Goal-setting is one of the simplest yet most effective budgeting strategies for the holiday season. And there are many more ways to be smarter and wiser with your money, while still keeping the festive spirit alive and kicking.


Set a holiday budget and stick to it.

I make sure to allocate a Christmas fund in my Maya account and only touch that budget for all holiday expenses: decors, gifts, Noche Buena, and reward for myself. On top of this, the high interest rate of Maya Savings, which can be boosted up to 15% p.a., provides additional funds for me, which I know I’ll be needing (or spending) during the holidays. Speaking of spending, Maya’s transaction history feature helps me track my expenses and stay on top of my spending, making it doable to stick to my holiday budget.

Narrow down your Christmas gift list.

While it’s nice to be able to give gifts to everyone I know, it’s not practical. I became wiser and only included important people in my list- family and close friends. I allocated a gift budget for each person in my list to avoid impulse shopping or going over my budget. For the shopping fund, I used Maya Personal Goals - to budget this significant holiday spending boosted by its earned interest (up to 8% p.a.). It’s like having a digital envelope system for specific goals - holiday expenses, family travel, dream bag or jewelry. It’s customizable making it easy for me to allocate funds appropriately.

Practice spending break.

I used to be an impulse shopper for myself or for others during the holiday season whenever I received my bonuses from work or payments from my clients. I get excited to spend money when I have it and I blame the “healing my inner child” idea. But after years of being in debt, developing my financial literacy, and ease of saving and investing through digital banks such as Maya, I learned how to be more disciplined when it comes to spending, saving or paying myself first before others. I realized, I don’t need to keep on spending when there’s actually nothing important to spend on. So when you’re done ticking off the expenses you wrote on your Christmas list, give spending a break and return to building funds in Maya.

Staying afloat this holiday season is easier than you think - especially when you have a reliable partner like Maya. With tools that help you save, earn, and track your progress, handling your Christmas budget becomes a seamless, stress-free experience.

And to top it all off, Maya just keeps on giving this holiday season, as the gifts just keep on coming. This season, every ₱1,000 spent using Maya earns raffle entries for a chance to win ₱1M for you and your bestie! After registering for the raffle, all you have to do is get a friend to sign up to Maya using your Maya @username as their invite code and make sure they upgrade their account for the referral to qualify. Each successful referral earns you 10 raffle entries.


Spend or borrow with Maya to earn 1-5 raffle entries per ₱1,000 transaction. Earn as many raffle entries as you can until January 15, 2026 and who knows, you might just be starting the new year with a big bonus bang!


Stay on top of your finances and feel the joyous Christmas spirit—without the Christmas stress.


Happy Holidays!