Papa Carl Posted August 28, 2013 Posted August 28, 2013 First let me say that downloading the latest Quicktime made Papa Carl's video play for me. Papa Carl, I am jealous! Particularly of the skill you have used to have so much on your budget. You also have a very nice family and I hope I can duplicate your efforts in that direction before too much longer. My hat is off to you! : ) Many thanks, I would love to say that it was down to my charming good looks, brilliant business savy etc etc etc. But the truth is.... , I just got lucky! I have made my mistakes here, and I will likely make one or two more, but I met the right person and the right time, we got married, had a baby at the right time, found a house at the right time, and got a job at the right time. There are members of this forum, who have planned things out much better than I, and have saved for that "rainy day" experience, which I did not, and they have been a great source of guidance since I joined this forum. If I can give back in any way I am glad to do so. Papa Carl 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABCDiamond Posted September 29, 2013 Posted September 29, 2013 I'll share my living costs for the last 6 months, as I have kept a pretty good and accurate record since March 2013 My average spending has been 9,620 pesos per week. About $900 per month, but living tightly. Renting a 1 bed apartment on the beach, not eating out much, using our own kitchen, and supermarket shopping. Didn't have to buy much clothes as we had plenty. We don't drink and don't smoke. Comfortable, but not as good as it could be. I would rather double that figure for a budget, for a decent living. In my previous visit for about 2 months, I averaged almost 20,000 per month, and that was much better living. In my earlier Holiday, it was more like Php 60,000 per week!! But then, I did choose an expensive resort in Boracay that time :D They say it is cheap to live in the Philippines... I say it is cheap to EXIST in the Philippines. (Exist = to get by, just) From my spreadsheet: Average weekly cost for a 194 day period Php 4,269 Accommodation Php 17 Bank Fees Php 53 Clothing Php 307 Cosmetics/Hair Php 309 Eating Out Php 2,302 Groceries Php 245 Household Misc Php 2 Laundry Php 290 Medical Php 121 Telephones Php 576 Travel Php 604 Misc Php 523 Visa Php 9,620 PER WEEK That laundry cost was before we were given a washing machine to use, by the property owners. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papa Carl Posted September 29, 2013 Posted September 29, 2013 The most important point here! Quote: "My average spending has been 9,620 pesos per week. About $900 per month, but living tightly. Renting a 1 bed apartment on the beach, not eating out much, using our own kitchen, and supermarket shopping. Didn't have to buy much clothes as we had plenty." Living on the beach, for about $900 USD per month! Not many places you can go and say that! Papa Carl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted September 29, 2013 Posted September 29, 2013 My main income currently is from teaching ESL at a local College, They are paying me 400 pesos an hour for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. So if I get all my classes this works out to 56,000 pesos a month, however generally there are days when I might only have 3 or 3 classes, and the average income from this is closer to 40,000 pesos per month. Just confirming that the P400 payment an hour is to teach English to several or more foreign students in a classroom setting. In Manila, the rate I heard was P250 to P300 an hour for a Filipino teacher of English and P300 to P350 if the teacher is American, Canadian, English or Irish. Most of the teaching is one-on-one and Internet. The students are predominantly Koreans in Manila. My wife and I may volunteer to teach conversational English in China a few years from now. We will receive free room & board staying at a dormitory facilities. We can roam the city and outlying areas during the day, returning to the school by 5:00pm. Our role is companionship for the children and to converse with them in English until lights out. Our daytime travels include a guide/translator. It's a graduate student wanting to practice their English. The commitment is a minimum one month. Hi JJ, yes I can confirm that is 400 pesos per hour. Originally they offered 300, and I said I currently had an offer from Westfields at 350 pesos per hour for 8 hours a day, so they would need to pay 400 if it was only for between 5 and 7 hours per day. They asked that I teach for the first two weeks at 300 pesos per hour for only 2 hours per day. After the first week they increase my 2 hours to 3 hours, after the second week they increased it to 5 hours a day, after the first month they increased it to 400 pesos per hour. I have worked in centres in Ortigas that were internet based teaching of ESL etc. however I found them not as rewarding, also working from home is a problem as quite frequently the students are not interested and only doing so because they have been told to. I enjoy teaching at the College, these students are live in and are here for between 4 weeks and 4 months, and the majority are motivated to learn English, so it is much easier to do. As I am not a qualified ESL/TEFOL etc teacher I consider that I am very fortunate. I also do not follow their course line as I found it not very easy to follow and would not be very useful, so wrote my own, which is now used in the College. Papa Carl OK, finally have gotten around to doing this, however have had some problems uploading the video, so it may or may not be attached to this post. If it does not, I have asked help, but I fear it may simply be an internet connection problem, as I am currently using a Wifi connection. July 2013 Spending 7000 Rent 4609 Wet Market 5899 Groceries 2420 Jeepney, trike and petrol for my Blue Bomber 1899 Internet and Cable TV (Comclark) 2100 Electric (only 1 A/C unit in the bedroom and is only ½ horse) 180 Water (blue bottle) 299 Water Bill (minimum charge of 299) 390 Phone Load (both Ellie and I, and some for Jenny) 2362 Jollibees/Mang Inasal/Andoks etc 850 Gas 10000 Chiya’s education fund, and out emergency fund! (this amount varies based on the cash we have left over after paying all the expenses. 