Wages in the Philippines

[piglett]

Maybe this has already been covered at some point but i will ask anyways.
What are the wages in the philippines?
i am asking about the amount an average person makes, not some rich dude.
I would guess that it is quite different in manila VS. out in the province.
Also how much will your pinay wife want to send home to her parents once they are too old to work anymore?
I actually asked my girl & she didn't really want to answer, she said it was a very personal question. so i asked if $100 a month mite do it & she said that she thought so given that she also has a sister who married a kano & a brother that after finishing his schooling plans to work on container ships.
her parents are still fairly young, early 50's.
Also is it a better plan to have an account that money is put into here in the US. to save for their retirement? I am concerned about unexpected medical expenses. Would it be better to just send them a check once a year & they can do what they please with it.  
Are Filipinos savers or spenders?

thanks
piglett  

[creeper1]

It's difficult to answer that question I guess. It's like asking what the average salary is for people anywhere UK, USA. It's going to be different depending on that person's job title and their experience. However I will tell you the little that I know.

The average teacher in the Philippines gets about $200 per month in salary with NO benefits.
I think the average worker in a mall say GIASANO mall or whatever will make a little less.

I guess you could say the salary is very low by western standards but then their costs there are cheap.

If they are going to have 3 sources of income then 100 dollars a month would be enough IMO.

[Dave H]

I think the average worker in a mall say GIASANO mall or whatever will make a little less.

Hi creeper1,

The average Giasano Mall worker where I live (province) earns P150 per day, works 8 hours per day, 6 days per week, which converts to around $80 (US) per month.

Dave

[Cbear]

I saw an add when I was in Baguio and it said 180 to 400PHP per day for a manager with a 4 year degree. And this was for a job in the city. The more experience the higher the wage. I wonder if anyone starts at the 400 per day rate?

I also know that live in maids are cheap, room and board + 2 or 3K PHP per month. Not bad if you have an extra bedroom not being used. If you live there, it is expected that you hire domestic help, to not do so makes you look like a cheapskate greedy bastard. So if you have a typical 4 or 5 bedroom house like most kanos there, hire some help!

[Cbear]

One more thing to add, most of the Philippinos I have met are the spend vs save types.

Hope this helps

[Dave H]

Maybe this has already been covered at some point but i will ask anyways.
What are the wages in the philippines?
I would guess that it is quite different in manila VS. out in the province.

Hi piglett,

I believe the average worker earns around $1000 per year. The annual income varies by region. The ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) has the lowest annual family income, while the NCR (National Capital Region) has the highest (as well as the highest expenses). For average annual family income: http://www.nscb.gov.ph/secstat/d_income.asp You can convert the figures (in Philippine pisos) by dividing the numbers listed by 48.2 to give you the US dollar amount. (Current exchange rate  1.00 USD = 48.2038 PHP )

Remember, contrary to popular belief (in Manila) there are large, modern cities like Cebu and Davao in the "provinces." There are also many smaller cities. Mine has a population of over 300,000.

Also how much will your pinay wife want to send home to her parents once they are too old to work anymore? I actually asked my girl & she didn't really want to answer, she said it was a very personal question. so i asked if $100 a month mite do it & she said that she thought so given that she also has a sister who married a kano & a brother that after finishing his schooling plans to work on container ships.
her parents are still fairly young, early 50's.

Sorry, this was never an issue for us. My wife comes from a family of professionals. Her mom has income and property.

With another sister married to a Kano and a brother about to become a seaman, an amount of $100 per month sounds reasonable for day to day expenses..

Also is it a better plan to have an account that money is put into here in the US. to save for their retirement? I am concerned about unexpected medical expenses. Would it be better to just send them a check once a year & they can do what they please with it.  

You might consider making their Philippine Social Security payments so they can collect when the time comes. It will also pay several hundred dollars (I forgot the exact amount, $300-400) for burial expenses.

Enroll them in PhilHealth! It only costs a few bucks per month, but could save you a small fortune in medical expenses.

Are Filipinos savers or spenders?
thanks
piglett  

It depends on the person. Filipinos can be lazy or hard working, spenders or savers, or somewhere in between. Fortunately my wife comes from a family of hard working savers!

