Surviving Philippines

A Promdi Blogger’s take on life in the Philippine countryside.

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21 July 2008

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Filipino life today is like walking on a tightrope. You don’t know if you’re going to safely cross to the other side or you’re going to fall to your death. There seems to be neverending of series crises hammering Filipinos – rice crisis, oil crisis, energy crisis, economic crisis, to name the most recent ones. I know we have survived and thrived in worse situations but to be continuously battered by these problems can be very taxing, challenging the limits of the ever resilient Pinoy.

We have proven time and again that we are a breed of survivors. I think our ability to adapt to trying times is already in our nature. Put a Filipino in a place where others are not able to last long and he will make it his home. With life in the Philippines as a daily struggle, anything less would be a walk in the park.

Oil prices keep on increasing and transport groups are clamoring for additional fare hikes. The rice crisis is still looming and may worsen due to the damage wrought by typhoon Frank. In Panay alone 22,000 hectares of rice land were destroyed that could have produced 66,000 tons of rice. Inflation is already at a 14-year high at 11.4% and it is still expected to go up.

Extreme situations - like what we experience today - need extreme measures in order for us to survive. I thought of several measures that would help alleviate me from my financial woes. I’d like to share them with you and I hope you can make use of them too. Here’s my survival game plan:

Live a simple life

Pundits have noticed that if there’s something good that came out of these crises, it is that Filipinos have learned to practice a frugal lifestyle. Extravagant lifestyles are being shed in exchange for a simpler and less expensive way of life. Who needs a P100 coffee when you can have one for P10? Boring you say? Well, be creative. You don’t need to spend a lot in order to have fun.

Learn to save

I turn to this Pinoy proverb for wisdom, “Kapag may isinuksok, may madudukot.” Even centavo coins that seem to have little value nowadays are worth setting aside. Remember, little things add up. And I don’t mean just money. We may have several habits that are costing us money.

Find extra income

Now more than ever, I find the need to have part-time job, or what we Pinoys are fond of calling rakets, for extra income. Find another job, start a small business, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s decent and legal. We can not survive on one income alone. Hey, even in developed countries they practice multiple employments. That’s why OFWs earn a lot because they can maintain 2 to 3 jobs. I don’t see any reason for us not to follow suit.

Live everyday as if there’s a financial crisis

It’s not enough to live within our means but we should live below our means. Once you get all these things in your system, you start to make them a way of life. For people like me who come from a poor family I don’t need a lot of adjustments. But I also noticed that as my income increases, so do my expenses. But if you make it a habit and turn this habit into a lifestyle, no crisis will ever threaten your peace of mind again.

Image credit: gee01

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18 Comments »

Tikalon said:

Who needs a P100 coffee when you can have one for P10?

Sa Libertad ka ga kape? Hehehe. Joke.

# 23 July 2008 at 3:59 pm

PromdiBlogger (author) said:

Nescafe 3-in-1 eh. Kaw man lang ang sosy. hehehe

# 23 July 2008 at 4:59 pm

Belle said:

i noticed that life in the philippines is a lot harder than life here in the US. here, i can survive on a few dollars a day, but over there, i spent more. what’s going on?

you are right, learn to live below your means. eat only two meals a day…like we do here in the US. plant, plant, and plant

Belles last blog post..Ohh No, Not Me

# 26 July 2008 at 1:54 pm

PromdiBlogger (author) said:

You may have a lot of relatives here. hehehe…kidding aside, transportation cost and cost of rice has really increased this year. Imagine how many times we Filipinos eat, so that means at least 3 meals a day with rice.

# 26 July 2008 at 7:56 pm

askani_cable said:

hays!!! problema sng pilipino san-o ini ayhan matapus daw wala nagid seguro sng katapusan ini. Hmm san-o pa ihan mabalik ang kilo sng bugas 3.50peso per kilo ( dreaming ). Sad to say pero daw indi na gid ina seguro mag balik ang amo sina nga tini-on. Yeah toud kita mga pilipino survivor pero until when it last. Pero siling sng mga tigulang ( lolz ) sa tanan nga pag-antus may kahamunga-an.. Pero san-o ayhan ina matilawan sng mga pilipino.

