How to spend money wisely during Tet is always a question that makes many people have a headache. Sometimes, after just one Tet, the money saved from a year of business "disappears".
In the Vietnamese concept, Tet is the biggest holiday of the year, an occasion for family gathering, only once a year, so people often spend a lot of money to shop, decorate the house, especially spend a lot of money to buy gifts for relatives on both sides.
Tet is also an occasion to show the economic abundance of the homeowner in a year to guests, relatives, friends, etc. Therefore, "spending beyond one's means" on Tet has become a habit of many people. However, in recent years, with economic difficulties, many families have chosen a more frugal Tet, tightening their spending.
Every year, Ms. Le Trang, an office worker living in Bac Tu Liem, Hanoi, spends at least 40 million VND for Tet. In addition to 20 million VND divided equally between her parents and grandparents, the lucky money for relatives also amounts to 10 million VND.
Ms. Trang confided: “My Tet is days spent in the kitchen. My family’s food needs are not much, but I still stock up on food that fills the refrigerator. When I go back to my husband’s hometown, every day I prepare three large trays of food to offer to my ancestors, but because there are few people in the house, I can’t finish it all, and sometimes I have to throw it away.”
Knowing that it is expensive, Trang still wants to buy everything with the hope of having enough and prosperity for the whole year. After Tet, the total expenses for Tet exceeded the couple's bonus, but Trang still happily accepted it and said that "after Tet, we will make up for it".
Ms. Thu Huong, an office worker in Nam Dinh, shared: “In previous years, when the economy was abundant, I was willing to buy expensive items. But in the past two years, I have made detailed spending plans and cut back as much as possible.”
She said she really likes flowers so she still prioritizes spending some money to decorate her house with fresh flowers, and reduces the rest of her spending on unnecessary things.
Thanks to good financial management, Ms. Huong set a goal of only using about 2/3 of her 13th month salary for Tet. After 3 days of Tet, she still has enough left to take her children on a trip, enjoy time with her family without worrying about finances.
Ms. Huong frankly shared that Vietnamese people often think that Tet is a time to show off their abundance and show off the fruits of their labor all year. Therefore, many families spend beyond their means, buy luxury items, and buy large quantities of food that they do not use up.
“This uncontrolled spending not only puts a burden on the family budget but also leads to waste, especially when food spoils and cannot be used in time. In fact, the thought of working all year to spend in 3 days of Tet, or only having one Tet a year so spending freely has caused many families to fall into a state of “empty pockets”, even after Tet having to borrow money to cover necessary expenses such as children's school fees or daily living expenses” - she said.
Frugal Tet does not mean lacking in abundance
The concept of reasonable spending depends on each family's financial ability. Some people consider 10 million to be reasonable, but for high-income earners, spending 25, 30, or even 50 million VND for a Tet holiday is normal.
You should not "follow the trend" by seeing your neighbors buying kumquat or peach blossoms, buying them too, or seeing others traveling, you must also go, while your financial ability is not enough to pay for it.
A frugal Tet does not take away from the sacred meaning of the biggest holiday of the year. Instead, effective spending management will help you celebrate Tet fully, happily and without worrying about economic pressure after the holiday. Tet is an occasion for families to gather together, share warm moments, not a race for material things.
Source: https://giadinhonline.vn/tet-tiet-kiem-hay-tha-cua-ra-nam-tiep-tuc-cay-d204188.html
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