Contrary to many expectations that once a Filipino goes abroad and gets paid a salary higher than back home, many overseas Filipino workers go home barely able to save money.
Why is it so?
In ideal situations, a Filipino spends a considerable amount of money on relocation expenses or paying agency fees on his first few months at work. After a few months, he begins to save money for the future. But in many cases, it’s far from being ideal.
Let’s say our hypothetical OFW, Juan, for example, lands a job in Dubai as a hotel staff member. In an ideal situation, he would spend a significant portion of his initial earnings on relocation costs, such as rent, food, and transportation, as well as repaying the hefty agency fees he incurred to secure the job. After a few months of settling in and adjusting to his expenses, he would start setting aside money for savings and future investments.
However, reality often tells a different story. Like many OFWs, Juan faced unexpected expenses—his family back home relied on him for financial support, medical emergencies drained his salary, and the high cost of living made it difficult to save.
So instead of building his savings, he found himself struggling just to make ends meet, pushing his financial goals further out of reach.
Unfair working contracts, exorbitant fees, or even illegal recruitment sometimes hound our OFWs abroad. They struggle at work, are unable to find sufficient rest time, enough food, and lack protection when getting sick. So when his contract expires, he may not have enough savings even to pay for airfare. Worse, he may be in deep debt as loan sharks take advantage of his vulnerability.
High cost of placement fees and deployment expenses
Going abroad is sometimes like a gamble, where an OFW has to bet through expensive agency fees, deal with multiple levels of bureaucracy, and sometimes unpredictable health conditions. Once the Filipino worker gets the clearance to work, she starts to think how much she can save monthly after considering debt payments and initial expenses.
Take Maria, for instance, a Filipina who secured a job as a domestic helper in Hong Kong. Before leaving, she had to pay expensive agency fees, navigate layers of paperwork, and undergo medical tests to get clearance to work. She left the Philippines with high hopes, believing that after covering her initial expenses and debt payments, she could start saving a portion of her salary each month.
However, reality hit hard when she arrived. The cost of living was much higher than she expected—food, transportation, and personal necessities quickly ate into her income. She also had to send regular remittances to support her family, leaving little for herself. Maria initially thought she would struggle only for a few months, but as her contract neared its end, she realized she had barely saved anything at all.
Spending above financial means
One problem of some OFWs is the lack of fiscal discipline. Thinking that they have higher salaries abroad made them think they can buy anything they want.
Consider Mark, an OFW working as an engineer in Qatar. With a significantly higher salary than what he used to earn in the Philippines, he felt financially empowered and started indulging in luxury purchases. A brand-new smartphone? Check. A high-end laptop he rarely used? Check. Designer bags for his wife? Check. Even an expensive watch he convinced himself was a “good investment.”
There’s nothing wrong with rewarding oneself, but Mark overlooked one crucial factor—saving. He spent without setting aside even a small portion of his earnings for the future. Over time, his expensive gadgets needed repairs, his laptop got infected with spyware, and maintaining his lifestyle became more costly. When unexpected expenses emerged, he had no financial cushion. What could have gone into his savings was instead spent on repairs, replacements, and maintaining a lifestyle he could barely sustain.
It is NOT a bad idea to buy them, but only if they can afford them or have set aside an amount — no matter how small — for savings. These expenses are not investments that they can make money of. The mobile phone breaks down and needs to be repaired. Laptop gets infected with spyware and rendered irreparable. Owners end up spending more to maintain these devices. Hence, the savings accounts are sacrificed.
Overspending by beneficiaries
Sometimes family members of OFWs think that their brother or sister or son or aunt receives lots of money while working abroad that they spend remittance money like there’s no tomorrow.
Gina is an OFW working as a caregiver in Canada. Every month, she diligently sends money back home to support her parents and financial help to educate her younger siblings. Her family, believing that she earns a fortune abroad, spends the remittance freely—upgrading their appliances, dining out frequently, and even lending money to neighbors. They assume that as long as Gina is working overseas, the money will keep coming without fail.
One day, Gina faced unexpected expense: her landlord increased her apartment rental, and she needed to renew her work permit. Unable to send her usual remittance on time, her family panicked. Instead of adjusting their spending, they borrowed from a local loan shark, assuming that once Gina’s money arrived, they could easily repay the debt. But when the next remittance was smaller than expected, they found themselves trapped in a cycle of borrowing, proving that relying entirely on an OFW’s income without financial discipline can lead to serious financial struggles.
In many cases, families end up asking for more to finance their daily necessities. Sometimes it is thought that remittance will be an automated monthly bank transfer that when it does not arrive at the usual date, family members borrow money from loan sharks, assuming that the money sent to them from overseas will be used to pay the debts.
Infidelity and extra responsibility
When an OFW gets involved in an extramarital affair to address his or her homesickness, he or she is also adding more to the list of people to support. Additional responsibilities often entail additional expenses. If the forbidden love bears a love child, money will also be spent on caring for the baby. Not to mention the trouble and scandal to expect when the OFW returns to a legitimate family someday.
Take Rico, for example, an OFW working as a construction worker in Saudi Arabia. Feeling lonely and missing home, he found comfort in the company of a fellow migrant worker. What started as casual companionship soon turned into an affair. Over time, he began supporting his new partner financially—sending money for rent, groceries, and other expenses.
At first, Rico thought he could manage, but his responsibilities grew when the extra-marital relationship resulted in a child. He now had another family to support, on top of the wife and children waiting for him in the Philippines. His salary, which could have been saved for his future or invested in his family’s needs, was instead stretched thin between two households. When it was finally time to return home, Rico not only faced financial difficulties but also the emotional turmoil of explaining his situation to his legitimate family.
OFWs must be able to set ground rules for themselves and follow them religiously. This includes practices on saving money. If one can save a certain amount consistently in a month (ideally set aside this amount right after receiving salary) to a bank account, SSS, or other retirement contribution, this will definitely be helpful especially when times got rough.
Many Filipinos work abroad hoping to secure a better future, but many return home empty-handed due to low financial literacy, unexpected expenses, family dependence, and personal choices. From overspending on luxury items to supporting multiple households, lack of savings habits leaves many OFWs struggling despite years of hard work abroad.