So do taxes. Anytime i hear the “flat tax” argument I always cringe since that really hammers the poorest the hardest. Any consumption tax also punishes the poor too.
I'm sorry to hear about people talking negatively about your house. Some people like to have a big, fancy home to make them feel important, something to validate their existence, and they pay for that. When I first met my fiance, I started looking at homes within an hour drive to Dumaguete. I started looking at fancy homes because they were affordable compared to the states, but my fiancé said we don't need that. I agree with her, that it would be better to have a comfortable home that met our needs and have extra money for enjoying life rather than have an expensive house and less money to enjoy life.
I seen a vlogger this weekend and he said he was living off $700. Living in Lapu-Lapu City in a condo and living large. Personally, I don't see how this is even possible. I don't believe it.
You are exactly right and every time I say this I am told “oh, you must be living way above your means lol 😂” now I say sure come here with your $1,000 a month budgets. Come with $800.00 if you want. You will do great lol 😂
Other than my wife I’m a minimalist. I’d be in Manila even if single knowing what I know now but no steady girlfriends. I stay in shape so I don’t need aircon, stating in shape is not eating as a hobby definitely not as they do. Interacting with poor locals is a problem especially now. Whenever a cab driver complains about inflation they blame the states. Could be, I dunno. White devil theories are default for their problems. so I let them know the immigrant sector dominated the electorate so here we are. Punching back not withstanding you will see tough resourceful Filipinos unable to cope. I see formerly middle class Americans in New York compromising a proper diet so imagine a Filipino stretching 400 peso a day in manila. You wanna help but there’s no end. You also gotta be careful as desperate people do desperate things. Careful old men with young hotties. Careful Romeos.
Owning real estate is a good hedge against inflation, not easy to do here but you can. Plus the exchange rate, is really excellent, so that helps a lot. Knowing a lot of locals has been a key for me, like this 3 bed 2 bath house for $200 a month in Anda Bohol.
My electric bill was 3,340.59 php for May in Angeles. I have a split unit AC I run 24/7 at 25-26C. It was 11php per kWh for that bill. Pretty much the same as when I was living in Las Vegas for electricity, I spent more on electricity there. I’m retired US military so I have medical and an emergency fund. That’s important to have. My living budget is $1400 a month but I have more income than that. I pay 9k php for a 2 bdr apartment in Hensonville.
the blogger i saw said his bill tripled. that is a reasonable thing to be concerned about. Sure if you have money the Philippines is fine but if you are a poor filipino this inflation is going to hurt a lot.
Hi Steve, I recently asked about inflation in the province, pre covid a bus fare was 10 pesos, now the same journey 19 pesos and the vast majority of expenses have gone the same way. I really feel for the poor, usually many children and the speed of the financial change has left them in dire straits. Don't know what expats are complaining about, we live like kings compared to them. Cheers Aussie John
The US government is printing trillions of worthless dollars and dump them on poor countries, to produce value under that trash. Very soon your king's life will be over.
My 2 cents on the AC issue: Most new expats are not as young as they used to be and are not used to the heat here. I would advise a newbie to start out with the AC set at 23-25. At least each month, increase 1 degree until you are very comfy with 27-30. That way, you will not wilt in the heat and give your body some time to adapt. I'm 60 and from SE Texas. I go out for 3km walks in 104-111F heat index almost every day. That may just kill a snowbird!
That is really good avice on slowly conditioning yoruself to the heat level in PH vs US. Only thing i woudl add is carry a small water bottle too. I get these little half bottles at the store and always carry one (warm) since water does not need to be cold. But getting dehydrated can be fatal. I have a minisplit in the bedroom since it is much more comfy to sleep cool. And we aircon the other side rooms too. But we dont aircon the kitchen and lviingroom. We rely on ceiling fans to make it tolerable there.
When I came back from working in the states my wife had the air-conditioning set at 16 she didn't realize that every time we had a brown out the air-conditioning reset to its lowest setting of 16 My wife was running around the house in a winter coat, with a runny nose and getting headaches. I immediately turn it to 20 the first day then 22 the second day, 24 the third day the fourth day to 26 that was 3 weeks ago now today I'm putting it on 27 just now.
I don’t know what part you love. That don’t mean nothing. Dominican Republic it’s the same currency and Everything it’s expensive , no matter if you used dollars.
Water seeks it's own level. Relying on others to tell you how much you need is more than likely them telling you what their sweet spot is. Some people like luxury, others can read a book all day long.
I am in the states right now and the prices are from another world, I am shocked at the prices in the Grocery stores. The prices in fast food places shocked me as well, used car prices are a 25% higher than they should be. We always send at least 2 Balikbayan boxes back, this year just one the prices are just too high.
I feel like electric is expensive in the PI, here in Thailand I pay 4.5b/7.2 pesos/kwh and split level inverter air. Honestly it makes no difference to me with a Western budget but I can see how it's expensive for Filipinos. 13,000p/8k baht gets you resort style living at somewhere like Amazon Residence in Jomtien (pools, waterfall, water slide, gym, ect). I do prefer a lot of things about the PI but IMO it's more expensive than basically all SEA countries. Thanks for another interesting video.
I'm seeing on Facebook accomodation to rent are sky high in Cebu, whole houses are higher than equivalent property in England, I often comment, "are you kidding?"
As someone who lived 3 years in 14' x 8' CHU and didn't mind it at all. It's not the size, it's the quality and location. Sounds peaceful there. If you have concrete walls (sound proofing) all the better. Earplugs for sleep and a good A/C for easy sleeping.
Pretty informative show today Steve. I'm in the Dumaguete area and things are a bit different here. For one you won't find an $80 apartment here and if you did you wouldn't want to live there. We own a house now but lived in a 2 bedroom apt before. It was decent but nothing special. It was 22K per month then but now is 25K per month. Sure, you can find cheaper but you'll give up amenities. We go out for lunch most days at a cost of around 400p - 500p each. We always eat dinner at home because driving here at night is not something I do. It's crazy during the day but harder to see the crazy at night. Lots of them have no lights. Last electric bill was 9K because we ran the A/C 24/7, 27c daytime and 24c at night. As of yesterday we have no municipal water. Bottom line is we spend about $2K per month with no housing expense. Vloggers painting Dumaguete as some sort of nirvana are doing a disservice to the people watching.
I am just north of Davao, in Panabo City, building a house. Steel is up 60% and sand/gravel up 100% just since I started building. Since I spend all day on the building site, I expected a big drop in my electric bill, I got a small drop. I think there were some fees that were passed through to the customers. About unexpected expenses...just spent 3 days in a small province hospital with typhoid. 20k pesos.
By the time we get over there I’ll be 75+ and we’ll be staying in my wife’s ‘free & clear’ studio condo. Cheap to cool, low condo fees. Exercise room, swimming pool, Robinsons Supermarket & Bo’s Coffee and Pharmacy an elevator ride away, neighbourhood carenderias steps away, world class hospital minutes away. Summer & Fall in Canada, Winters in The Philippines. GRAB for anything across town, like to the airport for occasional travel. Pension should more than cover the basics, with extra going into an emergency/medical fund. We’re working toward it. Luckily Canadian pension is indexed to inflation, to a big degree, so that should help us stay on track.
You can't go by how high your electric bill is. You have to check the rate you are paying per kilowatt. If the price per kilowatt has gone up substantially you've got inflation.
Remember that these families in this financial challenging times, they still send their kids from elementary to high school paying for their tuition unlike in US where there is no matriculation for public schools from elementary to high school.And no school lunch program here either, I remember back in St Louis Univ elementary school in Baguio in the 60's, Nanay packing my army mess kit with Vienna sausage and rice and a bottle of Pepsi on my 1942 haversack,no backpack s back in the days, and we wore khaki uniforms with black necktie. My father was a civil servant and he had a government car which was a Willy's jeep painted blue, in front of the passenger side is an aluminum plate stamped Willy's Toledo, Ohio 1944.as a little boy I wondered where that place was, far away across the ocean.
