Cost of Living In The Philippines

[sjp52]

I rent a 3 bedroom house with 2 air conditioners. 15,000 pesos. ( $350 )

My grocery bill is 17,000 pesos ( $400 ) . I eat very good and lots of family always drop around at

supper time.

My electric bill is around 8,000 pesos ( $190 ) . I have the airconditioner on when ever I am in the

house.

Internet is 1,000 pesos ( $24 ) and tv is 750 pesos ( $18 ) (22 channels).

Taxi a month is around 4,500 pesos ( $106 )

Maid is 2,000 pesos ( $48 ) and cell phone load 500 pesos ( $12 )

Misc and savings 20,000 pesos ( $470 ) .

Total 69,000 ( around 1600 us )

I have a line of credit and visa for emergencies.

IN CANADA ( I live 6 months in Canada and 6 months in the Philippines )

Mortgage $700 ( My house in about 50% bigger than the one I rent )

Groceries $450

Electric $230

Internet and TV $140 ( internet is 10x faster and I get over 400 channels and HD )

Car Cost $350 ( insurance and gas )

Cell $40 No maid

Misc and Savings $600

In Canada healthcare is free

Total $2510

This is to show a comparison.

One big difference I found is when you go to a place like a resort to swim, In the Philippines I will be

paying for a lot of the family where in Canada it would only be me. Kids birthdays are more expensive

as we feed the whole family. For an example for my wifes birthday we went to a resort with a pool and

the cost to get in was 40 pesos x 37 family members plus the 2 jeepneys to bring them and all the food

and boose. Seeing those smiling laughing faces makes it worth while.

I married into a poor family so others situation might be different. My life in Canada is a good life but

my life in the Philippines is different in a good way. I would not trade my family for anything

Thankyou SJP52, this to me is a more informative post, giving a direct comparison for your lifestyle residing in Canada and residing in the Philippines. As i know costs in Canada and Australia are very similar it doesn't surprise me to see the drop in costs when you are living in the Philippines.

Yes it is cheaper but you get what you pay for if you know what I mean

[beegee]

Helpful Phil, thanks - another piece to my jig saw as I work towards Bacolod.

[Dave Hounddriver]

Cost of a fantastic, Black Angus, sirloin steak in a grocery store in Edmonton, Alberta . . just bought one and bbqued it . . about $3 CDN mmmmmmmmmm was gooooooooooood

Cost of a Black Angus, sirloin steak on Biliran Island, Philippines . . PRICELESS!

How you live determines your costs more than where you live.

[Brad616]

Thanks SJP-- this is something I tried to hammer home with my wife we she got her new job 4 yrs ago. I had to add another vehicle, matience, insurance gas. I really look forward to going down to one small car in the PI. US residents often dont relize the hidden costs of owning a car

Great Post :thumbsup:

[Okieboy]

my cost are so much lower in the Philippines than in the USA, i own my little house so no rent, i have pigs and chickens that i butcher and keep in the freezer, i live in the provience so no problem, in the city no way you can have livestock, i buy from local farmers and in the market, we eat out once a month when we go to Davao

to get special items we cannot buy here in Calinan, my electric is about P 2,000 a month airconditioners in bed room at night , fan in the day time, i live in the provience so i have coconut and banana trees all around my house so i get shade most of the day and my roof is high pitch so not very hot, we cook with charcoal most of the time , i really like cooking with it it gives the food a good taste, we have shell gas we only use if in a hurry, we have pldt phone and internet P 990 a month, and water is about P 200 we have family that have motor cab and jeepny so we use them if we need to go to local market about 2 k from our house, we go to the beach for family cookout we all bring something and have a great time and it cost is very little, the cost in a town in the provience are very reasonable but you must be able to live that life, i see very few forigners, maybe one or two a year, so no night life , no golf or tennis my neighbors will tell me mister Joe i see one of your people in town, i say dont worry he is just here for short time hahahahha

[Old55]

I enjoyed the little snapshot of your life there. Thank you for sharing with us! :tiphat:

[phildiver]

Cost of a fantastic, Black Angus, sirloin steak in a grocery store in Edmonton, Alberta . . just bought one and bbqued it . . about $3 CDN mmmmmmmmmm was gooooooooooood

Cost of a Black Angus, sirloin steak on Biliran Island, Philippines . . PRICELESS!

How you live determines your costs more than where you live.

hehehehe Actually I eat Kobe/Wygu beef in the Philippines. Absolutely awesome. Like eating meat back in the States. Better than Costco meats. Sirloin - 350p Kilo Top round Roast - 300p Kilo, many other cuts. All the meat is raised here but (Secret)

[i am bob]

Cost of a fantastic, Black Angus, sirloin steak in a grocery store in Edmonton, Alberta . . just bought one and bbqued it . . about $3 CDN mmmmmmmmmm was gooooooooooood

Cost of a Black Angus, sirloin steak on Biliran Island, Philippines . . PRICELESS!

How you live determines your costs more than where you live.

Ok, Dave... Where the heck did you find a Black Angus sirloin steak for $3 in Canada? Edmonton? Grrrrr!!!! I'm looking at a flyer here in Hamilton, Ontario (45 minutes from Toronto) advertising the same steak for $7.99 a pound on sale (regular $10.99 per pound).... I can get a sirloin steak for $3.99 on sale but that ain't Black Angus! And, to be honest, I thought it was round steak I was looking at.... :th_unfair:

I wonder if, in my local flyer, I was looking at Filipino Black Angus steaks? :mocking:

[i am bob]

Actually I eat Kobe/Wygu beef in the Philippines. Absolutely awesome.

Any cattle that are given lots of beer daily are going to be marbled with more fat and thus more tender... Just look at those of us who drink beer regularly!

:mocking:

[Dave Hounddriver]

Ok, Dave... Where the heck did you find a Black Angus sirloin steak for $3 in Canada?

Gotta be honest, it was an incredible deal. I even asked the cashier if they had miss-priced it and she said: I don't think so, do you want me to check? I said: NO, I'm happy, just ring it through! I just wondered if it was a special or a mis'steak' but I never did find out.