# 27 July 2008 at 3:42 pm

PromdiBlogger (author) said:

Hmmm… daw ginabisto mo gid ang edad mo abyan. P3.50/kilo? sang san-o pa ina ya nga dekada? Hehehe Pero matuod ina, indi na gid ina ya mabalik a. Sige lang kay habang may buhay kuno may pag-asa. Try and try until you die.

# 29 July 2008 at 8:17 pm

efrenefren said:

Hey beautiful, thanks for visiting.

Why is it much, much easier to comment in your other blog, Racket Science?

BTW, indi ko naman worry yan. Mayaman naman ako eh.

JOKE lang.

BTW 2, if it’s not very confidential, sa diin ka gaistar sa iloilo sang ara ka pa to?

P.S. (Tama na sa BTW.) I have just used TagIlongish, in this comment. HAHA.

Maayong gab-i lang da a. :D
efrenefrens last blog post..Paulo Coelho is Definitely Going to Heaven

# 29 July 2008 at 9:45 pm

PromdiBlogger (author) said:

First, it’s easy to comment on my other blog because only a handful visits there.

BTW: Good for you. Pautang naman.
BTW2: Sa Oton gid nagdako.
Abaw Ilonggo ka man gali. Ex-link ta pwede?

# 29 July 2008 at 11:29 pm

efrenefren said:

You’re already in my blogroll. Have a good day! Hope to meet you somewhere down the road. Because I know our roads are going to cross. It doesn’t even matter when.

efrenefrens last blog post..Paulo Coelho is Definitely Going to Heaven

# 30 July 2008 at 8:10 pm

itik said:

Hayy naku bai, hindi naghihirap ang mga Pilipino. Ako nga ala work kumakain naman 3 times a day may midnight snack pa. hehe. Kasi ako ay isang masipag na rice farmer and fisherman. Take a look at the popular shopping malls, famous fast food chains, supermarkets, etc. etc. Dami dami bumibili, kumakain at nagsusunog ng perang mga Pilipino. In my own opinion, poverty is not actually the point here. The point is, the behavior of the citizens of Pilipino peolple. KATAMARAN. Yan ang problema sa karamihang Pilipino ngayon. Mga ibang mahihirap probinxano nga nagpupumilit sumiksik sa syudad, akala nila mas gaganda buhay nila dun. Pero they end up begging for alms. Pwede naman silang magtanim ng gulay sa probinxa nila. Hay naku, sarap kaya ng talbos ng kamote na sinasawsaw sa bagoong. The bottom line is, Pilipino’s have to work hard to live not to whine all life long asking for better Philippines and life here in our beautiful country.

# 2 August 2008 at 10:35 am

PromdiBlogger (author) said:

Natumbok mo! Minsan kasi akala natin ang buhay sa syudad ang mas maganda. Per sa syudad pag wala kang pera magugutom ka. Dito sa kanayunan pag marunong kang magtanim eh hindi ka magugutom.

Parati na lang nating sinisisi ang gobyerno pero ano ba’ng ginagawa natin? Yung mga nagmamartsa sa daan, reklamo ng reklamo, eh ano ba’ng nagagawa nila para tulungan yung mahihirap? Hindi ba’t mas maganda sana kung makipagtulungan sa gobyerno para sa ikabubuti? I’ve worked with NGOs who are not left-leaning but I believe has done more to uplift the lives of the poor farmers than those who persuade and use these poor farmers to go against the government.

Mabuhay ka itik!

# 2 August 2008 at 1:59 pm

pligg.com said:

Surviving Philippines…

Filipino life today is like walking on a tightrope. You don’t know if you’re going to safely cross to the other side or you’re going to fall to your death. There seems to be neverending of series crises hammering Filipinos – rice crisis, oil cr…

# 2 August 2008 at 10:51 pm

Tikalon said:

We reklamo in the hopes na one day matugonan din ang hinaing natin. Pero a reklamo will forever be just that if we don’t help ourselves as well. We can’t always depend on the government to make our lives better.

# 2 August 2008 at 11:16 pm

PromdiBlogger (author) said:

Couldn’t agree more. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”. It’s ok to complain as long as you yourself is a part of the solution and not the problem.

# 3 August 2008 at 1:43 pm