The ₱250,000 Lesson: How Losing a Dream Investment Brought Me to Europe

Sa social media, we love to see the beautiful things. The positive results, the new house, the car, and all those big achievements. People don't have a clue how you got there—your sleepless nights, your tears, and the literal blood you poured into that "dream."

Kumuha ako ng house and lot sa Pag-IBIG during my first time abroad as an investment. But it was a failure.

It was my ultimate dream to have my own house and lot. Yung galing talaga sa pinaghirapan ko, yung ikaw ang magdedecide ng interior, outside landscape and the furniture. That imagination was finally happening during the process of acquiring the house. It was a happy moment for me, a real sense of pride na, "Salamat, nagawa ko rin sa wakas."

First-time OFW ako sa Taiwan year 2022. There, I was receiving an income double to triple compared to working in the Philippines. I was lucky to have my siblings backing me up to go abroad. Napapaligiran ako ng mga taong supportive, kaya hindi na ako nag-worry kung paano mabuhay mag-isa sa ibang bansa. My brothers and sisters shared their experiences and lessons with me, so the only thing I needed to do was push myself, be determined, and have the dedication to make my dreams of a "good life" come true.

Taiwan is very close to Pinas. I was living and working in Kaohsiung, which has thousands of OFWs working in the manufacturing and services sector. Kaya naging madali ang transition ko—it was actually like living abroad with a bunch of Filipinos, so walang homesickness for me. The only adjustments were the culture, the food, and the language. To make the story short, it was a fun and wonderful experience.

Financially, I was able to set aside what was for my needs and wants. I was even able to send my brother to college and help him step forward toward his own dreams. I was financially literate, "I must say," kasi I graduated with a Business Management degree. Back in college, we did lots and lots of computations for money-related problems, so I adopted this habit of tracking my own expenses—where it goes and how it goes.

I still use this method up until now because I don’t want na nagugulat na lang ako na wala na sa budget ang pera, or may mga iba pang expenses na hindi nababayaran. That was my attitude before, at lagi akong nagwowonder: Saan napunta ang pera? I know some of you have experienced the same thing.

I decided to get a house and lot from Pag-IBIG kasi kaya naman ng budget. My plan was to get the house as quickly as possible while I was abroad. I planned to fully pay for the house in 5 to 10 years of continuous work using the Advance to Principal method. Ito yung paraan kung saan magbabayad ka ng advance sa principal loan mo para ma-shorten ang terms of payment mo, at ma-reduce nang significant ang principal loan mo.

Para sa mga nagbabalak kumuha ng bahay sa Pag-IBIG, itong method na 'to ang pinaka-recommended ko if you are earning triple or quadruple your monthly amortization, may tuloy-tuloy kang income, at wala kang ibang expenses and obligations. And if the goal is to fully pay the house as soon as possible para hindi mo bayaran ang interest nang 3x sa original price ng bahay.

For example, ang bahay na kinuha mo ay worth ₱1.5 million. If you will be paying it with an assumed interest rate of 7.1% and a monthly amortization of ₱10,000 in 30 years, you will be paying ₱3.638 million in total!
Samantala, kung gagamitin mo ang advance to principal payment method at gagawin mong ₱20,000 ang monthly payment mo—where ₱10,000 is for the monthly amortization and the other ₱10,000 is strictly for the advance to principal—in 8 years, fully paid mo na ang bahay. At naka-save ka ng ₱2.138 million of interest sa Pag-IBIG.

Ang ganda ng plano, 'di ba? Pero not all plans are worth saving.

When I was in Taiwan, things were going so well, until times went rough in the family. We lost a loved one. Losing someone you love is the absolute worst feeling in the world.

Sunod-sunod pa ang dagok. My contract was not renewed. Though finding a new job in Taiwan was possible, biglang nagka-accident ako kung saan nabali ang buto ko sa left forearm. That fracture made it impossible for me to find a job instantly. Three months before my contract ended, naghahanap na ako ng trabaho at may mga scheduled interviews na ako, but suddenly the accident happened, resulting in an emergency forearm surgery.

Everything went well with my physical recovery, but financially, I broke. My biggest fear happened: I didn't have an emergency fund. My savings were only good for a few months, but bone recovery takes six months to a year.

