The Philippine Holiday Debt Trap
Is it me or is Christmas celebrated too early in the Philippines? It's only September and the Christmas countdown begins. It's already noted by CNBC that Christmas is celebrated longest in the Philippines (read here). That's something I'm not proud of. It's common to have Jose Mari Chan (now 77 years old) as a meme. It's September 1 and I start to hear "Christmas in Our Hearts" on the radio. Personally, I feel I'm going to hate the Christmas season even more due to several factors. Heavy traffic, people asking for "pinaskohan" (Christmas giveaway), and I could also say a cheerless Christmas after Odette. No, Christmas isn't a magical day where nothing can go wrong. If you don't believe me--Google "Christmas day disasters" and you'll find some people have bad memories associated with Christmas. There was even an event in the Philippines called the Cheerless Christmas when the Empire of Japan took over during the Second World War.
One should think about the heavy traffic during December and see one incredibly stupid root cause
I could check the typical money habits among my countrymen. I could talk about overspending from January to November then they simply have to wait for Christmas bonuses by December. Someone can say people still don't have money. But what did they do with the money (read here)? I could think of the payday blowouts that happen every payday (read here). They live paycheck to paycheck so they need to at least learn to focus on their needs over their wants. Some even go as far as to go gambling instead of investing (read here). Some may have decided to treat the stock market as a get-rich-quick mechanism instead of investing long-term. Some may have decided to do day trading instead of long-term investing. Long-term investing usually involves either cost averaging, lump summing when you're in a low point, or I'd say better combining both approaches when possible. It's possible to invest PHP 1,000.00 as a start, reach PHP 12,000.00, stop, then start to do a lump sum when the market is at a low (6,200-6,300) then cost average again PHP 1,000.00 for a selected period of time.
If you live paycheck to paycheck--wants must come last and needs must come first. Simple rules like not buying a car if you can't afford gasoline, not buying a luxury car if you can't afford expensive services, not buying an air conditioner if you can't afford to pay higher electricity, riding a jeepney if you can't afford a taxi, and investing only what you don't need now can go a long way. Yet, it's easy to see how overspending is the norm. Some of them are even overspending sources like cash handouts (read here) and OFW remittances (read here). If they don't know how to manage the money--they're bound to waste it. It's unlike if a person was employed, if more persons in the family were employed, and the like then you can expect them to start juggling their own money. I really think that it's sometimes better to get what you want later in life. However, relying on financial sources like OFW remittances (and sadly, some OFWs are raising parasites at home as a result of economic protectionism) or government cash handouts wouldn't do any good. Handouts should be temporary aid and not a lifetime of support. I'm afraid an obsession with handouts and remittances is really another reason why I always shouted, "Isn't it any wonder why the Philippines doesn't improve?" Though a root cause is also economic protectionism.
Let's say you mismanaged money from your paycheck from January to November. These would include not being able to say no to payday blowouts, participating in get-rich-quick schemes such as pyramids and Ponzis, gambling instead of investing, playing Axie Infinity instead of investing in indexes (read here), and the like are very destructive habits. Who really got rich in gambling except for the casino or any form of gambling den? I even joked more than once that if I engaged in jueteng, masiao, opened a mahjong house, etc.--maybe I'd be even richer than the richest men in the Philippines. Yet, such wealth is hastily gotten and can be hastily lost because I'll end up living an expensive lifestyle as a result. If one keeps losing in gambling--one can think about the next debt trap cycle. One can end up borrowing mone money to pay gambling debts. I call that a double whammy which is a twofold blow. One may end up losing more money by gambling from borrowed money. I think if they get in trouble with one loan shark--the "solution" is to borrow from another loan shark. This is really the source of such trouble because they don't know how to handle money properly. So, December comes and the money is cut short. One has a long list of bad debts to pay which may be from the bank to the loan sharks.
