Why most OFW still poor despite working abroad for a long time? This is a question many people are asking me many times. I asked them the same question why is it so? I asked the same question because I have been working abroad for more than 15 years already and yet I don't have lots of savings. Yes I paid my monthly SSS and bought a house plus some thousands of money in the bank but it is worth enough if I retire? These are some few questions that I want to be clear.
Here is a News from abs-cbn why many ofw still poor after spending many years working abroad. I am fortunate that I am not included in this bracket.
While most Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) earn better in other countries, some of them still experience financial problems despite years of hard work due to inefficient money management.
The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) has identified over-dependency of families and relatives of OFWs as one of the common causes why workers abroad struggle with their finances, despite their higher pay. “People tend to think that once you go abroad, it seems that you get a higher income and that will solve all your problems,” said Andrea Anolin, CFO executive assistant for joint migration and development initiative.
Anolin added that an OFW may already have financial problems even before leaving the Philippines, such as the accumulation of debts due to over-borrowing in the belief that the money can be returned once hired overseas. “The families who are left behind and also the migrants themselves have very unrealistic expectations.
They equate going overseas with an automatic improvement in the quality of their lives,” she said. In addition, some OFWs are said to easily give in to the requests of their families and relatives for remittances and gifts from abroad, thus the failure to save sufficient money for the future. “We don’t really save for the rainy days. We don’t really think long term. Our plans, our objectives are vague and we don’t really know how to get from one place to the next. So it’s easy to be lured by commercial spending,” Anolin said.
According to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), eight out of 10 Filipinos don't have bank accounts -- an indication that financial literacy among Filipinos is not high, as CFO pointed out.
While it is not that bad for OFWs to spend for their families with imported commodities, CFO stressed that they should not let themselves end up without savings and should not forget to save more than they spend in order to achieve a common goal of creating a sustainable income in their homeland.
“It’s not the lack of money to save eh. It’s the lack of the will to save,” said Warner Dawal, senior emigrant services officer for Peso Sense Program.
“The most common misconception is the families here in the Philippines think that the remittance they receive is forever,” he added. I conclude that the reason why most of our expatriates including me are still poor is because we don't have the will to save money. We have this "come what may" attitude. Start saving today and invest it back home or open a business.
Here is a News from abs-cbn why many ofw still poor after spending many years working abroad. I am fortunate that I am not included in this bracket.
While most Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) earn better in other countries, some of them still experience financial problems despite years of hard work due to inefficient money management.
The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) has identified over-dependency of families and relatives of OFWs as one of the common causes why workers abroad struggle with their finances, despite their higher pay. “People tend to think that once you go abroad, it seems that you get a higher income and that will solve all your problems,” said Andrea Anolin, CFO executive assistant for joint migration and development initiative.
Anolin added that an OFW may already have financial problems even before leaving the Philippines, such as the accumulation of debts due to over-borrowing in the belief that the money can be returned once hired overseas. “The families who are left behind and also the migrants themselves have very unrealistic expectations.
They equate going overseas with an automatic improvement in the quality of their lives,” she said. In addition, some OFWs are said to easily give in to the requests of their families and relatives for remittances and gifts from abroad, thus the failure to save sufficient money for the future. “We don’t really save for the rainy days. We don’t really think long term. Our plans, our objectives are vague and we don’t really know how to get from one place to the next. So it’s easy to be lured by commercial spending,” Anolin said.
According to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), eight out of 10 Filipinos don't have bank accounts -- an indication that financial literacy among Filipinos is not high, as CFO pointed out.
“The most common misconception is the families here in the Philippines think that the remittance they receive is forever,” he added. I conclude that the reason why most of our expatriates including me are still poor is because we don't have the will to save money. We have this "come what may" attitude. Start saving today and invest it back home or open a business.
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