Notice how much inflation has increased?

[Gratefuled]

I have no control over it so I don't bother to keep up with the exchange rate. What I do keep a watch on is how much inflation has increased since I've been here. For instance, when I first arrived, I would carry my calculator with me and check out the comparison to the imported food that I would buy to the cost of it back home. Then, I started to mark down on a piece of paper how much certain items cost so I would get an idea what my grocery bill would be. I slowly saw the increase in everything. Yes, even back home inflation is and has been on the rise. Nothing I can do about it. Just adjust or do without

Mod Edit:  That sounds like a great new topic so I will split your post to a new topic and lets see what others have to say about inflation..

Edited April 2, 2016 by Dave Hounddriver

[manofthecoldland]

20 hours ago, Gratefuled said:

I have no control over it so I don't bother to keep up with the exchange rate. What I do keep a watch on is how much inflation has increased since I've been here. For instance, when I first arrived, I would carry my calculator with me and check out the comparison to the imported food that I would buy to the cost of it back home. Then, I started to mark down on a piece of paper how much certain items cost so I would get an idea what my grocery bill would be. I slowly saw the increase in everything. Yes, even back home inflation is and has been on the rise. Nothing I can do about it. Just adjust or do without

Mod Edit:  That sounds like a great new topic so I will split your post to a new topic and lets see what others have to say about inflation..

I am of a similar mindset. I convert when 'we' (really my asawa) need money (much too frequently... Boo-Hoo) and have little choice in our situation.

If I think that I can take advantage of a positive uptick and gain a few extra pisos on the exchange rate.... well, my wife just sees it all as 'extra money' to spend. She has no where near the sense of frugality and budget planning that I do. After 13 years, I realize that its pointless to sweat the small stuff with her. She listens and agrees, but her spending  actions don't always seem to match the message I try to drum home continually. Call it cross-cultural differences or whatever. She will go to several different markets to get the best prices and values, and then take her co-madre or our non-relative support family (they provide companionship, home repairs, trike trips etc. to us.... ) to lunch or a big home feeding.

   I know that she's operating on a different (Filipino) social interaction system of 'give and take' that I am often in the dark about, but its sometimes, momentarily frustrating to me for a brief period until I just think.... "Heck, just let her." I'll just have to trust her to keep our best interests in mind, and blow-off my own frugality concerns.  But I tire of putting P10K into her budgeting account, only to shortly hear, "No money now."

When asked for an accounting... it always seems reasonable. Maybe I foolishly expect her to perform fiscal miracles.  Exchange rates and inflation are of a very limited concern to me, when considering the other, more important cultural difference factors of living within a budget. No two people spend alike.

It pays to remember the old Great Depression adage: 

(roughly) Fix it, mend it, wear it out. Make do or do without.

People generally live up to their income. No matter how great. If they live beyond... they're in for problems of their own making due to poor budget management and lack of self-discipline, in most cases.

The financial problems with living here usually boil down to the common tendency to live for the moment, with little heed given to tomorrow's needs. Exchange rates and inflation take a distant back seat to that. 

[Gratefuled]

41 minutes ago, manofthecoldland said:

I am of a similar mindset. I convert when 'we' (really my asawa) need money (much too frequently... Boo-Hoo) and have little choice in our situation.

If I think that I can take advantage of a positive uptick and gain a few extra pisos on the exchange rate.... well, my wife just sees it all as 'extra money' to spend. She has no where near the sense of frugality and budget planning that I do. After 13 years, I realize that its pointless to sweat the small stuff with her. She listens and agrees, but her spending  actions don't always seem to match the message I try to drum home continually. Call it cross-cultural differences or whatever. She will go to several different markets to get the best prices and values, and then take her co-madre or our non-relative support family (they provide companionship, home repairs, trike trips etc. to us.... ) to lunch or a big home feeding.

   I know that she's operating on a different (Filipino) social interaction system of 'give and take' that I am often in the dark about, but its sometimes, momentarily frustrating to me for a brief period until I just think.... "Heck, just let her." I'll just have to trust her to keep our best interests in mind, and blow-off my own frugality concerns.  But I tire of putting P10K into her budgeting account, only to shortly hear, "No money now."

