Each month to produce 3 million
Ms. Pham Thi Hoa is an administrative staff of a kitchen equipment business on Nguyen Xien Street (Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi). According to Ms. Hoa, calling it “administrative work” is… fancy, but in fact her daily work is like that of a janitor.
At 7am, Ms. Hoa arrived at the company headquarters, which is also the showroom where the kitchen equipment is located. “I took the opportunity to clean up for 45 minutes before the company employees arrived. In addition to cleaning tables and chairs, washing teapots and cups, I also wiped down the display equipment and turned on the lights. When all the employees arrived, I checked in, ordered lunch, and did other tasks that arose…”, Ms. Hoa said.
According to Ms. Hoa, her work ends at 5:30 p.m., because her children are grown, she takes turns cleaning houses for a few familiar families. The cleaning jobs also bring her an income of about 5 million VND/month. "In addition to the salary of 7.5 million VND/month at the company, I have a total income of 12.5 million VND/month," Ms. Hoa said.
Because of raising 2 children in college, Ms. Hoa and her husband have a hard time. Ms. Hoa's husband works as a scrap collector in Tan Trieu commune (Thanh Tri, Hanoi), his income is unstable, in peak months he can earn about 20 million VND, in low months he can only earn 5-6 million VND.
Ms. Hoa is from Thai Binh, her husband is from Nghe An, they have been married for 23 years, except when the children were young, they celebrated Tet in one hometown each year; since the children entered secondary school, every year the family celebrates Tet in both hometowns. This year, on New Year's Eve, they will go to their paternal grandparents' house, and vice versa.
An experience shared by Ms. Hoa to have enough money to prepare for Tet is that at the beginning of the fourth quarter of each year, when the demand for cleaning services from offices, businesses and households increases, she takes advantage of the full week's schedule. She even takes on half a day on Saturday and all day on Sunday until 10pm.
“Since October, no matter how difficult it is, I still save at least 3 million VND each month. Before Tet, I have more than ten million VND to pay for travel expenses, buy gifts and give to grandparents on both sides,” Ms. Hoa revealed.
Many ways to save
Mr. Pham Xuan Phu (from Ha Trung district, Thanh Hoa) is working as a worker at a phone spa. His daily job and that of his 7 colleagues is to receive new phones with scratched screens, warped screens, etc. to “touch up” them.
Mr. Phu is receiving a salary of 10 million VND/month, with food and accommodation provided by the employer. His entire group of workers work in Tan Phu district (Ho Chi Minh City). According to Mr. Phu, the employer has informed about the 2025 Lunar New Year bonus. "The lowest is 1 month of 13th salary, the highest is 3 months," Mr. Phu said.
Mr. Phu said that in addition to the Tet bonus, the owner of the facility covers the travel expenses for the entire group of workers during Tet. Thus, he sends almost all of his salary and bonus home to his wife and children. “In reality, with a fixed salary of 10 million VND per month, I only keep a maximum of 2 million VND for personal expenses, and send the rest to my wife and children in the countryside. In the months before Tet, I limit my spending to 1 million VND because I know my wife has many other things to worry about during Tet. As for the Tet bonus, I save it as capital and almost never spend it,” Mr. Phu said.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Do and his wife - administrative staff of an import-export company, have a way to save money by working overtime.
According to Mr. Do, because they just got married, this year's Tet holiday, he and his wife will split their time in both their paternal and maternal hometowns. Having planned to give lucky money to relatives and children on both sides, the young couple decided to sign up for overtime.
Mr. Do said: “Near Tet, there are many exported goods so we really need overtime. My wife and I signed up to work as much as possible. At the company, we are provided with meals, so working overtime not only gives us extra money but also saves us the cost of eating dinner at home. Last year, I signed up to work overtime for the last 2 months of the year, increasing my income by nearly 15 million VND. This year, if we work hard early, we can earn more than 30 million VND, and be more proactive in spending during Tet.”
