Ok, here's my take on it:
It's damned hard trying to stay in the Phils for any length of time unless you have a regular income from the UK....or elsewhere.
Lots of daydreamers making plans and lots of people losing money out there all the time and coming back with their tails between their legs.
When it came to supporting my family in our house in the Phils (wife already had settlement visa) and planning and saving for bringing them all back to the UK, including my 2 stepchildren on dependants' visas, I had to work VERY hard in Hong Kong.
- 7 days a week over a period of 2 years, long hours, appalling conditions with short holiday breaks in the Phils. This is what OFWs do all the time (except for much less money).
You have to decide what you need to earn, what you need to save and direct your life towards that, letting nothing stand in your way, moving location and job if necessary.
YOU will only have to hack it for 6 months.