Depends on what she's having done….. but she asked for $700… so I assume she knows what she wants to do. $1,000 should be fine.

My helper bought land and built a small house for $30k. $1,000 might be enough. I'd just wait, and if she asks for more help, give it to her then. She's earned your trust, so it's great that you're helping her out.

She knows how far 700 goes in the Philippines. There's a decent chance she asked for the minimum to fix what's needed most. The extra 300 was really kind of you. I'd assume it's basic stuff, and she has friends or neighbors who'll help for next to nothing, since that's normal here. For context - I replaced all the faucets, bidet sprayers, etc. in two bathrooms and the kitchen, from cheap plastic to solid brass. Bought a two-burner glass-top stove and a new exhaust fan for the kitchen. All of that was about ₱10k, or around $160. $1k will go pretty far here for basic repairs. But if she's gotten spoiled by air conditioning in the West, one split-type aircon with installation would eat up the whole amount in one go.

The average monthly wage is 20–30k a month (depending on location). So your $1k gift is significant in terms of spending power in the Philippines. That said, labor is expensive but 'stuff' mostly costs the same or more. A laptop costs what a laptop costs, for example. So how far the money goes depends a lot on whether her renovation is labor-heavy or mostly needs materials.

Good on you, mate.

Years ago a friend brought an illiterate 40-year-old Thai woman to Germany and married her. She worked as a very poorly paid maid in a German hotel. A year later, on their first holiday back to Thailand to see her family for six weeks, she built them a simple house. She watched very carefully how it was done. On the next holiday a year later, she built one entirely by herself in six weeks. I've since lost touch, but over 10 years she built 10 houses by herself on her low salary, about $10k each, and her husband never paid anything toward them. Working in the West (I assume) and not being able to save $700 is messed up.