One of the things which is a little depressing for me at times are conversations I have occasionally with folks I have met from the blog who want to move to the Philippines, but are so broke and so dismally in debt they really can’t afford to move across the street, let alone across the world.
The cost of living here in the Philippines is way, way less than the cost of living for most people in the USA … but you better not move here with no money, this is a bad place for a foreigner to be broke … take my word on that, you do not want to prove it for yourself.
I’ve talked a few times in the past about making yourself financially whole by dealing with and doing away with debt … believe it or not, it is not a requirement of the US Constitution that you live beyond you means, just as the government is not obligated to subsidize you if you do.
A proven aid to getting out of debt and staying that way is a budget or various financial tracking tools. There are many out there, I’ve even published inks to ones that work well and at least one that is totally free … see Philippine Living — Where Did The Money Go? for a few ideas.
But sometimes these tools are way more than what a person needs. Many folks just want a simple tool to give them a quick snapshot as to how things are today and how they are going to be tomorrow, and even a free budget tool my be overkill in time absorbed if not money
I saw an announcement today for a really interesting new web service that is designed to do just that .. give you a quick, easy way to get a simple picture of your debt and your income. It is called DebtSpark and this is what they promise to do:
Welcome to the beginning of financial freedom
It’s overwhelming to deal with finances and debt, and we’re here to help. Getting control of your money starts with a basic understanding of cash flow: Do you make more than you owe?
This tool, simpler than a spreadsheet, gives you a personal snapshot of monetary health. Banking and budget info not required; just a desire to see “the big picture.”…
Now this was originally all I had to say. It’s a “kewl tewl”, a well-designed, simple accessory, one that may help you, and so far as I can see, totally free and secure (you don’t input things like account numbers, passwords and such, so there isn’t any information available for hackers to grab)
But when I got a look at some of the sample, average American data that was displaying, my wife heard me away off in the other room, murmur out loud “Holy Sh*t”!
No wonder so many people are having problems these days, with variable rate mortgages, changing terms on your credit cards, layoffs, salary reductions and so on.
And no wonder I (and a lot of others) who live here in the Philippines find the cost of living so much lower.
We just aren’t racing to see who can p*ss away our money as fast as some, that’s the secret.
Friends, if you want to find (not borrow) the money it would take to move to the Philippines. or if you want to just figure out a way to get yourself square with life, give your children a decent start in and end those embarrassing and harassing “pay up or else” calls, then I have a solution for you.
It doesn’t involve buying an eBook, it doesn’t require starting and online income empire, it doesn’t involve finding a new, high-pay job, it’s really, really simple …. drum roll, please …
STOP SPENDING LIKE A DRUKEN SAILOR. (sorry Paul and my other Navy readers).
Look at these samples on DebtSpark …
- Internet Access, $49 a month. You know that happens to be what I paid for high speed internet access three plus years ago when I was in the US. But guess what? I wasn’t hurting for money or in danger of losing my house, or bereft of medical insurance and unable to take care of my health then, either. If you have “month left over at the end of your money”, then here’s a clue: Chop the #50 (don’t fort=het the costs just of paying the bill, charges per check, stamps etc.) down to $0.00 per month. Yep, you can find free Internet service in today’s world, here’s one I have personally used and recommended for years … Net Zero … oh, but Dave I can hear you sc ream now .. that is dial-up service. Ok, yes it is but this article is about how to put money in your pocket to get out of debt … and/or move to the Philippines. My view is, $50 bucks is $50 bucks, you want to get out of debt, or you want to think up excuses for making no progress?
- Mobile Phone, $110 a month. This seems cheap, actually. before I got smart and made my debt free move to the Philippines my wife and I had a mobile phone each and I was paying much more than $110 a month … for what? I already had a basic landline phone. The mobiles were just another way for telemarketers to pester us, for mini-crises like losing chargers, leaving the phone behind somewhere, etc. A mobile phone can be a convenience, but a necessity? Hardly ever. If you have been sold on the idea your spouse and children need cell phones for ‘safety’, look at the many brands of “SOS Only” phones sold in the US … about $50, one time, not monthly, and calls (by federal law) to emergency numbers are free. Do you want to control your life and get out of debt, or do you enjoy the feeling of the mobile phone company’s hand in your pocket each and every month?
Ok, I had some more in mind but I am already over my self-imposed thousand word limit. I’ve already shown you how to give yourself a guaranteed annual raise of $1920, with all taxes paid. Not bad, since I don’t charge a penny for my work here.
How many other ideas can you come up with that will put money right back in your own pocket where it belongs? (I’ll give you a hint … you’ve got too many cars) … that’s a statement made out of the blue that will fit about 90% of my readers. A second car, third car may indeed be a convenience, but it’s seldom necessary … my wife and I went down to one car only the year before we moved to the Philippines and it put thousands and thousands in the bank for us. Did we sometime shave to re-arrange schedules? yep. But we are talking doing what is needed to survive, or change your life the way you want to.
My wife sort of gave a sad chuckle and shook her head the other day, reading an article from the US describing how the global recession had cut deep into many people’s lives. A doctor running a free clinic had to cut her hours of operation down because of a funding shortfall … and the reporter commented on how locals could tell which days the clinic was open by seeing the cars in the parking lot.
