Filipinos and saving money for retirement

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

Are you saying it is not possible to avoid having children if you live in the Ph? LOL, funny.

Not at all, what I'm saying is that if birth control isn't available to you then you're more likely to have children. Now go tell someone they're too poor to hax sex with their wife or girlfriend.

[sea-monkey 13]

This retirement plan doesn't sound to bad. Produce kids so they'll take care of you once they are of working age. Then they'll support you once you're old.

Produce a number of them so even if you have a bad one or two, you've got your bases covered.

Kids don't cost that much to raise in poor countries, while the payoff far exceeds the raising cost.

[bigdude 2]

Not at all, what I'm saying is that if birth control isn't available to you then you're more likely to have children. Now go tell someone they're too poor to hax sex with their wife or girlfriend.

Without being too descriptive, there are methods of birth control that don't involve purchasing contraceptives. One comes to mind....and it is completely free. Let me take a guess Bob, the Catholic church doesn't believe in pulling out...LOL

This retirement plan doesn't sound to bad. Produce kids so they'll take care of you once they are of working age. Then they'll support you once you're old.

Produce a number of them so even if you have a bad one or two, you've got your bases covered.

Kids don't cost that much to raise in poor countries, while the payoff far exceeds the raising cost.

I agree and based on the previous posts there is nothing you can do to prevent it.

[bigdude 2]

Not at all, what I'm saying is that if birth control isn't available to you then you're more likely to have children. Now go tell someone they're too poor to hax sex with their wife or girlfriend.

Bob, I have another one, Filipino women are so fertile even pulling out will not prevent pregnancy. The Filipino cervix sucks the sperm out of the man and forces it to the uterus where joins with the egg, therefore pregnancy will happen no matter what. Haha

Edited December 14, 2010 by bigdude

[Dan and Judy 614]

Dan, that was a long post. First, yes my ex was the one sending %1500 a month (I am completey embarassed to admit this). So to answer your question, "absolute poverty" is not a term I fabricated. It is a term used by sociologist and I already posted the definition of it (or you can google it). My question of why Filipinos don't save for retirement was not directed at people who are suffering from absolute poverty. I fully understand that you if barely make enough to survive, saving is not an option. I am wondering more about middle class Filipinos, who for instance own a home, are college graduates and have a stable income.

For one thing Philippinos have a completely different hx than the US. They were occupied by the Spanish for a couple hundred year then the US, I guess the spanish money would have become worthless once the Americans took over, then the Japs kicked us out in 42 I believe, at which time the american money would become worthless, Japs issued their own pesos. Maybe 3 years later

we came back in and the jap money became worthless. Anyone who had been saving lost their butt. anyway the vast majority of Philippinos have a subsistance standard of living. they do not feel terribly in charge of their own future. How can you when you go to college for 4 years to be a nurse, you are reasonable bright but then you and half of your class mates can't get a job as a nurse.

Perhaps you settle for a job at jolly bee. Then you are considered an employeed college graduate.

The americans in general have the impression that they can do whatever they set their mind to. The Philippinos tend to accept the cards they are dealt. Thats a big generalization.

So I don't believe there is a big tradition of saving in the Philippino middle class.

On the other hand

In the US

Extra

U.S. savings rate falls to zero

The personal savings rate hits its lowest rate since 2001 as Americans put their faith in the rising value of their home.

dap("&PG=INVIHP&AP=1089",300,250);By Christian Science Monitor Americans have stopped saving for a rainy day.

Instead, they are living paycheck to paycheck, depending on credit cards to get them through emergencies, and hoping that the rising value of their homes will give them a retirement nest egg.

<P itxtvisited="1">This personal economic chasm is showing up in the national savings rate, which has been declining for years. Tuesday, the Commerce Department reported that the personal savings rate fell to zero in June, the lowest since a one-month buying binge in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The United States is on track to record a savings rate for the year below 1%, which would be the lowest since the depths of the Great Depression, when the rate turned negative.

