MANILA, Philippines - The overseas Filipinos worker (OFW) has long
been heralded as the country’s new breed of heroes, and with good reason
to do so. It takes strength, determination and a drive to have a better
life for your families in order to survive working long hours in a
foreign land – away from your family, friends and basically everything
that you work for.
OFWs have also been cited as being major contributors to the
Philippine economy for 2012. According to the Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas (BSP), remittances from OFWs will grow further this year, and
the government does not expect a drop in the demand for workers abroad
real soon. For 2011, the Philippines was the fourth-largest remittance
receiving country, with only India, China and Mexico topping the country
in that category.
But on a more personal level, what should be ensured is that the sacrifices of these OFWs do not go to waste? Ideally, these overseas workers are working in order to give their families better lives – that implies having enough money to send their children to school, pay for their household expenses back at home while also having enough in their pockets to sustain their daily living in the foreign land they are in.
In the end, OFWs should have enough savings to invest and start a new life with when they go home.
"OFWs leave the country for the promise of financial stability in
the short and long term. The financial goal should be that: stability
for the future," said Pru Life UK Senior Vice President and Chief
Marketing Officer Belle Tiongco.
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"Stability is possible if you have enough funds for both aspirations (education, your own house or business) and unknowns (illnesses, accidents and other catastrophic events)."
"Stability is possible if you have enough funds for both aspirations (education, your own house or business) and unknowns (illnesses, accidents and other catastrophic events)."
The challenge of saving
The Philippines is not a savings-oriented country, according to Pru
Life UK President and CEO Antonio de Rosas, and this financial behavior
is something that most OFWs will have to combat.
"Our country's savings rate is one of the lowest in Asian region,
and this is mostly due to a lack of financial literacy," he said.
There are three main reasons why OFWs have a hard time saving:
Work in Singapore
Debt
Debt
A big number of the OFWs are already in debt even before they leave
the country. Most manpower agencies would require the OFW to pay for
their placement fees which will usually take them about two years to
settle.
Overspending
Since they live away from their families, OFWs tend to compensate
for lost time by buying things for their family they don’t really need.
De Rosas said: "since the breadwinner is not at home to manage the
expenses, their families tend to just spend the allowance being given to
them on a monthly basis without proper budgeting."
Cost of living abroad
What the OFW needs on a daily basis in the country where he or she
is domiciled may cost more. This could also be a big hindrance to what
they can save if they are not careful.
Source: abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino
Source: abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino
