making a living in the phils

[stevewool]

Most of us who are thinking or dreaming and even planning to one day be in the phils must have some sort of extra income, so how do you get it,
I have not the income to waste away and loose but we have some to try to last us and to enjoy what we may want to do in the future, so do we invest here in England or in the Phils,
Property seems to be the best place to put some money into, its a long term plan but hopwfully with renting there should be a good income, here lies the problem,
If the property is here you have to trust someone to look after it and sort out all the problems that may happen, plus you have to put anything upto £90,000 into this, this is to much for our future plans,but what about buying property in the Phils to rent out,
Looking at the prices in the Phils there are cheap and then there seems to be not so cheap and what about the price for renting too, could you make a steady income from say spending £50,000 on property in the Phils, and yes before you all say the magic words, i know i cannot buy and it will all be in Ems name and yes love is blind too,

[tiger31]

steve the only way to make money here is to pend a lot of money to start with .I have done the sari store and the grillhouse both produce very little profit to talk about .I have just gave up on the idea altogether ,its very easy to lose your money here its hard to compete with the locals at their own game.for instance if you start a business and it seems to be going well someone will come along and open the same sort of business to right next door lol.The only thing I can think of that might suit you would be renting bed spacers or rooms out in your area .my income comes from the house I own which allows me to live here ok .my g f is always complaining because she wants to work and have her own income and so far I have not found the right thing for her to do .

[Michael Parnham]

It is difficult for anyone to start a job in the Philippines because nobody will employ you if you are over 26 years old unless its a civil service job!:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[stevewool]

Brian in all you say i agree, Ems wants to have a little business too but i feel its a none starter but she has to be doing something,
We will have the 1 property here in England renting out, in dont fancy having another, plus i dont want the agro too,
Just trying to find somewhere to invest and make a little money rather then leave it in the bank making very very little, but its safe and you know what you have , anyway lots of ideas still spinning in my head

[stevewool]

It is difficult for anyone to start a job in the Philippines because nobody will employ you if you are over 26 years old unless its a civil service job!:xxgrinning--00xx3:

thats one thing i am not looking for Micheal, a job,, done that been there ,its my time to chill :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[robbie bobby]

steve the only way to make money here is to pend a lot of money to start with .I have done the sari store and the grillhouse both produce very little profit to talk about .I have just gave up on the idea altogether ,its very easy to lose your money here its hard to compete with the locals at their own game.for instance if you start a business and it seems to be going well someone will come along and open the same sort of business to right next door lol.The only thing I can think of that might suit you would be renting bed spacers or rooms out in your area .my income comes from the house I own which allows me to live here ok .my g f is always complaining because she wants to work and have her own income and so far I have not found the right thing for her to do .

My plan was to rent a space or even use the house in Phils and buy 8 chest freezers.

Selling ice is a good income if u can manage to get rid of enough.There is always need for ice.I did the calculations and for a £3000 investment a steady income of about £150-£200 weekly is acheivable.It might take some time to gain a customer base but once up and running it would be a fool proof plan.It still remains to be seen tho......:wink:

[tiger31]

Brian in all you say i agree, Ems wants to have a little business too but i feel its a none starter but she has to be doing something,
We will have the 1 property here in England renting out, in dont fancy having another, plus i dont want the agro too,
Just trying to find somewhere to invest and make a little money rather then leave it in the bank making very very little, but its safe and you know what you have , anyway lots of ideas still spinning in my head

plus never get involved with a business that you know nothing about ,that would prove fatal here .just discuss it with em what she would be good at business wise and just invest a small amount that if it goes wrong it won,t ruin you ,a bit like dippin your toes in the pool .Its hard to sit around all day m8 trust me ive done it coming up for 3 years thats why I want to come home for a while and have a rethink lol.your a wee bit older than me so you might it easier to relax :biggrin:

[stevewool]

i am not wanting hundreds and thousands, and i have not that amount to loose eiather, but its keeping busy and having something for Ems if ever anything happened to me, but can anyone tell me this,
What would happen if anything happened to Ems before me, where would the investments that we made in her name go too, me being her husband will i get it , any answers lads

[stevewool]

.your a wee bit older than me so you might it easier to relax :biggrin:[/QUOTE]

steady on there Brian, they say you are as old as you feel and i feel 37, but this november she turns 38 so still feeling young in my eyes:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[tiger31]

My plan was to rent a space or even use the house in Phils and buy 8 chest freezers.

