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

[Hey Steve]

I am definately a minamalist, but my wife sets the example. She's mainly into sardines, dried fish, and rice, with a little pork here and there. Although my budget won't be a problem when I get there, we make a good team as far as being frugal goes.

[stevewool]

 we make a good team as far as being frugal goes.

 

 

Thats the magic word, TEAM, working together will get you there quicker

[tweetie]

Yes..$1K can limit the places you can live in, at the same time, you can live a comfortable life here...suggestions, since you plan to retire here for good..buy a house and a car...everday lving expenses after that will be easy with your budget...you can even afford to take vacation around the island once in awhile and if you hve children can even afford to send them to school..depends on the kind of school you will send them to though and how many children you have :)

[Tukaram (Tim)]

 we make a good team as far as being frugal goes.

 

 

Thats the magic word, TEAM, working together will get you there quicker

 

We are both pretty frugal... but there are a lot of stores here with tempting purses and shoes.   And I seem to have married Imelda Marcos ha ha  :tiphat:

[Coffeehound]

Haven't we all...

[Methersgate]

According to the late Freddie Clemo, when Imelda was shown the shoe collection in  the Malacanang, she said, loudly, "Two pairs are missing!" 

(What do I know about shoes? Well, I know that a Philippines seven in ladies shoes is an English four and a half.... wonder why I know that....!)

Edited August 24, 2014 by Methersgate

[Jake]

Living on $1000 per month?

 

Wow, this post will never die simply because of daily expenses will increase due to inflation.  I believe $1000 per month was
doable during the 1990's and now, I believe a minimum $1500 is required.  Additionally, this post remains active because of 

newer members on limited budget will always be concern with this.  Especially if they are medically impaired due to chronic

illness or injuries and requires regular trips to the clinic.  And on the 3rd week of the month, you're already dead broke.  All
you have are peso coins to get a pack of ciggs and a bag of pandesal. 

 

Let's talk about adaptation living in the Filipino culture.  I apologize for using extremes or generalizations to further discuss
my comments but I will try to shock you guys with various reality checks.  For example, depending on your future business
in the Philippines, I believe you also need another back up funds (besides your exit funds) if you want to continue to pursue
your business just above water.  If your product or services is very unique and popular within the Filipino local community,
I will suspect that it will be copied and repackaged for a cheaper price.  The Filipinos, Chinese and Koreans are pretty smart
in relabeling, reverse engineering and repackaging of many of the imported products or services.  And on top of that, the
Filipino Crab Mentality fueled by jealousy is looking over your shoulder for you to fail.  That's business as usually.  If you're
willing to risk 100K pesos for a business adventure or real estate investment, be prepared to consider that loss as a donation
rather than tossing and turning on many sleepless nights worrying about how your money was wasted so easily. 

 

OK, let's talk about your western lifestyle.  If you're enjoying an upper middle class lifestyle and can keep up with the Jones,
and then moved to PI because of your wife or GF, adapting to the Filipino culture or any other Asian culture may be easier. 
However, if you are living from paycheck to paycheck in your home country, I would think you will always be in survival mode

if you're NOT willing to adapt or with your best intention, you're simply cannot survive when you're always dead broke before

the end of the month.  Are you frugal or budget minded?  No......then how can you teach your new wife or GF about planning

for tomorrow? 

 

Is this a doom and gloom scenario?  Perhaps......but there are many stories here of my fellow members not only surviving but

was also successful in relationships and their wallets.  It's really not the amount of $$ whether or not you could live comfortably. 

Self control, planning, your wife's willingness to say NO to her extended family and willingness to change your life, sometimes

drastically.  It takes a lot of sacrifices and adjustments  -- are you that type of person?  

 

Unfortunately, I was not -- I failed after 7 years and returned to California.  Respectfully -- Jake

Edited August 24, 2014 by Jake
spil chek

[robert k]

Jake brings up many excellent points. Going from west to east when you are on a tight budget is going to require that you be adaptable. It all depends on the life you expect to live. I believe you could have an apartment or house rented, eat reasonably well and have your utilities for $600 a month, but nothing fancy by western standards. On my ex's parents farm, that would be living high on the hog for 4 people, but it's a tin roof nipa house, which is not that bad, don't knock it til you've tried it, but I digress. $600 a month to reside in an approximation of western style. $60 a month for visa, card and such, if you are on the tourist visa, not including travel to and from the BOI office. Got a girlfriend? add more to the food, eating out, gifts, a little local travel, help out GF's mom and dad a little and you are probably over the $1k budget by at least $50.

 

This is probably without a car. I love having my own car, I own an antique car, a suv and a pickup truck right now, but I am going to try to get by without a car in the Philippines and not buy one unless I have to, or until I get settled, a vehicle cost you to keep it roadworthy whether you drive it or not and trust me, having lived on an island, you don't drive as much [if you live on Luzon it might be a different story]. It's not just that fuel is more expensive, it is, it's also that there is not that far to go, the ferry to another island while not hugely expensive is going to cost you both ways, you are going to bring the car back home, right? The cost of cars on an island are high also. A welded back together and made shiny multicab, rescued from a Japanese junkyard after 10 years on road in Japan, is about 45% of the cost of a brand new one, that has a 100k km warantee. The new multicab would also have a better engine that would be able to handle the A/C compressor. Think about it. If you learn to deal with piratical cab/trike drivers, I should not leave out Van hires, you would have to travel far and frequently to save money with a car. There are liability issues also, even if it's not your fault in an accident, the one with the ability to pay, pays, or you pay a lawyer, but you still pay.

