Money Down The Drain

It is amazing how fast our salaries get depleted here. We regularly receive our salaries via bank credit every end of the month. Unlike in the Philippines, the salary there is split in two, one during the 2nd week and the other on the last week of the month. It is quite a feat to budget one's salary here because we get it in lump sum and the bills to pay are the first to get a piece of the pie.

That is the reason why a lot of expatriates here are swimming, if not drowning, in debts. They have difficulty budgeting and keeping the finances in a tight loop. It is like being an instant millionaire only to squander what you have earnestly worked hard for in a single day.

A lot of expatriates are always seeking for cash advance payday loan from their companies or independent financial institutions to meet due dates on credit card bills and other expenditures which are mostly unnecessary. It is so easy to let money down the drain in this place.

Quick Money

I don't grow money out of my limbs. That is what I always tell my family. However, ever since my dad passed away, my brother and I have been pulling our resources to send money back home. What I don't understand is, our family in the Philippines seem to not realize that we are also affected by the recession.

I have been telling them over and over again that my bank account is as flat as a paper. I wish I can do something to help everyone but I am also tight.

Our company does not offer payday advance so they will have to wait until my brother and I get our salaries by the end of this month.

Quick money these days are hard to find. Pre-recession, the banks here would run after us to offer personal loans and high credit limits cards. The table has turned and the banks are very strict now. Some banks don't even lend to "Filipinos." I will not go into details as to why but it is a fact.

I don't want to ask for another loan just to help every body out. If I do that, I will never, ever get out of the financial rut. I need to help myself and my family here too. I just wish my family back home will try to understand that.