Alarms

The nation's paucity of savings is raising alarms from the Federal Reserve to consumer watchdogs, who worry that the nation is counting on foreign savings to maintain a spendthrift lifestyle. Some groups are cranking up advertising campaigns to try to remind Americans that they don't need to participate in every sale.

And there are now high-level suggestions that the tax system needs to be changed to encourage savings instead of spending.

"In two generations it seems that we've lost the culture and habit of savings," says Nancy Register, of the Consumer Federation of America "There's so much marketing pressure to spend and buy and have instant gratification. And if you can't buy it now, put it on your credit card."

Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned that the low savings rate is impairing the nation's long-term economic prospects. An improved savings rate would provide investment money for businesses, which would create jobs, he said.

<P itxtvisited="1">Though Americans' savings are falling, their net worth is rising in large part because of soaring home prices and some improvement in the stock market, economists say.

Various calculations

People spend 6% of all housing market gains and 2% of their stock market gains, says Anthony Chan of JPMorgan Asset Management in Columbus, Ohio. "When you have massive capital gains, you get people spending more, pushing the savings rate down," he says. In fact, other analysts contend the situation may not be as dire as the official statistics indicate. That's because when the Commerce Department calculates the savings rate, it doesn't include things like capital gains and investments in pension plans.

Currently, there are about $12 trillion dollars in various structured retirement accounts that are not included in the savings rate, says Dallas Salisbury, president and chief executive officer of the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington.

"Let's assume that you bought a home and you held it for some number of years and you had a large capital gain. That capital gain would not be calculated as savings and the taxes would be counted as an expense," says Salisbury. "So, even though you may look at it as though you have more savings than before, the Commerce Department does not."

That said, "a large proportion" of Americans are not saving and have never saved, Salisbury acknowledges. "That's largely a function of income . . . They're just barely managing to survive as it is, and they don't have enough income to save."

A recent Consumer Federation survey found the lack of savings was especially troublesome to women. More than 70% said they worried about their finances in the last year, and two-thirds said that unexpected expenses -- things like the furnace breaking or the car needing to be fixed -- were the cause of that worry.

That's because they had little or no money set aside. More than 40% of all women had less than $500 in the bank. For those 25 to 34 years old, the percentage without a rainy day fund jumped to 55%

I dont know the exact date of the article or how accurate it is but the point is Americans are not exactly money saving machines. In spite of our large disposable incomes. If you do have significant savings and the 401's etc. then you are the odd man out. The Philippinos are more like typical americans in their savings habbits than you are. there are More americans with $10,000 in credit card debt than there are with $10.000 in the bank. (I just made that up but its sounds so good I had to say it)

Dan

Edited December 14, 2010 by Dan and Judy

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

Without being too descriptive, there are methods of birth control that don't involve purchasing contraceptives. One comes to mind....and it is completely free. Let me take a guess Bob, the Catholic church doesn't believe in pulling out...LOL

Actually that's correct. The Catholic Church advocates only having sex for the purpose of making babies.

Bob, I have another one, Filipino women are so fertile even pulling out will not prevent pregnancy. The Filipino cervix sucks the sperm out of the man and forces it to the uterus where joins with the egg, therefore pregnancy will happen no matter what. Haha

Okay, I get it you feel burned by your ex but do you really need to continue dumping on a Filipinas? As much as you can say the she has character flaws/issues think about this:

First you accepted her with those flaws until you didn't have dinner one night because of them so they were perfectly acceptable in her until you had to settle for a PB&J sandwich so what does that say about you.

Second after finally ending the relationship you find it appropriate to come here in the Philippines regional forum and bash all women from the Philippines, again what does that say about you?

Are you really going to continue to try to insult all Filipinas or are you going to just move along?