12.5php for kwh is about .21us. 17php is about .29us. My little area of CA is on Oregon Pricing... .168us per kwh. California's Average Rate .33us per kwh. I think saving 60% or better in Rent when I come out in October will more than cover the difference.
Yes but energy efficiency goes a long way. Electric was very high when I lived in Okinawa but a 2000w "oven", individual room AC and anything that could be gas was... so I ended up using 300-400 kwh a month vs. 1000 for a similar size in the states. Yes 12 peso is about. 21 cents, above us average but if you use half as much you come out!
That $600 dollars though is stuff that you get monthly like paper towels and plates. Special items. Like cleaning products. But usually little cheaper.
Steven, my electric bill is over 200 US dollars a month. This is year round. I have my AC set at 74 degrees Fahrenheit and it is turned off when I go to work. It is turned off for about 48 hours a week.
My house this month with the exchange rate is $789 USD. This house in California, or any west coast city, would be easily $4k or up. My electric is 12.6 php per kw. Yes, it has been quite hot for an extended time. So my last electric bill was 12.6k php's or $221 USD. But overall, you still can't beat the living costs here. Let's not forget a much less stressful life. My AC is set at 30 c(highest setting) and my inside temperature is 21.5 c. I have a big floor standing unit and it does a great job. I did a video on this.
I wish now we had installed a unit like yours instead of 3 new split AC units. Our last electric bill was more than half our rent at 22.4k php's! Hoping that the upcoming rainy season cools things down and lowers our bill. I'm also surprised at the cost of gym memberships here in the Nuvali area. I was paying $10 per month for a Planet Fitness in NJ and places here are 3 or 4 times that for much smaller facilities.
Those electric rates seem pretty normal to me. I am in Maine and as of July 1 we will be paying $0.305 per kilowatt or, based on the current exchange rate, ~18 pesos per kilowatt-hr. Lifestyle makes all the difference in how much it costs you to live anywhere. Here in Maine our base living expenses (housing, food, two cars, health insurance, and our cat) come to about $2,100 per month. Of that about $900/month is for medical and dental. Yeah, we have no debt and own our house. We could live cheaper if we moved to a cheaper area where our property taxes would be lower (because the house would have lower value), but we are happy here. Of course we could, and do, spend more than that because we can. Yes it would cost a lot more if we were renting and had car payments. But if you have saved and planned for retirement you can live pretty cheap here. As you are saying, it is the same in the Philippines. You live high and it costs more and you get hit more by inflation. We live a pretty quiet life that doesn't involve buying a lot of "stuff" so inflation has a pretty small effect on us.
Another great video Steve I can totally agree with you. The power bills have been a little bit higher the last couple months because of the heat this year has been extra hot and less rain so far. Last month we had a 9300 power bill, which is usually about 2000 more than usual . You’re definitely on spot with the budget. My wife and I live around 2000 a month we pull out 100,000 from the bank every month pesos and if we need extra, we pull extra out but that is our usual budget and we have everything paid off , so there’s no rent or no car payment nothing like that. I don’t know how people say that they can live off 1000 a month and still pay rent. It must be a huge downgrade from how they’re normally living in the western world. It’s like just barely surviving. I believe in your budget the 2 to 3000 is ideal and someone should still have some kind of income coming in from where they live at least one, possibly two. and of course, some kind of savings I would think at least 30 to 50,000 in the bank for an emergency, especially if they’re older. SNR is a great place to shop. My wife and I are going there tomorrow to do our month supply. We always spend between 30 and 40,000. But that gets all kinds of stuff more than one shopping cart. Thank you for always keeping it real. Steve. You probably have the best channel on CZcams.
Once again another great video. I really look forward to your informational content. Looking at places now ( with fiancé as eyes and ears), and we found a furnished 2 B/B apartment for $300, which was the best deal for the money so far. This is in Duma. I will be there again in November and will make the final move in May next year. BTW, already talking with Mary Rose. Looking forward to meeting you soon.
There’s nothing wrong with coming over here and trying to live on 1000 a month in the area your in , as long as you’ve got $2000 or $3000 coming in the month for backup just incase you canny do it just play around with your budget.
Inflation is definitely hitting the philippines. The peso is down, making the USD stronger this past week or so. Its not killing budgets, maybe for some, but by and large it is not horrible. Sure food has gone up. Rent, land and condos have definitely gone up.
My English friend in Cebu asked me how much electricity costs per kilowatt in England, he finds Cebu more expensive, but i think its due to the fact that generators are run by diesel fuel.
Inflation in the states just hit 19.3% here in the Philippines it's 6.8% I just paid 13,600 php for items at the grocery store we paid 10,000 php 2 years ago. American products have always been high but now even higher. I can't complain yet our electricity bill was 5,150 php $90.00 698 kilwat add the taxes and fees we paid 8,500 php or about $150.00 dollars 7.3 php per kilwat. Good video Steve.
@@Otingocni U.S.Bureau of labor and statistics. From January 2021 to April 2024 inflation is at a true 19.3% food costs up 22% gas prices up over 50% depending on where you live food and gas prices more or less.
@@LeonardMarlin oh so food costs not overall costs. i see. I normally think of of overall inflation when people say inflation. My mistake for assuming that. this is what i found The annual inflation rate for the United States was 3.4% for the 12 months ending April, compared to the previous rate of 3.5%, according to U.S. Labor Department data published on June 15, 2024. The next inflation update is scheduled for release on June 12 at 8:30 a.m. ET, providing information on the inflation rate for the 12 months ending May 2024.
@@Otingocni if inflation were a true 3.4 % you wouldn't have people having sticker shock when going to the store to buy food to feed their family or gas prices way up to fill their car. Not sure where you live but my car, health and house insurance has gone way up I'm spending $1,000 dollars more today then I did 4 years ago. Three years ago I paid 11,000 dollars for everything I bought the year before, two years ago 15,000 dollars last year 17,000 dollars you guess it this next year everything I bought to live and survive will cost me $20,000 dollars more then I paid 4 years ago. I'm one of the lucky ones, I'm a nurse and my yearly income has gone up to match inflation I have had a $10.00 dollar hourly increase over the last 4 years. Would have been nice to keep that money and put it in savings and yes when I go back to work in the United States every year for 6 months I work a full time job as well as a second part time job to survive and pay the bills.
Great informations, you live in a decent house, don't need a big house. You can live in a big house but u choose to live alow profile which is better. With yiur disability check u can live very comportable but its better to save that money for other things.
@@51dbailwe run our air-conditioning 24 7 used 698 kilwat hours at setting 25 77 degrees like you my comfort is worth the $150.00 dollars a month. We live on Samal Island.
@@kevink3975 I have AC but I don't use it. I've pretty much acclimated and where we live it isn't as warm as say the city center. Usually by 1 a.m. I'm looking for a blanket.
@TampabayTodd Here in Cocoa Florida our electric last month was $81 thanks to having all natural gas appliances. Water bill was $70 and natural gas bill $35 for two peeps last month. Love my natural gas.
Love your videos, I've seen prices rise sharply in the cost of food here since moving to Camiguin Island almost 5 years ago. I couldn't live in a big city here or any other place in the world myself. Expenses here are very cheap, My monthly expenses for a 2 bedroom house on the beach, electricity, cable, internet, water, and purified water is only P14.5K a month. We don't have AC because we don't need it. We take public transportation, I do have a motorcycle, and groceries cost for a family of 4 runs between P20K and P25K a month. I send $1450 a month to the Philippines and save that much every month in a bank in the states besides saving some here. Our house isn't big or fancy but with a view out the front door as beautiful as it is I wouldn't want to be indoors under an AC. We always are able to donate money to the church here and help family on $1450 every month. I am able to fly back to the states every year for a 3 month visit.
