Can I Really Live On $1000 A Month In The Philippines

[pokermike]

I have been there many times and i know i could not live on $1,000 per month , some things i like cost more over there. I think it is a big gamble to move there for two months and expect to figure all the ins and outs. I really think the comfortable figure i see for living there now, maybe being close to a beach and maintaining some western standards such as decent living quarters and all the other things that go with it ,is about $2,000 to $2,500.

I know i am still a little worried and i will be retiring on over triple that. I still think planning needs to be done for the unknowns mostly changes in health. For this I think you need to have a good nest egg in reserve, i have a freind there now in bad shape because he did not plan well,  sorry for him.

I am planning to have a loose $20,000 for get out of dodge money and $50,000 for medical.

I think we are sometimes sending the wrong meesage saying we can retire there for $1,000 per month and not warn everyone that many things can wrong. i think working another five years a much better idea than coming with a $1,000 per month. Poker Mike

[Tukaram (Tim)]

I get a real kick out of the differences we feel are needed.  That is is why this question will never really get answered.  It is really up to you how you are comfortable to live.

 

In the US I was a single dad and raised 2 kids on less than $2,500 a month.  And they were in private school and we went to Orlando every spring break for a week of Disney/Universal theme parks.

 

The only way I would need that much money over here was if I lived in the girlie bars ha ha.   Which is not a bad idea....     :tiphat:

[scott h]

Tim gets the carrot on this one. The only person who can answer this is THAT person. Sadly they will never know the answer until they actually get here on the ground and experience the country.

 

Unless a person has been in the military or had a civilian job that took them to the boondocks for a very extended period of time and have been deprived of some of the trivial things a person grew up with. It is hard to describe the craving you might get for a bag of dipping fritos lets say. And you might just pay 8 bucks a bag for them.

 

Me? there is no way on gods green earth I could live on a $1000 a month. I live my comfort to much. Napping in the afternoon with aircon. etc etc etc.

[MikeB]

This topic currently has 11,758 views, of which the vast majority are referrals from internet searches. A lot of interest in the subject. 

[Jack Peterson]

A lot of interest in the subject. 

 

 

It is one of those Topics that Can/Does Affect each and every one of us and has been a pleasure, to participate in.

 

Thank you for the Post Mike, it is nice to get updates like this, as it means,  the  interest shown is, Important, ( Well to me Anyway)

[Tukaram (Tim)]

Yeah.  I have only lived here for 17 months.  So I can tell you how much I need to live on... I really can't make recommendations for others ha ha.  It is a popular topic.  I get a lot of hits on my blog from Google budget questions.  Every expat forum has this topic.  And it is good to read and compare what other people live on.  I just read the other day where a guy was happy his electric bill was down to p8,000 - and I have been freaking out because mine went up to p4,000!   :tiphat:

[Jake]

Very nice stats MikeB, perhaps most of those hits from Google came from this forum (already 17 pages with 166 posts).

And yet, the party continues well past midnight as we get more new members asking this basic question.  Can we really

live on $1000 or 43K pesos monthly budget?  

 

If I may, I would like to touch base on how we go about it.  In many cases, we start out as a tourist, enjoying exotic beach

resorts, hotels and romantic restaurants.  That 1000 bucks will be blown in 3 days.....well, at least for me anyway.  And

then you meet the woman of your dreams and it's time to go native, living on the local economy not as a tourist anymore.  

 

And then from there, all hell breaks loose.  All of the sudden you have a dozen babies (you're still a young stud at the

age of 53 or 73) and the wife becomes high maintenance with beauty salons and high end shopping.  She needs to 

maintain that upgraded status among her friends and family, you know.  After all, you're the one to put her there on a

higher pedestal.  Bottom line......you're dead broke by the end of the 2nd week.  

 

Another scenario might be this: you just found your dream home, custom built to fit your meager budget, as you learn

how to eat with your hands and hand washing the million diapers at the nearest river.  You should also have more

appreciation of the native insects roasting in your dirty kitchen for breakfast.  Bottom line......you're dead broke by the

end of the 3rd week.  But at least your custom built nipa hut (32 sq meter/344 sq ft) is all paid off from the money you

begged from your relatives back home. 

 

Silly examples?  Perhaps.......or maybe a serious reality check for those contemplating a drastic change in lifestyle and

your wallet.  Look at the question again -- the phrase can we live on.......it has produced so many perspectives based

on each individual's wants and needs.

 

My personal target would be at least 1800 bucks per month to live comfortably......half of that will go to all the yayas

babysitting my dirty dozen......he, he.  

 

Respectfully -- Jake

 

 

  

[Dave Hounddriver]

 Perhaps it would be interesting to look at the average budget of expats living in the Philippines.  My straw poll of people I have known over the last 7 years suggests that US$ 1,000 a month is lower than average while US$ 2,500 a month is higher than average  (I am talking about their budget, not their income or net worth)

 

I would estimate that an actual average budget for an expat living in the Visayas area would be right in the middle at US$1,800 a month . .  which is pretty much what Jake said he would need.

 

Of course I know people who have budgets that are lower than 1,000 and others who are higher than 2,500 so this is just meant to give people who have not lived here an idea of what the 'average' expat of my acquaintance lives on.

[BrettGC]

I think as Pokermike stated it's all about what we're happy with.  Very much "each to their own".  I personally wouldn't contemplate it for anything less than about 1700USD/month net, with a substantial emergency fund,  but others are more than happy with much less, others want to maintain a semblance of a western lifestyle so require more.  I'm somewhere in the middle from what I can gather from previous posts in this thread.  My only real "must haves" are air-con in at least our bedroom, internet and access to an Australian news/sports service (yep fellow Aussies, there is a channel :D )  

 

Thankfully SAO and I have the tourist mentality well and truly out of our system other than an annual holiday.

 

Having said that, the reality is my longest stay has been 8 weeks so the proof will be in the pudding when the time comes.  

Edited July 2, 2014 by BrettGC

[Thomas]

I really think the comfortable figure i see for living there now, maybe being close to a beach and maintaining some western standards such as decent living quarters and all the other things that go with it ,is about $2,000 to $2,500.

I think we are sometimes sending the wrong meesage saying we can retire there for $1,000 per month

Why?  I spend only around 1000 USD/month in average living IN SWEDEN.  

(Now: 6 room villa on own land, billiard, small boat...  No car for the moment, because I seldom need any because of my injury, but instead I have costs to pay for maintainance of my house, which I could make myself earlier.

Before I move to the house:  Condo in a popular part of a city, billiard, summer house, small boat, 2 cars one minivan and one common. That cost me around the same as now, some assisted by my company rented the minivan for transports sometimes.)

 

So I expend I will manage with around 1000-1200 USD INCLUDING Filipina wife and visit Sweden one time in 1-2 years myself,   but more when get kids.

Some extra STARTUP costs for "Help-to-self-help" to needed in her family. IF they waste it by lazyness/stupidity, I see it as THEIR financial problem in the future...

Of course it will cost more than 1000 USD per month in STARTUP, when we need to replace all things we had in our home countries, but weren't worth to transport to Phils.