[Dan and Judy 614]

Bob, I have another one, Filipino women are so fertile even pulling out will not prevent pregnancy. The Filipino cervix sucks the sperm out of the man and forces it to the uterus where joins with the egg, therefore pregnancy will happen no matter what. Haha

I'm smelling troll, I don't real think he is dumb enough to believe the withdrawl is an effective means of birth control.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

I'm smelling troll, I don't real think he is dumb enough to believe the withdrawl is an effective means of birth control.

Naw, it's sour grapes on his part. He feels betrayed because his Filipino ex chose sending money home over obeying him so now he'll say anything to dump on Pinays.

[Tahoma 2,292]

Hmmm...I wonder what words of wisdom bigdude has for us today...

I don't know any Americans who retired with little or no savings.

...both of them have savings.

Hey bigdude...I think George has a question...

Don't know any poor folks, huh?

George...are you ready for this?...here comes bigdude's gotcha...

According to the US government I am "poor". So yes, I do.

Sorry, George...looks like bigdude gotcha! bigdude knows one poor person....himself!!!

Stay and live in the Philipines for a year, have the same minimum wage like what the majority is having then perhaps you may find the best answer to your question.Who doesnt want to embrace the idea of saving? ofcourse anyone would love to save if there is anything left for saving. Can you really really save with your $6.00 daily wage? and please do not say its 10 times cheaper, please.

p.s. who said living in the Philippnes is way cheaper? with relevance to the prices and all?

griffin...you should listen to an expert...someone who lived in 'Pinas for ...ohhh....say three weeks...

I was there for 3 weeks. I noticed that wages are obviously lower, but so are the cost of things. So they balance each other out.

griffin...I told you that an expert would turn up!

I am wondering more about middle class Filipinos, who for instance own a home, are college graduates and have a stable income.

Wonder no longer...I know an expert on 'Pinas...he spent three weeks there...he should be along any minute now...

...oops...nevermind...

Before making such a claim It would be good to study a cost of living index. Sure a lot of things are cheaper but on the flip side purchasing power is like 67% less in the Philippines. A L

Hey buddy...let's not allow facts to cloud our prejudices.

[rlogan 2,036]

The Filipinos do have a culture of dependency upon the children to support them when older.

I'm not interested in making value judgements. That's just something different about their culture.

For some it seems to work well enough.

Some jobs have pensions, in the professional classes that is somewhat common whereas in the laboring occupations it is not. Their is a social security system there I don't know much about other than a lot of occupations do not participate in it. Then there is Phil-Health.

My goodness yes it is much less expensive to live there, although some import items are actually more expensive. Fish is just a fraction of the cost up here. I live like a king on orange roughy and other really awesome seafood while there. We built a house for very, very little money. We do our dental work there because it is just a fraction of the cost here.

A quack doctor is only a couple of bucks and every bit as good as a horoscope or palm reading.

[SuperDuper! 230]

Hmmm...I wonder what words of wisdom bigdude has for us today...

...both of them have savings.

Hey bigdude...I think George has a question...

George...are you ready for this?...here comes bigdude's gotcha...

Sorry, George...looks like bigdude gotcha! bigdude knows one poor person....himself!!!

griffin...you should listen to an expert...someone who lived in 'Pinas for ...ohhh....say three weeks...

griffin...I told you that an expert would turn up!

Wonder no longer...I know an expert on 'Pinas...he spent three weeks there...he should be along any minute now...

...oops...nevermind...

Hey buddy...let's not allow facts to cloud our prejudices.

:wow: :wow:

Just what is going on here????

Edited December 14, 2010 by Boing!

[Atencio 43]

:wow: :wow:

Just what is going on here????

Those were the Cliff notes

[one...two...tree 2,762]

It's funny how someone just happens to stumble on to this site and with a day or so is posting like a pro. I smell a troll.

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

one post removed, one person thread banned and site admin notified.

[Dan and Judy 614]

It's funny how someone just happens to stumble on to this site and with a day or so is posting like a pro. I smell a troll.

I want to report a theft!!!!!!!!! somebody stole my line