 

If you need medicine, it can be much more expensive in the Philippines,or even unavailable. I am bringing a bunch of aspirin and some over the counter things and vitamins because Walmart has not penetrated the Philippines. If you are likely to need the medical safety net that a western country provides, maybe you should just visit the Philippines because the safety net doesn't really exist there.

 

There are alot of nice things about the Philippines, I mean that if I wanted to be on a beach, today, from where I am I would need plane tickets, in the Philippines I would text a trike driver and likely be there in 20 minutes.. I can get a decent lunch out for about 300 piso, less if I were not such a chow hound. Then there is the joy of having your GF get mad at you because another pretty girl smiled at you and you smiled back. How can you put a price on something like that? :thumbsup:

 

You can live in the Philippines on your own terms and not the Philippines terms, all it takes is money, probably more money than it costs to live in a western country but probably less than it would cost to live near a good beach in a western country.

[i am bob]

(OK, I consider Jake to be a friend...  (I consider just about everybody on here a friend...  hehe!) But I had to write a rebuttal to what he wrote...  But not just him but to all the others who say "NEY"...  Why?  Because I see a different side to things...    So, without further adieu...!)

 

Ah, c'mon to those who say "Ney"!  Some people can do it and some people can't!  That's really a major part of the answer!

 

$1000 a month...   How many times have we been given examples of somebody doing this?  How many times have people said they live very well within THEIR standards on $1000 a month?  Are they suppose to pack up now and move back because somebody said that they can't do it?  So some people can't do it?  No problem!  But many can!

 

What about those who live in their home countries on $1000 a month or less?  Are they not able to live a better life in the Philippines on the same amount?  "NO!" the NEY sayers say!  What about medical?  Some of us have medical that we bring with us...  For others, is it any different than before?  I'm sure they got sick before moving to the Philippines!  Rent?  Well, I guess you could pick up a repo in Florida - if you think that would be better...  I don't!  Some of us come from the country and wouldn't mind moving into the province and doing a little small hobby farm to feed ourselves!  And some of us would prefer to rent for a few years until we find the ideal place...  I don't think Manila is where we want to live though...  First off, it's expensive - just like living in New York City or England or Sidney or...   Not what we signed up for! The rest of the county is somewhat more reasonable and, once you get past the other larger centers, you will find rent even lower...   Unless you happen to be in a major tourist area...!  What about food?  If you moved to the Philippines for a Western diet, you really went the wrong way, didn't you?  South and Central America is going to be more to your liking!  As for the Philippines?  There are still lots of Western style foods but many are often made to Filipino standards.  Well, this is the Philippines, isn't it?  Sheesh!  Just by the street food, we should have figured that out...  By the way, street food is one of my main sources of culinary intake!  Cheap, no hot kitchen and no dishes to wash after,,,  hehe!  So, instead of restaurants and street food, you want to make your own meals and save a few bucks along the way?  (Didn't we do that in our old home countries?)  You can shop in the more expensive full service grocery stores or you can shop in the local market.  Or a combination of both...  The Kano price at the market bothering you?  Send your asawa or maid or somebody if you can.  They should be able to get the regular price - though I have been told that often the seller will still charge more if they don't know the person they are selling to.  You can also go yourself if you want...  Buy only from venders who post their prices...  Or look for what one vender just charged somebody else and confirm the price before you buy...  There are many ways to work your way around prices - you just have to keep your eyes and ears open.  And there is still no guaranty this is going to work but, in the long run, you should still be paying much less than in the grocery store!

 

What about those "money-grubbing, give-me-more" family on your future or present Mrs side? Sure, the Filipino family is very close and looks after each other - and there is nothing wrong with that...  But your other half has to remember that you are a product of the West...  Doing some of the things that Filipinos consider normal is going to be odd to you...  A caring wife will try to see your side - and a caring husband (YOU!) will try to see her side as well...  Still, if you find yourself in a bad situation and her family is trying to suck you dry financially and your Mrs sits back and is siding with her family?  Seriously, if you put yourself in that situation, well, grow a pair, tell your Mrs to either start saying NO or learn how to live as an EX-MRS!  Yeah, I guess that's a little rude but I keep hearing that story on here and it seems that either the hubby stands up and tells the Mrs how it is and the two of them either have a life style change (GOOD FOR YOU GUYS!) or they end up living under their wive's (and her family's) thumb and broke for the rest of their life.  The choice is yours!

 

Yeah, i keep coming back on here saying you can live for less dollars.  I'm not even there and I know I can already.  Why?  Because I have researched the (HECK) out of what i am going into.  I have experience living in different countries around the world and some of these places you would swear were the Philippines.  And, at present, I am living within eyesight of the mist over Niagara Falls - probably the most expensive tourist trap in the world if you don't know what you are doing!  So many of the things I hear about on this forum are happening here daily - and for a lot more economic value (read that as $) into somebody else's pocket.  Ok, some things have changed ($45 CDN at Denny's for a coffee and order of toast with jam is no longer!) but it's still a fun place to live!  I'd just rather live in the sunshine all year round - with my budget of $1000 CDN a month!!!  And so do a lot of other expats with their same $1000 a month...!  So if somebody wants to say "NAY"?  Fine!  Spend more money or live somewhere else - as long as you are happy...  The rest of us will still be just as happy!

 

:attention:  :rolleyes:  :mocking:

[stevewool]

Very well put Bob, i agree with everything you say, and my budget is still going to be very very low,

I dont intend to have any sort of business over in the Phils at all, so i cannot worry about not making any money to pay the bills, the reason i am going to give the Phils a try is because i want too, if it does not work well i would have lost nothing, i would have had a great holiday, and i would just come back to England and try another country,

Again Bob well said :thumbsup: