ELIMINATE debt and start saving are among the things one must do when receiving Christmas bonus or 13th month pay, according to FWD Philippines financial consultant Blue Rivera Tejam.
In an interview with SunStar on Thursday, Tejam said 80 percent of the bonus can go to savings while the rest of the 20 percent can go to personal expenses.
Another advice she gave is for the public, especially for the one-day millionaires, to develop self-discipline and educate one's self with cash flow management.
Cash flow management is when one lists all the expenses, including the debt, and subtracts it from the income to check if there's a positive or negative outcome.
Tejam said the basic formula for cash flow management and effectively spending one's salary is to save or invest 30 percent of it and to avoid consuming the entirety of the remaining 70 percent for budget expenses.
"You can't save if you have debt," the financial advisor said.
There is no best way to save, but one must make it a habit, she added.
Christmas bonus is different from 13th month pay, according to the Department of Labor and Employment.
Christmas bonus is only discretionary and not provided for by law while the 13th month pay is equivalent to the monthly basic salary of a worker and is a benefit mandated by law. (USC AB Communications Intern Erica Jill Dancel/SunStar Philippines)