EKSTRA: How OFWs Earn Extra Cash to Send Home

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are well known multi-taskers, performing several duties at the same time. This delicate balancing act requires not just skills but a deep sense of commitment and focus to make life better for their loved ones.

This perhaps is best illustrated in “Europe”, a short film by BDO Kabayan, about a female impersonator who works in Europe. Inspired by true events, “Europe” shows the great lengths a father will go to in order to provide for his family. Continue reading EKSTRA: How OFWs Earn Extra Cash to Send Home

How To Turn Your Empty House or Condo Into A Money Making Machine

The empty house or condo is a situation that many OFWs face. Lured by property agents, some of our OFWs end up acquiring their “dream” homes through big ticket housing loans with the hope that this “investment” will generate regular income for them through long-term rent.

Unfortunately, many of these hopes do not translate into money right away. Leaving the house unoccupied for several months or even years.

Imagine the monthly amortization you are paying plus the other expenses and costs that incurs regularly since purchasing it.

So if you have a tenant who has just moved out and for whatever reason there isn’t a new one moving in, what can you do as a landlord to make money from your empty house? Here are some of my recommendations.

Continue reading How To Turn Your Empty House or Condo Into A Money Making Machine

Filing and Paying Taxes Made Easy for the Pinoy Freelancer

Many of my friends envy me as a freelancer. My neighbors, on the other hand, wonder how come I don’t leave the house every morning like other Dads do yet still afford to drive our car anytime we want. You can read their minds asking themselves, ‘how in the world is he getting the money to gas up his SUV when he’s a bum?’

In a way, a freelancer’s daily routine is a reason to be jealous of. Imagine a life that’s alarm clock-free, no rush hour commute, and short pants and tees instead of a business attire. You take control of days answering to no one but your own impulses, interrupted only by siestas, or, when the occasion calls for it, playtime with your kids.

This must be the reason why many Filipinos are choosing to get outside of the 9-to-5 route and become entrepreneurs. At this particular time, there are already over a million registered small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), freelancers, and self-employed professionals in the Philippines, making up 99% of the total business establishments operating in the Philippines. Continue reading Filing and Paying Taxes Made Easy for the Pinoy Freelancer