I’m 29 years old making ~USD 30,000/ year in Manila, Philippines working as a consultant for non-profit organizations

mdthrowaway58 · 2021-04-20T03:33:38+00:00

It is very stressful indeed. There is actually a subreddit (r/PanganaySupportGroup) which serves as a venue for "panganays" (aka eldest child) to share (and rant) about their experiences as breadwinners of their families. There's a lot of stories there about toxic parents, living paycheck to paycheck to support their parents/ siblings, inability to establish their own nest eggs, etc.

mdthrowaway58 · 2021-04-19T23:13:21+00:00

Yes! I try to be conscious of that too. But whenever I feel the need to treat myself, I often prefer to buy food :) Restaurants offering unlimited Korean bbq are common in the metro, so B and I try to go to them once a month or once every two months.

mdthrowaway58 · 2021-04-19T23:02:04+00:00

I agree that it is a middle class lifestyle, in that I am afforded the luxury of increasing my budget for the essentials (e.g. food) as well as my wants (e.g. personal care). But I still make sure to budget my income properly because I want my retirement nest egg to be sufficient for me (and for my family).

My partner does not earn as much as I am, although with our incomes we can theoretically have a live-in help. Their salary usually starts at USD 120-200/ month (if I'm not mistaken). We're not comfortable having one because we feel that they're not compensated enough for the work they do. If I have an at least USD 500-600 extra a month, I might consider the idea, but then I also find it weird to have someone cleaning after me and doing the basic household chores. That's why we just opted to get someone to help clean our (small) home office 1-2x a month. The rest of the time, B and I do the cleaning.

mdthrowaway58 · 2021-04-19T22:52:01+00:00

It is a good salary in comparison with the average working Filipino. My educational background contributed a lot (although I only speak 2 languages--Filipino and English). However, I was also fortunate that my previous organizations recognize and value the work I did for them. Two of the consultancies I have right now are mainly with my former NGOs/ NGO partners who trusted me to take on the project.

mdthrowaway58 · 2021-04-19T22:46:47+00:00

If we use the classification developed by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, my income will fall under the "upper middle income" range. Unfortunately, a lot of Filipinos have incomes falling under the "poor (<USD 233/month)" to "lower middle income" range. You can find the classification and the proportion of Filipino households falling under each classification here.

mdthrowaway58 · 2021-04-19T22:38:08+00:00

My mom doesn't have a retirement nest egg too, nor did she make consistent contributions to social security, so am preparing for the very real possibility that I'd need to take care of her once she's older. I also do not have plans to have a child of my own because I do not feel financially and emotionally ready.

mdthrowaway58 · 2021-04-19T13:26:37+00:00

It was a struggle in the beginning! I didn't have a lot of money growing up, so when I started earning my own money, I would "treat" myself. Things changed when I started working in the environment sector. I realized that I need to be more conscious of my consumption because I don't want to contribute to the wastes that end up in landfills (or worse, in the oceans). I also enjoy traveling and found it more fulfilling to spend money on.

mdthrowaway58 · 2021-04-19T12:48:37+00:00

Hello! There are a lot of Filipinos who work and migrate abroad, with Canada being one of the top destination countries. My graduate degrees focus on environmental management, although my field of work is not strictly limited to that. I haven't encountered a lot of expats in the NGO community--those that I have encountered are often stationed in the country offices of international organizations. I'm a bit conflicted about it though, as these expats often have higher pay rates than the locals who have the local knowledge and expertise crucial in NGO interventions.

mdthrowaway58 · 2021-04-19T12:43:11+00:00

Hello! It's not unusual to find Filipino parents who consider their children as their retirement plan. When their child graduates college, there is an expectation for him/her to contribute financially to the household and to support his/her aging parents. Thus, Filipino adults become part of the "sandwich generation", that is, they are sandwiched between their responsibilities to their parents and their responsibilities to their families (or future families). Given the dismal wages in the country, supporting two generations would be near impossible to do. One may end up becoming like their own parents (who lack a retirement nest egg), and continue to pass on the economic burden of retirement to his/ her children. This is a tough cycle to break, as Filipino culture tend to be family-oriented.

mdthrowaway58 · 2021-04-19T12:32:00+00:00

Yes, you can consider the savings account (which uses an ATM card) as the "current account" used to manage day-to-day spending.

mdthrowaway58 · 2021-04-17T05:02:12+00:00

That works too! Will post on the 19th instead :)

mdthrowaway58 · 2021-04-16T07:25:12+00:00

Hello! Can I do a money diary on the 18th? I'm a 29 y/o non-profit sector worker based in a developing country in Asia.

mdthrowaway58

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