A teacher’s story on getting a house despite many loans ahead

At the age of 32, getting a house is obligatory for me as I have gotten married for almost 6 years already. In fact, as a teacher it is one of the major projects each could have in the first three years in service. I have been living under the roof of my parents since then and even when I got married, I still lived with them. It was always my dream to build a house for me and my new family but things didn’t work out for me that fast.

I am the eldest of four siblings and it was my responsibility to make sure my siblings graduated before I marry. To cut it short, I was the second bread winner of the family of six. It took me another 5 years to get into DepEd as a permanent school teacher. That was when I was 26 years old. By the time I entered DepEd, my siblings were all professional but not yet employed. It was also that time that I decided to get married. Life is tough and so we never get the time to immediately build our own house.

It was hard for me to build my own house because I was still supporting my family. I got a loan from the bank for the renovation of our old house (sira-sira na kasi). Then, I tell you that whenever a teacher starts getting a loan, it will never end. So it happened to me. My loans from here and there never stopped. My needs grow and grow so I have to dive into another loan to survive.

It came to a point where it is already tiring and I am not motivated to work anymore. My dream of getting a house was not realized and I have only Php6,000.00 left in my monthly salary. How will I survive each month from that amount? To tell you the truth, I don’t know how I survived either. I rely on my strong faith to God and my rackets (lol).

Fast forward 2020 and the pandemic hits globally. It was then that I have the time to do extra jobs online like writing articles for other bloggers. This article writing helped me a lot to generate funds for other expenses in the house. Then, to tell you the truth, I still have many loans with me but I get this aura that I can pursue my dream of getting a house.

Now, it is 2021 and even though I still have so many loans, I manage to build my own tiny house. Getting a house is not that easy as my current situation is a mess (loans here and there) but I manage to have it. The fact that I still avail re-loans (no choice ang teacher) but at least, I have spent my money on such a great purpose. It is different when you have you own than to live with your parents at the age of 32.

I am sharing my story to you to tell you that loans can’t stop you from getting what you want. Yes, the only thing you need is to manage everything. Plan your next step and balance your advantages and disadvantages. That way, you will see the fruit of your labor. Loans will never leave teachers alone until the day they retire from service. The only thing to do is to manage and survive. – Clea | Helpline PH