More than luck, figuring out how to find better opportunities abroad takes pure determination and sheer will. And even if you think you’ve figured some things out enough for you to decide to venture overseas, not having a clear-cut plan to stick to, especially when you’re going to live and work in a country such as Kuwait, could be more than unnerving.
In this post we share some helpful tips on how OFWs can ensure that the time they spend living in another country can be truly productive and worth the hardships and sacrifice until the time they decide to finally come back home for good.
Contents
Guidelines for OFWs to Maximise their Life Overseas
You may have already come across some of these things in your mind when you were first making the decision to work abroad, but it’s never a bad thing to be reminded of your humble plans when you were still trying to figure things out once in a while, too.
1. Save consistently.
While the statement does not require any further explanation, a wide majority of our kababayans abroad still fail to recognize the importance of saving up just because when they start to earn more, they also resort to spending more. However, this lifestyle pattern will only prove to be literally costly in the long-run. Realistically speaking, many OFWs would not set out to work in another country for many years only to end up with debts or zero savings.
2. Add a new skill in your skill set.
If there’s anything OFWs should be excited about in living overseas, it should be because of their positional access to new technologies and the opportunity to bring them back home. Learning and developing a new skill should be part of your short-term plan, which you can still benefit from in many years to come, and even when you decide to retire together with your family back home.
3. Send money in a safe and timely manner.
If you realize that money kept in your own hands for too long will be at risk for being used up right away, then you better find smart and effective ways on how you can ensure your money gets to the people it needs to get to in a timely and safe manner. Furthermore, it’s just as important that those who manage your money back home properly organize the budget for their expenses for the entire period it was intended for, and to even save some, if still possible.
4. Find a good investment opportunity.
As we think about the welfare of our families back home, all OFWs should consider investing in a retirement plan and a life insurance plan to protect their family’s futures. And if you’re open to taking risks and are somewhat business-inclined, you may want to explore various business prospects that are “in-demand” back home to help you take care of your family’s expenses and to lessen your worries and burden of solely providing for your family’s needs through your job abroad, especially in the long haul.
5. Keep to your short- and long-term goals.
They say “failure to plan is planning to fail”. Goals are more than just motivational markers for what we do, goals give us direction and they help us evaluate ourselves in terms of the quality of our work. By sticking to a goal, we are exercising self-discipline in whatever we’re doing. For example, if there’s something you want to achieve for your family (i.e getting a house, putting up a business, or making an investment for your family), goals help you stay focused and maximize your resources (time, money, and energy) to get things done.
Following a plan takes discipline, but as you master this skill you start to maximize the time you spend away from home and you’ll realize the meaning and personal fulfillment you can only get from your work as an OFW. These things apply to all working individuals out there, and not just to OFWs. However, everyone needs to realize this for themselves in order to become successful at everything they do.