My mom moved last year to Texas to a one floor apartments with pool for $650 a month. But not Dallas or Houston. It’s outside the big cities. And she love it. Shut $3000 budget I better stayed at USA because you still can live with that in some states. I like Philippines but it’s too far from home. Not to many chances to spend time with family.
It all depends on your lifestyle. I'm a Nurse and spend six months a year with us working, seeing my family and friends. Then six months a year living on Samal Island near my wife's family. For now it's working probably in five years we will be spending more time living in the Philippines.
I'm surprised my electric rate in Subic freeport is just 9 php/kwh. My thought is that other places, that have brownouts, are paying more for future expansion.
Costs have risen significantly in the Philippines in the last 2 years. The cost to live a western lifestyle, with the same quality as one would have in the west is rapidly becoming equal. The issue isn't just the cost to survive in the Philippines, it's the quality of the life. Philippines is beautiful, with wonderful people, but the infrastructure is garbage. Unless you pay exorbitant prices, most consumer products are junk. If you wish to eat quality western food at all, you will certainly pay considerably more than you would in the west. Either lower your standards, go native, or be prepared to spend a lot of money.
You are correct on all points,,I live here and I spend a lot, but I can, that’s the difference, you need a reasonable amount of money to have a good standard of living here..otherwise you will end up in the backwater province in the jungle, wood burning fires for cooking candles for lighting..😅Nipa hut lodging..😊
If I can survive in the USA on the 1300 USD I get I know that I can thrive and live a lot better there in the Philippines. I spent 10 weeks there in the Philippines. I lived in the province and I bought a Aircon. With the Aircon the power bill only went up 1k PHP per month the normal bill is 1500 php. I will be returning to the Philippines by September and I don't plan on spending everything i bring in every month. So is inflation effecting the Philippines, yes. It's effecting the world but is the Philippines cheaper than the US, definitely.
When i lived on 1300 month in usa i had snap and heat and electric assistance and used food banks. I moved to cebu. On 1300 a month and i must say i had a way higher quality of life back home. However, i love it here in cebu. I do have 40k emergency fund for future medical. However i strictly live on 1300 a month any extra i throw back into my dividend stocks. I do sweat alot and have not the nicest place but best i could find for 400 a month.when i turn 62 i get 1600 in ss so i be at the sweet spot just need to deal till then :-).
Inflation refers to changes over time in the overall level of prices of goods and services throughout the economy. The government measures inflation by comparing the current prices of a set of goods and services to previous prices. That turns out to be more complicated than it sounds
Yesterday was one of my few days off, I normally work 7 days a week. With that said I didn't do anything, I watched CZcams videos, s*** showered and shaved, cook me rice in my rice cooker, did and uploaded a video talking about this being my first anniversary of being divorced for a year. But other than that I don't have a life. Even though I live in a two-bedroom, 2 bath, living room, dining room and kitchen all I use is the master bedroom bathroom and kitchen. Currently I have my heater set on 80°, yes I said I had my heater set and on during May and June I hate the cold (26.67 c). I've been living in this apartment since the day before Thanksgiving last year got higher than $30 a month. My rent is $895. I literally can live in a shed that is 12 x 16, that has a 3/4 bathroom and one corner, a kitchenette in the other corner, and the rest of the shed would be my living room dining room and bedroom.
Yeah, I am FROM Las Vegas, NV. Shit is crazy expensive there. I been living in Cebu city, Philippines for the last year and a half. I am spending a third of what I had to spend in the US just to survive. I just started investing in high yield income generating dividends to make more money. (
You been doing good over there decent apartment and you cook sometimes so you aren’t eating rice only, I can make it on probably 1600-2500 most likely I am sure that would get me by. And still save a couple bucks bucks for emergency.
I just saw $3 for a can of chili in a dollar store in the States. Steve, let the haters hate. It's more of a reflection of them, than you. Live your life and jam on! BTW, keep playing guitar.
Steve,,,,i hope to visit The Phillipines 2 or 3 times a year a month at a time,,,,with Two thousand us dollars a month ,,,,separate from hotel costs,,,,,Do u think this is enough ?
One of the reasons I want to come and live there, is I can learn from the Filipinos on how to live and survive. They do it without help from the government and without all the regulations, and they have a good outlook on life.
I don't know about you but I didn't work my whole life just to move to a 3rd world country and lower my standard of living. Some guys do that though I think because it makes them feel more virtuous. I didn't come here to "survive".
Your saying it’s not cheap hmmm it’s not expensive , even in BGC compared to the west Just because one bloke canny afford it ! Doesn’t mean it’s expensive, it’s just the he don’t have the cash
A single person can come to live in the Philippines on $1,500 a month without a start up fund. One of my exspat friends did just that. He didn't have much of a social life his first year. Each month he would buy one or two items to live. Such as the first month a window air. One burner stove, a few things to cook with. Month 2 a small refrigerator. You get the picture, his second year he saved up and bought a scooter. So can a person come to the Philippines with $1,500 dollars to live on ? Yes but expect your first few years to be a little uncomfortable having to buy things you need to live.
@@MrSteven5975 I 💯 agree I dropped my medicare part B and use that money to pay for my health insurance through Pacific Cross the average house like ours on Samal Island rents for $500.00 dollars a month so because we don't rent we take that money and put it into my emergency fund. When family and friends ask me what it cost me to live in the Philippines I tell them if your single expect to spend $1,500 to $2,000 dollars every month. Have a wife and kids add another $500.00 to $1,000.00 dollars to that depending on you're lifestyle.
I think it depends on the person's lifestyle. I'm a little north of $2k/month pension and I'm saving $700 month minimum each month. I live in MM high rise condo, inverter aircon that runs 24/7, washing machine, airfryer etc. I just got my electric bill today 2.8k php. 23C at night and 27C Economy during the day. I wholeheartedly agree with Steve on the startup money though. I listened to him and brought 5k usd and I was able to pay 6 months up front for my condo and buy stuff I needed (spices, food, cleaning supplies, etc) I honestly believe $1000-$1500 can be done if you bring$5k startup, have minimum 10k in the bank for emergencies and a solid credit card. But you have to be reasonable, no 2 week millionaire action or it may blow up in your face
I’m blessed to have a dear friend who has told me that as long as I want to live in her other house it is mine. Two bedroom for $80.00. I have put in ac throughout the home and hot water tank, water filter system. and also have put in 110 electric for all my stuff I sent to the PI. Over 20 Balikbayan boxes. I basically Americanized it. I’m not leaving until they carry me out in a box. I run my ac continuous, with a full size refrigerator, big screen tv and I charge the largest e-bike that kuda makes and my electric bill was 15,000 php last month but like Steve said it’s been abnormally hot the past two months so it’s expected I have ac and I’m going to be comfortable. I didn’t retire to suffer
Your grocery store budget is as high as mine here with a family of 4. That s and r is definitely not an affordable way. I think if you were more open on foods and location where you buy you would save a lot in that category.
It's not a matter of if you can do it today , the prices are not going to go down and USA social security adjustments won't cover inflation. Take into consideration your age and figure in 10 years your lifestyle will cost you at least 40% more so your 1500 usd budget will be like living on 900 now so keep that in mind when you watch a video , they are giving you TODAYS price and most people hope they don't die tomorrow. and that budget doesn't include a significan other which in most cases isn't cheap.
I doubt, Soc Sec incl COLAs, over the past 10 yrs, resulted in 40% less disposable income, But Rents, Gas & Food Def exploded Worldwide late & post Pandem .. Inflation is starting to slow .. The Cure for High Prices is high prices (less demand) ..
So true. You can’t count on SS keeping up with inflation. You need savings of $100k+ that is earning income and you don’t touch until you age. You need to plan on living until at least 85. What happens if you run out of money at that age and have no savings. Hospitals will just let you die unless you have money. It would be hard going back to the US at that point unless you kept Medicare.