When asked for an accounting... it always seems reasonable. Maybe I foolishly expect her to perform fiscal miracles.  Exchange rates and inflation are of a very limited concern to me, when considering the other, more important cultural difference factors of living within a budget. No two people spend alike.

It pays to remember the old Great Depression adage: 

(roughly) Fix it, mend it, wear it out. Make do or do without.

People generally live up to their income. No matter how great. If they live beyond... they're in for problems of their own making due to poor budget management and lack of self-discipline, in most cases.

The financial problems with living here usually boil down to the common tendency to live for the moment, with little heed given to tomorrow's needs. Exchange rates and inflation take a distant back seat to that. 

Wives can be suckers for "Buy One Take One". 

[manofthecoldland]

16 hours ago, Gratefuled said:

Wives can be suckers for "Buy One Take One". 

I've been spared the costly allure of that sales ploy. I think the wife went for it 4 or 5 times in 13 years, and only for things we needed anyway. Do you or others think that its a big and successful sales technique here for unneeded purchases or the mathematically challenged?

[stevewool]

59 minutes ago, manofthecoldland said:

I've been spared the costly allure of that sales ploy. I think the wife went for it 4 or 5 times in 13 years, and only for things we needed anyway. Do you or others think that its a big and successful sales technique here for unneeded purchases or the mathematically challenged?

When we was on holiday the last time over there, the wife went to do some shopping alone, we just needed some food so i thought she would be back in less then 1 hour,

But many hours later there was a knock on the door and there was Emma all smiles and looking pleased ,

Look what i have won, and in came 3 more young people carrying in a very large chair, some sort of air purifying system and saucepans and other things that are still at this so called shop,

You won all these Ems , yes they gave me this card and it said i was a winner, and look what i have won, WOW,

Brilliant i thought , then she came down to earth,

Have you 20,000 pesos, what for , well its to pay for a draw to win this other thing, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,

You have to pay this or you will loose all this i have won, so you have won nothing then i said,

To cut a long story short , it cost Ems around 5000 of her own money for this stupid thing that looks crap and she has used it once , the rest of the stuff went back along with the 3 people ,

A lesson lent i hope , you get nothing for nothing

[stevewool]

7 hours ago, Gratefuled said:

I have no control over it so I don't bother to keep up with the exchange rate. What I do keep a watch on is how much inflation has increased since I've been here. For instance, when I first arrived, I would carry my calculator with me and check out the comparison to the imported food that I would buy to the cost of it back home. Then, I started to mark down on a piece of paper how much certain items cost so I would get an idea what my grocery bill would be. I slowly saw the increase in everything. Yes, even back home inflation is and has been on the rise. Nothing I can do about it. Just adjust or do without

Mod Edit:  That sounds like a great new topic so I will split your post to a new topic and lets see what others have to say about inflation..

Always have a budget , but make sure you have that extra pot for inflation ,

[Dave Hounddriver]

2 hours ago, manofthecoldland said:

I tire of putting P10K into her budgeting account, only to shortly hear, "No money now."

Would you prefer to put P10K in her budgeting account and a week later hear "Yes I still have 5K left" . . . . . . . . when you know she has spent approximately 10K and thus you do not know where the 5K came from?   I have heard that some foreigners are so broke or so cheap (in their wife or gf's opinion) that the 'poor girl' has to resort to 'other means' to get money.  Anyway, that's what I have heard about 'some girls' so I am just suggesting that if you have one who spends only what you give her and is happy with that then she is a keeper 

[Jack Peterson]

23 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I am just suggesting that if you have one who spends only what you give her and is happy with that then she is a keeper 

 If Only. We just saved 600 on wages and spent 800 more Today. so I got a -200

This is not really going to be my year  Anyone got some spare Stress pills or is it 2 more 

[stevewool]

26 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

 If Only. We just saved 600 on wages and spent 800 more Today. so I got a -200

This is not really going to be my year  Anyone got some spare Stress pills or is it 2 more 

Not your year Jack, you still have 8 long, LONG and LONGER months left

[Jack Peterson]

1 minute ago, stevewool said:

Not your year Jack, you still have 8 long, LONG and LONGER months left

 Don't remind me