Having quit her company in 2017 to work as a freelance marketer, Ms. Le Thi Vinh (34 years old) and her husband, residing in Ha Dong district, Hanoi, shared that every time the holiday bonus is mentioned, they feel sad.
Her job is to personally write content and do advertising for units and businesses in need. Ms. Vinh confirmed that there are no days off and no bonuses. According to Ms. Vinh, over the past 8 years, she has received 2 bonuses of 500,000 VND and a gift basket on Lunar New Year. Other holidays such as National Day, International Labor Day or International Women's Day are fine.
The reason is that customers usually finish their projects in 3 or 6 months, very few customers cooperate long-term. When there is no Tet bonus, Ms. Vinh has to struggle to do many other jobs to celebrate Tet because her current salary is not enough.
“Near Tet, companies limit communication costs, so my income is also affected, dropping to just over 10 million VND/month. With this income, it is difficult to ensure life in Hanoi, let alone spend during Tet,” Ms. Vinh shared.
To increase income, Ms. Vinh said that every mid-November of the lunar calendar, she and her husband import dried fruits and jams to sell during Tet. This year, in addition to the usual items, Ms. Vinh decided to import tissue paper for business.
According to Ms. Vinh, on average, it takes at least 15 million VND to cover the expenses of lucky money, clothes, candy for Tet, not to mention other expenses. Therefore, even though she and her husband have to do all the work of filming, taking pictures of products, packing, shipping, and finding customers until 10pm every night, she still has to try hard.
Ms. Tran Thi Thu Trang (32 years old) - a freelance writer - said that since the beginning of the 11th lunar month, it has been almost impossible to find new customers. Old customers also requested fewer articles, causing her income to drop by half, to only about 7 to 10 million VND/month.
Regarding the Tet bonus, Ms. Trang shared that because she works with individuals, there are no gifts or bonuses. Any customers who are interested will set aside about 200,000 VND to deposit when paying royalties at the end of the year.
"This month's salary is only enough to buy food and clothes for the whole family. If I don't get a new job, I will have to use all my husband's salary and bonus to prepare for Tet," said Ms. Trang.
To increase her income, Ms. Trang lowered her writing price and also posted articles for free for customers, but the results were not very positive. Therefore, after thinking about it, Ms. Trang decided to do other jobs.
“During the day, I write articles and do online surveys, and in the evening I go live streaming for shops. In the 12th lunar month, my income from my main job will decrease even more, so I have to start working now to have money to spend during Tet,” said Ms. Trang.
Since accepting the livestream job, Trang has always been tired when she returns home after 10pm, but she has persisted and tried. Trang's total income target for December must reach 15 million VND, plus her husband's salary and bonus, to be enough to spend more comfortably during Tet.
