OFW Remittances: Christmas Spending, Savings and Business

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Category: Money and Finance

We all hear, usually at this time of the year, about the impressive remittance figure of Overseas Filipinos. According to official figures from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), remittances from overseas Filipinos -- and only those through banks -- remain high, at US$1.7 billion in September 2011. For the first nine months of 2011, total remittance stood at $14.76 billion.

The increasing remittance from our fellow Filipinos who are abroad is more or less consistent, apparently regardless of the world financial condition, and the peace and order situation in certain regions of the world. The top ten country which are sources of remittances included the United States of America (USA), Canada, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom (UK), Japan, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany and Norway.

Still, with the huge amount of money sent by OFWs, why do we hear more of OFWs who still are mired in poverty when they go back to the Philippines. There are a few success stories, yes, but maybe it's just the nature of news and mass media that the negative gets reported first.

We can't help but notice the focus on Christmas spending. Real estate companies target OFWs who have the money to spend. With the spending/purchasing power of OFWs and their families, no wonder they are normally a great target market.

Of course, it's normal to spend. The usual reason mentioned by OFWs why they go abroad is to support their families. They want a house for their family, which is why they proceed to pay the down payment and religiously pay the installments. These are all expense items, obviously, and usually the only source of income to pay for these expenses is the remittance from OFWs. If the well dries up, so to speak, if the contract ends or heavens forbid something happens and the OFW has to come home, where to draw for payments?

There could be savings, but savings also dry up if used continuously without being replenished. The only logical way is to find an alternative source of income -- passive income to be exact, something that earns even if the OFW is outside the country earning more money to remit. That would be business and strategic investments.

Let's explore this further in the days to come. If this is obvious, and if writing about this is a waste of time, then why do we still see a lot of OFWs struggling after coming home? Feel free to propose any business or investment ideas that you think would be great for OFWs, even while they're abroad, so we could collate in a subsequent article. In the meantime, refer to the business opportunities, including a franchise of Biingkinitan, for some suggestions.

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