A Sad Story of an OFW
She is Tita Ruby (not her real name). I met her in one of my Financial Literacy Lectures abroad. She is a petite woman with a humble heart at the age of 65.
"You know Norman..." She said politely. "My plan was to work here in this country for just a maximum of 5 years. My plan was to save money so I can send my kids to school and eventually retire and stay in the Philippines for good."
I am listening intently to what she was telling as she started her next sentence with a sigh. "But look at me now... I am still working in this country for 20 long years with no savings whatsoever."
She rest down her two elbows at the table and continue saying "For 20 years, I had only few opportunities to see my kids grow, I was not there during their graduations, I was not there when they are crying..." she sigh deeper and said" I missed so much about their lives and now that I am about to retire, I haven't save any sufficient amount so that I can live comfortably or even decently so I now question myself if it was all worth it..."
There is a Time of Abundance and Time of Famine
Many of us can relate to the story of Tita Ruby. We know very well that her story is most likely the story of many Overseas Filipino Workers Abroad. We can truly say that our OFWs are one of the modern day heroes of the Philippines because of the love and the sacrifice that they do so that they can bring their family out of poverty.
But sadly, many of our OFWs and also the Filipinos who are working here in the Philippines don't know what to do with their hard-earned money. That's why if the time comes for them to retire, many have to work again to sustain their lives and have money for their basic needs.
While we have the capacity to earn, we should learn the disciple to save for ourselves. Before paying others like SM, Robinsons, Ayala, Meralco, PLDT, Globe, Smart and other rich companies, you should have the discipline and the habit of paying yourself first.
How Do I Pay Myself First?
It is also the same with us, we all know that 1/5 of 100% is 20%. So it means that we should keep 20% of what we are earning now so that when emergencies (famine) like loss of job, sickness, accidents comes, you will be ready and you have resources to get you along until the time of abundance comes again.
We must also put God first in our lives and give Him our offering so we must also Tithe (this will be another full length topic). Our Tithe should be at least 10% of what we are earning.
The savings formula of most people is like this "Income - Expenses = Savings". If this will be our formula, then it will be hard for us to save something for ourselves.
Our formula should be like this "Income (100%) - Tithes (10%) - Savings (20%) - Expenses (70%)". If this will be our formula, then it is possible for you to save money for yourself that you can be used for emergencies and for retirement.
