Yes, for those who works for corporations, March & April are the months when you feel like you want to work somewhere for eternity.
Until May comes, you really think your boss is the sweetest thing. For the sole reason that : The Annual Bonus has arrived!
What do we do with annual bonus?
With his annual bonus, my husband bought a PSP last year. He’s been keeping it handy wherever he goes around the house. He keeps reminding me that it is so fantastic and he’s hoping he can get something else this year. I don’t think I’ll ever understand his thing with computer games. I do think he appreciates that I never say no when he wants to spend his money on stuff like this.
Whatever you want to do with your annual bonus, it’s wise to think of what you want to do with your life.
So before you go on your spending spree… think about the important things like…
Credit Card Debt
Can your annual bonus close all your credit card debt? If the answer is yes, even if it’s just part of your credit card debt, what are you waiting for just PAID IT OFF! Say goodbye credit card debt, you’ve been keeping it alive too long. You want your freedom back! You want to be able to use that credit card without thinking, you have another 15 million to pay off from last month. Please tell me you want to do this?
Emergency Fund
It’s just not happening. I have 2 kids, my target emergency fund is huge… You’ve been saving throughout the year, and your emergency fund is still not enough. The easy way is to top it off with your annual bonus. So next month you can move on with your other financial goals.
Kids Education Fund
We went through our financial statements and couldn’t help laughing at ourselves, at how stupid we were for not being able to save our annual bonus in the past. We do now. Our kids education fund is comfortably ‘secured’ for the next few years, at least for the short term ones, because we made sure part of the annual bonus covers it.
Start Up for a Business
We don’t do a lot of these ofcourse. I don’t have the time and energy. I have though, met many people complaining to me that they want to start a business but have no capital. When I asked them, where your annual bonus is going, they simply don’t know. So keep some amount away, ready for business opportunities in the future.
Vacation
I love going places. So this is our guilty pleasure no. 1! We spend a lot of money taking breaks here and there from Jakarta’s hectic lifestyle. Whether it is Bandung, Bali, Yogya, Singapore, Bangkok, or wherever you want to go… your annual bonus can make it happen.
Buying A House
The number one thing to do when you want to buy a house, is to start with the down payment. 30% from future price of the house should be available in cash. This will help you a lot when you want to ensure the lowest possible KPR monthly installment. Monthly saving is not going to help much, you need the bulk money this time.
So whatever you want to spend, by all means do so! Just make sure you know your priorities.
Finance Should be Practical!
Ligwina Hananto
