Karamihan ng mga OFWs kung hindi man lahat, may utang.
Nothing to be ashamed of, in fact, this is normal. Kahit ako may utang na binabayaran. After I became a mom, I soon realized that I should not live with debt because I don’t want my daughter to inherit the responsibility of paying for my mistake of not being in control of my finances. Since it is easy to get approved for a loan and credit card here in UAE, I forgot to consider that it’s not really my money I’m spending. I’m just racking in more debt.
Minsan kasi nadadala tayo ng environment natin. Kahit na wala ka plano gumastos, out of convenience napapagastos ka na rin. Ako, magastos ako kumain. I always want to eat out because it’s convenient and I have an adventurous palate, gusto ko lagi makatikim nang bago kahit minsan hindi naman afford ng wallet ko. I have this principle na kapag pagkain hindi ka dapat nagtitipid, kainin mo kung ano yung gusto mo. I still have that principle though now, less compulsive as before because I end up thinking that money could be better spent paying for other more important expenses for our baby or towards paying our debt or for building an emergency fund.
Ngayon naiisip ko na ‘yan bago ko gumastos. Naks, adulting. Nakakaproud.
Nakakastress din kasi isipin minsan paano babayaran yung mga utang. Ayoko at hindi dapat takbuhan. Ang sarap kaya sa feeling na may nababayaran ka na utang. May mga utang na ko nasettle but I’m still far from over. Pero okay lang kasi at least ngayon, nacocorrect ko na un mga pagkakamali ko before.
The first thing I did after realizing I should be more responsible when it comes to money is to read some advices about handling debts and to listen to audiobooks about financial literacy. Now I want to share with you what I have learned so far.
All financial experts and gurus advice the same thing; acknowledge your debt.
Facing your debt would make it real. Wake up call ‘to kapag narealize mo na “aayyy ganun pala kalai yung utang ko.” Kapag lagi mo iniignore, hindi naman ibig sabihin mawawala. Kung alam mo kung magkano yung utang mo, you’ll make the conscious effort to allot extra money you have towards to paying your debt para kahit paano mabawasan. If you are the type of person na sinusulat at trinatrack lahat, do the same with your debt. You’ll feel more motivated and inspired to pay if you see that the debt is getting smaller every month.
If you could consolidate your debt into one, do it. With this, you would only need to track one payment. Less possibility na mamiss yung payment and magka interest. Or if you have a wealthy relative, you could ask them for help. At least with them, no interest (appeal to their good heart). Just make sure that you would treat it as you would other debts; pay regularly.
Kapag naging focus mo na yung pagbayad ng utang, kailangan mo mag sakripisyo ng ilang mga bagay at gawain na nakasanayan mo na. One of those sacrifices you have to make is lessening the activities that invites you to spend money. If you could not resist spending money that is not within your budget, you should not go to the mall with that money or leave your credit card at home or just avoid going to the mall altogether. Avoid eating out and bring lunch to work. You would have to sacrifice some of your time during the weekends and at night to prepare your food so you would not be tempted to buy from restaurants or order from Zomato. You might even need to sacrifice seeing your friends especially if they love to frequent expensive restaurants and cafes (don’t worry though because this is just temporary). As soon as you already made a dent on your debt, you could ease up and begin to enjoy your salary responsibly.
Of course, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Hindi naman ibig sabihin noon ‘wag ka na lumabas at all and bahay, opisina na lang ang routine mo. Kailangan lang maging wais ka pag nasa labas ka. There are places that you could visit and activities you could do that will not cost you that much. Kapag lalabas ka, magdala ka ng tubig. Yung pabili bili mo ng tubig could still end up as expenses that you could eliminate lalo na kapag sa mga restaurants where the price is sometimes exorbitantly high. Kung hindi mo mapigilan kumain sa labas, make sure that you would only spend the amount na normal mo ginagastos kung nagluluto ka. Kaya nga bringing your own water and not ordering any drinks helps.
In addition to the point above, changing your lifestyle could help you get out of debt. Hindi lang sa pagtitipid, pero kapag binago mo yung lifestyle mo, mas magkakaroon ka rin ng chance para maging responsable sa kung saan mo dadalhin yung pera mo na extra kapag tapos mo na bayaran lahat ng utang mo. Sure, it could be a money that you are allowed to spend now but after living with debt and changing your lifestyle, ayaw mo na ulit maranasan yung magbayad ng utang. Gusto mo na lagi ka may extra pera para kung may emergency, hindi ka na mangungutang ulit.
As OFWs, we are living on borrowed time. Hindi tayo lagi nasa abroad. Ito dapat ang mindset natin. Hindi tayo lagi kumikita ng maayos and there will come a time na kailangan na nating umuwi. Nakaka worry na nga yung mag for good ka ng walang savings paano pa yung uuwi ka ng baon ka sa utang? Not only should we settle our debt as early as possible, we should also come up with a definitive plan to save part of our salary and to stop living on paycheck to paycheck.
We could not stress this enough; you need to have a side hustle.
A side hustle when you are in debt could be the source of your allowance before you receive your salary or you could add it to the monthly installment fee you are paying your debts to lessen the capital debt and in turn your monthly interest would also decrease (snowball effect).
Ako, basta may opprotunity go lang ng go. Wala naman mawawala kung susubukan mo. Siyempre, you still need to be wary about people who would take advantage of you. Kailangan mo pa rin pag aralan kasi baka mamaya yung akala mo magsasalba pala sa’yo would cause you more debt. Kapag may mga nakita ka na posts about how to earn extra income and just PM me or “open minded ka ba?” still try and ask them. Malay mo may iba naman doon na legit. As a rule of thumb, kapag hiningan ka ng pera, run. Trust your instinct. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Kung ang bilis mo magkakapera nang malaki agad, hindi totoo yan. Kung totoo yan at ganoon lang kadali yumaman, wala nang mahirap.
You might think that being frugal and being cheap is one of the same. But they are vastly different.
I have read somewhere about this saying. Being frugal is eating out and opting to not order dessert. Being cheap is not tipping. Now that we are trying to be frugal, it is tempting to be cheap.
Being frugal is cutting on expenses. Taking the bus or metro instead of riding the taxi. Being cheap is saving on the expenses of others.
If you are living with debt now, it does not mean you will forever live with it. Yes it is discouraging at times especially if you feel like your payment monthly is not making a difference. It is demotivating that you keep on working even doing part time and freelance work but you are still broke.
Nakakapagod.
Pero tandaan mo, makakaraos ka din. Kapit lang.
An Overseas Filipino Worker since 2008, Yvette is back in the Middle East after a brief stint in a first world country in South East Asia. She is a binge watcher and is part of numerous fandoms. She writes to keep her sanity (read her rantings on Wattpad @yvette_dc) and is happiest when she's in a bookstore. If given the resources, she would see the world.