(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 the series will help us understand how Filipinos all over the world are affected and are responding to the crisis.)
I have just recently quit my job as director of finance in one of the largest housing authorities in the United States with over 3,000 employees. I’ve been unemployed since July 2008; however, I have just accepted a job in Chicago as director for one of the largest development corporation dealing with housing tax credits, asset management and property investments. I expect to start very soon.
My parents, very religious, took the church’s “go and multiply” advice by heart and made parenting an algorithmic Fibonachi, that’s why there’s 11 of us in the family. We lived in the barrio and could not find opportunities in the Philippines because at that time, they’re all reserved for the rich, the powerful and the conios. So, I paddled my boat to the land of apples and honey. I’ve been working in the United States for over 21 years now.
Growing up in the Philippines, I really thought that we have perfected corruption. To my surprise, corrupt officials are populating Wall Street and beyond as well. They could literally bring down a world financial system! That worries the heck out of me because I can’t seem to believe that these crooks could actually shake the entire financial system and make our lives miserable. When I say “our”, I just don’t refer to Americans, rather, world citizens as well. For if America sneezes, the world catches cold.
Given that I worked in the financial, real estate, investment and asset management side, I had the privilege of understanding the complexity of what’s behind the current financial turmoil and so I could fully and truly appreciate its implication on me personally, my family and my fellow overseas Pinoy friends.
My 401-k (read: retirement) is now down 15 percent. Two weeks ago, I felt comfortable because my retirement money is with Wachovia, where it sits at the moment. Suddenly, Wachovia is in the news. It’s bad enough that I have increased my monthly remittance to the Philippines because of certain fixed expenses back home.
As you can see, Filipinos here in the States took a direct hit from the subprime crisis, from our retirement investments to our mortgage that can’t be refinanced, to our rising credit card interest. Loans are now difficult to find. Worse, applying for one is even more difficult. So, we’ve cut down on a lot of unnecessary expenses and travels.
Thing is, I don’t invest in Manila because I am not very familiar about the local investments procedures and I have had lousy experiences as a bank customer there. Since I don’t want to surrender the decision making to investment administrators in Manila, and they have not won my confidence as of yet, I continue to be on the sidelines.
However, I will never let those sick Wall Street people dictate my life. I am being prudent in all of my expenditures and wiser in spending money. My strategies are to stay put, cut down on expenses, find more extra income, and continue to be cute and happy. I was planning to go home and find a job in Manila. When all of these investment houses started tumbling down, I asked myself if it would be better for me to stay here. I’m still thinking. I can’t decide. Help me 
64 Responses to “A Pinoy in the US hit by the credit crisis”
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Pages: « 13 12 11 [10] 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 … 1 » Show All
October 17th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
@ ito_pinoy
bilib talaga ako sa kitid ng utak mo. ni hindi ka pa nga nakakatuntong ng amerika eh kung ano ano ng kababalaghan sinasabi mo. tigilan mo na nga yan kakainom ng gatas na may melamine. hanggang dyan lang ba budget mo? kung matindi akong magsalita ay dahil sa pang- iniinsulto mo sa mga pilipino na kahit janitor lang sa amerika ay pinagdudahan mo na hindi kayang mag-ka kotse at hindi kayang bumayad ng bahay. ang mali sa yo gumagawa ka ng haka-haka tungkol sa tunay na dahilan ng pag-baba ng ekonomiya ng amerika na kulang ka naman sa pruweba. dinadamay mo lahat sa iyong maling interpretasyon at paratang. ang duda ko ay inggit lang yang pumasok sa kukote mo. hindi ka pa ba nakuntento sa sinabi ni reyna elena at ni james? isa pa, kahit anong oras kaya kong bumalik ng pinas dahil may pamasahe ako round-trip. i dont need to beg. bakit, umuulan na ba ng snow dyan at ganun na ba kaunlad ang inyong ekonomiya. anong palagay mo sa akin hindi nagbabasa ng online news sa pinas at walang kamag-anak na nagbabalita sa akin ng totoong nangyayari dyan? ha ha ha…nagpapatawa ka talaga. yeah, your perception is current but its wrong. kung hindi totoo yung sinabi ni junebug at ni reyna elena eh di sana matagal na akong umuwi dyan. simple lang di ba? gets mo? hindi ako nagyayabang pero tanggapin mo ang totoo. bago bumagsak ang amerika eh mauuna na yung mga bansang sa simula pa lang ay pinabayaan na ang kanilang mamamayan dahil mas inatupag ng gobyerno ang graft and corruption. at ikinalulungkot ko, kung saka-sakali isa na ang pilipinas dun. at kung buo sa puso at isip mo na napakaunlad na ngayon ng ekonomiya ng pilipinas, ingat ka lang dahil baka kuyugin ka nung mga anti-gloria. i think kabaligtaran ng paniwala mo ang paniwala nila. gumising ka na at nananaginip ka lang. wake up dude!
October 17th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Sorry for the typo. It should be…janitor in the US. By the way, this is not a vitriol to any OFWs.
October 17th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
“even an ordinary janitor in the US drives a car”…junebug
Will someone pls. explain to me how an “ordinary” janitor the US earning more or less than $8/hr for 40hrs a week, less SS, taxes, food, housing, high gas prices, etc. can have the luxury at this current time–”now”–to buy a car. Remember, we are talking about “ordinary” janitor here. Not the “extra ordinary” or “special” janitor or maintenance staff–like Tokwa.
Pls. show some rough computation if you can. This may encourage some of our kababayans to apply in the US.
October 17th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
This is for Tokwa only…
You may not be aware of what is happening to the U.S. economy right now, but in the next few months or so, you will be begging to come back to the Philippines. By the way my perception is current…the “now.” Tokwa have some decency, your words reveal your character. I also happen to be an informed OFW.
October 16th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
To those who think of themselves as Nationalistic because they chose to stay in the Philippines - I hope you also know how to sing Lupang Hinirang with the correct lyrics and you also memorize Panatang Makabayan. That would be very embarrasing if you don’t.