Steps to Increasing Your Remittance Without Sacrificing Your Personal Savings

Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have sent a total of $2 billion in remittances last May 2021. The pandemic might’ve impacted their livelihoods, but most were still able to stay employed and earn steadily. Now that international borders are opening again, the OFWs who went back home are looking forward to working again.

But despite years of experience abroad, many OFWs are still struggling to save money. Most of their hard-earned savings go straight to their families, after all. And it doesn’t help that goods and the general costs of living are getting more expensive. One silver lining is that tuition fees have decreased because of distance learning. But face-to-face classes in all cities will be back soon. Aside from the hefty tuition fees, the kids would need daily allowances again.

This can make sending enough money more taxing than it already is. Thankfully, you can use some tried-and-true hacks to increase your remittances without hurting your savings. Without further ado, let’s walk through each of them:

1. Prioritize Your Own Savings

Even if you’re working abroad for your family’s sake, your own savings should come first. After all, you need it for your day-to-day and emergency expenses. To ensure that you’d always have savings, strive to keep at least half of your salary. Deposit it in a savings account or retirement savings. If your family will need more money in the future, you can always take a few from those accounts. But if you can avoid sending them more than half of your salary every month, do it.

2. Be Honest With Your Limits

If your family assumes working abroad makes you well-off, kindly tell them the truth of how much you actually make. Contrary to popular belief, many OFWs don’t make much at all. Their salaries may be a lot higher in Philippine standards, but abroad, they could be considered just average.

Let your family know how much you can remit every month or so. Again, remember the first rule, which is to save at least half of your salary for yourself. You can give away more than half if you don’t need it, but don’t make it a habit. Your family should know your spending practices and goals so that they’d understand why you limit your remittances.

3. Look for an Inexpensive Way to Transfer Money

Some money transfers charge exorbitant fees for remitting money. If the money your family gets is reduced by almost half because of this, find a new remittance center. Going to any of Metrobank’s remittance partners is a good choice. It won’t eat up a chunk of your money before it reaches the Philippines. You may even be able to deposit your remittances straight to your family’s bank account instead of having them pick up the cash somewhere.

4. Pay Bills and Debts on Time

When you receive your bills in the mail, pay them off right away. Ideally, you should avoid acquiring debt, but in the instances it becomes inevitable, pay it back as soon as you can. But don’t go for debts with high interest, like credit cards or loans from illegitimate sources. Keep to banks or credit unions if you must borrow money. They offer more affordable rates and realistic terms. As a result, your loan payments will leave little to no impact on your remittances.

5. Make More Money

If your current job isn’t paying much, consider boosting your income either by changing jobs or finding a side hustle. You can also do both. But choose your work carefully.

It is safer to find a new employer through referrals from other professionals. As much as possible, avoid referrals from your fellow workers whom you don’t know well. Try to avoid using freelancing platforms as well. Many freelancing sites take a percentage of your earnings and are crawling with low-quality employers looking for the cheapest freelancers.

6. Move to a Cheaper or Neighborhood

Reducing your expenses is one way to increase your savings and remittances. And you can do this by finding a cheaper city or neighborhood to live in. It can improve the quality of your life as well as your family’s. To ensure that you’d end up in a cheaper place, research your options’ median costs of living. It’ll allow you to secure a place that meets your budget.

Doing all of these isn’t easy, but living abroad isn’t supposed to be easy anyway. What’s more important is that your hard work supports your dreams and your family’s well-being. But don’t lose yourself in the process of helping and making a living. You deserve to enjoy the fruits of your hard work, especially after sacrificing a lot for your family.