Filipinos love the Easter holidays because it is the time that we are able to renew our faith to God and value the importance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to wash our sins away. Also, it is the time where we are able to take a break from our daily routines and spend some quality time with our family and friends. Every year, thousands of Pinoys flock together to do a ‘Visita Iglesia’ or go to exotic vacation spots such as resort and beach hotels. With that said, people spend a lot of money to do those activities and what I notice is that sometimes, people spend too much to satisfy the hunger for enjoyment
In this post, I’ll share to you how I spent my Easter holidays with just 2,000 Pesos.
When you become an investor, you become aware of the value of money. When you start to value every peso you earn, you’ll start to teach yourself how to live frugally. I’m now frugal so that’s why I limited myself with just 2,000 Pesos.
How did I spend the Holy Week with just 2,000 Pesos?
On Good Friday, we did a ‘Visita Iglesia’ with my parents. We visited three churches and after that, treated them for some Halo-Halo in Chowking. Since they are senior citizens already, I got them a discount and spent an approximate of Php 200.00
Halo-Halo treat: Approx. Php 200.00
The next day, I planned to spend time with my girlfriend. So what I did is that I planned a motorcycle ride to Regina Rica on Black Saturday.
I’m curious about this place ever since I started to learn to ride bikes more than 3 years ago. So when Holy Week came, I decided that this is the place to go so me and my girlfriend prepared for a motorcycle ride.
The first expense is gasoline.
Gasoline: Php 150.00
Regina Rica is 40-50 kilometers away from Sta. Lucia East Grandmall. So that would take at most 100 kms. of travel back and forth. With my bike consuming 35-40 kms./L, I assumed that Php 150.00 of fuel is enough for the ride. So I fetched her and we set off at around 9:00 AM.
We stopped over at Pranjetto junction and ate lunch at Mang Frank’s bulalohan, a famous carinderia in that area for motorcycle riders. We arrived there at almost 12 NN. We ordered Bulalo for our lunch and some soft drinks. We relaxed and have a good chat to refresh ourselves. We left at around 1 PM and headed towards Regina Rica.
Lunch: Php 360.00
When we arrived at Regina Rica, we found ourselves a nice parking area near the place for 20.00 Pesos. The line of cars going inside Regina’s parking area is long so we opted to park outside.
Parking Fee: Php 20.00
Inside Regina Rica
When we came inside, there’s a line waiting for the orientation. It’s a video presentation that describes a brief history of the place and also describes the areas where people can go. We are also reminded that it is prohibited for men to wear sandos and shorts for women while inside the place so to fix that, you need to cover yourself with a “balabal” or “palda” of some sort that is available on the place. You just need to leave some ID or you can also buy if you have spare money. Luckily for us, we don’t have to worry for that.
We went to the Statue of Virgin Mary and enjoyed the path that leads to it, we took pictures along the path and it was fun!
When we reached the top, we took some pictures of the Church below and decided to stroll down to the Church. Inside, we prayed a thanksgiving prayer for all the blessings we had received the last year.
We also rested for a while inside the Church because the heat is very high. The cool breeze coming from the surrounding hills compensates for the hot temperature. But that isn’t enough so we bought ourselves refreshments to keep our bodies hydrated.
Refreshments: Php 70.00
Before we go, we bought some nice souvenirs; a pair of rosary bracelets for Php 25.00.
Souvenir: Php 25.00
We said goodbye to the place at around 3:00 PM and headed back home. For sure, we’ll be going back to this place in the future.
Time for some entertainment
When we arrived home, the next plan is to watch Batman v Superman. This is perfect because of the tiring ride we had almost the entire day. We ordered a Spaghetti-Chicken meal and ate dinner at Jollibee. Afterwards, we headed in the movie theater, bought some snacks and watched the movie together.
Here are the expenses:
Two movie tickets: Php 400.00
Dinner meal: Approx. Php 300.00
Movie snacks: Approx. Php 150.00
The movie is great! One comment though, the title should have been Superman v Doomsday lolz!
Anyway, it was a very exhausting day. We headed home and bought some donuts as pasalubong.
Pasalubong: Php 250.00
Total expenses
Me and my girlfriend spent a total of an approximate of Php 1,905.00 combined. There are other tiny expenses that’s too detailed if I were to mention. But all in all, I guess we spent around Php 2,000.00 combined.
This is how I spent my Holy Week. It may not be as exciting as going to Boracay or Puerto Galera but the important thing is that I got to spend time with the most important people in my life.
Tips on how to spend the holidays frugally
Now, here are some tips that you may try to do if you have a tight budget and still want to spend some quality time with your family and friends.
- Decide how much your budget is and stick with it no matter what happens. With my case, I made sure that we should only spend that kind of amount ONLY no matter what happens. The key here is discipline.
- Bring cash and keep the ATM’s out of sight. I find it easy to make a budget if I hold the cash literally. This way, I can really limit the spending because I can literally see how much money I hold is left. If you bring your ATM’s with you along the trip, just make sure to avoid withdrawing unless it’s really needed in case of emergencies.
- Bring water. We brought each a jug of water but it isn’t enough because of the hot weather. You could save a lot if you bring rather than buy mineral water bottles that may cost double the price during these times. So if the activity requires walking and trekking a lot, a jug of water may help you save a few hundred pesos.
- Go to places where spending isn’t necessary to enjoy. In Regina Rica, the joy is found in appreciating nature and tranquility. If you spend time in such places, you’ll never have to worry about spending money on unnecessary things. There are many places such as these like parks.
- It doesn’t matter where you go as long as you’re with the people you enjoy the most. Even if you stay at home and watch movie replays all day, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you spend your time with your family and make them feel loved during these times.
God bless you and happy saving!