I successfully finished my contract after two months of recovery because the doctor was able to give me a working clearance, but with a restriction of not bearing any weight on my arms. Inilipat ako sa ibang department kung saan kaya ko yung trabaho, and I finished it.

Long story short, umuwi ako ng Pilipinas. Dun ako tumira sa Cavite—sa mismong bahay na kinuha ko sa Pag-IBIG, as i wanted to proved to myself that i was independent enough. I lived there while recovering for a few months. Hindi ako naghanap ng trabaho, kasi my focus was just to recover better. As time went by, my savings depleted. Walang perang pumapasok, puro palabas para sa pagkain, utilities, at amortization ng bahay. To survive, I had to prioritize my basic needs and set aside my housing amortization, until it reached months and months of unpaid arrears.

Nung lumalakas na ang braso ko, the desire to go back to work became urgent. Kailangan ko nang itigil ang financial bleeding. I tried to apply back to Taiwan, pero wala talaga hindi ako pinalad.

I tried a different approach. I enrolled and applied for an engineering post-bachelor program in Taiwan. This was a free-tuition program with a monthly stipend and allowances that could have saved both my house and my income. Nakapasa ako sa interviews, and the company that would sponsor my monthly allowance accepted me and processed my application. Pero ang pinakamasakit sa lahat, nung i-deny ng government ng Taiwan ang application ko. The reason? Yung undergraduate school ko, ang STI College, ay wala sa listahan ng cooperation nila. Ang sakit! Lahat handa na, pero dahil lang dun, nadeny.

That was probably the lowest point of my life. The broken bone was the ultimate reason why I couldn't go back to work immediately. At yun din ang dahilan kung bakit hirap na hirap akong makabalik ng Taiwan. Many agencies and employers saw my previous injury as a massive red flag. Binu-block nila ang application ko.

I cried a lot of tears. Depression hit me so hard during those days. Gabi-gabi akong napapaisip, "hindi na ba ako makakapagtrabaho ulit sa ibang bansa?” Nakatambay lang ako sa Cavite, acting tough while losing myself inside, habang paubos pa ang naipon. Sabay dun, unti-unti ring nawawala yung tiwala ko sa sarili ko.

But God really works in mysterious ways. Kung kailan pakiramdam ko sarado na ang lahat ng pinto, biglang dumating ang isang opportunity na hindi ko inaasahan—ang Hungary.

I decided to stop drowning in fear. I submitted all my worries to God, and I forced myself to believe in my capabilities again. I had to step up and be logical. Alam kong magiging mahigpit ang medical examination dahil sa nangyari sa braso ko, at alam kong hahanapin ang "Fit to Work" clearance ko. Kaya kahit down na down ako, i-gather all the medical documents at history i have at handa akong patunayan na kaya ko pa.

Habang nandun ako sa bahay sa Cavite, life forced me to accept a hard truth: sometimes, you can do everything right and still fail. But I realized that when God closes a door, it’s not to punish you—it’s because that door was leading you to the wrong room.

Para sa akin, yung bahay na pinaghirapan ko, na pinangarap ko, na tinawag kong "investment"—na sa huli ay binitawan ko rin dahil sa mga buwan na hindi nababayaran—ay naging daan para sa self-growth ko.

Yung more than ₱250,000 na naihulog ko dun at nawala, yun ang naging cost ng learning ko. Pinatunayan ko sa sarili ko na ang totoong investment ay yung bagay na magpapalago ng asset mo, at kung patuloy ko lang babayaran yung bahay nang walang pumapasok na kita, it’s just a draining expense.

Binitawan ko yung bahay, at imbes na ipilit ko ang Taiwan kung saan sarado na ang pinto, I shifted my focus. I have years of experience in manufacturing industry sa Pilipinas at sa Taiwan. Naglakas-loob akong mag-apply sa malayo.

And now? I am writing this from Hungary, Europe, kung saan ako kasalukuyang nagtatrabaho.

Nawala man yung bahay sa Cavite, hindi naman nawala ang abilidad ko. Failure will teach you or break you—pero sa huli, sayo pa rin ang desisyon kung tataya ka ulit at magtetake ng risk. I took the risk, and it brought me here to Europe.

Paano ko nga ba nalampasan ang mahigpit na medical processing ng Europe despite having forearm history of surgery? Paano ako naghanda para patunayang fit to work parin ako?

Abangan ninyo sa susunod kong article...