To find your GadgetMatch you first need to think about your needs.

As a frequent traveler, Michael Josh’s GadgetMatch is a phone that he can take with me on ALL his trips.

Insert the latest and greatest OPPO Find X9 Pro.

On a recent trip to Mexico, he took thousands of photos and tested it out.

Dreaming of a holiday abroad but worried about hidden costs eating into your budget?

This Christmas season, overseas vacations are always a great idea — whether it’s solo or a group trip with friends, or with loved ones and family.

Exploring new food, culture, and shopping abroad is the ultimate reward for a year’s hard work.

However, airfare, accommodation, and other expenses can quickly make such trips costly. Add to that extra charges, like transaction fees and fluctuating conversion rates.

Thankfully, there are several ways to make every peso count when traveling. Wise, a global technology company, offers smart tips to spend and manage money internationally better so you can make your trip more affordable and enjoyable.

Track your expenses

The simplest way to build up for a long-awaited holiday trip is to budget ahead and start saving as soon as you can.

You can start by tracking your daily expenses with budgeting apps. You’ll see how small purchases add up, giving you the awareness to budget more effectively.

For instance, daily spending habits like buying coffee outside can add up quickly. A PhP 200 coffee a day at a major chain equals PhP 6,000 a month, or even PhP 72,000 annually. That’s more than enough for a three-day family trip to your dream destination.

Outside of travel, that can become your funds for Christmas gifts, new clothes, and further treats for yourself.

Deposit travel savings into a separate account

Knowing that you will travel in the future, the next step is to decide where to keep it. You can transfer a portion of your 13th month pay or Christmas bonus to a separate account to grow your travel fund.

This is where Wise comes in handy. For travels, it holds money in more than 40 currencies. The Wise Jar feature also helps users organize money for different trips. It’s a great way to protect funds, stay consistent, and prevent overspending.

Once you’ve secured your travel fund, the next challenge is making sure you spend it wisely abroad.

Prioritize experiences over expenses

A simple mindset of valuing experiences and creating memories over material things like souvenirs can go a long way.

Sure, happiness looks different for everyone, but there are several budget-friendly activities abroad that offer the authentic experience. There are free walking tours and tourist pass bundles for a lower price.

And with just your smartphone or portable camera, those moments will stay with you long after the trip ends.

Be wise with payments

Moreover, it’s easily tempting to use a credit card and pay in pesos when buying goods or shopping internationally. However, while that sounds convenient at first, you could incur additional fees without even realizing it.

Traditional cards charge up to 3% in foreign transaction fees. Plus, conversion rates always fluctuate. Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) fees when paying via merchants’ POS or withdrawing cash at foreign ATMs also hurt as they’re usually marked up.

Fortunately, the Wise multi-currency card lets users hold and spend in 40+ currencies at the mid-market exchange rate, minus hidden fees. It allows you to spend like a local and bypass foreign transaction fees.

For instance, a smartwatch priced at US$ 85 could cost you PhP 5,100 if you pay in pesos. But if you pay in USD using Wise’s mid-market rate, you’d spend only around PhP 5,004.8. This allows you to save roughly PhP 100 on a single purchase.

Multiply that across meals, shopping, transport, and other daily expenses and you could save thousands in a single holiday.

Tap to pay when abroad

Lastly, and as mentioned above, the Wise card can be added to your Google Wallet. This makes it seamless for travelers to pay abroad.

Not only can you pay in over 40 currencies at the real exchange rate without extra fees, but you don’t have to carry a physical card either. You just need an Android phone or smartwatch to pay.

To add a Wise card to Google Wallet and pay with Google Pay, customers can:

1. Open the Wise app
2. Tap the Card tab to view all available cards
3. Select their card to add, then tap “Add to Google Pay.”

Ready to travel smart this holiday season? Download Wise now and make your dream trip happen — without hidden costs.

Attending the JBL Sound Fest 2025 felt like entering a tropical Coachella built on cold winds and adrenaline.

The air carried the pulse of a crowd that came to celebrate music and the people who keep its magic alive.

Lines curled around the Parklinks open grounds long before sunset. Fireworks lit the sky above when the show started.

People came dressed as if the night itself was an event worth courting. Sequins tried to outshine stage lights while denim jackets and jeans fought the cold.

I had missed the Sound Fest two years in a row because my life had revolved around training schedules and a calendar that refused to breathe.