1250 Cigs, (Fortune are cheap) 39258 Sub total Income: I have a few customers in the UK, who purchase in bulk, items that I source for them. They do about 2 to 3 orders per year, and I get about 180,000 pesos profit from each purchase. (We use this for our large purchases, like for the Blue Bomber, A/C units, fridge/freezers etc.) My main income currently is from teaching ESL at a local College, They are paying me 400 pesos an hour for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. So if I get all my classes this works out to 56,000 pesos a month, however generally there are days when I might only have 3 or 3 classes, and the average income from this is closer to 40,000 pesos per month. For those of you not aware of my situation, I am 58 years of age, have lived in the Philippines for almost 7 years. I do not have any private pensions, (that I am aware of), and not yet old enough to get any gov. pensions. I like many, spent all my savings doing foolish things, and therefore no longer have an savings to fall back on. I am married to a Filipina, we have a 2 year and 9 month old daughter, and I have a 13A visa, along with a Working Visa, and a Special Working Visa, for working in Clark Freeport Zone. I must work to live, if I choose to stay in the Philippines, and I do! OK, hope this works. Papa Carl Very generous of you laying it all open for all to see. Curley, in a previous life I received some very sound advice from someone I admired greatly. Richard Branson once told me one of his motto's in life was "It is what it is"....., and I have tried to live by that motto ever since. I have not always succeeded as sometimes my pride gets in the way, however in general I try to stick by it. It is what it is, and that is my life. Luckily for me, my wife and my daughter are happy with it as well. I once was wealthy, making over 8,000 gbp a month, owned a nice big house with a pool and pond, drove my Jag XJ8, and my TVR, but was not very content with my life. Now I have nothing in comparison, but am much more content. Happiness is a relative term that can be used in many ways. At times now, I may not be "Happy" with my situation, but for sure I am much more content than at any time in my previous lives! Triple LIKE Papa Carl! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hounddriver Posted September 29, 2013 Posted September 29, 2013 From my own experience, and that of watching others, I can emphatically say that your budget will vary with the companion you choose. If they are even slightly materialistic then they have ways to convince you to give them money. They are so good at it that many do not even notice how your budget is creeping up. But a good, simple girl will be extremely easy to please, financially. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i am bob Posted September 29, 2013 Posted September 29, 2013 I'll share my living costs for the last 6 months, as I have kept a pretty good and accurate record since March 2013 My average spending has been 9,620 pesos per week. About $900 per month, but living tightly. Renting a 1 bed apartment on the beach, not eating out much, using our own kitchen, and supermarket shopping. Didn't have to buy much clothes as we had plenty. We don't drink and don't smoke. Comfortable, but not as good as it could be. I would rather double that figure for a budget, for a decent living. In my previous visit for about 2 months, I averaged almost 20,000 per month, and that was much better living. In my earlier Holiday, it was more like Php 60,000 per week!! But then, I did choose an expensive resort in Boracay that time :D They say it is cheap to live in the Philippines... I say it is cheap to EXIST in the Philippines. (Exist = to get by, just) From my spreadsheet: Average weekly cost for a 194 day period Php 4,269 Accommodation Php 17 Bank Fees Php 53 Clothing Php 307 Cosmetics/Hair Php 309 Eating Out Php 2,302 Groceries Php 245 Household Misc Php 2 Laundry Php 290 Medical Php 121 Telephones Php 576 Travel Php 604 Misc Php 523 Visa Php 9,620 PER WEEK That laundry cost was before we were given a washing machine to use, by the property owners. You say it is only existing in the Philippines but I gotta ask... Where did you live before and what did it cost you? Or was that when you worked for an income and had money to burn? The point I'm trying to make is that you can't compare lifestyles because you are living a different lifestyle to that to which you are comparing. Lots of people live on the same or even less and many of them would not agree about just "existing". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABCDiamond Posted September 29, 2013 Posted September 29, 2013 When I said: They say it is cheap to live in the Philippines...I say it is cheap to EXIST in the Philippines. I am referring to people who think they can come to the Philippines and live like "kings" for $200 per week.The point is, yes it is cheap to live, but not like a king. People must realise that living standards are different, and to maintain the same lifestyle as they are used to, may well cost them a similar figure, even in the Philippines. Eating in a quality restaurant is not much difference in price, Petrol is similar in price to many western countries, cars themselves are not much cheaper, etc etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i am bob Posted September 29, 2013 Posted September 29, 2013 When I said: They say it is cheap to live in the Philippines... I say it is cheap to EXIST in the Philippines. I am referring to people who think they can come to the Philippines and live like "kings" for $200 per week.The point is, yes it is cheap to live, but not like a king. People must realise that living standards are different, and to maintain the same lifestyle as they are used to, may well cost them a similar figure, even in the Philippines. Eating in a quality restaurant is not much difference in price, Petrol is similar in price to many western countries, cars themselves are not much cheaper, etc etc. I know what you are saying but at the same time this is one of the points that drives me crazy... Everyone posts how we can't live like kings but only exist. That may be true but there is also something in-between where we may not have a palace and personal slaves but we still live really good lives beyond just "existing". And this is a subjective point because what for some is just existing will be heaven in paradise for others. So please don't think I'm picking on you because I'm not, I just really don't like the term "existing" when we discuss lifestyles in the Philippines. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brock Posted September 29, 2013 Posted September 29, 2013 No amount of reading or listening to what other people are saying what they live on will do you any good, Wait until you get living in the Philippines, Then you will see whether you are living or existing. England is an expensive country to live, And believe me, Their are a great number of things just as expensive in the Philippines. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tukaram (Tim) Posted September 29, 2013 Author Posted September 29, 2013 Most of the cars i've seen are more expensive! I tell people I live happily on $800 a month - but I would not recommend it to anyone ha ha. It is all up to you. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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