There was a time when domestic economic woes did not bother the chunk of the population that relies on dollar remittances from family members and relatives working abroad. Their only woes revolved around exchange rates, expired contracts and not much else. With the global financial crisis, relatives of overseas Filipino workers can no longer be too nonchalant.
For Filipino families relying on relatives working in Northern America, these are bad times. OFWs in Asia and the Middle East look safe for now but for how long? The financial difficulties will trigger more reactions and we really don’t now how far the effects of the disaster will hit.
Employees in America are being laid off by the thousands and no one knows the extent by which overseas workers will be affected. Then, there’s the peso-dollar exchange rate. One day, the peso is up; the next day, it’s down. If you’re fortunate enough to still have a relative working abroad and remitting dollars regularly, you really ought to try and help them, and yourselves, cope with the crisis. In fact, even if you don’t rely on dollar remittances, there are habits and practices worth rethinking.
Scratch off mindless “malling” from your vocabulary.
For some reason, the city dwelling family, whether rich or poor, has come to consider the mall as a venue for weekend outing. Parks are becoming less crowded with picnickers with most families spending Saturday and Sunday at the malls.
I know one OFW whose family treated every remittance like birthdays and Christmas combined. The husband sent money monthly and, like clockwork, the wife took her young children to the mall on an eat-and-shop-till-you-drop kind of thing. Toys, shoes, clothes… anything they liked. All of that instead of saving and investing wisely or starting a small business. Not even a thought about buying their own house instead of forever renting. When the husband’s contract was up and he was home, without income, until he could sign a new one, there were ugly scenes when the monthly shopping sprees came to an end. Everything was a problem — from rent money to grocery to how to pay the electric and water bills and even the young children’s school bus service.
You are not a charitable organization.
There’s this housewife whose husband has been working in the Middle East for a decade. The money was good, the husband is an engineer and he was making a killing in a shipping company. But after a decade, they still had no savings, no real investments. No house either, only a second hand car. Where did the money go?
The housewife is a sucker for sob stories. Every person who asked her to invest in some networking scheme never got turned down. It wasn’t really because she believed in the potential of the business offer but because every person who approached her had some story about how she could help him or her earn some commission by joining the network. The wife, feeling she was fortunate and obliged to share her good fortune, never turned anyone away. And she never bothered to investigate whether the business proposals were sound. All she cared about was playing the generous benefactress.
Then, the wife started acting like a lending institution to her two married sisters who never paid her back. But she kept giving them money anyway every time they came to her with one story or another about their husbands not earning enough — unlike hers. Imagine the mind crap they were feeding her, making her feel guilty if she did not help them out considering how lucky she was. And the sisters were living it up, I tell you. The wife started looking like a hag while the sisters spent a lot of time in every kind of spa and beauty salon and looked like aging movie starlets in mini skirts and high heels. Is it any wonder that after ten years of six-figure remittances, the wife had nothing to show for it?
You are not Santa Claus.
With Christmas less than 50 days ahead, the shopping frenzy is expected to hit full speed. Extra remittances have started to pour in, wreaking havoc on the exchange rate. It’s an annual affair, actually, because in consonance with Filipino traditions, OFWs provide their families back home with the equivalent of the 13th month pay that’s meant to be spent on gifts and the Noche Buena.
For how many people are you buying gifts? Are you one of those people who think you have an obligation to give something to every person you know and every person who knocks on your door on Christmas day? Do you feel you have to because the whole barangay knows you have someone sending you dollars from aborad? If you’re a ninong or a ninang, drive it into your head that the role means you’re supposed to serve as a spiritual adviser to your godchildren rather than a source of gifts and cash every Christmas.
The bottom line is that this isn’t a time for mindless spending. OFWs make the sacrifice of leaving their families behind in order to provide for them (no, the sacrifice is NOT made in favor of the country — it is a personal and family affair, so let’s not even go into the heroism angle). The least their families can do is to spend their earnings wisely. In Filipino culture with its very Christian values of giving and sharing, that’s probably a very tall order but not impossible to do.
Connie, sad to say that we Filipinos still think and believe that “paying ourselves” meant “paying the cashier in the mall.”
Oh, that’s true. We are made to think that as long as we spend the money locally, we’re helping the economy.
Hi Connie,
OFW here working in China, thanks for this hope every OFW family would realize these days are not good and spend money wisely and save save save a lot.
From HongKong to Singapore, from Shenzhen to Shanghai, everyweek we are hearing news that some kababayan got fired since the market went down months ago and this news make us sad and worry.
anyway, all the best to OFW out there!
thnx!
Thank God, the price of gasoline has gone down. I hope this is not the quiet before the storm, though. It may be artificial. Baka pinadadama lang tayo. Hopefully not. Ang laki ng natitipid ko ngayon eh.
Besides massive downsizing, I’m entering a new field, or at least trying to hehe.
xhris, so the layoffs have hit OFWs in ASia too… One has to remain hopeful yet be prepared for the worst.
Tito Rolly, you know, when you offset gas savings with the skyrocketing food prices, most times, I don’t see any savings.
Ang mahal ng pagkain, grabe.
