How you can earn money from your Christmas bonus

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The cold breeze, the smell of ham and the crackle of fireworks — that’s right, it’s December again!

It’s that time of year when spending an absurd amount of money becomes acceptable, encouraged even. For a few weeks at least, any wishful thinking of saving becomes a blurry afterthought.

Then comes January, the month of hangovers. You’ve exhausted your Christmas bonus, bills are mounting and you somehow find yourself crawling (again) to your next paycheck. But at this point, it’s already too late.

The good news: things don’t have to end up this way.

Instead of blowing off all your hard-earned money — tempting as that may be — here’s an idea: why not put aside a bit of money from your secret stash to invest?

Security Bank tells you why the Yuletide season is the perfect time to make your money grow.

Reason #1: Got your bonus? You can use that to start investing.

Some of you may be thinking: “Wouldn’t it feel a lot better to buy three pairs of sneakers, the latest smartphone or a new handbag instead?”

But as mentioned earlier, spending during the holidays is like getting drunk. It feels good in the moment, but gives you a throbbing headache in the morning. Only this time, it’ll be because of the inflated bill rather than the alcohol.

How do you avoid getting financially wasted? Well, that depends on your willingness to set aside cash. But really, investing is the best way to do it. Getting your bonus — a once a year (or quarter depending on where you work) influx of cash — is the perfect opportunity to enter the world of investing.

Let’s address the elephant in the room: where and how exactly should you invest your hard-earned money? While there’s a lot of investment instruments out there, unit investment trust funds (UITF) are one of the most accessible, if not the easiest investment to manage.

With a minimum investment amount of only ₱10,000, you can set aside a portion of your bonus as initial investment, which gives you the option of adding more value to your fund in the future. Investment periods range from three months up to three years, depending on the nature of the fund.

Yes, that means you won’t immediately feel the fruits of your investment. But that also means you’re not throwing away money on something that, honestly, will only give you fleeting happiness (look up “buyer’s remorse”).

Reason #2: It grows.

That’s the whole point of investing after all, right? As long as you’re comfortable with leaving your money for an extended period without pulling your chips in panic when the market dips, you’ll be fine. Managing your investment shouldn’t be much of a concern anyway since Security Bank’s UITFs are handled by professional fund managers.

They work round-the-clock to ensure your funds are positioned so that they maximize earning potential. If you need the cash right away, you need not worry because Security Bank UITFs are liquid — you can subscribe or redeem on any banking day.

Want to get an idea of just how much you can earn? Try Security Bank’s investment calculator to see how much you could earn if you start investing today.

Reason #3: There’s a fund for everyone.

One of the best things about UITFs is that there’s almost always a right fund for each type of person.

There are eight funds to choose from, with each fund designed to cater to a specific type of risk appetite — from conservative, to moderate, to aggressive. Based on your risk profile, determined by taking a Client Suitability Questionnaire, fund managers recommend which fund is right for you, all of which have a minimum investment amount of just ₱10,000.

How smart of an investment is a UITF? Look at it this way: First off, it’s diverse — being an open-pooled fund, your investment is spread across various asset baskets to maximize earning potential.

Second, monitoring isn’t an issue through NAVPU, where the day-to-day value of your investment is displayed 24/7 on Security Bank’s website. Lastly, UITFs are regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, making it a proper, legitimate financial investment, whichever way you slice it.

So before you go off to buy that shiny new camera you’ve been eyeing since forever, consider looking into UITFs as a great way to start or diversify your investment portfolio. While you’re at it, get yourself involved in other financial instruments to deepen your investment know-how.

Who knows? Your gains from investment might just fund your next shopping spree (or if you play your cards right, your next 10 shopping sprees).

To learn more about UITFs, please visit www.securitybank.com/uitf or email trustmarketing@securitybank.com.ph.