Selling ice is a good income if u can manage to get rid of enough.There is always need for ice.I did the calculations and for a £3000 investment a steady income of about £150-£200 weekly is acheivable.It might take some time to gain a customer base but once up and running it would be a fool proof plan.It still remains to be seen tho......:wink:

well we sold ice in our sari store and at 1 peso a shot we still could,nt sell much .I think if you factor in the cost of electricity I think you will find your figures way off the mark .I even bought a couple of pigs and the cost to feed them used up the would be profit when ready for sale .If your going to make money you have to invest big here in my opinion to have a chance at an income .

[grahamw48]

I agree with tiger31.

Very difficult when you're competing with the locals...also for YOU to be actually permitted to work or run a business there. Have you looked into that ?

Ideally you need a skill that is sought after, and not widely available where you are residing.

Your money is MUCH safer back in the UK, and any minor irritations with renting out a UK property will I'm sure be more than made up for by the fact that we do actually have LAWS in this country that are designed to protect your interests, quite apart from the fact that you'll still have an appreciating investment.

I would look upon a business in the Phils (in your wife's name) as purely a hobby, from a financial point of view.

[tiger31]

I agree with tiger31.

Very difficult when you're competing with the locals...also for YOU to be actually permitted to work or run a business there. Have you looked into that ?

Ideally you need a skill that is sought after, and not widely available where you are residing.

Your money is MUCH safer back in the UK, and any minor irritations with renting out a UK property will I'm sure be more than made up for by the fact that we do actually have LAWS in this country that are designed to protect your interests, quite apart from the fact that you'll still have an appreciating investment.

I would look upon a business in the Phils (in your wife's name) as purely a hobby, from a financial point of view.

:xxgrinning--00xx3:totally agree with graham try renting out your house or rooms in your house and maybe get one of your family to keep an eye on everything .then you wont have to worry too much about income coming in .

[Ako Si Jamie]

steve the only way to make money here is to pend a lot of money to start with .I have done the sari store and the grillhouse both produce very little profit to talk about .I have just gave up on the idea altogether ,its very easy to lose your money here its hard to compete with the locals at their own game.for instance if you start a business and it seems to be going well someone will come along and open the same sort of business to right next door lol.The only thing I can think of that might suit you would be renting bed spacers or rooms out in your area .my income comes from the house I own which allows me to live here ok .my g f is always complaining because she wants to work and have her own income and so far I have not found the right thing for her to do .
Out of interest Tiger, how much did you make weekly from a sari-sari? I don't see it myself as a viable business, I'm just curious.

[stevewool]

the trouble i see with sari-sari store is credit and what happens when you dont sell the stuff , it goes out of date or you have it yourself, sounds like to much stress for to much time spent,

[tiger31]

Out of interest Tiger, how much did you make weekly from a sari-sari? I don't see it myself as a viable business, I'm just curious.
To be honest I don,t think I saw any profit because the g f would take stock out of the store if we ran out of something so there was not a true figure but I know for a fact it made very little money I started it for her so that she had something to do and she was experienced at it because she had a much bigger store when I met her but I made her give it up and move to cebu to be with me .she told me she done quite well because of her location ,which is another point it all depends how many stores are in your area.after we opened ours a woman about 20 yards away decided to open one too bang your screwed it happens all the time .I will post a few pictures of our store and grillhouse which are no more .

[tiger31]

the trouble i see with sari-sari store is credit and what happens when you dont sell the stuff , it goes out of date or you have it yourself, sounds like to much stress for to much time spent,

your right we lost a lot of stock due to the heat like snacks and buscuits going soft and out of date etc

[jonnijon]

No customer credit no business. They all want credit.

[tiger31]

No customer credit no business. They all want credit.

your right I gave my next door neighbour credit for a sack of rice it took him 3 months to pay us back and the profit on a sack of cheap rice was 250 pesos lol go figure

[jake]

Out of interest Tiger, how much did you make weekly from a sari-sari? I don't see it myself as a viable business, I'm just curious.

One of our first businesses was a sari sari store. We rented a space in town for 1,500 pesos a month. Instead of a window we spent 15,000 php and added a door so people could walk in. The total floor area was 20sqm which is not a large area. Everyone told us it would fail as other people had tried before. When we sold it after 6 years it was making a profit of around 25 to 30k a month. Hard work at the time but it paved the way for better things.

[stevewool]

that does sound great jake, a lot of money too,
Do i want to make money or do i want just to be happy doing what i want, the trouble is i have to think of Ems and yes she would like something but what???, i just do not like the idea of putting money into something which i have no idea or even Ems,
Ems would be just happy putting money into her dads place, hay ho keep on looking

[jake]

My plan was to rent a space or even use the house in Phils and buy 8 chest freezers.

Selling ice is a good income if u can manage to get rid of enough.There is always need for ice.I did the calculations and for a £3000 investment a steady income of about £150-£200 weekly is acheivable.It might take some time to gain a customer base but once up and running it would be a fool proof plan.It still remains to be seen tho......:wink:

Did you calculate the cost of electricity? Very expensive in the Philippines :cwm25:

[jake]

that does sound great jake, a lot of money too,
Do i want to make money or do i want just to be happy doing what i want, the trouble is i have to think of Ems and yes she would like something but what???, i just do not like the idea of putting money into something which i have no idea or even Ems,
Ems would be just happy putting money into her dads place, hay ho keep on looking

You are correct thinking about Ems. She is still young enough to work or run some sort of business. Look at what Fred is up too :wink:

[stevewool]

indeed a little b & b is on my mind, good food too,have i mentioned Ems a great cook, if we are busy great , if not great,

[Ako Si Jamie]

it was making a profit of around 25 to 30k a month. That's pretty good. I wouldn't have guessed that much income could have been made from sari's

[Ako Si Jamie]

indeed a little b & b is on my mind, good food too,have i mentioned Ems a great cook, if we are busy great , if not great,:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[tiger31]

yep a little pension house on bohol might be a good idea.because if you keel over them em would have a small income :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[Terpe]

indeed a little b & b is on my mind, good food too,have i mentioned Ems a great cook, if we are busy great , if not great,

That's a reasonable idea Steve......but needs a lot of thought.

I developed a business plan for a B&B recently. Still working out a reasonable strategy.

Here's a couple of simple things to think about:-

- Location
- Accessibility
- Attraction
- Price
- Location

At the moment one of my best ideas is student bedspacer. But still looking

[stevewool]

both are very good ideas and i am sure its something that could be achieved by both of us working together, the most important thing for me is its a pleasure doing this and not having to worry about making enough to live, its just a thought,

[robbie bobby]

I agree with tiger31.

Very difficult when you're competing with the locals...also for YOU to be actually permitted to work or run a business there. Have you looked into that ?

Ideally you need a skill that is sought after, and not widely available where you are residing.

Your money is MUCH safer back in the UK, and any minor irritations with renting out a UK property will I'm sure be more than made up for by the fact that we do actually have LAWS in this country that are designed to protect your interests, quite apart from the fact that you'll still have an appreciating investment.

I would look upon a business in the Phils (in your wife's name) as purely a hobby, from a financial point of view.

