PROVEN SAVING TIPS TO BE A SUCCESSFUL OFW

Fact: A lot of our overseas Filipino workers earn more money than those working here in the Philippines. Sabi nga, OFWs are indeed the modern-day heroes. Yet we continue to hear stories of OFWs facing financial struggles —many of them end up still broke or continue to be poor for a number of reasons by the time they decided to go back to the Philippines.

Being an OFW, I assume that when you decide to leave the Philippines to work overseas, you probably have set your objectives already. The goal to earn bigger salary, have enough extra to save most of them and go back home with high hopes of being financially stable. It seems easier said than done because reality -wise, working overseas is more likely to be complicated than what we initially imagined. 

If you do not know an OFW, mapapaisip ka — 'Bakit di makaipon eh ang laki na nga ng sweldo.' Easy to judge noh, pero mahirap talaga! Based on the experiences of my family, many distractions may dissuade you from pursuing your goals. The thing is no matter how high paying your job is, it does not guarantee savings if you are not diligent in doing so or if unfortunate things happen like unexpectedly you get sick, got involved in an accident or bigla na lang you got laid off from work. This is why Financial advisers often advise not just to OFWs but to the general public (I even read it in online articles) why having savings is crucial so that you don't have to apply for a loan in times of emergency and of course for the future.

At the talk that I witnessed at the taping of Peso Asenso between BDO Foundation's President Mr. Mario Deriquito and Ali Sotto~ I definitely learned a lot given I have lived my life surrounded by OFWs.  You may refer to this video below from Neri Anne's Channel for the whole interview. 

Yup, surrounded ako talaga ng OFWs ~(my dad, brothers, my sister and a lot of my aunts, uncles, and cousins are working abroad) kaya here I am in front of my laptop now because I want to share to our dear OFWs some tips I learned during the said talk and interview.

I am thankful that BDO Foundation together with the BSP and OWWA are partners in this Financial Literacy campaign: PiTaKa (Pinansyal na Talino at Kaalaman) Program which aims to change cultural perspectives about money.

If you are an OFW and you don’t want to have the same sad stories and instead be successful, perhaps you might want to take a look and follow the tips below:

SET A SAVINGS GOAL

Having a realistic savings goal is important. 10% of the salary should be included in this goal to have savings that include emergency fund with at least a minimum of 50,000 -

HAVE A BUDGET

Make a list of all your regular expenses and evaluate whether you can actually afford them based on your salary. It is advisable that you cut down the unnecessary ones and instead add this up to your savings.

AVOID UNNECESSARY EXPENSES

Cut down unnecessary expenses. This does just doesn't mean that you cut back your trips to coffee shops but also learning to say no to your friends, relatives who think that you are just pooping unlimited money. You went abroad to support your family but remember that there is also a limit to your responsibilities.

BE AN OWWA MEMBER

Being an OWWA member assures you that you will have assistance even if you get sick or disabled.

OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT

By opening an account, you are sure that your remittance will be safe and received by your loved ones here.

EDUCATE FAMILY MEMBERS ON SPENDING FAMILY REMITTANCE

Instill in them the value of saving and less reliance on your money remittance (or balikbayan boxes). By doing this you help your family members get motivated to help stretch the budget and save whatever you send or they can use it to even put up a small business to earn extra income.

THINK OF A SMALL INVESTMENT WHEN YOU ARE ABROAD

Think of ways to establish the business in your home town -business-minded or not. Bake a cake, or offer something that you got out of passion. Don’t invest in a business you have no idea how it’s run. Otherwise, you are just better off in your money in a bank than getting involved in a highly risky business venture.

PAY UP YOUR DEBTS

Having debts that acquire interest is such a burden. This is the reason why you have to make sure that you pay them off first so you can give focus on saving up and not on paying hefty interest -rates. Pro Tip: Start off in paying those who have high yield interest rates.

UNDERSTANDING HOW OFWs ARE VITAL IN PH ECONOMY

OFWs are not called the modern-day heroes for nothing! In fact, OFW remittances still provide the growth that matters most in the lives of Filipinos. The money goes straight to households, relatives, families, and friends – who use them to better their lives to finance food, shelter, education, and entrepreneurial pursuits.

So, is there a positive effect of OFWS on the economy? Definitely YES! The money transferred by Filipinos from all over the world accounts for at least 10 percent of the country’s GDP. This is the second-largest source of foreign capital after value-added exports like electronic components, and a major source of private consumption, which in turn accounts for 75 percent of the GDP.

You see, no matter which way we put it, OFWs are vital in so many ways not just to their family but in our economy too. Kailangan lang talaga ng Financial awareness and literacy ng bawat OFW. Glad that BDO Foundation has added educating our New Heroes via PDOS to fulfill their advocacy. Happy to note how they put emphasis on values formation, forming new and better financial behaviors, and developing positive attitude in dealing with money.

PiTaKa or “Pinansyal na Talino at Kaalaman”, this program aims to equip OFWs with the ability to better manage their remittances, get out of debt, set aside savings or make prudent investments, in preparation for a better life when they return home to the Philippines. 

WATCH THIS TO LEARN MORE:

The program also targets OFW families to sensitize them of the temporary nature of overseas employment, and encourage them to support their loved-ones by spending wisely, saving regularly and looking for ways to augment their family income.