Is the 13th month pay really worth waiting for, or is it just gone in a week?

Question

Every December parang lahat kami sa office excited sa 13th month, pero pagdating sa akin agad nawawala. My friend told me she saves half niya, ako naman laging ubos sa utang and Christmas. For those who actually managed to make their 13th month count, what did you do differently? Curious lang kung normal ba na parang lusaw agad.

Ate Rica Nurse · Accepted Answer

Ako dati ganyan din, dumadating December 10 tapos by December 20 wala na. Ang naging game-changer ko was I asked HR to compute my exact figure by October pa lang, so nasa 32,000 ako expected, then I pre-assigned it on paper: 10k for utang sa 5-6, 8k Christmas budget, 14k straight to a separate Pag-IBIG MP2 na hindi ko na hawak. Ang pinakamalaking trick talaga is hindi mo ilagay sa parehong account ng sahod mo, kasi kapag nakikita mo, nagagalaw. First year ko gawin yun, si January ko hindi na humihiram, first time in years. The 13th month is only lusaw kasi walang plano bago pa dumating, hindi kasi maliit.

Insurance Tito Ver · Answer

Tandaan niyo lang na tax-free ang 13th month up to 90,000 pesos total kasama yung ibang benefits, so wag kayo matakot na kakaltasan. Nadiskubre ko lang ito noong nag-resign ako at may prorated 13th month pa ako na dapat ibigay ng company by law kahit umalis ka mid-year. Marami hindi alam na hindi mo kailangan tapusin ang taon para may makuha. Kung ni-hold ng employer mo, pwede ka mag-file sa DOLE.

Attorney Wannabe Jun · Answer

Honest opinion: para sa akin hindi siya sagip kasi konti lang naman talaga kapag maliit ang basic. Ang 13th month is basic salary divided by 12 times months worked, so kung 18k lang basic mo, wala kang 18k na buo makukuha kung may absences ka. Nagulat ako kasi akala ko fixed bonus, yun pala prorated. Better i-expect mo na katumbas lang ng isang sahod, wag kang umasa ng malaki.

Attorney Wannabe Jun · Answer

Yung sa amin every year sinasabay namin sa insurance premium na due every January, kasi kung hindi, mahihirapan kami mag-abot ng cash. So sa asawa ko, pagdating ng 13th month, agad kaming pumupunta ng Sun Life office bago pa maubos. Boring pakinggan pero yun ang nagligtas sa amin from lapsing yung policy namin. Hindi lahat pang-saya dapat, minsan pang-survive lang.

SingleMom Cha · Answer

Ako ginagawa kong puhunan. Two years ago binili ko yung first batch ng paninda ko for online selling gamit ang 13th month, mga 15k na stocks ng ukay. By March na-double ko na siya. Mas masakit sa loob mag-ipon lang na nakatengga, so mas ok kung may ipapaikot ka. Pero risky din kung wala kang alam sa benta, wag basta-basta.

Is the 13th month pay really worth waiting for, or is it just gone in a week?

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