Every year, the money Filipinos abroad send home peaks in December, as families get ready for the holidays. It's the most generous month of the year, and for many OFWs the most expensive. Gifts, the noche buena, the cousin who needs help with a bill: it adds up fast, and then January arrives with school fees and bills of its own.
The answer isn't giving less. It's deciding now, in October, while there's still time to plan.
Set the Christmas number first
Before anyone asks, decide your total Christmas budget: one number that covers everything. Then build the list inside it, in this order:
- Your own savings first. December is exactly when "pay yourself first" gets skipped. Keep your usual amount going. If you get a year-end bonus, decide how much of it is yours before deciding how much goes home.
- January's essentials. Second-semester tuition, rent and bills don't pause for the holidays. Set that money aside before the gifts.
- Then Christmas. Gifts, noche buena, the family reunion: whatever the budget has left.
Make a list, with names
Write down who you're sending to and how much, now. A list made in October is a plan; a list made on December 20 is a series of requests. It also makes it easier to say "this year, this is what I can do" once, kindly, instead of again and again.
Send early
December is the busiest month for remittances, and the last days before Christmas are the busiest of all. Sending early means:
- Less risk of delays, when your family needs the money most.
- Time to compare what you're actually getting. Our two-minute check on what a padala really costs works for any provider.
- Gifts that arrive in time. If you're sending a balikbayan box by sea, check your forwarder's Christmas cut-off date now. Sea freight can take weeks.
Give gifts that arrive as what they're for
Cash is flexible, which is both its strength and its weakness. If part of your Christmas padala is meant for something specific, like school supplies, a medical bill or the noche buena groceries, consider paying for it directly, or sending it in a form that can only be used for that purpose.
It's not about distrust. It's about making sure your intention arrives intact, and that your family isn't left choosing between priorities that you'd already decided.
Don't borrow for Christmas
Salary loans, credit cards and online lending apps all get busier in December. Borrowing to give a bigger Christmas means paying for this December well into next year, often at high interest. If the budget doesn't cover it, the honest gift is a smaller one.
Masaya ang Pasko kapag walang utang sa Enero.
Plan for January now
The January crash is real: the holidays end, school resumes, and December's bills arrive. If your Christmas budget already set aside January's essentials, there's nothing to crash into.
The short version
- Decide one Christmas number now, before the requests start.
- Savings first, then January's essentials, then gifts.
- Write the list with names and amounts.
- Send early, and check what your transfer really costs.
- Give purpose-specific gifts in a form that arrives as what they're for.
- Don't borrow to make Christmas bigger.
Sources
This article is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Government rules and rates change; confirm current figures with the official agency before acting.