Think about that for a moment. People who have to rely on the charity of others, too poor to pay a doctors bill, who drive to the free clinic? “The Poor” owning a car? My goodness how strange that must sound to the average Filipino. A free clinic? And a free clinic that would even have a use for a parking lot? Amazing.
You know, some of you reading this article may feel a bit put out that I suggest belt tightening as one of the ways through a crisis. Others
may say, “Right on Dave, and I can save money by doing this or that, also”. Either feeling is fine with me, I wrote this mainly as a “thought” piece.
But all of you need to think this through … if you are planning on moving to the Philippines? The vast majority reading this have no idea what being poor and living on a small income really means .. no idea. And if you chose to move here, you will deal with it on a daily basis, no matter how nice your own income happens to be.
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Hello Dave;
Drunken’ Sailor comment is forgiven. Yet there were times in the past… 1995 At Raffles Hotel sitting with 4 shipmates, at the Long Bar, after 4 hours our combined tab was USD $1,900.00. Hangover, priceless!
My ex-wife from North Carolina was the mentor of my financial plan. In 1968 she had me so far in debt I had to look up to see down. I filed for divorce, got orders to a ship making an extended deployment, went to each creditor and made a deal with each one for a pay off payment plan. I stuck with the plan, and in two years was wife and debt free. During those two years I did without everything, living like a hermit on the ship.
From that day forward I swore to all that was Holy that I would never allow that to happen to me again. Staying single sure helped. I banked and invested 20% of my pay for the next 35 years. Met and married my wife in the early 90’s here in the Philippines, Built a large house and bought a car, both for cash. I have a Credit Card with a few hundred dollars balances on it to keep it active, and have not had a loan in my name since 1975. If I can’t pay cash for what I want, than I just don’t need it. The last new car I had was a 1978 Lincoln Town Car, and I kept it for 12 years. (Paid cash for it)
So anyone with plans to up and move to the Philippines, I’ll send you the address of my EX, and she can put you on the road to fiscal security. Belay that, I like my fellow man too much to wish that on anyone.
My point is, that thinking hard about your move is the most important thing one can do. Prior experience living in another country, other than your home is a plus. A sense of humor is mandatory, toss in a sense of adventure, shack three times and head to the airport, you won’t regret it!
Dave, sorry about being long winded!
I wouldn’t call this long-winded, Paul, because there is a message virtually every line.
Before I wrote this article I figured a lot of the existing issues regarding people not being able to pay their bills was “recession-related”. I’ve been busy lately doing some research regarding revoked or denied security clearance and the number in trouble for absolutely reckless and irresponsible spending is just amazing.
I’m talking cases of say 50-something year old men, retired rom the military and working for major defense contractors who go into security clearance adjudication hearings with debt loads of hundreds of thousands of dollars … mainly for trash spending.
These men all knew better than this, they all knew they couldn’t afford it, what on Earth possessed them to make those sort of decisions?
Apparently some people have developed some sort of entitlement theory, that by a certain age if they _want_ they can just _get_ regardless of reality.
I’m learning a lot about my own country … but some of it is stuff I would just as soon not know. The person paying me for the research is unlikely to be happy with the report I provide … American personal responsibility is going down the tubes it seems. Sad.
One thing I can say about living in the Philippines … it feels _great_ to owe _nothing_ to anyone at the end of every month … and the difference in my bank accounts since I moved here is fantastic. You just have to stop spending, mainly. Such a hard message to get across, though.
Hello Dave;
How many people don’t think about a security clearence, both military and civilian? I went through my first National Agency Check when I was a young dumb 2nd Class Petty Officer (E-5). Remember the Ex-wife? That came back to bite me on the butt, because of debt. Normally I’d have just shrugged it off and plowed forward. But a clearance was contingent to receiving my next set of orders. I filed a protest stating that all they had found out was a fact. I asked that my efforts to resolve the problem be considered and somehow they did, and I was cleared. For the next 15 years all I ever heard was the threat “You can lose your clearance.”
When I went back to sea as a Merchant Marine years later, It was requested that I re-activate my clearance for my new job. I wondered why? It was explained that if I wanted to reach the top (Merchant Marine Officer) it was required. I declined as I did not want my job contingent on a threat for the second time in my life.
But to your point, I agree with you. If your employment requires the clearance than you must do all in your power to protect it, debt being a major cause of losing it. The philosophy “LIVE WELL, and leave ONE HELL OF A DEBT” is way to common in the U.S.A. today. I had a friend who stated “Let ‘em put a lean on my tombstone for all I care!” I’ve found that attitude nowhere here in the Philippines; maybe they could teach us a thing or two?
It has been instructive to me who the last two years, replete with huge, well-respected banks and even quasi-government organizations like Fannie Mae and Sallie Mae, going under, how Philippine banks have had essentially zero failures … and the Philippine branches of corporations like AIG have remained profitable through the crisis.
It might be that banks here very conservative and won’t lend money of projects and people they know to be crooked. But then again, how could the Philippines _possibly_ know better than Wall Street and the ‘Friends of Bernie”?