I’m just wondering how the lower income can survive with such high rates. I couldn’t imagine a fan only being used during these high temps. Be careful as it’s hot and of course each part of the Philippines have different electric companies who are for dang sure monopolizing there lane per say. Be wise be careful
I found after moving here to Samal Island that I had to replace all the doors and windows in our house to get the house sealed up not allowing cold air to escape. The air-conditioning does a great job and we have no humidity issues.
I don’t care what my electric bill will be ! I am going to run my ac at a minimum of 7pm to 7 am !!! I have a $3,000 a month budget in the Philippines and $2,500 in the US while I am there !
We paid $20.00 for Skippy Peanutbutter & jelly at Robinson mall in tacloban..our Electric bill is always around $250.00. In the States in Ocala fla. Our friends and others i ask that live there have Electric bills of $88.00. In two years we're looking to move there to a place called Top of the World..I'll be turning 67 in 2 years, starting my SS. There is much better health care there in Ocala. There's a big VA hospital not too far away..
I 💯 percent agree with you. My start up fund was $25,000 Why so much? Because even though are house was paid for i knew there were things i needed to live an upper middle class lifestyle as i do in the states. Air-conditioning. We put a shower / tub in the bathroom. New kitchen appliances. New dinning room furniture. New living room furniture. New bedroom furniture for us and the kids. I had to have a generator, not dealing with brown outs. New water tank and electric pump, never running out of water. I needed transportation. We bought new scooters and a new car. We have 4 kids college tuition is 150,000 php a year plus 150,000 allowance for each child. X 2 300,000 php The 2 younger kids allowance is 50,000 a year. Our monthly budget for everything is $2,500.00 dollars a month. We on average excluding Christmas and birthdays months we can usually put $500 dollars away in our emergency fund every month. Good video Steve. We live on Samal Island so we don't have to go far to enjoy ourselves swimming and eating at different resorts. We live 15 minutes by boat to Davao city and your right it's getting expensive to live there.
Some say they rent a condo- that costs money. Some are living with wife there and won’t need rent money. Some eat Philippine food some want more western- western costs extra. Same with everything.
If you live here you need a solar power system , my bill went from 9000$ -18000 php down to about 3000$ php ROI is about 3.5 yrs here in Philippines, buy food especially meat and vegetables from local markets. If your going to the grocery store and buying imported items and living in Air con the whole time, you haven't moved here in mind yet, your still on vacation mode.
@@DigitalNomadsExplore I have a grid tied system 8.4 KW. So, there is no power when there is a brownout. The cost was 305k PHP, that is with a German quality inverter. You can go cheaper with a Chinese inverter but I wouldn't recommend it. Ive seen slightly cheaper ads out there for the same system. If you want a battery / off grid sytem up front cost is at least another 120k, and you will be replacing batteries in about 7 years for about another 100k.
I’ve been postponed for a 6 months to take care of my aunt so o might get there this year. Maybe. Here my homes are paid for only repairs and taxes . So ss , my pension go to different bank accounts. I get a little over 3 k a month and try to live off just my pension here but I traveled outside the USA which required a lot more cash than I usually spend . Plus it was for a family member. So still plan on getting to travel to Philippines later 6 months late
The US just keeps getting worse and worse..... so from what I can observe (from the US) inflation in the Philippines depends on location. -- And appears to be significantly less than the US ! -- My research shows Lipa City and San Pablo City to be "cheap" yet - and too places in between. That is getting farther from Manila and more provincial living. - - - Your place Steve is 'comfortable' for you & that's what counts. Would be for me too. > Some people are spoiled and simply extravagant ? - - - Those numbers you talk about I'm sure are well meaning and intentioned - however it does appear to discount the - 'ALTERNATIVE' - life - in the US - on the same $ - ??? -- A reality for many to have to face and consider carefully - to perhaps avoid homelessness in the streets (?) while in their 70's if not older ? = Biden's America is 'unforgiving' too for many !!! --?-- 🤔
Your place in Trece Martires seems great and you did a good job of finding a low cost of living area that is still within a round day trip of Manila. Enjoy your semi-retirement. If you took being close to Manila out of the equation: where is the absolute lowest cost of living decent town in the Philippines?
Electric in PI is still cheap compared to Calif 150 to 250 dollars . REFUSE sewage water and house gas 200 to 300 dollars ...WINTER TIME HIGHER . FOODS 500 TO 1000 A MONTH .... Calif oops I forgot car insurance and property tax .....go figure ...cheap nope
Is it worth it to buy a solar generator, panels and batteries for about 200,000 pesos and not need the grid? I’m not a huge solar guy but in a country with expensive electricity that’s near the equator, it seems smart. No?
Yes we all are doing well here, i made a big cash out today at 58.74 that's a great return
Today, the CHF made a nice move vs. the USD and PHP…
Inflation hits those with the least the hardest.
So do taxes. Anytime i hear the “flat tax” argument I always cringe since that really hammers the poorest the hardest. Any consumption tax also punishes the poor too.
@@KingRat71 that makes almost no sense at all.
@@markreynolds5363 well sorry to inform you that it is mathematically true.
@@KingRat71 well, sorry to read that.
I'm sorry to hear about people talking negatively about your house.
Some people like to have a big, fancy home to make them feel important, something to validate their existence, and they pay for that.
When I first met my fiance, I started looking at homes within an hour drive to Dumaguete. I started looking at fancy homes because they were affordable compared to the states, but my fiancé said we don't need that.
I agree with her, that it would be better to have a comfortable home that met our needs and have extra money for enjoying life rather than have an expensive house and less money to enjoy life.
For a Big Mac meal here in Minnesota it is $14. You can go to the store here and easily pay $100 for two bags of groceries.
There is a huge difference in living and surviving. The less money you have is just surviving day to day. Not a good way to live
I seen a vlogger this weekend and he said he was living off $700. Living in Lapu-Lapu City in a condo and living large. Personally, I don't see how this is even possible. I don't believe it.
I don't see that happening. My wife is from that area and said a foreigner can only live like a poor Filipino on that amount....
You are exactly right and every time I say this I am told “oh, you must be living way above your means lol 😂” now I say sure come here with your $1,000 a month budgets. Come with $800.00 if you want. You will do great lol 😂
@@smith1958bdon’t it isn’t true
Other than my wife I’m a minimalist. I’d be in Manila even if single knowing what I know now but no steady girlfriends. I stay in shape so I don’t need aircon, stating in shape is not eating as a hobby definitely not as they do. Interacting with poor locals is a problem especially now. Whenever a cab driver complains about inflation they blame the states. Could be, I dunno. White devil theories are default for their problems. so I let them know the immigrant sector dominated the electorate so here we are. Punching back not withstanding you will see tough resourceful Filipinos unable to cope. I see formerly middle class Americans in New York compromising a proper diet so imagine a Filipino stretching 400 peso a day in manila. You wanna help but there’s no end. You also gotta be careful as desperate people do desperate things. Careful old men with young hotties. Careful Romeos.
Owning real estate is a good hedge against inflation, not easy to do here but you can. Plus the exchange rate, is really excellent, so that helps a lot. Knowing a lot of locals has been a key for me, like this 3 bed 2 bath house for $200 a month in Anda Bohol.
Hi Steve 👋,.. hello from Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Thanks for a great video.
Take care and keep up the great work.
My electric bill was 3,340.59 php for May in Angeles. I have a split unit AC I run 24/7 at 25-26C. It was 11php per kWh for that bill. Pretty much the same as when I was living in Las Vegas for electricity, I spent more on electricity there. I’m retired US military so I have medical and an emergency fund. That’s important to have. My living budget is $1400 a month but I have more income than that. I pay 9k php for a 2 bdr apartment in Hensonville.
the blogger i saw said his bill tripled. that is a reasonable thing to be concerned about. Sure if you have money the Philippines is fine but if you are a poor filipino this inflation is going to hurt a lot.
