Protection
Put yourself at ease by protecting those you love
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{{label}}15 November 2022
But, one of the most stressful traditions for this occasion is last-minute Christmas shopping. People scramble around the malls, trying to cross off items in their Christmas grocery list. Aside from that, they tend to spend more when Christmas is near, which is where their 13th-month pay usually ends up.
Read: Smart Things To Do With Your 13th Month Pay
It’s essential to manage your Christmas spendings wisely so you can avoid holiday stress. And if you’re looking for tips and tricks on how to handle your Christmas grocery shopping, this article is for you. Here are seven wais tips that can help you save more on your Christmas shopping.
7 Tips to Be More Wais on Christmas Grocery Shopping
1. Avoid last-minute shopping
Prices for decor, gifts, and ingredients increase once the holiday season kicks in. That’s why doing your grocery shopping early lets you save a peso or more. In addition, you can use the money you’ve saved for other important fundings like a savings and life insurance plan.
You don’t have to buy everything in one go; you can gradually stock up on your Christmas dinner ingredients. This also saves you from frantically running to different groceries to find out-of-stock ingredients as Christmas draws near.
2. Plan your Christmas dinner early
Planning what dishes you’ll have for Christmas dinner and the ingredients you’ll be needing can help you along the way. Before anything else, though, you have to set a realistic budget since there are other things you have to spend on aside from the holiday festivities.
With this, you won’t have to rush back and forth from the grocery store and waste gas to buy ingredients you’ve forgotten come Christmas day. So, make sure to have your Christmas dinner checklist all checked out.
3. Consider more affordable alternatives to traditional holiday food
It’s alright not to follow the traditional Christmas food down to the T. If you have the chance to swap one traditional dish for a cheaper alternative, go for it.
For example, you can opt for Lechon Kawali instead of serving one whole Lechon at the dinner table. That way, you won’t have to spend too much on just one night of celebration and lessen the expenses on your Christmas dinner shopping list.
4. Choose recipes that share the same ingredients
Another benefit of planning your Christmas dinner grocery list early is identifying which dishes share the same ingredients. This can be helpful, so you won’t have to run around searching for a variety of ingredients and blow up your expenses. Aside from that, some stores offer discounts when you buy in bulk. With that, you can buy ingredients for a low price, without them going to waste.
5. Canvas ingredient prices
Aside from choosing recipes with similar ingredients, a wais Filipino knows not to buy an ingredient at the first price you see. There are cases wherein a specific ingredient can be more expensive in one store and relatively cheaper in another. As such, checking ingredient prices in different stores can help you get the best deals for your Christmas dinner.
6. Invite the family to a potluck celebration
For most Filipinos, having the whole clan come together to celebrate joyous occasions, such as Christmas, is a tradition. You can ask your family to a potluck celebration where they bring food for everyone to share.
Not only will you save money from whittling down your Christmas dinner food list but you can also save time and effort in preparing dishes fit for the whole family and more.
7. Refrigerate leftovers
Filipinos tend to cook food for celebrations that fit a barangay, especially during the holiday season. Chances are, there are going to be leftovers that can last for a week.
Don’t let the food go to waste—you could refrigerate them for the following days. That bone from your crispy pata dish can still be used as an ingredient for your sopas the next day.
‘Tis the season to be jolly!
The holiday season is a time for family celebrations and gift-giving. However, Christmas shopping can be stressful, especially when your 13th-month pay disappears with the festivities. Because of this, properly managing your Christmas spendings is a must so that you can have a happy and stress-free holiday season.
Don’t know where to spend your 13th-month pay? Get yourself a savings and life insurance plan like Build Life Plus to help grow your money and protect your family at the same time.
BPI AIA makes it easy to get insured amidst the ongoing pandemic. Reach out to one of our Bancassurance Sales Executives online today!
You can buy a life insurance at any BPI branch nationwide! Talk to a bancassurance sales executive now!