Traffic could've been prevented if more people planned their Christmas list as early as September. Maybe, one could think that "It's September, Jose Mari Chan's controlling the speakers in the mall now. I should prepare a list." Instead, bad values such as "mamaya na" (just do it later) or "manana habit" (procrastination) kick in. My experiences with procrastination are anything but good. I really hated how I had bad grades in high school because of that. I did finish college on time by having better time management even if it wasn't excellent. Good isn't the enemy of best. Good is the next step to best. Rather, mediocrity is the enemy of good and best. It might be a good time to plan from September to October on how to celebrate Christmas. One could think, "Do I have a budget for this and that?" Sadly, is it me or are many of my countrymen a stranger to timely planning and frugality? I wonder if some of my fellow countrymen even feel "less Filipino" if they ever start being more timely and frgal.
Instead, they waited for December when the 13th-month pay is in with the Christmas bonus. However, without good habits, even a generous bonus from good bosses will run short. Maybe, one can think of going karaoke, disco, etc.--something the late John L. Gokongwei Jr. advised against in his life lessons. Funny enough, some of these people have the tendency to sour grape against rich people for simply being rich. That's why some of them easily join socialist and communist organizations where they hate capitalism but love its products. I even remembered hearing last 2020 how some COVID-19-based cash handouts were misspent on things not needed. Some went gambling with their cash handouts. That's why I felt salute to Mayor Rex Gatchalian for turning fighting cocks into adobo (read here). If they can't handle regular pay well from January to November then do they expect to handle the money well on December? Even worse, they may even wait to do their Christmas shopping and grocery maybe even on December 24--the most hectic time of December. That just reminds me of the Christmas movie, Jingle All the Way, where Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) tried to get the hottest toy in town on Christmas Eve of all times. It might be funny as a movie but not funny when you experience intense Christmas traffic in December.
I could imagine how they start to check their money after the 13th-month pay and Christmas bonus. They had that crazy payday blowout which may be accompanied by more gambling. What happens is, "I'm out of money!" Instead of thinking about how to clear out the debts--they decide to get more into debt. Trying to solve debt with debt is just a surefire recipe for a double whammy or even more. It would be very funny if they borrowed from yet another loan shark because they still owed others and never paid. Maybe, they might try to bet on horse racing and get into more debt. Regardless, they get the loan, and then they proceed to mismanage more money. It's already stressful enough doing last-minute Christmas grocery and shopping.
Having incredibly expensive holiday parties when one couldn't afford it compounds the problem
A good portion of my youth was spent in Downtown, Cebu City. As a child, I remembered how Christmas can be exciting but also a very frustrating time. One of my memories was how some of our neighbors will celebrate lavishly. One of my memories was hiring a band (which was most likely paid on borrowed money), having a very noisy Christmas Eve party, and even partying hard from dusk until dawn. As an adult, I even wonder if they even had enough money for the New Year's Party. Another reason why I hate New Year's Eve is that one can hardly get a good sleep because of noisy parties. The tendency for hiring a noisy band and partying from dusk until dawn is there. Do you think it was really budgeted?
If there's an OFW family then there are remittances in foreign currency. One could think of the higher wages in other countries due to better economics. One might use the remittances but it's not enough. Instead, they decide to borrow more money to have that party. I guess some family, relatives, and friends, of that OFW, think working abroad is easy when it isn't. It's not easy being torn apart from your family just to feed them. Yet, some even try to glamorize it as an act of "heroism". One may be demanding expensive presents from the Balikbayan Box. One could think about somebody may now want a Playstation 5 (which is very hard to obtain), a Hermes bag, some brand new toys, etc.--stuff they can barely afford in the Philippines. What they may not even consider is that the OFW family member is struggling abroad while they do almost nothing. It reminds me of tales of OFWs (such as flight attendants) who are also raising lazy bums back at home. But you know, mishandled money is mishandled money.
Regardless, we know how overspending kicks in. I noticed how people think they're rich because of branded goods. Many have that bad habit of bragging about their Christmas money or presents. A classmate of mine even lied before that he had a million PHP--something I believed and got jealous of for nothing. That classmate of mine later was revealed to have working-class parents so his lies were getting obvious. I guess the children tend to brag about what they don't even have because they feel they're "left out". Instead of teaching their children to have a good temperament--I guess parents can't help it, right? It's like they decide to buy expensive toys and apparel for Christmas so their children will not be "left out". It would be something to think about when these children who are bragging about the cool stuff they had during Christmas may not be able to eat decent meals. It would be better not to buy expensive gifts on Christmas and be able to have three decent meals a day. I even remembered loathing my parents before for not giving me high-class items or changing our car to a limousine. Today, I'm grateful that I'm not driving a Mercedes Benz because the maintenance cost is so high.
