Illustration by GRECO MILAMBILING

Filipinos are known for family bonding, demonstrated in many traditions carried on from womb to tomb. At no time is this more visible than on All Saints' Day, when everyone gathers to remember and honor the dead.

This is one holiday that’s built in to everyone’s budgetary considerations, and is a cause of worry every year around this time. Here are several tips that can save families a big chunk of cash while still fulfilling family obligations.

FIRST TIP: PLAN NOW. Candles, flowers, airplane and boat tickets, even bus fares get more expensive beginning the last week of October. So, the first and best tip to remember is: Plan and act now. The earlier one moves, the more money one can save.

BUY CANDLES IN BULK – Get together with friends, officemates and relatives to compute how many candles your group will need. Agree on the size and type. Keep in mind that most wholesale shops sell only by the dozen. Don’t worry, the extra candles will be useful as part of everyone’s emergency typhoon and brownout kit.

GO TO WHOLESALERS OR MANUFACTURERS’ OUTLETS – It is very expensive to buy candles from stalls near churches and cemeteries. The store owners take advantage of people who buy at the very last minute. Look for wholesalers and manufacturers’ outlets in the telephone company’s Yellow Pages. Or go to the Internet. Most will either fax or email their catalogues and price lists. Quite a number of these candle outlets are in Binondo, the same area for silk plants and flowers.

REUSABLE SILK FLOWERS – Also cheaper in bulk. Consult the same friends and relatives who are joining your candle bulk purchase drive. Again, use the Yellow Pages. A visit to the silk flower supplier could also be used for early cheap purchases of discounted Christmas décor.

USE POTTED FLOWERING PLANTS – Have the tombs cleaned this early; the cemetery caretakers will look after the flowering plants which should be in full bloom by the first of November.

TRAVELLING? BUY TICKETS NOW – Whether traveling by bus, plane, or ship, it is cheaper and more dependable to purchase tickets in advance. A number of big bus companies now allow advance sales and reservations, and would even give you preferred seats.

BETTER GO ONE DAY AHEAD – To avoid wasting time in traffic, buck the trend; leave the city October 29, travel back on October 31. The worst traffic jams are normally encountered by city folk returning November 1 and 2. A few years ago, my family was forced to spend the night in a Los Baños motel. We had been on the way back to Manila from a family tomb; caught in traffic for eight hours, we were too tired and hungry to move on.

PACK MEALS, SNACKS, AND DRINKING WATER – Whether visiting the North Cemetery or traveling to Northern Luzon, you can save your health and hundreds, if not thousands, of pesos by packing meals and drinking water. Street foods are usually not safe to eat, and even some karinderya and turo-turo roadside cooked food is suspect. It is best to play safe.

Pack non-perishables such as soda crackers, plain bread, hard boiled eggs, salted eggs, boiled bananas, plain suman, boxed cheese, bottled jams, canned sardines, and meat products. Also recommended are well-washed fresh fruits. Water should be in individual bottles or have disposable glasses if water is in liter and gallon bottles.

No matter what you pack, make sure you take all your trash out when you leave the cemetery.

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