Photo courtesy of Aladdin Cordero

(Last week, I emailed Filipinos working all over the world to find out how the US global financial crunch is affecting one of the major sources of the country’s liquidity—the so called OFWs. Some are regular readers of MoneySmarts, while some are friends of another blogger Reyna Elena. They were kind enough to reply and a short version of their emails (in the interest of space) were included in a feature I wrote for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. I am publishing this week in installments the full version of their emails. I hope this will help us understand how Filipinos all over the world are affected and are responding to the crisis.)

By DB, from the USA

I was orphaned at an early age, which may or may not explain why I am always secretly afraid of going hungry.  Even if I have received more education than most, and have worked for some of the most powerful people in business and politics, in the back of my head, I still feel vulnerable in my 30s as the glassy-eyed 7-year-old street urchin who came out under my feet as I was resting from my morning jog at the seawall near CCP several moons ago.

I currently work in the headquarters of a global company with a large business interest in the Philippines. As you know, “global” and “large” no longer mean anything because even as the company continues to acquire other companies, it also shed people not too long ago, and both fledgling and robust businesses can be prime targets for takeover.

The current global crisis will eventually blow over and we will move on just like we did with the others. It’s just a question of how soon. I can’t do anything about it, so I try not to make gloomy news worry me too much.

When you have weathered a lot of personal crisis in life, this is peanuts. I just have to keep reminding myself that if the worst thing that can happen is to lose my job, my possessions, and all the comforts I currently enjoy, for as long as I am healthy and still have my faith and dignity, I can always bounce back. It just makes for an interesting journey.

I can be concerned, nay even be afraid, but I will continue to do as I have always done. I have no dependents, so it is easier for me. On the other hand, my cousin who is a bonafide OFW said he is not really affected by the crisis since his type of work is in high demand. He will always find work like my RN cousin who is also outside the Philippines.  Both of them saved like crazy so they have a lot of reserves in the Philippines, both liquid and otherwise.  Meanwhile, my seemingly rich friends here with the large houses and luxury cars now complain, “Sa Pilipinas noon, wala nga akong pera, pero wala naman akong utang.”

I can always go back to my grandparent’s shack in Ilocos and plant kamote if I have to. Our neighbors do not have much, but I have never heard anyone go hungry there. Last time I visited, the old man (who is as old as dirt) who toiled our farm still wore the same pants with the same holes in it. When I asked him why he is always so happy, the old man said, “Because… I woke up this morning.”

I just walked out unscathed from an accident that totaled my car a few months ago, and survived (in spite of the $30,000 bill for four wrecked trucks and vehicles, thank God). Let’s not forget about what is important here. I do think of the street urchin and the likes of him every time I eat my meals, especially now.

I am, by nature, frugal, but now, with the exception of the basics (food, clothes, and shelter), I am on a spending moratorium.  Vacation plans abroad, except those that have been prepaid in advance, are on hold indefinitely. Plans to adopt a baby by next year may be scrapped altogether. I continue to automatically deduct money from my main account to another bank account for my scholar in the Philippines whom I have never met, and I will honor commitments I have made for a head start school project somewhere in the suburbs.

My personal savings are FDIC-insured up to $100,000, and the retirement funds up to $250,000 so no changes there. I would invest more but I am holding off for the bottom. Meanwhile, I continue to put in the same amount in my 401K even though it dropped 20 percent. I have capped off my bonds for a year ago — which also serve as part of my emergency fund. For the more liquid emergency fund, I have it in an Internet-based bank, which gives higher interest rates.

If there is anything at all that I learned from all of Ciel Habito’s graphs that made me cross-eyed then but is now thankfully behind me, it is this–this so-called crisis is just part of the cycle. I will just ride it out. I am young; I can wait for the stocks to rebound.  But I do not agree that governments should bail out businesses that have been irresponsible.

I plan to continue keeping a low profile at work (the more senior managers are always the first to get axed. 75 percent of the lay-offs last Christmas were VPs and directors). Keep an eye on an education-oriented franchise business that I am also involved in– it lost about 20 percent of customers this year and is not getting new ones fast enough. People have stopped spending on non-essentials! If it does not recover next year, it makes no sense subsidizing it with money earned from my full time job. I can keep dreaming of winning the lotto so I can be a full time philanthropist but I figured if I really want it, I have to go get it myself. So I am currently working on another business concept that is not a franchise, but has great promise. This has been keeping me busy lately, on top of studying for another certification.  God is good, things can only get better.