Ronald of OFW Chronicles guests posts today on OFWAbroad. His entry talks about something that all OFWs should ponder on — when is the right time to go back home?

“There is no place like home, there is no place like home”. Oops!! I forgot I’m not Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz and I don’t have the ruby slippers. She could go to Kansas as long as she can rub the slippers and wish for home but for us OFWs it’s not just rubbing shoes and voila! “Home” we will be, no it doesn’t work that way as there lots of things to consider. One way or the other, every Filipino outside the country has felt the same way. When the going gets tough, home is where we want to be. To be with the family that will comfort, understand and would try to appease our emotional turmoil.

When is the right time to go home for good? What does it take to be able to have a decent means of living back in the Philippines? How many more years an OFW must bear to realize what he/she has dreamed of achieving in deciding to go abroad? These are the questions which aren’t that easy to answer. It really depends on the individual concern.

When really is the right time? For others it’s easy, “for as long as my body can hold” which is what happens most of the time. I remember “Kuya” whom I met on the plane bound for Manila.A typical OFW who spent almost half of his life abroad and yet cannot afford to retire and the usual reasons are “Hindi pa panahon, wala pa akong ipon atsaka pina-paaral ko pa ang mga apo ko” (“Its not yet time, I don’t have savings and I’m still supporting my grandchildren’s educations”) . At his age 65 years old, he should be retired and just enjoying the rest of his biological life in the warmth of his home, but he has to lie on his passport about his age so he can still support not his children but his grandchildren.

Investments and Savings for OFWs

What does it take to have a decent living after exhausting your youth abroad? I know of a friend who’s currently investing on real estates in the Philippines which I guess is the safest investment for an OFW. Putting up a business and let your friends and relatives run it is a bad idea. I’m not saying it’s a trust issue it’s just that starting a business without your supervision would most of the time just don’t succeed. Savings….hmmmm what? Savings who? This is the main issue for us Expats. We know how to spend on luxuries like clothing, electronic gadgets and jeweleries but most of us are unaware of savings. We tend to procrastinate, saying “oh I’ll just start saving next year and before you know it, a decade have passed”.

How many more years? Oh well, if you’re healthy, probably there is more time for you to think about your future but for some unfortunate OFWs, health becomes a problem due to lots of factors such as abuses not just by employers but self-abused, drinking too much “Whiskey” as our office boy call it, never minding it’s actually a Vodka. Political unrest like what’s currently happening in Libya where lots of Pinoy Expats were forced to go home. Sudden bankruptcy of the company is another reason of “untimely” retirement. There is nothing certain about being an OFW but one thing is for sure; time will just passed by you like wind on a hot summer’s day. So better not count on how many years you think you can bear as an OFW instead think of how much you can save while you still have the opportunity.

A Challenge for Filipinos Working Abroad

It’s not a matter of how huge is your salary; it’s a matter of how much you can save. You don’t have to be an engineer, a nurse or an accountant. You don’t even have to earn tons of dollars to build a better future for you and your family. All it takes is the will and the focus in achieving the goals you have set for yourself, that commitment inside you that will drive you towards the summit of success.

Start in as simple as not buying every new releases of your favourite brand of Smartphone. Don’t be tempted to buy the new “Bayawak” shirt and save those extra money on a bank, all it takes is a “starting base” then try to at least deposit a fraction of your salary every month after remitting of course.

It’s all in your hands (not in your neighbour’s) start the change, dream big and plan for the future and when you think it’s time for you to go back home to our Motherland, be one of those successful former OFWs who were able to made a difference and became significant contributors to their local economies. If you cannot wait for change in our country be the spark and light the fire of optimism that will inspire others. Be the beacon of hope for those who are lost at sea. Not easy but not impossible.

I dare you. Yes! You my fellow OFW, are you up for the challenge? Or are you one of those who will just be a part of the statistics? The long list of financially broke “Ex-OFWs” who will spend their time wondering, what could have been and what might have been.
As Captain Planet always says “The Power is Yours”.

About OFW Chronicles: This informative blog was created during the time when the author is almost giving up; during the hardships, uncertainties and the exhausting saga as an expat worker. Ronald says that up to now, he is still struggling as an OFW. Check out OFW Chronicles and gain valuable insights about OFW life.