This year, Cup of Joe appeared on the lineup like a sign I could not ignore. Then, the roster looked like a music scene ready to let you sing your heart out.

There was Kat DJ, Sean Archer, December Avenue, Flow G, Ashtine Olviga, HORI7ON, and Rico Blanco.

A car-mageddon worthy of a pre-show

The festival took over the Parklinks Open Grounds on December 6.

I stayed at EDSA Shangri-La and believed it would take twenty minutes to get there. Metro Manila’s traffic jam had other plans, though.

My plus one arrived to pick me up at 6:30 p.m., exactly when the show started. I knew the gates opened at four and I could have avoided the rush, though I underestimated the gridlock that wrapped itself around the city that afternoon.

Friends I gave VIP passes to texted me before cellular reception collapsed. They said the grounds looked like a festival pulled from a fever dream; like a mini Coachella filled with sequins and crop tops.

I wanted to be there early enough to take it all in, but I was in a car on EDSA holding a Shake Shack sandwich like a pre-battle ration.

We reached Parklinks at 8:30 p.m. December Avenue had just stepped on stage. Missing half the festival never felt so worth it. I was squealing while running towards the gates.

When old songs return without breaking you

December Avenue and Cup of Joe revived my faith in OPM in 2023.

Their songs felt like chapters from a life I lived too loudly. They reminded me why music can hit like a diary written by someone who never met me but somehow knew exactly what I felt.

Their songs scored the rise and ruin of a relationship that made my heart misbehave. “Huling Sandali” was my heartbreak anthem, when I would sit with the ache of loving someone who could not name what we were.

Hearing it live did not break me the way it used to. It felt like meeting an old version of myself and recognizing that I survived him.

My voice remembered the lyrics even when my heart no longer carried their weight. For the first time, hearing “Bulong”, “Eroplanong Papel”, “Saksi ang Langit” live felt like hearing stories rather than seeing them as scars.

Tastes like gin, stage lights, and people you love

Flow G’s set shook the earth. I followed the vibrations to the concessionaire area to find my cousin, who was battling a water line that stretched across the field. We spent the wait taking photos and laughing at the crowd energy that kept rising.

When Ashtine Olviga sang, I returned to SVIP and surrendered to Rose Quartz Gin & Tonic. Friends drifted in and out of the circle like constellations forming and dissolving.

There were conversations shouted over bass drops, and moments caught in the glow of the crowd’s light sticks.

Then HORI7ON arrived. The crowd ignited and people surged forward. When they performed “Like JENNIE”, the energy shot through the audience as if someone plugged the entire field into a power source.

I might have screamed a little too loud and danced more than I planned.

The headliner of my heart

Cup of Joe entered the stage while I was in a portalet, which is the most on-brand plot twist my life could deliver.

I sprinted like an athlete in the last five hundred meters of a race. My plus one and I made it back to the walkway near the stage just in time for their visuals to unfold like a cinematic opening.

Their production felt massive. It reminded me of my early years dreaming of building audio-visual experiences that could move people, when I used to work in live events. I watched the lights bloom in time with the music and realized I no longer needed that life to love it.

My OPPO Find X9 captured every moment unfolded. The clarity was unshakeable, even at night, and the color accuracy stunned me. Every frame felt like it acknowledged the way I experienced the night.

Cup of Joe sang “Patutunguhan”, “Silakbo”, “Misteryoso”, “Estranghero”, “Pahinga”, “Tingin”, “Sandali”, and “Multo”, which recently won Song of the Year at the 2025 Filipino Music Awards.

The crowd sang louder with every track, showing how music can pull strangers together in one heartbeat.

A night that ends softly

Fireworks lit the sky at midnight as their set ended. I slipped out of the grounds before Rico Blanco performed since my body started asking for rest.

There were rumors about scheduling delays because he wanted to perform last, although it no longer mattered. The night had already offered everything I needed.

Cup of Joe was JBL’s newest ambassadors and the show’s headliner, and they gave me what I came for. Hearing them live was a dream I postponed for years.

I once imagined hearing them with someone I loved deeply. Instead, I heard them with friends who feel like home, and with a heart that no longer trembles at old memories.

Walking out of Parklinks, I realized something unexpectedly. I can sing the songs without bleeding. I can dance, scream, laugh, and live through the music without thinking of who I lost.

For the first time in a long time, I can enjoy the night for what it was.