Living Costs in the Philippines

[DavidM]

Food is so expensive I don`t see why so many people here are so fat.

Where there is a will there is a way

[Edwin]

Actually I think people are fat because food is so expensive. The cheaper foods are not as good for a person to eat, and they help to add fat pounds to the body. The healthier foods are more expensive as a general run, I think. We do work hard to eat right because of Carol being a diabetic, and we do fairly well with it. Our kids near Spokane buy shopping carts full of bread very reasonable. They give us the healthier breads, and that really helps, and they eat some of the rest, and feed some to their animals. They buy a shopping cart heaping for, I think, a little over $20.00, and the value is a lot more than that if you bought all those loaves off the shelf. I do get your point though, Smiley. Food is expensive to buy and people are getting fat off from it!

[crisipicada]

Can a filipina woman live in a room with expenses at 10,000 - 15,000 a month expenses?

Yes, she can. It is already a good life if she lives in 10,000-15,000. It is just depends on her how she will use it. I can't imagine that my bills alone (rent, water, electricity, internet) cost me more or less 7,000-7,500 per month. I am trusting the Lord and He has provided me so far. That is why my expenses riches up to almost 15,000 a month or more.

[Edwin]

I just finished figuring up my fiancial situation for the next short period of time. Probably whether you are in the Philippines, or an American in the USA, you end up spending money you don't want to spend! I know I do. Carol's medication is expensive, but we have to buy it. We thought we had a free water pump that my ex brother-in-law gave to our kids, and they gave it to us, but the only trouble was that it didn't work. My son-in-law found one of his, but it didn't work! Bad luck so far! And my son-in-law was stressing and feeling badly because he and our daughter wanted badly to put water in our house! I started looking for one on eBay, but the trouble was that I didn't know enough about pumps to know what to look for, so I called our local Machine Shop where they sell pumps to ask them what kind of a pump I needed so that I would know what to look for on eBay. The guy told me everything I needed to know, and then he told me what their top of the line pump was, and the cost, more than I could pay, and then told me that he had a used one sitting on the floor that he would sell to me for a fraction of the price! It had a new motor, and completely rebuilt as good or better than a new one, so I told them I would take it. We went to town, got that pump, and now we have water in our kitchen sink, a pump and pressure tank; everything we need for now, and it cost so little it didn't hurt me financially. The kids loaned us a small hot water heater, so we have hot and cold running water at the kitchen sink. I was happy to haul water, but Carol was getting really tired of it, so now she is very happy with water at the kitchen sink, as well as having her automatic dishwasher hooked up. So, Carol is really happy about that now, and it didn't break the bank to do all of that!

[red]

If you want to be healthy and yet cheap foods live in Phils. Just be open your heart and mouth (lol) to eat malunggay and alugbati, patola, sayote, saloyot...i assure you will live longer and stronger plus you will make your filipina wife happy. Mind you it saves lots of money.

[Smiley]

If you want to be healthy and yet cheap foods live in Phils. Just be open your heart and mouth (lol) to eat malunggay and alugbati, patola, sayote, saloyot...i assure you will live longer and stronger plus you will make your filipina wife happy. Mind you it saves lots of money.

You bet! I hope to live in a way that I can grow most of the food we need and hopefully find a charity that can use some as well.

[red]

That is so generous of smiley. For a foreigner here in phils.a 1k month in dollars is considered well off depends on lifestyle. If you have family two kids going school and owning a house that is just fine. If you want to have resident visa i suggest go get it in manila BI. My husband tried to get one but we were asked 35k pesos in CDO. His friend got visa in BI manila with lot less fee. I wonder where the money goes coz everyday they collect visa extension fees to foreigners. Lots of money there.

[Smiley]

Thats a good point Red.On some other groups, how and where to get your visa is a regular topic. It seems strange that in one area the fee could be so much higher for the same service as in another.
If I don`t have to I will not go to the Manilla area at all this time,although I would like to take the superferry from there to Cebu some time.As the time draws closer I will check with folks to see what recent experiences are.Right now,Manilla seems to still be the best choice.

[red]

God bless on your plans Smiley. I hope y'all dont mind me suggest that if you have properties back home in US dont give up all when you plan on retiring in Phils. I said that because in our case and some foreigners we know did not make it well. Dont put investment in one place. Have a variety as much as possible. Make feasibility study.

[Smiley]

I don`t mind at all Red,it`s a good plan. I see more sense in having a dozen small income streams than one big one.That way if something should go wrong with one it will be not as severe a problem as if it were the only source of livelihood.I agree with you 100%