, we need to budget our expenses for gifts, food, donations, and other items relevant to the holidays. This includes your noche buena, media noche, any possible potluck contributions. Cash gifts for the mailman, garbage collectors, and other community workers should also be included (so that you always have something to put in those yearly white envelopes they send out). I usually don’t decorate my house, but if it’s something your family loves to do then factor that in as well. Itemize your list, especially if there are specific gifts you want to give, or if there’s a particular dish you want to make.
Then, figure out a payment plan for that. How much money each month can you set aside for your “holiday fund”? How feasible is it? If you find that you can’t afford all of it, look for ways you can trim down the expenses. As you go through 2010, you’ll probably find new deals and ideas that can help lower your holiday expenses if your “ideal budget” doesn’t match what you can afford.
After the holidays, it might also help to compare your prepared 2010 holiday budget with what you actually spent this year. This will allow you to make realistic adjustments, especially if you underestimated your spending.
Finally, think of other special occasions you like celebrating. Your list might include birthdays, Valentine’s day, anniversaries. Plan for them as well.
How well did you prepare for this year’s holidays? Are you going to prepare for it next year?
Read MoreFree and Inexpensive Valentine's Day Ideas
It’s two days away from Valentine’s Day! Are you prepared? If you’ve got someone special I have a suggestion – forget the usual rose bouquet and expensive chocolates.
Honestly, I pity the nervous and sweaty guys and girls who panic at the last minute and go out and buy the most expensive flowers, stuffed toys, or chocolates they see at the store. Valentine’s Day should be a happy, relaxing day for lovers – not a cause for stress.
Here are more wallet-friendly ways to spend Valentine’s day:
Write something. Whether it’s a card, poem, or letter, creating something with simple pen and paper is so rare these days that this kind of effort would be appreciated.
Cook a meal together. Not only is it cheaper than a romantic restaurant, it’s fun too. Besides, with a few candles and a small table set up perfectly, you wouldn’t be lacking in ambiance. What if you don’t have the funds to buy extra ingredients? Check out SuperCook. It’s a great site that gives you recipes based on the ingredients you already have at home. If you make mistakes, that’s fine 
You’ll have something funny to talk about for the rest of the year.
Handpick and arrange flowers yourself. If you have a garden (or have access to one), it’s much more creative to handpick flowers yourself. Roses are so commonplace during Valentine’s day that it’ll probably be refreshing for your significant other to receive something else. Besides, the prices of roses tend to skyrocket during Valentine’s Day.
Speaking of flowers, if you find scattered petals laying around (or if the flowershop would be willing to give you some for free), you can use these. Whether it’s to decorate a bathroom, bedroom, or dinner table for V-day, they’re beautiful and cost-effective.
Take a walk together. Never mind going to Baguio or Tagaytay and spending thousands of pesos for lodging (I have a friend who spent P10,000 on just an overnight stay!) A nice walk or hike around UP, Antipolo, and some grassy areas in Marikina can lead to great conversations. If you prefer an indoor walk, there are several museums you can visit. The Vargas Museum in UP Diliman currently has a Florante at Laura exhibit you shouldn’t miss.
Watch DVDs. True, you can watch a movie in a mall theater, but so will every couple in Metro Manila. It’s bound to get crowded – which is hardly romantic or private. Odds are, you and your significant other have some unwatched DVDs. Now’s the perfect time to finally watch them. Or, you can rent DVDs from a video store.
What are your plans for Valentine’s Day? How much has it cost you in the past?
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