Hi Steve, I recently asked about inflation in the province, pre covid a bus fare was 10 pesos, now the same journey 19 pesos and the vast majority of expenses have gone the same way. I really feel for the poor, usually many children and the speed of the financial change has left them in dire straits. Don't know what expats are complaining about, we live like kings compared to them. Cheers Aussie John
The US government is printing trillions of worthless dollars and dump them on poor countries, to produce value under that trash. Very soon your king's life will be over.
My 2 cents on the AC issue: Most new expats are not as young as they used to be and are not used to the heat here. I would advise a newbie to start out with the AC set at 23-25. At least each month, increase 1 degree until you are very comfy with 27-30.
That way, you will not wilt in the heat and give your body some time to adapt. I'm 60 and from SE Texas. I go out for 3km walks in 104-111F heat index almost every day. That may just kill a snowbird!
That is really good avice on slowly conditioning yoruself to the heat level in PH vs US. Only thing i woudl add is carry a small water bottle too. I get these little half bottles at the store and always carry one (warm) since water does not need to be cold. But getting dehydrated can be fatal.
I have a minisplit in the bedroom since it is much more comfy to sleep cool. And we aircon the other side rooms too. But we dont aircon the kitchen and lviingroom. We rely on ceiling fans to make it tolerable there.
When I came back from working in the states my wife had the air-conditioning set at 16 she didn't realize that every time we had a brown out the air-conditioning reset to its lowest setting of 16
My wife was running around the house in a winter coat, with a runny nose and getting headaches.
I immediately turn it to 20 the first day then 22 the second day, 24 the third day the fourth day to 26 that was 3 weeks ago now today I'm putting it on 27 just now.
@@LeonardMarlin Laughing out loud! I've been here a month now and have already learned about the ac reset thing. Mine reset to 17!
Great video Steve. Very informative.....thank you.
Thanks for doing this video Steve because I was hearing about the inflation there?
Just live happy, life so short. Thanks for sharing Steve. God bless.
I'm happy here on bantayan island. Cost is reasonable, food and paper products. A/C COST WAS 5000 PESO last month.
Thanks for the video, Steve...Jim
That is a nice place Steve, and you can't beat the price!
1.00 US Dollar = 58.69916 Philippine Pesos. I love it!!!😎
I don’t know what part you love. That don’t mean nothing. Dominican Republic it’s the same currency and Everything it’s expensive , no matter if you used dollars.
The exchange rate dude. Rent and other expenses here are based on the peso-not the USD.
Yeah, his bill is $58 bucks a month for a "cold" house. Nice. Stack some cases of sodas in there and make it a business
Dreul you got it backwards. It’s 58 pesos to $1.00 USD. Not $58 USD per peso.
@@vinniephillips452 Right! So 5000 pesos for electric divided by 58 pesos per dollar = $86/month for electric. Thanks for the correction.
Water seeks it's own level. Relying on others to tell you how much you need is more than likely them telling you what their sweet spot is. Some people like luxury, others can read a book all day long.
Thanks for the information 👍
I am in the states right now and the prices are from another world, I am shocked at the prices in the Grocery stores. The prices in fast food places shocked me as well, used car prices are a 25% higher than they should be. We always send at least 2 Balikbayan boxes back, this year just one the prices are just too high.
I feel like electric is expensive in the PI, here in Thailand I pay 4.5b/7.2 pesos/kwh and split level inverter air. Honestly it makes no difference to me with a Western budget but I can see how it's expensive for Filipinos. 13,000p/8k baht gets you resort style living at somewhere like Amazon Residence in Jomtien (pools, waterfall, water slide, gym, ect). I do prefer a lot of things about the PI but IMO it's more expensive than basically all SEA countries.
Thanks for another interesting video.
Think you nail it with this video.
I'm seeing on Facebook accomodation to rent are sky high in Cebu, whole houses are higher than equivalent property in England, I often comment, "are you kidding?"
As someone who lived 3 years in 14' x 8' CHU and didn't mind it at all. It's not the size, it's the quality and location. Sounds peaceful there. If you have concrete walls (sound proofing) all the better. Earplugs for sleep and a good A/C for easy sleeping.
Pretty informative show today Steve. I'm in the Dumaguete area and things are a bit different here. For one you won't find an $80 apartment here and if you did you wouldn't want to live there. We own a house now but lived in a 2 bedroom apt before. It was decent but nothing special. It was 22K per month then but now is 25K per month. Sure, you can find cheaper but you'll give up amenities. We go out for lunch most days at a cost of around 400p - 500p each. We always eat dinner at home because driving here at night is not something I do. It's crazy during the day but harder to see the crazy at night. Lots of them have no lights. Last electric bill was 9K because we ran the A/C 24/7, 27c daytime and 24c at night. As of yesterday we have no municipal water. Bottom line is we spend about $2K per month with no housing expense. Vloggers painting Dumaguete as some sort of nirvana are doing a disservice to the people watching.
I am just north of Davao, in Panabo City, building a house. Steel is up 60% and sand/gravel up 100% just since I started building. Since I spend all day on the building site, I expected a big drop in my electric bill, I got a small drop. I think there were some fees that were passed through to the customers. About unexpected expenses...just spent 3 days in a small province hospital with typhoid. 20k pesos.
By the time we get over there I’ll be 75+ and we’ll be staying in my wife’s ‘free & clear’ studio condo. Cheap to cool, low condo fees. Exercise room, swimming pool, Robinsons Supermarket & Bo’s Coffee and Pharmacy an elevator ride away, neighbourhood carenderias steps away, world class hospital minutes away. Summer & Fall in Canada, Winters in The Philippines. GRAB for anything across town, like to the airport for occasional travel. Pension should more than cover the basics, with extra going into an emergency/medical fund. We’re working toward it. Luckily Canadian pension is indexed to inflation, to a big degree, so that should help us stay on track.
You can't go by how high your electric bill is. You have to check the rate you are paying per kilowatt. If the price per kilowatt has gone up substantially you've got inflation.
Remember that these families in this financial challenging times, they still send their kids from elementary to high school paying for their tuition unlike in US where there is no matriculation for public schools from elementary to high school.And no school lunch program here either, I remember back in St Louis Univ elementary school in Baguio in the 60's, Nanay packing my army mess kit with Vienna sausage and rice and a bottle of Pepsi on my 1942 haversack,no backpack s back in the days, and we wore khaki uniforms with black necktie. My father was a civil servant and he had a government car which was a Willy's jeep painted blue, in front of the passenger side is an aluminum plate stamped Willy's Toledo, Ohio 1944.as a little boy I wondered where that place was, far away across the ocean.
12.5php for kwh is about .21us. 17php is about .29us. My little area of CA is on Oregon Pricing... .168us per kwh. California's Average Rate .33us per kwh. I think saving 60% or better in Rent when I come out in October will more than cover the difference.
Yes but energy efficiency goes a long way. Electric was very high when I lived in Okinawa but a 2000w "oven", individual room AC and anything that could be gas was... so I ended up using 300-400 kwh a month vs. 1000 for a similar size in the states. Yes 12 peso is about. 21 cents, above us average but if you use half as much you come out!
Steve,as always great sound advice thank you 😊
Glad it was helpful!
LOL - you said Go-Nads ... dang, now that is so true and funny ... thanks for the videos and information sir .. much appreciated!!
That $600 dollars though is stuff that you get monthly like paper towels and plates. Special items. Like cleaning products. But usually little cheaper.
Steven, my electric bill is over 200 US dollars a month. This is year round. I have my AC set at 74 degrees Fahrenheit and it is turned off when I go to work. It is turned off for about 48 hours a week.