Dave

[piglett]

It depends on the person. Filipinos can be lazy or hard working, spenders or savers, or somewhere in between. Fortunately my wife comes from a family of hard working savers!
Dave

Thanks for all the info folks:
well they have already paid for their 2 oldest childeren to go to collage
Marily's sister is the one married to a kano from mississippi & she will take her bar exam in Sept. Like i already said their son he's 18 is going to school rite now & intends to work on container ships, his farther is a fishermen & has his own boat with a crew of 4 or 5. By the sound of it my girls parents are very hard working & smart people but i'm not sure about the saving Vs. spending part.

piglett

[bcc_1_2]

This is a very interesting thread. Don't know how it works over in ths Phils but in Honduras I've heard they want cash up front to see you regardless of insurance (gotta get insurance to pay you back or something). Anyways I was looking at some different types of insurance (i think the the company was Pan-American). The GDP per capita in Honduras is 3,300 but the rich are really rich and the poor really poor so that number is almost meaningless.

In Honduras I can own property so I was thinking about buying something (using her family to get me a local price) and then let her family live in it. A budget of $30k to $80k would seem to do it and would be an investment property and place to stay when traveling.

I'd make sure they have some cash reserves in case of an emergency, but I'd really have to educate them on what to do with money. I'd say they are middle class hondurans just because they aren't poverty stricten like you will see all over the country. But they have no idea how to save or invest money. I guess all you can do is try and work with them and help them have a more comfortable life.

Regardless of the amount on the check you send to the Phils or Honduras.... in a lot of cases the current money management system used by the family needs to change. But most have needs and must spend it as soon as they get it... so you can understand the issues and hopefully help them change.

[Dave H]

In the Philippines and LA, I think it is probably best if the woman is somewhere in the middle...not too poor and not rich, "middle class" if you can find it. Often you can tell a poor girl from the bundok here. Frequently she has the most expensive cellphone, sexy clothes, dyed hair, lots of makeup, spending every piso she can get on material items. Wealthy girls tend to be spoiled (very materialistic), with an attitude of superiority. They expect that their luxurious lifestyle will continue in the US, where money is picked from a "money tree."  It is hard to find maids, yayas (nannies) and drivers in America willing to work 6 days per week for $50 per month.

My daughter attends a private school (Philippines) where many of the parents are wealthy business owners. Many mothers, yayas, and drivers stay until the children are released for the day. A structure was built to provide seating that protected us from the elements. But the mothers refused to sit in it because they did not want to associate with the yayas or drivers. Now a separate structure is being built for the parents. My wife and I sit with the yayas and drivers who are much nicer. It gets old listening to the mothers brag and try to outdo each other!!! Besides the yayas and my wife are much cuter than the skin whitening crowd!   You should see the big smiles that the "common" people give us when we arrive!

Dave

[Dave H]

I also know that live in maids are cheap, room and board + 2 or 3K PHP per month. Not bad if you have an extra bedroom not being used. If you live there, it is expected that you hire domestic help, to not do so makes you look like a cheapskate greedy bastard. So if you have a typical 4 or 5 bedroom house like most kanos there, hire some help!

Hi piglett,

I would suggest that you take my attitude and avoid a lot of stress. I could give a RAT"Z AZZ what other people think!!! Some people will talk about you no matter what you do. We have a maid's quarters in our house which we use for storage. Many foreigners and wealthy Filipinos could afford to hire an entire staff of workers. But we prefer to do as much as possible ourselves, using the latest modern conveniences like washing machines. I drive, but use tricycles, jeepneys, or buses when I don't feel like driving. We hire people as we need them to do specific jobs. I have hired drivers with vans for longer trips to other cities, if we are buying many items that are not available here. If just a small shopping trip, we take an aircon bus. We don't need a driver for our daily activities. When you have too many regular employees living with you, you are just asking for problems! You or more likely your wife, will spend a lot of time supervising, enforcing rules, keeping people on task, breaking up fights and encouraging people to get along with each other. It would be best to have a chief of staff to run a large household of workers. You also become somewhat responsible to help their family, should someone become ill or have a problem, such as lack of tuition money. You can get enough of that from family and neighbors. Sometimes it not just "borrow" (a donation), but in the form of cash advances. It is not uncommon for an employee to have several months advanced wages, then leave without repaying you. Then they start a new job and do it all over again. If you don't help their family, they will resent it and it will become evident in their work or lack of it. Honesty is another issue to deal with. It is not easy to find someone that you trust with your material possesions, let alone your children. Most Filipinos with money and some foreigners hire domestic help, yayas, and drivers...the more the merrier. We have many Filipino neighbors with two housekeepers/cooks and several yayas (1 per kid). My wife and I don't want the headaches!