We already had an eatery/shop in the centre of iligan.takings was around 4-5k a day on average and had a videoke machine which took 5k monthly which we got 50%.We sold around 400 ice per day for 2 pesos each and 100-120 ice water at 1.5 pesos each.we had a cook which we paid 150 per day and a helper paid 80 pesos daily.We did the secret lucky number thing which made on average 200-500 daily depending on the winnings and sold lechon and always bought 20 kilo pigs and sold them at 60 kilos and we fed them the scraps of what people left on their plates etc which I admit didn't make much profit but it did help somewhat.it fed a family of 7,put 4 children through school and graduation and also paid for a maternity clinic birth and 2x dengue fever bills in the Mindanao sanitarium. we got rid of it last week as my wife is coming here.I put £1500 in when we started and last week we took £4000 out plus 200 cases of pepsi which we sold for 4000 pesos .it is possible with a little elbow grease and commitment.when I was there I was always the the shop and also ate drank and smoked for free everyday.Not big money really but it did provide and it did give a return :biggrin::biggrin:

[Terpe]

I've got some rice fields. Doesn't make enough money to call a living, but really does put food (rice) on the table even in a poor year. I know very well that I'm paying over the odds for the caretaker etc but as long as it's working in my favour I'm happy.
If I had the money I'd venture into milling.

Also got a coconut plantation which also brings in some money for the family. I'd like to expand this business.

I have to be really careful not to screw anyone involved even though I know I could cut costs and improve margins. Keeping the business balance is VERY important.

[grahamw48]

We already had an eatery/shop in the centre of iligan.takings was around 4-5k a day on average and had a videoke machine which took 5k monthly which we got 50%.We sold around 400 ice per day for 2 pesos each and 100-120 ice water at 1.5 pesos each.we had a cook which we paid 150 per day and a helper paid 80 pesos daily.We did the secret lucky number thing which made on average 200-500 daily depending on the winnings and sold lechon and always bought 20 kilo pigs and sold them at 60 kilos and we fed them the scraps of what people left on their plates etc which I admit didn't make much profit but it did help somewhat.it fed a family of 7,put 4 children through school and graduation and also paid for a maternity clinic birth and 2x dengue fever bills in the Mindanao sanitarium. we got rid of it last week as my wife is coming here.I put £1500 in when we started and last week we took £4000 out plus 200 cases of pepsi which we sold for 4000 pesos .it is possible with a little elbow grease and commitment.when I was there I was always the the shop and also ate drank and smoked for free everyday.Not big money really but it did provide and it did give a return :biggrin::biggrin:

Good for you (both)....and proves that of course there are success stories too. :xxgrinning--00xx3:

Sadly, not for everyone though, so I always urge caution. :wink:

[stevewool]

with my very deep pockets, it takes days weeks and even months to think do i want this so thats way of being careful

[jake]

with my very deep pockets, it takes days weeks and even months to think do i want this so thats way of being careful

Land prices just doubled (again) in Bohol whilst your short arms fumbled in those pockets :biggrin:
Renting property out is something i would look into if you are planning to semi retire. Your Ems can be the marketing manager and it would keep her fairly busy.

[jake]

Sadly, not for everyone though, so I always urge caution. :wink:

I agree.

The problem is a lot of foreigners come to the Philippines with a nice chunk of change and act without thinking. Happens on a regular basis and instead of blaming themselves, they blame the Philippines and its people. It takes two to tango!

[stevewool]

Land prices just doubled (again) in Bohol whilst your short arms fumbled in those pockets :biggrin:
Renting property out is something i would look into if you are planning to semi retire. Your Ems can be the marketing manager and it would keep her fairly busy.

the trouble is we are not there, another 5 years even before we we make the move, where do we buy and what , you have to see the place and feel the place too, unless someone can say i have this place its wonderful and its just right for what you are wanting , then we have no choice but to wait and plan

[Michael Parnham]

In Dumaguete there are a couple of Internet Cafe's owned by a German guy and his wife and they are always really busy!:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[Ako Si Jamie]

In Dumaguete there are a couple of Internet Cafe's owned by a German guy and his wife and they are always really busy!:xxgrinning--00xx3:Better idea than a sari I reckon but being busy doesn't always mean it's a good business. I'd be interested to find out how much profit can be made though as the Philippines is now the social media capital of the world and not everyone owns a computer and the like.

