JEDDAH, 12 June 2007 — Still having problems managing your earnings? Welcome to the world of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), the Philippines’ “new heroes (bagong bayani)” who have difficulty going home “for good” because they are always broke.
While OFWs usually earn much more than what they used to earn in the Philippines, many return home with hardly enough money to retire comfortably after many years of hardship. Worse, many end up with even less than what they earned when they first left for abroad.
The good news is that this sad reality could be overturned, and financial adviser and entrepreneur Francisco J. Colayco is currently in the Kingdom to show OFWs how. His analysis is that while OFWs work very hard to earn money, “they don’t work as hard to keep it. They know how to earn money but they don’t know how to manage it.”
As he had told those who attended his seminars in Riyadh, many OFWs don’t have a clear and specific idea of how much they want to earn and for what specific purpose.
They simply want to earn and earn more and they automatically have a change in lifestyle as soon as they get their first big paycheck.
Instant gratification, says Colayco, is the “culprit.”
“Some spend their earnings as if the money were coming from a bottomless well that would never run dry. They made investments (or at least what they thought were investments) without fully considering the risks.
“They simply believed that the promised financial gains were going to happen without understanding how those gains or profits were going to be made. They don’t have the slightest idea on how to secure their income on the right investments,” he said.
What this collective experience of OFWs prove is that there are as many challenges and difficulties to earning money as in keeping it, he said. Growing one’s money is just as important as earning it.
Advocacy
Colayco was in Dammam last Saturday on the second leg of his advocacy of financial literacy or awareness. He is to meet with the Filipino community in Qassim on Thursday. On Friday night, he will deliver a lecture in conjunction with Philippine Independence Day celebration at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh.
Members of Filipino community in the Western Region will have their turn to attend Colayco’s seminars when he comes to Jeddah next week. The seminars in Jeddah will be held at the Ramada Hotel on June 16, 17 and 18.
To give more people a chance, participants would be allowed attend only one session. For more details, the contact persons are Benny Tadili at 05025-27286, Kiel Erida at 05076-78171 and Kriz Gueco at 05674-92081.
“Don’t miss this rare opportunity. While one can always read the books written by Mr. Colayco, listening to him in person would be a different experience,” said Tadili.
Colayco is chairman of the Colayco Foundation for Education, Inc. and also of the Kalayaan sa Kakapusan Service and Multi-Purpose Cooperative or KsKMP Coop. He is frequently invited in various TV programs in his capacity as financial consultant.
Other than providing advisory services to business and professional organizations and individuals, he takes the lead in educating the general working class, OFWs and students on how to manage their personal finances. His advocacy is further exemplified in the books he has written, which are consistent bestsellers.
With Colayco are Armando Bengco, executive director of the Colayco Foundation for Education, Inc., and Noemi F. Salanio, accounting officer of Kalayaan sa Kasaganaan Multi-Purpose Cooperative or KsKMP Coop.