Dave

[Ray]

I agree with Dave!

If you let the tsimosas & tsimosos rule your life because you are afraid of what they may think or say about you behind your back, you are just wasting your time and energy. Who the hell cares if some jealous, backbiting moron thinks you are a cheapskate greedy bastard? Screw them!

And Dave is exactly right about the many problems of having domestic help. You better be very careful before you take on the roll of employer in the Philippines and know exactly what you are getting into.

When I lived over there, we had a live-in teenage “helper” for a time, but she was a relative (niece). She was a nice girl but the drama was just too much to take at times, compared to the questionable value of her work. To me, I preferred life without a live-in to worry about.

You don’t need a live-in to do your laundry even if you don’t own a washing machine. You can take it to a professional laundry (cheap) or pay a neighbor who would like to make a few extra bucks. It will save you a lot of aggravation…

Ray

[piglett]

How about employing one of your wife's relatives in the US. as a nanny?
what kind of pitfalls could you have with that kind of situation?

piglett

[Ray]

How about employing one of your wife's relatives in the US. as a nanny?
what kind of pitfalls could you have with that kind of situation?

piglett

If you're thinking of getting a visa for a relative for that purpose, forget it. It doesn't work that way.

If she is already here, better make sure she isn't TNT (illegal) and authorized to work or you're breaking the law.

Some will help a relative get a visitor visa for 6 months and pay them to be a nanny, but it is illegal for them to work on a visitor visa.

If they are here legally as a permanent resident or US citizen, you could make it work, but you still should try to comply with the wage/tax laws for domestic help if you will pay her a salary.

Ray

[Dave H]

You don’t need a live-in to do your laundry even if you don’t own a washing machine. You can take it to a professional laundry (cheap) or pay a neighbor who would like to make a few extra bucks. It will save you a lot of aggravation…

Ray

Hey Ray,

There are many neighbors who would love to make a few bucks washing clothes. That's what we were doing before we bought the washing machine. Until we got the machine, I found myself starting to wear clothes longer than I should have. Not because I didn't want to pay a few bucks for the wash ladies. I just felt bad watching them break their backs washing my huge clothes (about twice the size of the average Filipino) all day. We always fed them nice food and paid them more than they expected.

People often ask if we need a washer woman. Now I feel bad, because I am sure that they could really use the money.

We tried the yaya thing, but my wife ended taking care of the baby most of the time anyway. My wife's aunt has been gracious enough to stay with us and help us out.

Dave

[piglett]

Hey Ray,

There are many neighbors who would love to make a few bucks washing clothes.   Now I feel bad, because I am sure that they could really use the money.
Dave

chances are that some of them feel bad that they don't have those few pesos in their pocket too but if you had stayed living in Florida then they would have gotton any money from you at all. You didn't make the philippines a 3rd world country did you Dave?

piglett

[Romello]

Hey Piglett
I’ve wanted to get in on this thread.  Francy and I have been talking back and forth on this very subject.  Maybe you should prepare for what I have been going through.
Francy has family members who are professionals and earn well.  Two cousins are married to British Nationals who live in Manila.  They use to tease her all the time about being dumped by two foreign men and now they are doing the same because she has a foreign boyfriend (me) and is still living in the squatter’s area.  Francy has a job, but earn about $75.00 a month.  I send about $200.00 and this covers everything as far as bills and food. 
She cries to me about living poor and not having much.  I tell her she should learn to tell others to kiss her @*& and stay out of our business.  I don’t mind sending money, but I am not going to take care of two households.  She keeps thinking the US is just like the Philippines.  Her cousins tell her that she will live poor in America because I do not have a house.  Then I have to explain that everyone in the US does not own their own home, and owning a house does not make you rich.
I do what I can to squash her fears about living here.  I send pictures, videos, and all other information.  I would do this and it works for a while, but soon I will have to do it all again.  Well, we only have 4 months to go before she will be here.  I guess she is just getting the “jitters”.

[piglett]

Hey Dave

You could always buy a couple of hectares of land near by & hire a couple of locals with push mowers to keep the grass cut & the trees trimmed .
You could hire another one to plant you a big garden & keep it weeded .
I bet your not going to be down on your hands & knees weeding around your white pumpkins...........are you?

piglett

[Ray]

Pig,

The odds are that your Filipina wife will want to send something home now, before her parents retire, just to help out. How much she wants to send depends on the lady and her circumstances. More than a couple hundred dollars a month is big bucks.

I would not recommend sending a large sum of money once a year because it will probably be gone in a few days or weeks. Filipinos in general are not savers and tend to spend what they have on immediate needs or to help out others in need.

I also recommend against sending a monthly sum of money. Once you start down that road, they have essentially become your dependent and they will be expecting and relying on that monthly payment, possibly spending it before it arrives. Many neighborhood sari-sari stores give credit, especially if they know you are getting regular payments from abroad. That may sound fine now, but when times get tough or you lose you job, or have unexpected expenses, you may not be in a position to send that money for a while and it will be hard for her to cut it off.

Also, once the word gets around that they are receiving money from overseas, their relatives, fiends, and neighbors will know where to go when they need to “borrow” money.

Your idea of setting up a savings account for them is a good one. We did that, with a separate savings account where we could put away a little extra money until it was needed for an emergency or something important back home, like emergency medical expenses. Sending some money as it is actually needed, or for Christmas or whatever, may be a much better option for you than a regular monthly payment. Any unused funds in the account can also be used to fund her trips home for family visits or emergencies.

You may want to consider sending all money remittances through a responsible and trusted family member back in the Philippines, instead of sending it directly to the one actually needing it, to insure that it gets used for the intended purpose.

For brothers or sisters back home, be very careful about funding a non-productive lifestyle if they are out of work. Encourage them to find a way to support themselves instead of relying on sis over in America. And don’t ever send any money to someone who gambles or drinks too much! You might as well save the remittance charges and flush it directly down your toilet.

When figuring incomes in the Philippines, keep in mind that it is traditional to pay an extra month’s salary at Christmas/year’s end. There is a government mandated minimum daily wage that varies by occupation and region. Daily minimums for non-agricultural workers might run anywhere from around P400 in Manila to less than P200 in the provinces.

Ray

[piglett]

Your idea of setting up a savings account for them is a good one. We did that, with a separate savings account where we could put away a little extra money until it was needed for an emergency or something important back home, like emergency medical expenses. Sending some money as it is actually needed, or for Christmas or whatever, may be a much better option for you than a regular monthly payment. Any unused funds in the account can also be used to fund her trips home for family visits or emergencies.

You may want to consider sending all money remittances through a responsible and trusted family member back in the Philippines, instead of sending it directly to the one actually needing it, to insure that it gets used for the intended purpose.

I am not so sure that there will be a lot of requests for money from my girls family. her aunt who lives outside of manila is married to a Kano & one of her uncles lives in Hawaii. From what i hear he has "plenty of money" but he may actually just be a regular guy with a regular job & regular bills just like most other people. I'm not sure i have never met the man.



When figuring incomes in the Philippines, keep in mind that it is traditional to pay an extra month’s salary at Christmas/year’s end. There is a government mandated minimum daily wage that varies by occupation and region. Daily minimums for non-agricultural workers might run anywhere from around P400 in Manila to less than P200 in the provinces.

Ray

Wow 200p a day that's around $2.20
it is hard for me to comprehend how someone could survive on that amount


piglett

[Swisskid]

Wow 200p a day that's around $2.20
it is hard for me to comprehend how someone could survive on that amount


piglett

It's more like $4.15 but still an incredibly small amount.

[Bear]

I had expected to be sending money to the R.P. for the rest of my life and to purchase a home for her parents but my wife surprised me and made sure that no one took advantage of us and the moment they did she stopped the moneys.  There was also a period where we got tight and told them we'd have to stop for about 6 month while we completed a job upgrade that cut my pay for a year, but doubled it in a year later.  When they complained we stopped period and have never restarted.  We still, on occasion send a few hundred as its needed, but when WE want to, not because its expected.  