[Michael Parnham]

I will try to find out if I can, because he's married to Maritess cousin!:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[grahamw48]

the trouble is we are not there, another 5 years even before we we make the move, where do we buy and what , you have to see the place and feel the place too, unless someone can say i have this place its wonderful and its just right for what you are wanting , then we have no choice but to wait and plan

Steve, during the next 5 years your property in the UK will probably increase in value far in excess of anything you'd buy (with all the hassle and risk that would involve) in the Philippines. Sit tight mate, and keep your money in your pocket until you're living there would be my advice. :smile:

Daydreams are much more forgiving than reality. :wink:

[stevewool]

wise words Graham, and yes you are right,, thanks:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[grahamw48]

Thanks Steve. I'm really trying not to sound patronising though.

It's your money and your future. :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[jonnijon]

At 10 pesos an hour you need to be busy, thats all they charge here.

[stevewool]

[QUOTE=grahamw48;457158]Thanks Steve. I'm really trying not to sound patronising though.

how can you and other members sound patronising when it is people like me asking questions and seeking advice from people who have been there , done that and got the tee shirt also,
Yes its down to each of us to take the step ourselves but with all the free advice that is here we would be fools to take that step before listening

[grahamw48]

:xxgrinning--00xx3:...and lost the money ! :icon_lol:

[tiger31]

steve like another poster said land prices are going up fast in some places like bohol .you really need to come out here fast and find a lot because if you wait 5 more years you may find it hard to buy a decent lot .

[jake]

[QUOTE=grahamw48;457158]Thanks Steve. I'm really trying not to sound patronising though.

how can you and other members sound patronising when it is people like me asking questions and seeking advice from people who have been there , done that and got the tee shirt also,
Yes its down to each of us to take the step ourselves but with all the free advice that is here we would be fools to take that step before listening

:xxgrinning--00xx3:
I know what Graham means and part of me agrees. My comment about land prices was said half in jest. Prices of raw land in Bohol will rise in over the next 5 years but it will only be in certain areas. You just have to choose the right one :Erm:

[jake]

Better idea than a sari I reckon but being busy doesn't always mean it's a good business. I'd be interested to find out how much profit can be made though as the Philippines is now the social media capital of the world and not everyone owns a computer and the like.

Jamie, i would stay away from a computer shop as they are so many. Bit like sari sari stores :icon_lol:

[Ako Si Jamie]

What about a sari-sari and a internet cafe combined which is attached to a pension house with an added attraction of having a python in the back yard. Has to be the largest python living in captivity though to bring in the visitors. :biggrin:

[jake]

What about a sari-sari and a internet cafe combined which is attached to a pension house with an added attraction of having a python in the back yard. Has to be the largest python living in captivity though to bring in the visitors. :biggrin:

With Eric Idle playing in the background :icon_lol:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGRPFUYUUdQ

[Ako Si Jamie]

:icon_lol:

[grahamw48]

The best-selling line in my toy shop there were cap guns. :cwm25:

[Michael Parnham]

What about a sari-sari and a internet cafe combined which is attached to a pension house with an added attraction of having a python in the back yard. Has to be the largest python living in captivity though to bring in the visitors. :biggrin:

Forget the Python Jamie, but yes a good idea, just make sure your business is walking distance from a university or at least a couple of schools!:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[Ako Si Jamie]

Forget the Python Jamie, but yes a good idea, just make sure your business is walking distance from a university or at least a couple of schools!:xxgrinning--00xx3:I wasn't serious about the python hence the :biggrin: