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

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i am bob
Posted
Posted (edited)

I knew of a man a few years back in Canada who lived on less than $100 (P4000) a month. Lived in a shack heated by wood,

I wonder how he would have done in the Philippines...?

Live the same, like, many here Do. This is exactly, what So Many, have to do, but not, by Choice :no:

Bob, I guess he would soon Settle in to local Life, especially in the provinces. :)

JP :tiphat:

who filled

The funny thing about this guy? He was worth a few million... He owned a farm that he sold for a real estate developmental...

Edited by I am bob
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Jack Peterson
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Posted

The funny thing about this guy? He was worth a few million... He owned a farm that he sold for a real estate developmental...

 

 

:unsure:  There lies a story then, he wanted to Live like a Hermit. :rolleyes:

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i am bob
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Exactly!

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BrettGC
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Ok my budget will be about $2k AUD a month (navy pension) plus the income I have from a investment property I now own outright, the income from that is about $400AUD/week but it's going into my emergency fund up to $50kAUD then into a retirement fund.  The longest I've spent there is probably 6 weeks on multiple occasions, in the house we the ex and I renovated together so I have half a clue at to what expect but I eat and cook like a local, (meat and 4 veg is not my scene).   As a now single guy, I will allow 10-15KPHP/month rent with utulities, AirCon, internet etc; I'm not going to be living anywhere in central Luzon and a serviced 1 bedder/studio with a decent kitchen would be perfect.  I don't want the biggest TV but I do love watching my sport so as consumer electronics are actually more expensive in PI than in Aust I've made allowance for that.  I'm an online gamer so I'll be bringing my Asus gaming laptop with me but I'll have to upgrade after about 12 months of being there; again more expensive than in Aust.  If I meet a lady I want to be with long-term the housing allowance will probably go up to 15-20KPHP/month. My hobbies cost me bugger all as I own all the items required (tanks, regulator, surfboard etc - yes I know about the Eastern/Western monsoonal swells there and have mates that spend their entire existence chasing them during the wet).  Being a self-styled home chef my biggest setup cost will be my kitchen appliances/tools etc.  I like a big night out every now and then but I won't be arriving with a tourist mentality either and I think that's where a lot of people fall over.  I'll be there on the ex-military SRRV so I'll be saving money on the tourist visa extensions in the long run (yes JJ, I do qualify under the new criteria, I've been in touch with the PRA on that front).

 

Will I be living comfortably with more disposable income than I'm on in Australia with just the above and not working? Hell yes. Will I be living like a King? No.  I wouldn't like to do it on any less than I will be but I can see how some do very easily.  It's just a matter of not having all those western expectations of life.  

 

Just my 45c worth. 

Edited by BrettGC
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Alby
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Divide how much you have and can have monthly in Pesos between now and age 80. If the number is over $2K USD, then come over here :)

Just try not to spend it all!

BrettGC, you have what it takes and more :)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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  • 2 weeks later...
tomaw
Posted
Posted (edited)

I just found out my S.S. is going to be $1000 a month and thats it. Of course I cant live very well in the US on that .

I have 2 close American friends living on that budget. 1 has no options so he lives in Philippines and makes the best of it, actually enjoying his life and realizing that he could not live that well in the US on that money. The second friend could not take it. He went back to the US where he works 12 hours a day and gets paid 'under the table' because he just cannot take the lifestyle that 1,000 a month will buy him here. I would be with the latter friend on that.

I think my options are live here i the US on my S.S. and be unhappy or move to the Philippines and live without a lot of useless luxuries and be happy.
Most luxuries are not things you buy every day. A nice house, car, tv stereo, computer, cloths washer & dryer, dish washer etc . Are expensive and are things you can save up for and buy while you are still working. I Will start collecting SS in 10 months. I'll continue to work and save that money to buy a lot, build a house in the Philippines and get everything I just mentioned. With all that paid for living in The Philippines on a $1,000 a month comfortably shouldn't be too hard. In California it's impossible. Edited by tomaw
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Alby
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Just keep in mind that the rules here in the Philippines might change for whatever whimsical reasons and prevent you, us, from planning!

For instance, foreigners are not allowed to own a land here. If you intend to put under a Filipino name ... then consider it as not yours!

Change is inevitable ... except form a vending machine :)

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stevewool
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Posted

Divide how much you have and can have monthly in Pesos between now and age 80. If the number is over $2K USD, then come over here :)

Just try not to spend it all!

BrettGC, you have what it takes and more :)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

thats so much money, but i like what you say about trying not to spend it, so if i have half that and spend it all , but living well, will i be ok, just a thought

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stevewool
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I too was thinking of buying land and building the dream home for me and Ems, but like many have said before me, IT WILL NOT BE MINE, and what happens if the worst happens you fall out of love, well you can kiss all the investment you have put in,

I am only putting in what i can afford to lose, dont get me wrong i would love my life to be as long as it can and to be in love with my wife and the place i am living at too, but things can change, just think hard and always have that  extra little cash for the what happens IF,

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Dave Hounddriver
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I am only putting in what i can afford to lose

 

Me too.  I calculated what I would pay in rent over the next few years vs the risk of a low cost housing unit and made my decision.  A dream house, for me, is just an illusion.  I had that with my second wife and it did not make me any happier.

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