Honey's father makes about $85-90/month and we originally sent 100/month.  It caused big problems.  They loaned money to everyone (who never payed them back) and spent lots on luxury items rather than saving and providing for their retirement.  Now we don't send much so its quite different.  Honey's brother just started working container ships last year and her parents had a fit when he moved his wife and daughter into an apartment rather than send them all the money and let her stay with them and help with chores and expenses.  Instead now he just sends them a little to help. Honey's sister graduated from college (paid for by Honey and her brother) but can't find work and has turned down an offer from me to help her find a guy here.  Note here also that Honey's brother once went to college on my dime but when he didn't try to do well Honey stopped paying.  He ended up working container ships and paying for his sister to go to college.  She choose poorly on a career field and wasn't the best student and now can't find work.  I know girls over there with nursing degrees that become maids in Hong Kong.  It doesn't just take money but looks and smarts and a heck of a lot of luck to make it.  Finding Kano is high on the "luck" list.  Note that doesn't mean they won't be great wives either just her family may be #1 instead of you for quite a while.

As for your situation Piglet, Honey believes that your gf's parents sent their daughters to college to provide MORE than what they currently were getting and she thinks that all three children should expect to send $2-300/mo because their parents sacrificed to get them through college and expect a return on that sacrifice (read investment).  Honey thinks this is proper but she also thinks that your wife and her family MUST understand YOUR family comes first or do not marry her.  Honey's situation was different because she went to college on a scholarship and worked her way through college where your gf was aided.

Romello, you'll never hear the end of your situation.  It's the way they are.  Always trying to one-up the other. Tell you gf that Honey has Filipina friends here she can introduce her to that will let her be her.

The Bear Family

[bcc_1_2]

When they complained we stopped period and have never restarted.  We still, on occasion send a few hundred as its needed, but when WE want to, not because its expected.  

Honey's father makes about $85-90/month and we originally sent 100/month.  It caused big problems.  They loaned money to everyone (who never payed them back) and spent lots on luxury items rather than saving and providing for their retirement.  

Again very interesting and something people like me (regardless of what country the g/f is from) should be paying attention to. You basically doubled the family's monthly salary and it turned into a mess. Luckily your wife was on your side and cleaned up the mess.

I just don't want to create that situation where they are depending on me for a check. I'd rather my money go towards important things like healthcare, retirement, even housing (with me as the owner). Good stuff.

[Dave H]

Hey Dave

You could always buy a couple of hectares of land near by & hire a couple of locals with push mowers to keep the grass cut & the trees trimmed .
You could hire another one to plant you a big garden & keep it weeded .
I bet your not going to be down on your hands & knees weeding around your white pumpkins...........are you?

piglett

Hey piglett,

We have a hectare (rice paddy) nearby. The family has 5 hectares total. No, I don't work in the rice paddy. We hire farmers. Although my wife did find me down in the drainage canal beside our house the other day, pulling out weeds.   She wasn't pleased, for health (diseases) and safety reasons (broken glass, snakes, etc.) I told her that I used to swim with snakes and alligators all the time when I was doing underwater rescue, search and recovery. She wasn't impressed!    One problem is that many farmers rely on heavy use of pesticides (that are now banned in the US)and I prefer the produce to be as chemical free as possible. I will probably plant a small garden nearby, that I can tend with the aid of several workers. My friend has a garden just down the street where I could squeeze a few of my plants...well maybe not the pumpkins and watermelons.

Dave

[Dave H]

chances are that some of them feel bad that they don't have those few pesos in their pocket too but if you had stayed living in Florida then they would have gotton any money from you at all. You didn't make the philippines a 3rd world country did you Dave?

piglett

Hey pig,

I don't feel that bad...I contribute enough to the economy around here that  they should name a street after me! 

Dave

[Dave H]

Hey Ray,

Great advice!

The longer I stay here, the more I realize that my wife and her family don't fit the "typical" mold. They are savers...which means that people always come to them to ask for money. The funny thing is that after you give some of these people "desperately" needed money for some real emergency, you often see them with their hair dyed, new clothing and accessories, and expensive toys for their children, etc. I guess they would rather spend other people's money for the emergencies! Fortunately, my wife has noticed this as well.

Dave