Fresh start: Managing expenses

The New Year presents opportunities to turn the page and set new goals, including improving our financial well-being.

- By Jenny Lacerna

After the holiday season's celebrations and their accompanying expenses, we might find ourselves reflecting on how we can better manage our finances.

Holiday festivities come with a price tag, and as we welcome 2025, this is the perfect time to explore ways on how to become more financially responsible and to avoid the post-holiday blues that often come with excessive spending.

Spending sprees, festivities An important step toward improving our financial management practices is understanding how our spending habits shift throughout the year, specifically during peak seasons like the holidays.

A 2023 Kantar report revealed a seven-percent surge in Filipino fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) spending from December 2022 to January 2023 compared to non-festive months. This uptick indicates increased expenditure on food, beverages and other Christmas essentials.

Another study by Rakuten found that 32 percent of Filipinos allocated up to P3,000 for holiday shopping on apparel, footwear and electronics. Moreover, a TikTok-commissioned study unveiled a trend of early holiday online shopping, starting as early as September. The study highlighted that 74 percent of TikTok users engage with the platform daily and a significant 78 percent make weekly e-commerce purchases.