My house this month with the exchange rate is $789 USD. This house in California, or any west coast city, would be easily $4k or up. My electric is 12.6 php per kw. Yes, it has been quite hot for an extended time. So my last electric bill was 12.6k php's or $221 USD. But overall, you still can't beat the living costs here. Let's not forget a much less stressful life.
My AC is set at 30 c(highest setting) and my inside temperature is 21.5 c. I have a big floor standing unit and it does a great job. I did a video on this.
I wish now we had installed a unit like yours instead of 3 new split AC units. Our last electric bill was more than half our rent at 22.4k php's! Hoping that the upcoming rainy season cools things down and lowers our bill. I'm also surprised at the cost of gym memberships here in the Nuvali area. I was paying $10 per month for a Planet Fitness in NJ and places here are 3 or 4 times that for much smaller facilities.
12php for electricity here from CENPELCO in Pangasinan.
Low voltage, scheduled brownouts.
Our monthly budget, family of 4 is 70K pesos and we live good here in Malolos.
Those electric rates seem pretty normal to me. I am in Maine and as of July 1 we will be paying $0.305 per kilowatt or, based on the current exchange rate, ~18 pesos per kilowatt-hr.
Lifestyle makes all the difference in how much it costs you to live anywhere. Here in Maine our base living expenses (housing, food, two cars, health insurance, and our cat) come to about $2,100 per month. Of that about $900/month is for medical and dental. Yeah, we have no debt and own our house. We could live cheaper if we moved to a cheaper area where our property taxes would be lower (because the house would have lower value), but we are happy here. Of course we could, and do, spend more than that because we can. Yes it would cost a lot more if we were renting and had car payments. But if you have saved and planned for retirement you can live pretty cheap here. As you are saying, it is the same in the Philippines. You live high and it costs more and you get hit more by inflation. We live a pretty quiet life that doesn't involve buying a lot of "stuff" so inflation has a pretty small effect on us.
Yup, it's becoming a bad economic issue to everyone even to the locals...
Another great video Steve
I can totally agree with you. The power bills have been a little bit higher the last couple months because of the heat this year has been extra hot and less rain so far. Last month we had a 9300 power bill, which is usually about 2000 more than usual .
You’re definitely on spot with the budget. My wife and I live around 2000 a month we pull out 100,000 from the bank every month pesos and if we need extra, we pull extra out but that is our usual budget and we have everything paid off , so there’s no rent or no car payment nothing like that.
I don’t know how people say that they can live off 1000 a month and still pay rent. It must be a huge downgrade from how they’re normally living in the western world. It’s like just barely surviving.
I believe in your budget the 2 to 3000 is ideal and someone should still have some kind of income coming in from where they live at least one, possibly two. and of course, some kind of savings I would think at least 30 to 50,000 in the bank for an emergency, especially if they’re older.
SNR is a great place to shop. My wife and I are going there tomorrow to do our month supply. We always spend between 30 and 40,000. But that gets all kinds of stuff more than one shopping cart.
Thank you for always keeping it real. Steve. You probably have the best channel on CZcams.
Make sure the rent does not exceed 30% of your monthly revenues / incoming funds - should help to absorb higher utility bills etc. 😊
It’s never as good as people say and it’s never as bad as people say❤❤
Once again another great video. I really look forward to your informational content.
Looking at places now ( with fiancé as eyes and ears), and we found a furnished 2 B/B apartment for $300, which was the best deal for the money so far. This is in Duma.
I will be there again in November and will make the final move in May next year. BTW, already talking with Mary Rose. Looking forward to meeting you soon.
Sounds great!
There’s nothing wrong with coming over here and trying to live on 1000 a month
in the area your in , as long as you’ve got $2000 or $3000 coming in the month for backup just incase you canny do it just play around with your budget.
Be landing in Manila June 6th then on to Dumagete on the 8th to live on Negros Oriental
Inflation is definitely hitting the philippines. The peso is down, making the USD stronger this past week or so. Its not killing budgets, maybe for some, but by and large it is not horrible. Sure food has gone up. Rent, land and condos have definitely gone up.
My English friend in Cebu asked me how much electricity costs per kilowatt in England, he finds Cebu more expensive, but i think its due to the fact that generators are run by diesel fuel.
Inflation in the states just hit 19.3% here in the Philippines it's 6.8%
I just paid 13,600 php for items at the grocery store we paid 10,000 php 2 years ago.
American products have always been high but now even higher.
I can't complain yet our electricity bill was
5,150 php $90.00 698 kilwat add the taxes and fees we paid 8,500 php or about $150.00 dollars 7.3 php per kilwat.
Good video Steve.
Where did you get 19.3%? i googled and found 3.4% for us
@@Otingocni U.S.Bureau of labor and statistics.
From January 2021 to April 2024 inflation is at a true 19.3% food costs up 22% gas prices up over 50% depending on where you live food and gas prices more or less.
@@LeonardMarlin oh so food costs not overall costs. i see. I normally think of of overall inflation when people say inflation. My mistake for assuming that.
this is what i found
The annual inflation rate for the United States was 3.4% for the 12 months ending April, compared to the previous rate of 3.5%, according to U.S. Labor Department data published on June 15, 2024. The next inflation update is scheduled for release on June 12 at 8:30 a.m. ET, providing information on the inflation rate for the 12 months ending May 2024.
@@Otingocni if inflation were a true 3.4 % you wouldn't have people having sticker shock when going to the store to buy food to feed their family or gas prices way up to fill their car.
Not sure where you live but my car, health and house insurance has gone way up I'm spending $1,000 dollars more today then I did 4 years ago.
Three years ago I paid 11,000 dollars for everything I bought the year before, two years ago 15,000 dollars last year 17,000 dollars you guess it this next year everything I bought to live and survive will cost me $20,000 dollars more then I paid 4 years ago.
I'm one of the lucky ones, I'm a nurse and my yearly income has gone up to match inflation I have had a $10.00 dollar hourly increase over the last 4 years.
Would have been nice to keep that money and put it in savings and yes when I go back to work in the United States every year for 6 months I work a full time job as well as a second part time job to survive and pay the bills.
Great informations, you live in a decent house, don't need a big house. You can live in a big house but u choose to live alow profile which is better. With yiur disability check u can live very comportable but its better to save that money for other things.
Here in Davao we are charged about 9 pesos per kilowatt hour. Without ac, only fans, our last bill was 2700 pesos.
Sad you don’t have ac!
Not bad 300kwh. But I run AC like 14 hrs a day and use 511 kWh last month. My comfort is worth it to me. Spilt AC unit
@@kevink3975I can only wish I could live without air-conditioning.😅😂
@@51dbailwe run our air-conditioning 24 7 used 698 kilwat hours at setting 25 77 degrees like you my comfort is worth the $150.00 dollars a month.
We live on Samal Island.
@@kevink3975 I have AC but I don't use it. I've pretty much acclimated and where we live it isn't as warm as say the city center. Usually by 1 a.m. I'm looking for a blanket.
I have solar but if not my electricity bill would be about $350 here in Florida .
@TampabayTodd Here in Cocoa Florida our electric last month was $81 thanks to having all natural gas appliances. Water bill was $70 and natural gas bill $35 for two peeps last month. Love my natural gas.
Love your videos, I've seen prices rise sharply in the cost of food here since moving to Camiguin Island almost 5 years ago. I couldn't live in a big city here or any other place in the world myself. Expenses here are very cheap, My monthly expenses for a 2 bedroom house on the beach, electricity, cable, internet, water, and purified water is only P14.5K a month. We don't have AC because we don't need it. We take public transportation, I do have a motorcycle, and groceries cost for a family of 4 runs between P20K and P25K a month. I send $1450 a month to the Philippines and save that much every month in a bank in the states besides saving some here. Our house isn't big or fancy but with a view out the front door as beautiful as it is I wouldn't want to be indoors under an AC. We always are able to donate money to the church here and help family on $1450 every month. I am able to fly back to the states every year for a 3 month visit.
