Living Costs in the Philippines

[Smiley]

I agree. We all know at least a couple mean spirited stingy misers that almost seem to enjoy it when others are in a bad spot.
Its kinda hard to have a lot of respect for folks like that. Then on the other hand there are some who spend their whole lives with their hand out.I`m not focusing on the Philippines,this is true everywhere.
Once people believe that they are entitled to a free ride on the efforts of others the give and take system begins to break down. I have had a lot of people help me over the years. In honesty ,I have probably helped more people than have helped me.Thats good,sort of a 'Pay It Forward' scenario.
The balance tips when the same people are continuously expected to provide for the same people with no improvement to the situation possible.Mutual benefit only occurs when all parties make a genuine effort to contribute.

[Edwin]

I think that is true, Smiley, that most everyone is helped at some time or another by someone else. Then often those same people are able to help someone else who needs help, and that makes it worthwhile, because all of us are needy in one way or another, and at different times. "It is more blessed to give than to receive," but for someone to give, someone else has to receive, and it is good for a person to allow someone else to get a blessing from giving. Some people have so much pride that they will not allow anyone under any circumstances to give to them, so matter how badly they need it. If we can help, and God lays it on our hearts to help,there is a blessing for that, and God is pleased with the efforts that we make to ease the discomfort of another person. We can't take anything with us out of this life, so if we can use some of it to help someone else that is wonderful.

[brandie]

Not sure if it helps but I found this on another forum...


Gasul now at 11kg is 700-750.

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

[wantingmore]

living cost here depends on how much you earn. if you earn more, the more you crave for things and own a new one.

if you are receiving or earning a meager amount, so your needs are change. today, filipino work for the day's need. as long as today is meet, that is how mostly are doing.

tomorrow is another day to work to meet the need. how lucky for the rich country who have not experience such difficulty.

no matter what, always remember that being contented is a good attitude. we may desire for the better but be thankful for what you have today.

Can anyone give an estimate of someone's monthly expenses if she is living in a highly urbanized city like renting in a subdivision or apartment?

[crisipicada]

Valencia City is considered as 2nd class city. It is not highly developed but it is the most growing city in Region 10. Not so much buildings as to compare to other first class cities.

About me, I am renting an apartment near the working place. My expenses is quite big for me as to my income now. Hereunder are the list of the expenses as an example for you to consider if you want to stay in the Philippines.

Apartment Rent - 4,500/month
Electric Bill - 759.00 as of last month
Water bill - 191.00 only minimum we use
Food (500-1,000/week) 4,000
Transportation and allowance 2,000.00
Internet with cellphone - 1,499.00
Food Supplement & Medz - 2,000.00

Total: 14,949.00

All we use for cooking are electric so the electric bill is high. Something to buy for grocery at home is not included. So it might be more than that. Currently, My family is helping me for the meantime about this expenses and I am grateful about them.

[Smiley]

Thanks Crisi: That really helps. A lot of people resond to questions like this by saying something like" you can spend as much or as little as you want". That is of very little help.I realize that Makati is a lot more expensive than a small town down south but it is nice to have some current idea of what things cost in any given area.
Your answer,on the other hand is very helpful to us.I know Valencia is fairly small,that is not a bad thing. It gives us a good rate to work from.You are not all that far from CDO. How would the cost reflect there? Would it be just a little higher or a lot more expensive?
I want to spend time in Davao,Marmag,and the general CDO area when I make it back over there either late Oct or late Jan. To explore the possibility of moving there more or less permanently.I need this trip to decide what my options are.
Thanks again, you have been very helpful.

[Edwin]

Yes, Crisi has provided a great summary of typical prices for that area, and that really helps! If I were moving to the Philippines, a place like Valencia City sounds ideal, or even something smaller and more rural. I am a country boy. I like to be where there are domesticated animals, dogs, cats, chickens, pigs, and then the garden, flowers and fruit trees. Don't let the pigs get into the garden though. Years ago we had pigs that got into our lawn while we were gone to church. When we returned the lawn was not the same!!!! They thought we wanted it rototilled!

