How can OFWs cope with the weakening of the US $?

[DonT]

Guys, Are there any good idea's out there on how OFW's can cope up with the strengthening of the Peso and Weakening of the USD. (These mostly affects those OFW's which their incomes are directly link to the USD).

[Kalinaw_75]

something to ponder.

- kung cyclical lang ito... then open a US$ account sa Pinas
- wired your remittance to your US$ account
- ask wifey/beneficiaries to withdraw just enough for monthly expenses
- set aside what your luhos & wants and even big projects (RE) that will prevent you to maximize savings/month
- tiis-tiis lang habang nasa kagipitan
- once the tide turn to your favor, cash-out your US$

I'm thinking out loud here... pero sa tingin ko pag lumipas na tong US Election, China Olympics & spending and Euro investment. Maybe those pera will channel back to US then dollar will appreciate & other currency will go down. Hayan masaya na yung OFW yan... habang si Juan na nasa inang bayan lalong maghihirap at hayun mag welga na naman ang masa at lalong baba ang peso at lalong tataas naman ang palitan nag dolyar.

[rhops]

ako pag nakaipon konti i plan to go into mutual funds medyo di gaanong risky na investment. Bonds are not good mababa interest rates eh. O di kaya go into stock market kahit sa pinas lang, day trading if u know the ropes of the market. Kung di nmn mutual funds at least umiinteres yung pera ke tumaas o bumaba man dollar. Well kahit anong gawin mo kasi pag ur in the rat race di ka magiging financially free kahit san ka pa ngtatrabaho

[DonT]

Hmmm..so many OFW tsikoteers here...so little ideas..I do not think so.

* Kalinaw_75 - thats a good idea..but then again..if you have USD 10,000 now (440K Pesos *44/$) today...can you really wait that long para bumalik ulit sa 50 Pesos/ $ and forex.
It might take a decade.

*rhops - thats kinda sensible. even if you do not have USD.

Kasi nga. even if you have Peso..you have to protect its value against inflation para di ma erode ang value nito.

The problem now is...kalaban na natin ang inflation...kalaban pa nating ang Forex...I think during these times..di na advisable to keep green bucks.

We might be better off, USD --> Peso, then invest it in either T-Bonds, T-bills, Mutual Funds, UITF's. Can't suggest Stocks..masyado mabilis ang mga pangyayari dun lagi..di ko kaya imonitor...Risks are greater.

[the_wildthing]

1. Increase your exposure to international markets. You can buy mutual funds that trade stocks in foreign markets. You can also buy Euros.

2. Buy domestic stocks that do a lot of business (sales, not manufacturing) outside of the US. And buy stocks for the long haul unless you have time to be an active trader.

3. Purchase sector ETFs in Oil & Gas.

4. Keep in mind this is a cycle. Once the market and the dollar hits bottom, there's no way to go but up. So keep saving.

[VtEC]

a) at the moment, convert 3/4 of your $ to euro or any currencies na stable
b) start a business, any business to supplement the "losses" from the current exchange rate.what kind of business? up to you as long as it will give you a profit (small/big) if not forget it.
c) convert the rest of your dollar to peso then put it on time deposit. but be sure na meron kapang pang gastos sa 3buwan or up he he he
d) medyo magbawas ng di naman kailangan na gastusin
e)
f)

[empy]

the problem with buying Euros (or whatever) with your dollars is that you are buying low, and potentially selling high later on. you are paying a lot of dollars for the other currency, and if the dollar strengthens later on, lugi ka. the only reason to convert your dollars is if you think it will weaken even further.

otherwise, you might be better off placing your investments in a currency hedge like gold.

for the OFW's in the ME, are you usually paid in dollars? because if not, don't you have anything to worry about? just convert your riyals and dinars into pesos or whatever, and just stay clear of the dollar for the time being.

[baludoy]

well, you can try to beat inflation by parking your "excess" money in dollar/euro bond funds, mutual funds (ang dami niyan ngayon), and UITFs for 2 or 3 years at the very least. because if you leave it sleeping in time deposit schemes, tsak na ma-uunahan lang iyan ng inflation. and if you've got a stout heart, you may want to invest in the bullish local equities scene (go blue chips for the long haul and if you wanna be a tsupero, eh ibang usapan na iyan)

pero just like everybody else here, i suppose we guys should just be vigilant about our cash flows. tama na muna iyong extravagance. konting tipid na muna

[vctradingcubao]

Dami nagsasabi na it will still go lower, up to 30+ na lang, or malapit ng konti sa Thai baht. So maganda siguro, mag invest na sa negosyo at turuan maging entrepreneur yung family nila dito sa Pinas. Makakatulong pa sila sa mga walang trabaho dito. Siempre, careful din sa pagpili kung san iinvest pera nila. Or, much better, kung saang foreign country sila andun, dun na muna sila mag sideline o negosyo (kung puede) kasi, sa sipag at tiaga ng Pinoy, pag sa ibang bansa sila nagka business, tiyak uunlad sila!

[teeyoh]

First we have to accept that the weak dollar is a risk we have to face as a nature of our work being an OFW, the cause of which is not in our control.
Secondly what we can control is its effect on us. We have to keep our expenses to the basic - good budgeting muna.
Then for long term measures we have to think of some way to put up an sme business or a novel idea to take advantage of the stronger purchasing value of the peso for example like an import business.