Alright. The time of the year is here. It is when resignation slows down, performance peaks and absences are close to zero. Why? It is all because of the upcoming annual bonus and for some, annual increase. Some countries, like here in the Philippines, 13th month pay is also given and unused leave credits are converted to cash. In totality, a big chunk of money will be given to almost all employees.
The question now is, “what to do with it?”
Spending The Annual Bonus Like Rich
Okay. A lot of employees will spend this yearly bonus on something they have been wanting to get. It could vary from a new PC, a new mobile phone, a new game console, paying off debts, shoes, splurge in shopping or spending it on Christmas gifts, dinners and other activities. Before we know it, the year has not ended yet and that bonus is gone.
I have been like this for most of my working years. I can not even remember what I spent the money on. I don’t even know if the things I bought back then are still with me now. But for sure, after spending that money, I felt the same as before getting it. I don’t feel rich. Back to the grind.
I am not saying it is wrong. Anyway, that is still our hard earned money and we can choose how we spend it. Nothing and no one can stop us. All I am saying is that by spending it all on things that we think we need and since we got the money, why not buy it, is something that will not help us in the long run.
That short stint of feeling rich will fleet and we will soon forget it.
After Spending All Of The Annual Bonus
Before you say that you deserve to spend that money the way you want it because of the hard work you put in the entire year, I would say yes. No one stopping you from doing so. You earned it. You deserve some pampering. What you do with it is all up to you.
I would just add that you also owe it to your future self. Where do you see yourself in about 5 or 10 years? Maybe you see that person promoted with a higher salary. You might be envisioning that you’ll have a lot of money by then and be chill. Thinking that after all of the years of hard work, it paid off. Well, you are wrong.
If you spend all that money, there won’t be anything left for the future you. Spending it now, all of it, will just require you to work even more. The stress will start to creep in because eventually you will get tired and force yourself to work. You need the money. You have no choice.
You can spend it all, sure. But you got to put something aside for the future you. Your future self will not be able to work as much as you are working now. You’ll get tired, get stressed, and get fed up with what you are doing and just hope that you are rich so you can just stop working and enjoy life.
Small Things Add Up
No one notices this until it is after a couple of years. And I think that is one reason why most of us are hesitant to do it because the result is not immediate. It takes years.
When I started saving and investing, I was feeling disappointed. For a good two to five years, our bank account doesn’t seem to grow. Our investments seem to be going nowhere – either it is a loss or we just end up breaking even. It was a sad period. But, after those years, we started earning. No more losses. A minimum of 7% return is what we are getting from the time I started investing. Everything added up. Everything compounded.
We started with small amounts. Php1000 per month. Then, 10% of my salary per month. Then, 20%. Even the annual bonus was not entirely spent. 20% went to investments. It was difficult because we had to pause on buying what we wanted and work with what was left. My wife is very good in budgeting I call her magic. I don’t know how she does it but, we are still standing now.
And those little, small amounts paid off. By the time I am writing this, we have a good amount in our bank accounts and very good returns on our investments. Not enough to retire just yet but, I would say it is a very good amount. All of these were achieved because we decided not to spend everything. We started thinking of having a life that we can support our lives without the pressure of work. Of course, we will not be able to achieve this without God’s blessings.
A Call To The Young Workforce
My nephew and niece just started working for a little over a year now. They are about to experience the benefit of getting the annual bonus or 13th month pay. They are already saying that they are going to buy new things such as new PC monitor and clothes. With the prices now, they will just blow all of that money in stuff that they will soon forget or not even use after at least two years.
For those who are thinking the same, I urge you to put some aside. Don’t spend all of it. Save a good portion of it. Invest it in something – stocks, crypto, or forex. Not doing so will just create a toll on you from working in a couple of years. Imagine that you’ve been working for 5 years and your bank account is still waiting for that paycheck to come just to get its balance up. I promise you, it is not a good feeling. After years of working, you have nothing to show for it. Not about what you have accomplished but really making money after all the years of hardwork.
Spend that annual bonus the way you want it, just not all of it. I guarantee you that after a few years, you won’t feel so much stressed working. Seeing your bank account growing is a different feeling than seeing it just being replenished everytime you get paid.
Leave a Reply