Financial Literacy For OFWs

Planning on moving abroad? Here's what you need to know

- Paul John Cana

Gerry Paras is a Filipino who works as a technology consulting manager in Minnesota, USA. His company sent him on business trips to Vancouver, Canada and the US for months a time before he relocated there permanently in November 2011.

“I realized I wanted to live in the US during my assignment in 2008-2009, so when the opportunity came in 2011, I jumped on it,” he says. “The money is a big factor, of course, but there are also those little things that I have come to appreciate—cleaner air, manageable traffic, faster internet, buses that arrive on time, personal space, etc.”

Before flying out, Paras says he prepared about $5,000 for expenses related to moving and settling into his new life in the US. Although this was part of his savings, he says he left most of it in the Philippines because the industry where he works pays above a livable wage.

“I only needed to bring some to pay for down payment and deposit for my apartment and enough for what I thought I would pay for expenses,” he says. “I was single so I only had to spend on myself.”

According to Henry Ong, registered financial planner and president of Business Sense Financial Advisors, there is no specific amount would-be OFWs need to save up before moving to another country, although he recommends bringing just enough to pay for expenses related to working overseas, just like what Paras did.