My mom moved last year to Texas to a one floor apartments with pool for $650 a month. But not Dallas or Houston. It’s outside the big cities. And she love it. Shut $3000 budget I better stayed at USA because you still can live with that in some states. I like Philippines but it’s too far from home. Not to many chances to spend time with family.
It all depends on your lifestyle.
I'm a Nurse and spend six months a year with us working, seeing my family and friends.
Then six months a year living on Samal Island near my wife's family.
For now it's working probably in five years we will be spending more time living in the Philippines.
I'm surprised my electric rate in Subic freeport is just 9 php/kwh. My thought is that other places, that have brownouts, are paying more for future expansion.
12.5 KWH here in Malolos Bulacan
10.99 for a Big Mac meal in Brooklyn ny. Not including 8.5 percent sales tax.
Costs have risen significantly in the Philippines in the last 2 years. The cost to live a western lifestyle, with the same quality as one would have in the west is rapidly becoming equal.
The issue isn't just the cost to survive in the Philippines, it's the quality of the life. Philippines is beautiful, with wonderful people, but the infrastructure is garbage. Unless you pay exorbitant prices, most consumer products are junk. If you wish to eat quality western food at all, you will certainly pay considerably more than you would in the west.
Either lower your standards, go native, or be prepared to spend a lot of money.
You are correct on all points,,I live here and I spend a lot, but I can, that’s the difference, you need a reasonable amount of money to have a good standard of living here..otherwise you will end up in the backwater province in the jungle, wood burning fires for cooking candles for lighting..😅Nipa hut lodging..😊
Orlando Florida Duke energy. 14.06. Cents per kilo whatt hour residential.
So, keep your money in dollars and exchange at the time to pay bills?
If I can survive in the USA on the 1300 USD I get I know that I can thrive and live a lot better there in the Philippines. I spent 10 weeks there in the Philippines. I lived in the province and I bought a Aircon. With the Aircon the power bill only went up 1k PHP per month the normal bill is 1500 php. I will be returning to the Philippines by September and I don't plan on spending everything i bring in every month. So is inflation effecting the Philippines, yes. It's effecting the world but is the Philippines cheaper than the US, definitely.
When i lived on 1300 month in usa i had snap and heat and electric assistance and used food banks. I moved to cebu. On 1300 a month and i must say i had a way higher quality of life back home. However, i love it here in cebu. I do have 40k emergency fund for future medical. However i strictly live on 1300 a month any extra i throw back into my dividend stocks. I do sweat alot and have not the nicest place but best i could find for 400 a month.when i turn 62 i get 1600 in ss so i be at the sweet spot just need to deal till then :-).
How do you think the usa placing icbms in the philippines will effect the relationship with china?
I really don’t care how China feels about it. It was a good move and shows them people will not put up with their shikanery crap.
@@MrSteven5975 guess you can stock up on 1 million sunblock
Inflation refers to changes over time in the overall level of prices of goods and services throughout the economy. The government measures inflation by comparing the current prices of a set of goods and services to previous prices. That turns out to be more complicated than it sounds
Last month, here in imus, i paid 12.12 kwh dor a total of 8100
That’s crazy. Tanza was 12.6. I thought all of cavite was the same?
Yesterday was one of my few days off, I normally work 7 days a week. With that said I didn't do anything, I watched CZcams videos, s*** showered and shaved, cook me rice in my rice cooker, did and uploaded a video talking about this being my first anniversary of being divorced for a year. But other than that I don't have a life. Even though I live in a two-bedroom, 2 bath, living room, dining room and kitchen all I use is the master bedroom bathroom and kitchen. Currently I have my heater set on 80°, yes I said I had my heater set and on during May and June I hate the cold (26.67 c). I've been living in this apartment since the day before Thanksgiving last year got higher than $30 a month. My rent is $895. I literally can live in a shed that is 12 x 16, that has a 3/4 bathroom and one corner, a kitchenette in the other corner, and the rest of the shed would be my living room dining room and bedroom.
Yeah, I am FROM Las Vegas, NV. Shit is crazy expensive there. I been living in Cebu city, Philippines for the last year and a half. I am spending a third of what I had to spend in the US just to survive. I just started investing in high yield income generating dividends to make more money. (
You been doing good over there decent apartment and you cook sometimes so you aren’t eating rice only, I can make it on probably 1600-2500 most likely I am sure that would get me by. And still save a couple bucks bucks for emergency.
I just saw $3 for a can of chili in a dollar store in the States. Steve, let the haters hate. It's more of a reflection of them, than you. Live your life and jam on! BTW, keep playing guitar.
Steve,,,,i hope to visit The Phillipines 2 or 3 times a year a month at a time,,,,with Two thousand us dollars a month ,,,,separate from hotel costs,,,,,Do u think this is enough ?
One of the reasons I want to come and live there, is I can learn from the Filipinos on how to live and survive. They do it without help from the government and without all the regulations, and they have a good outlook on life.
I don't know about you but I didn't work my whole life just to move to a 3rd world country and lower my standard of living. Some guys do that though I think because it makes them feel more virtuous. I didn't come here to "survive".
@@remote1426 In case you haven't been paying attention, America is turning 3rd world. Take the welfare and credit cards away and see what it is.
Not me. I plan on living comfortably in the last years of my life.
@@rustynail3630 I am with you on that. It will be a lot easier here in the Philippines
It's subsistence living here in the US at $1,200 a month, I think my chances are better there in the Fillipines.
To be accurate steve. April was 11.58 php per kWh. May was 12.6 php per kWh. Next month? Still not bad compared to Maine.
Your saying it’s not cheap hmmm it’s not expensive , even in BGC compared to the west
Just because one bloke canny afford it ! Doesn’t mean it’s expensive, it’s just the he don’t have the cash
Why would anyone criticize your home? I think it's a nice little place and you have set it up the way you like it.
It’s great for $80. Not for me though. To each his own.
I imagine electric bills will go higher in the Phil’s like as projected in the rest of the world.
A single person can come to live in the Philippines on $1,500 a month without a start up fund.
One of my exspat friends did just that.
He didn't have much of a social life his first year. Each month he would buy one or two items to live.
Such as the first month a window air.
One burner stove, a few things to cook with.
Month 2 a small refrigerator.
You get the picture, his second year he saved up and bought a scooter.
So can a person come to the Philippines with $1,500 dollars to live on ?
Yes but expect your first few years to be a little uncomfortable having to buy things you need to live.
You really need an emergency fund here and insurance too
@@MrSteven5975 I 💯 agree I dropped my medicare part B and use that money to pay for my health insurance through Pacific Cross the average house like ours on Samal Island rents for $500.00 dollars a month so because we don't rent we take that money and put it into my emergency fund.
When family and friends ask me what it cost me to live in the Philippines I tell them if your single expect to spend $1,500 to $2,000 dollars every month.
Have a wife and kids add another $500.00 to $1,000.00 dollars to that depending on you're lifestyle.
@@MrSteven5975
I absolutely agree - it is key as we continue to get older…
I think it depends on the person's lifestyle. I'm a little north of $2k/month pension and I'm saving $700 month minimum each month. I live in MM high rise condo, inverter aircon that runs 24/7, washing machine, airfryer etc. I just got my electric bill today 2.8k php. 23C at night and 27C Economy during the day.