Regardless, we know how overspending kicks in. I noticed how people think they're rich because of branded goods. Many have that bad habit of bragging about their Christmas money or presents. A classmate of mine even lied before that he had a million PHP--something I believed and got jealous of for nothing. That classmate of mine later was revealed to have working-class parents so his lies were getting obvious. I guess the children tend to brag about what they don't even have because they feel they're "left out". Instead of teaching their children to have a good temperament--I guess parents can't help it, right? It's like they decide to buy expensive toys and apparel for Christmas so their children will not be "left out". It would be something to think about when these children who are bragging about the cool stuff they had during Christmas may not be able to eat decent meals. It would be better not to buy expensive gifts on Christmas and be able to have three decent meals a day. I even remembered loathing my parents before for not giving me high-class items or changing our car to a limousine. Today, I'm grateful that I'm not driving a Mercedes Benz because the maintenance cost is so high.
Now, the expensive Christmas party is over. December 26 comes and then we have 27, 28, 29, 30, and then 31 comes. I remembered being only able to celebrate the Lunar New Year because New Year's Eve was spent doing repairs after Odette struck. The money was spent so badly on Christmas such as expensive presents that one can't afford. Maybe, one may have spent money on medicine because of trying to imitate Jingle All the Way's Howard in getting that action figure on Christmas Eve of all times. Right now, I even think about some toys I received as a child that was thrown away later. I even think about my problem with branded goods is that it's just a status symbol--not something that's more durable than affordable quality goods. The "solution" is once again, you guessed it, to borrow more money even when you've already borrowed lots of money from lots of people and may have not even paid a single person of that money. This becomes an even bigger debt trap nonetheless. Yet, they borrow money for New Year's Eve.
The New Year's Eve party comes and you guessed it--chances are a band is hired. You can get the band to play music and they party from dusk until dawn. Chances are, there will be gambling games during the New Year's Eve party. One will wake up on January 1 thinking that it's the best time ever. However, January 2 comes and you realize you've got plenty of money owed from other people, again. I guess that's why one time I went to eat in an Indian restaurant in January--a lot of people wearing turbans were at one table. Another time, I drove and realized that an Indian guy riding a motorcycle was there. Several Indian guys in turbans riding motorcycles are there. I keep seeing these Indian guys in turbans group together in January. I suspect these guys aren't honest-to-goodness Indians that run a decent business. Instead, they are most likely five-six dealers asking for their money back. I bet some of them may even be sharing a common debtor. Maybe, that's why some of these five-six lenders travel in groups--either they're a group or they discovered they have a common debtor.
Sure, it's said that fiestas are there to help them forget their problems. Unfortunately, unwise spending only compounds it. One could've had a compounded interest if one started to invest in stocks some other way (via a low-cost index fund and do cost averaging as a start then add more during low periods), lump-sum into a treasury bill to lend money to the government, or any legitimate financial investments. Instead, laziness always drives one in the desire to get rich quick so they participate in get-rich-quick schemes such as gambling, Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, and playing Axie Infinity. All these unnecessary holiday spendings only compounded the problems instead of the interests. Even worse, some people may say, "What's the use of money when the disaster struck?" Then the person decides to spend on something he or she doesn't need now. That's very stupid because money will be useful when disaster struck such as spending on repairs, medical care, etc. Later, the same person wonders why he or she has very little to no money to spend on necessities after the disaster.
It's more than time to get serious about holiday debt traps. These aren't funny to think about. That's why I believe that it's time to learn to handle money properly. We need to stop many financial debt traps. It would be a good time to keep raising awareness about it. If so, one can continue to have this vicious cycle and end no longer having happy holidays when one's broke as a joke.
References
Websites
"Seized gamecocks from Valenzuela City derby cooked into adobo by pissed city mayor" by Coconuts Manila (April 14, 2020)
"The country that celebrates Christmas for more than 4 months a year" by Monica Buchanan Pitrelli (December 20, 2021)