[jadegil6]

I know of many filipinos who live on much less than that. Most share a room in a boarding house to cut expenses, or live with relatives. These people live on as little as 6,000 php per month.
I think that he standard rate of pay in the Phlippines is 230 php per day. But many jobs pay less than that. If you calculate the standard rate, not including any deductions, for six days per week, then 27 work days per month times 230 php equals 6,210 php per month. That is barely a subsistence level, but most filipinos are happy to get that because jobs are scarce and hard to find, especially for those with little education.

The farmers and field hands who work in the provinces earn less than the standard rates. The normal rate of pay for those jobs is 150 to 200 php per day.

The salesladies that I met in Biliran were paid 1500 php per month for a six day work week, ten hours per day.
The people who I know who work in a bakery in Biliran were also paid 1500 php per month.
The teachers I know who work at private schools are paid about 10,000 php per month.
Very few jobs are going to pay above 10,000 php per month, so a budget of 14,000 php per month is unrealistic for most filipinos.

[Edwin]

Yes, I think what people earn to make their living compared with what it costs to live is somewhat varied. Many people in the Philippines, no doubt, think that we are rich. Compared to the people in the Philippines we have a lot and make a lot of money, but it is a struggle for us to manage and have enough money to cover everything. I have a couple of houses that I have inherited and I rent them out, and have been doing that for several years. I have had bad renters in both houses who have not paid the rent and have damaged the houses. I have had to spend money trying to repair the damages, while not getting rent, so what little Social Security Income I get I have been going behind, losing my savings account! Finally I have wonderful people in both houses. The one house I have been allowing renters to repair it as part of the rent, because of the damages, because they were happy to do that, because I don't have to be stressed about it, and because they are wonderful people. But because of that I am not getting ahead from that house. I have my kids and grandkids now in the other house, and things have not gone well for them, so they are not able to pay. I accept that because they are my kids, and they are repairing the house from damages from a bad renter that I had to evict, and I hate to do that, but I don't think I am going to have to do that for a while. I pay my credit card off every month because I can't afford to carry any debt with the amount of money that I have coming in. I use the credit card for some expenses and I try hard to keep it down, but it is a struggle. So I have some money that I have to spend out of the checking account, and then I have to pay that credit card out of the checking account money also. By the time I pay property taxes, house insurance, and buy things needed to maintain the properties, it is a struggle. But I am alway hopeful that things will be better, and I am sure they will.

We don't have too many living expenses as we live in a house that we own on our kids' property, so that helps. It still costs a lot of money for food and gasoline to go where we need to go. I think even in the Philippines the amount of money that it takes to live depends on where the people live, their housing needs, and I think probably, even though the farmers don't get much money, it takes less money for them to live,and I have a feeling that they live better than people living in a large city with lots of expenses, and high costs of living.

[Smiley]

It is really all relative to the area you live in. Where I live the minimum wage works out to about 500piso an hour.That would seem like a lot to someone making 16000 a month. Here you would be lucky to rent a room for 16000 a month.A bus pass would be close to 4000 a month,cell phone load at least 1000 a month.
Want a nice apartment? How about a house? A pretty ordinary house here is about 4 million pesos,they go up from there.Want to drive? A decent USED car can set you back at least another quarter million. A Used Harley is another half million or so. And that is before the insurance bandits get through with you.
Food is so expensive I don`t see why so many people here are so fat.A decent loaf of bread is around 100 piso, a dozen eggs about the same.A box of cereal can be 200 or more. If you are going to have a healthy,balanced diet it will cost you.
Where the difference is for me is that if you can save 10-15% here at least that is 10-15% of a larger number.If you can establish a residual income at a North American scale it will provide for you quite well in a developing economy.Here,just as in the Philippines there is a wide economic spectrum with examples of fantastic wealth and extreme poverty at either end.The huge majority of people live somewhere between. With the economic downturn of recent years most people have slipped toward the lower levels. My area was one of the harder hit and I have seen a lot of people lose what they had worked their entire lives for.
When I was a kid most families consisted of a Dad who went to work for 40-45 hours a week a mom,who stayed home and ran the household and 2-3 kids. Everybody seemed to live pretty well. Now,you need 2 incomes just to stay afloat,and fewer people seem to be upwardly mobile and happy.