I wholeheartedly agree with Steve on the startup money though. I listened to him and brought 5k usd and I was able to pay 6 months up front for my condo and buy stuff I needed (spices, food, cleaning supplies, etc)
I honestly believe $1000-$1500 can be done if you bring$5k startup, have minimum 10k in the bank for emergencies and a solid credit card. But you have to be reasonable, no 2 week millionaire action or it may blow up in your face
I’m blessed to have a dear friend who has told me that as long as I want to live in her other house it is mine. Two bedroom for $80.00. I have put in ac throughout the home and hot water tank, water filter system. and also have put in 110 electric for all my stuff I sent to the PI. Over 20 Balikbayan boxes. I basically Americanized it. I’m not leaving until they carry me out in a box. I run my ac continuous, with a full size refrigerator, big screen tv and I charge the largest e-bike that kuda makes and my electric bill was 15,000 php last month but like Steve said it’s been abnormally hot the past two months so it’s expected I have ac and I’m going to be comfortable. I didn’t retire to suffer
Your grocery store budget is as high as mine here with a family of 4. That s and r is definitely not an affordable way. I think if you were more open on foods and location where you buy you would save a lot in that category.
I eat quality ingredients and I am picky too.
@MrSteven5975 noted. I shop at Costco here. We buy use a buy in bulk and save strategy. Though I dont like to cut on quality either.
It's not a matter of if you can do it today , the prices are not going to go down and USA social security adjustments won't cover inflation. Take into consideration your age and figure in 10 years your lifestyle will cost you at least 40% more so your 1500 usd budget will be like living on 900 now so keep that in mind when you watch a video , they are giving you TODAYS price and most people hope they don't die tomorrow. and that budget doesn't include a significan other which in most cases isn't cheap.
I doubt, Soc Sec incl COLAs, over the past 10 yrs, resulted in 40% less disposable income, But Rents, Gas & Food Def exploded Worldwide late & post Pandem .. Inflation is starting to slow .. The Cure for High Prices is high prices (less demand) ..
So true. You can’t count on SS keeping up with inflation. You need savings of $100k+ that is earning income and you don’t touch until you age. You need to plan on living until at least 85. What happens if you run out of money at that age and have no savings. Hospitals will just let you die unless you have money. It would be hard going back to the US at that point unless you kept Medicare.
Just waiting for that sweet spot monthly budget to be in the $3,000 - $4,000 range. Only a matter of time.
Not yet
I’m just wondering how the lower income can survive with such high rates. I couldn’t imagine a fan only being used during these high temps. Be careful as it’s hot and of course each part of the Philippines have different electric companies who are for dang sure monopolizing there lane per say. Be wise be careful
12p per kilowatt hour is actually not bad. I think that it is much higher in other parts of the country.
Do they have dehumidifiers over there?
Yes
@@MrSteven5975 thanks Steve.
I found after moving here to Samal Island that I had to replace all the doors and windows in our house to get the house sealed up not allowing cold air to escape.
The air-conditioning does a great job and we have no humidity issues.
I don’t care what my electric bill will be ! I am going to run my ac at a minimum of 7pm to 7 am !!!
I have a $3,000 a month budget in the Philippines and $2,500 in the US while I am there !
We run our air-conditioning 24 / 7 on 25 / 77 degrees and my electric bill runs about 8,500 php every month.
We paid $20.00 for Skippy Peanutbutter & jelly at Robinson mall in tacloban..our Electric bill is always around $250.00. In the States in Ocala fla. Our friends and others i ask that live there have Electric bills of $88.00. In two years we're looking to move there to a place called Top of the World..I'll be turning 67 in 2 years, starting my SS. There is much better health care there in Ocala. There's a big VA hospital not too far away..
I 💯 percent agree with you.
My start up fund was $25,000
Why so much?
Because even though are house was paid for i knew there were things i needed to live an upper middle class lifestyle as i do in the states.
Air-conditioning.
We put a shower / tub in the bathroom.
New kitchen appliances.
New dinning room furniture.
New living room furniture.
New bedroom furniture for us and the kids.
I had to have a generator, not dealing with brown outs.
New water tank and electric pump, never running out of water.
I needed transportation.
We bought new scooters and a new car.
We have 4 kids college tuition is 150,000 php a year plus 150,000 allowance for each child.
X
2
300,000 php
The 2 younger kids allowance is 50,000 a year.
Our monthly budget for everything is $2,500.00 dollars a month.
We on average excluding Christmas and birthdays months we can usually put $500 dollars away in our emergency fund every month.
Good video Steve.
We live on Samal Island so we don't have to go far to enjoy ourselves swimming and eating at different resorts.
We live 15 minutes by boat to Davao city and your right it's getting expensive to live there.
I'm going in September to the Philippines. What's the name of your town? So I could visit you or say hi 😂❤
Trece Martires
Philippines has always had high electric cost.
Some say they rent a condo- that costs money. Some are living with wife there and won’t need rent money. Some eat Philippine food some want more western- western costs extra. Same with everything.
If you live here you need a solar power system , my bill went from 9000$ -18000 php down to about 3000$ php ROI is about 3.5 yrs here in Philippines, buy food especially meat and vegetables from local markets. If your going to the grocery store and buying imported items and living in Air con the whole time, you haven't moved here in mind yet, your still on vacation mode.
How much did you pay to rig your house?
@@DigitalNomadsExplore I have a grid tied system 8.4 KW. So, there is no power when there is a brownout. The cost was 305k PHP, that is with a German quality inverter. You can go cheaper with a Chinese inverter but I wouldn't recommend it. Ive seen slightly cheaper ads out there for the same system. If you want a battery / off grid sytem up front cost is at least another 120k, and you will be replacing batteries in about 7 years for about another 100k.
The Economist has their famous "Big Mac" index to compare purchasing power in economies around the world.
11.3 Pesos/kwh here in Iloilo...
Mt Kanlaon erupted half hour ago. I hope Mark and other vloggers safe in Dumaguete.
@WilliamCrytzer Google shows Mt Kanlaon in the center of Negros so am sure the residents of Duma are ok.
@@jsully4064 i hope so. I really like that Mark Thornton guy from Every Man Has a Story
I’ve been postponed for a 6 months to take care of my aunt so o might get there this year. Maybe. Here my homes are paid for only repairs and taxes . So ss , my pension go to different bank accounts. I get a little over 3 k a month and try to live off just my pension here but I traveled outside the USA which required a lot more cash than I usually spend . Plus it was for a family member. So still plan on getting to travel to Philippines later 6 months late
Hey friend ifwas,reported on fox news in new york city big mack LG frys n a coke $24!
Crazy
Here in Bais negros oriental it's 17
The US just keeps getting worse and worse..... so from what I can observe (from the US) inflation in the Philippines depends on location. -- And appears to be significantly less than the US ! -- My research shows Lipa City and San Pablo City to be "cheap" yet - and too places in between. That is getting farther from Manila and more provincial living. - - - Your place Steve is 'comfortable' for you & that's what counts. Would be for me too. > Some people are spoiled and simply extravagant ? - - - Those numbers you talk about I'm sure are well meaning and intentioned - however it does appear to discount the - 'ALTERNATIVE' - life - in the US - on the same $ - ??? -- A reality for many to have to face and consider carefully - to perhaps avoid homelessness in the streets (?) while in their 70's if not older ? = Biden's America is 'unforgiving' too for many !!! --?-- 🤔
Your place in Trece Martires seems great and you did a good job of finding a low cost of living area that is still within a round day trip of Manila.
Enjoy your semi-retirement.
If you took being close to Manila out of the equation: where is the absolute lowest cost of living decent town in the Philippines?
There are many but you really gotta put your feet on the ground to find them. They are usually in neighborhoods in locations you would not expect.
@@MrSteven5975I want to move there by the end of the year….how can I email you for more personal info
Electric in PI is still cheap compared to Calif 150 to 250 dollars . REFUSE sewage water and house gas 200 to 300 dollars ...WINTER TIME HIGHER . FOODS 500 TO 1000 A MONTH ....
Calif oops I forgot car insurance and property tax .....go figure ...cheap nope
Is it worth it to buy a solar generator, panels and batteries for about 200,000 pesos and not need the grid? I’m not a huge solar guy but in a country with expensive electricity that’s near the equator, it seems smart. No?
Yes
Yes
Tell us in 2 months how much is per KW