Rights and responsibilities

The Central Bank is urging all recipients of money from their relatives working abroad to save more and invest more, and not just spending on things they may not actually but simply want. This echoes the call of Suze Orman, with whom I did an interview last month. She actually had a more disapproving tone as to the normal practice of how relatives of overseas workers solely depend on the monies sent to them. What it only does is breed dependence, laziness, complacency which are all recipes for financial disaster! When the time comes that the relative can no longer work due to illness or even fired because of economics, there is no money left to buffer that period of non-income.

The Philippines is the fourth largest in terms of money remittances, to the tune of more than twenty billion dollars last year! That is a lot of money! Just imagine if even twenty or thirty percent of that is saved for the future. Or if the money were invested in a placement or financial institution that offered a decent interest. How much money can one fall back on in times of crisis! Investing the money boosts the economy, which cannot be anything but good for the country and the people.

It is tempting indeed to recklessly spend money that just drops onto your lap. Easy come, easy go as they say. People, Filipinos in particular, fail to see the bigger picture when it comes to finances. When money is available for whatever reason, we tend to show off rather than keep it in. We buy the expensive, tangible things like cars, watches, clothing, even houses. It is very seldom that I hear of people who suddenly make it rich, maintain the same lifestyle as when they had nothing. It’s as if people should know that they have arrived!

Health insurance is another concept that is unknown to many. We will all get seriously sick eventually, or at least one time in our lives. How many times have I heard of finances sucked up by a long-standing illness or condition. Diabetics, especially those already on insulin, know what I’m talking about. It is all good if one has the money to sustain the purchase of medicine. But what if the money is no longer there? This is where medical insurance comes in. A buffer, or a bridge to help you tide over.

The Central Bank is rightfully giving the correct advice as it sees the influx of money from out OFW heroes. Unfortunately, it also sees what happens to all these dollars the minute they reach the hands of their loved ones. The watches, the branded shirts, the electronic toys, the colorful rubber shoes, the expensive bags and the cars. Don’t get me wrong. Everyone has the right to be happy. Something I always tell my brother. But that right belongs to those who work for it, and not just to those who wait for it. The ones who break their backs have that right to walk comfortably. To those who just wait, it should be a responsibility.