Stephanie (not her real name) looked a bit like a lost little girl, no different from her eight-year old daughter who transferred to my son’s school. Turns out that it was her first time to attend a school activity. She has been at sea on cruise ships for the last 15 years, going home only once a year – one of 230,000 sea-based Filipinos working abroad.
We had a lengthy and very interesting discussion about what it was like at sea for the past 15 years, starting from when she was a fresh graduate of Hotel and Restaurant Management from a reputable school here in Metro Manila, up until she decided to get pregnant (but not get married) and now that she is waiting for her call to join the crew of another cruise ship.
Stephanie’s story amazed me, although it was not the first time I had heard of the challenges and experiences of Filipino sea-based workers. She told me how Filipinos earn anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000 a month, bulk of which come from tips from passengers. She also described how Filipinos burn their money buying clothes, bags, laptops that they never get to use, mobile phones and other techie gadgets from different ports even when these could also be bought in the country at the same price or even cheaper.
Since Stephanie is an old hand on deck, she said she had seen how Filipino men were second only to the Japanese in generosity when they like women and would buy them anything they want – from diamond rings to laptops – whether or not they were married to someone else back in the Philippines. She also admitted that Filipinas win hands down when it comes to using their charm to get their hands inside men’s wallets, whether or not these were their husbands or boyfriends.
It seemed like a cruel world, but reality is reality. It was an eye-opener about the lives and sacrifices of our sea-based countrymen and their families. I have heard this kind of story told again and again by those who have resigned themselves to the fate of an OFW out at sea.
“Do you think your Filipino crewmates save money?” I asked her.
“They don’t. That’s why they come back year after year. When some of my younger relatives tell me that they want to follow me in my line of work, I don’t allow them. If you are not strong enough, this occupation will destroy you,” she said.
Stephanie says she has been saving money consistently recently, longing for the time when she can come home and attend more parent-teacher conferences and just spend time with her daughter. But she knows that it will be hard to find a job that will pay as much, so she is preparing to start a manning agency with her sister.
There may be others in this line of work whose experiences are different from Stephanie’s. I hope theirs is a story that can prove Stephanie and others like her wrong.
Doris Dumlao wrote an article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer entitled “More OFW families save, invest money sent to them” and said that nearly half of households supported by overseas Filipino remittances are now investing for the future.
Based on the second quarter consumer survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (the Philippine central bank), the number of overseas Filipino-supported households that allotted part of their remittances for various types of financial investments more than doubled to 48.6 percent from 21.9 percent in the first quarter.
One out of three households earmarked money for bank savings–also twice as big as the previous ratio.
This percentage rose to 31.4 percent in the second quarter from 14 percent in the first quarter and 15.7 percent in the same quarter a year ago.
Here are some of the other highlights of that article:
14.3% — now set aside money to buy a house, up from 6.1% in the previous quarter and 2.5% a year ago.
3% – of families now buy financial instruments, up from 1.8% in the previous quarter but lower than 4.5% in the same period last year.
5.1% — families that are saving for a motor vehicle, up from 1.6% a quarter ago and 3.5% a year ago.
The numbers are still very low. Who can tell when something is a trend or if they are just a string of numbers? Will the economist determine trends, or will the families themselves? Save more, spend less, stay grounded and focused. That’s the battlecry that would turn three months of growth in savings and financial consciousness into a trend. Good luck to us all.
June 18th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
what is happiness?
June 18th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Sadly this is so true to this day. The sadder part is they are enabling their families to stay lazy and just wait for money to drop on their hands.
June 18th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
During their initial OFW years, my seafarer relatives were also like fish out of the water when it came to managing their finances. After spending 12-18 long lonely months in cargo/tanker ships, they felt they were entitled to spend their hard-earned $. Eventually, they learned that their friends and loved ones’ affections also became seemingly reflective of the ebb and flow of their money — an unintended consequence. So they whittled down the monthly “pension” their families received and automatically redirected the balance in savings/investment accounts (any overtime pay/salary increase they get goes to a separate account — this they keep as emergency savings). Eventually, their entire monthly remittances became savings/investments/capital after their families were able to secure trades/businesses that enabled them to cover their daily expenses without having to rely on the OFW income. These are some of their practices 1) avoid going home to the Philippines right on or before Christmas and if they really can’t help but be home on Christmas, they do not spend unnecessarily or advertise their presence. 2) have the family live on a consistent monthly budget, allocating an exact portion for “fun” money when they get home 3) live simply 4) while abroad, use VOIP/Skype/phone cards/internet to communicate with the family as frequently as possible to establish presence instead of buying things they do not need.
June 18th, 2008 at 10:10 am
I’ve been working abroad for four years now and my first two years savings went to traveling to different places. That’s my major expense as it’s been my dream to see the world. Last year, I started saving part of my salary which I invested in mutual funds. This year, I’m saving more but don’t know yet where to put it. I know that it’s best to put your eggs in different basket and I’ll be doing that. Oh yeah.. I already have life insurance with endowment benefits even though I’m still single. Halfway paid one of them and added another 2 years ago.
I really enjoy reading your blogs and the tips you provide. I just hope it’s easier to remit money from Beijing.
June 17th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
When I was a first time OFw way back in 2002 and was still single, I didnt know much about investing and my 1-year hard earned money was just put into waste.
Year 2005 when I got another job abroad and still in contract until today, the difference this time is that I already have a family with 2 small kids. With an eagerness to have enough savings and be with my family without leaving them behind anymore, I try to practice saving money and invest later-on as preached by those that I read in your blog and other economist blog.
This blog of yours is a great help in giving infomations about savings and investing.
May you continue to help and guide us in investing.