Chris, what new field… intriguing. But, really, the unconventional fields, the paths yet untrodden, may be where the real opportunities lie.
This crisis has actually brought good news for a few friends of mine in my former office. They’ve been offered early retirement, and since many of them have worked there for 20+ years, with 2 months for every year of service, non-taxable, they’re now going to be able to payoff even their housing loans! Swertihan lang rin talaga.
Silver lining, ha? But there really are people who you can’t beat. You know, the kind who instead of getting depressed gets challenged instead. Every economic crisis creates new millionaires. For people with good plans and the right vision, walang crisis crisis.
spend and invest wisely, that’s a definite must-do. we’re feeling the fury of this economic meltdown, with OFW’s working in factories having forced day-off for at least 3x a week. It’s really sad cause some have just started working.
wow. natumbok mo ms. connie. most ofw’s like me feel obligated to support famiy back home because of this undeclared responsibility drummed into my system by my parents (my dad used to be an ofw as well)… na kailangang tumulong kase ako ang nakakaluwag~ kung naconvert na ang sterling pounds na sinusweldo ko… unfortunately, i am the one who struggles sometimes dahil inuuna ko ang remittance for them. then whatever is left behind, yun ang pinagkakasya ko… believe me, it is so difficult to choose between surviving here with the little luxuries i can afford and sending the money home instead so that my nephews and nieces or a sick relative could afford the education or the cure they so deserve, and maybe, spend some time in the mall to enjoy a jolly meal and some airconditioning now and again… frustrating most of the time.. kaya isip ko na lang, at least happy sila.
“The housewife is a sucker for sob stories. Every person who asked her to invest in some networking scheme never got turned down.”
My mom was a victim of several so-called get-rich-quick scams that masquerade as legitimate multilevel or networking opportunities. Her friends, knowing that my mom can’t say no because of “delicadeza”, take advantage of her kindness by convincing her to join such schemes. She’s lost about P 8,000 already as far as I know.
She can’t also say no to people who want to borrow money. Many times she had lost a lot of money to people who don’t have bother to repay their debts. Is it a Filipino mentality to be unable to say no to people who borrow money or want us to invest in doubtful business opportunities?
jenny, factories in which country? forced day off three times a week doesn’t leave much from the weekly wages.
gigi, Just wondering why you’re supporting nephews and nieces; they’re orphans?
loy, it’s the “charity” value instilled by Catholicism, I think.
wives should scan and send all receipts to their husbands working abroad so they can both monitor all their expenses.
OFWs and Pinoy Migrants here in Sydney are getting laid-off too. This economic crisis serves as a lesson on “living within our means” and “being grateful that one has a job”. It is a lesson but the question is “kelan ba matuto ang iba?”
Ramon, paano yung mga pautang saka “donations” sa kamag-anak? LOL
ibyang, you’d think it’s common sense, ano? But common sense is not common at all.
Your stories are all true. Kaya nga palagi kong advice to sa mga OFW na nakakausap ko. Mag Invest sila sa house or lote man lang. Kahit installment nila bibilin ok lang. Kse marami naman options ng downpayment and affordable schemes na ibinibigay ang mga developers satin. At least yung money nila solid na naiipon sa property. I still believe that, Real estate properties always appreciates in value kaysa mag-invest sa mga get-rich quick schemes nayan. Nakakatakot lalo na crisis. Dapat solid and investment!
We are at a situation that clearly points out wether we the Filipino people have the ability to snap out of our docile tendencies and assert our sovereign will. We have 18 months. Could we within that length of time attempt at changing our form of government- preferably a parliamentary with a sectoral representation as its structure- or do we just conform to what we currently have that should by now is obviously inefficient? Imagine a Binay administration that would be “impeachment complaint free”, never happen man. The end result of which would be another 6 years of wasted time.
re: paano yung mga pautang saka “donations” sa kamag-anak? LOL
there should be an approval by the spouse. usually, fights arise when money are just donated without the approval of the spouse who took pains in raising the funds. sad.
Richard, there are people who believe that a family home is a dead investment kasi daw hindi naman pagkakakitaan. Pero bali yung reasoning kasi may resale value ang bahay at lupa. Yung rent money, hindi na nababawi.
Ramon, o eh, di ba, Pinoy na Pinoy? Like distrubuting balato to the relatives every time there’s a remittance. I even know one wife who bought a car, bought another car a year later, and gave the first car to her brother FOR FREE.
How generous. O well, her material level is so high she gives away car for free.
But its also possible that there’s an exchange deal with the car like giving assistance to whatever his sister might need while the husband is away. That way her brother can’t say no to anything she wants because he was given a car. Something like that. But in any case, if its free, then he must be one hell of a lucky guy. I just hope it didn’t become a source of conflict with the couple.
They don’t even get along. LOL I think it was to please the parents so they’d think there’s an effort on her part to reach out to the brother. Naaawa ako sa husband who, by right, should have say in how his earning is spent, especially with major buys like that. But then he didn’t ask me for a legal opinion so I said nothing. hehehe
Poor hubby.
Maybe I should advise him about annulment…??