Part 2 - Can I Live On $2,000 A Month In The Philippines?

[stevewool]

I am not there yet so all i can go on is what people on here say and what i think i may get by on ,

I am sure there are not many millionaires , dollars or pounds i mean but are plenty of peso millionaires out there,

We all have our own thoughts on what we may need and what we do need, why retire somewhere where you have to go without the things you love when you can have them where you are, but surely if you cant have these things once you come to retire then you have to make the choice,

This is where everyone is different but everyone is right too, whats good for one is not good for another, but we all can learn from each other, good on you if you have all the money to enjoy everything you require but i am sure you will always want that little extra for the just in case,

Myself i think i will have the little extra i hope, because i am not wanting the all that most people are saying they cannot live without,

Whats the saying, Cut your coat  according to the cloth, if  i can live to this saying i will be a happy man, maybe just wearing a loincloth though :thumbsup:

[scott h]

I spent 2 weeks living cheap

 

I hear ya Bob, but nothing personal either, but 2 weeks is a very short period of time. The amount of money spent increases as the quality of "living" increases. For me, myself and I its the little things that make life living, and not just "surviving". Yes for the first 8 months to a year I ate "local" tapsilog, longsilog, chicksilog, pancit, you name it and naturally rice.

 

Soon I desired a hotdog, got the local brand, but something was missing finally tried and settled on the "Angus beef" hotdog by pure food. Ah life is good.

 

Was eating hambugers at the local Minute Burger "Buy 1 take 1 for P40" good but something was missing,,,,got some ground beef at the local pelenki made my own, not quite there. Went to S&R and got 80% lean ground beef, whipped up my mom's ole reciepe. Ah life is better.

 

Got a hankering for Pizza, maid went and got a Hawaiian pizza (Filipino style) for P69, good but something missing again. Went to S&R got the New York style pizza, man just like home but P580. Life is now worth living :thumbsup: .

 

Deserts you ask? well we can have puto bong bong, or leche flan or any number of sweet local delights, but lets be honest nothing beats good old fashioned  ICE CREAM!!! and for Ice cream your gonna pay P260 to P340 a quart (about 1.5 ltrs I think)

 

Bottom line is that anyone can exist on a small amount in the Philippines if forced to by circumstance. But I was wondering after the first 6-8 months why I was wandering around like a cross bear. I think it was because of the little things that I grew up on that makes it LIVING and not just being ALIVE. :cheersty:

Edited December 26, 2014 by scott h

[Jollygoodfellow]

The subject came up at a Christmas party last night and the guy with the last word said that

 

Wait a minute, I wasn't even there.  :)

[pokermike]

i am one who makes everyone laugh , but so far after looking at so many houses , sure they see long nose , but everyone of the houses were dumps and way over 20,000 pesos a month. Could not have lived in any of them. I try to be careful what i eat so i dont get sick there , so far it has worked but i pay for it. I know i am not living there yet , but in all my visits , i have never stayed in any hotel for one night that was less than 3200 pesos for one night. The most expensive being a little over 17,000 pesos for the night.

Many times i had my wife look on her own for hotels and housing , she has an idea what i will accept and it does not have to be perfect. I do have one friend who got lucky and has a decent place in Angeles City for 28,000 pesos a month. Both he and my wife state all rentals have gone way up, guess just have to keep trying. i will be living there in a month and hope to get better results. Staying in the third best hotel for 5,500 pesos a night, no weekly or monthly rate. Talked to my buddy and the place i wanted to stay , nice apartments 1 bedroom , just sold out only 23,650 pesos a month . It was new sold out fast because it was so cheap, good location. If i dont find something within a month then i am going to take my second choice , new high rise condo for 51,000 pesos a month not the best place but it will do for a three month lease till i find something cheaper that will be ok for me and my wife. 

I hope to adjust to the way some my friends live there but dont know if i can. The good thing is time is on my side now dont have to come back to work anymore, just focus on my life there.   Poker Mike

[i am bob]

I spent 2 weeks living cheap

 

I hear ya Bob, but nothing personal either, but 2 weeks is a very short period of time. The amount of money spent increases as the quality of "living" increases. For me, myself and I its the little things that make life living, and not just "surviving". Yes for the first 8 months to a year I ate "local" tapsilog, longsilog, chicksilog, pancit, you name it and naturally rice.

 

Soon I desired a hotdog, got the local brand, but something was missing finally tried and settled on the "Angus beef" hotdog by pure food. Ah life is good.

 

Was eating hambugers at the local Minute Burger "Buy 1 take 1 for P40" good but something was missing,,,,got some ground beef at the local pelenki made my own, not quite there. Went to S&R and got 80% lean ground beef, whipped up my mom's ole reciepe. Ah life is better.

 

Got a hankering for Pizza, maid went and got a Hawaiian pizza (Filipino style) for P69, good but something missing again. Went to S&R got the New York style pizza, man just like home but P580. Life is now worth living :thumbsup: .

 

Deserts you ask? well we can have puto bong bong, or leche flan or any number of sweet local delights, but lets be honest nothing beats good old fashioned  ICE CREAM!!! and for Ice cream your gonna pay P260 to P340 a quart (about 1.5 ltrs I think)

 

Bottom line is that anyone can exist on a small amount in the Philippines if forced to by circumstance. But I was wondering after the first 6-8 months why I was wandering around like a cross bear. I think it was because of the little things that I grew up on that makes it LIVING and not just being ALIVE. :cheersty:

If you look a little closer, the 2 weeks was really cheap because i was sick and not moving out in public much. MinuteBurger was one of the places i ate at. The next week was double what i spent in the previous 2 weeks because i lived better. Sure, i had some great pizza and steak and even some amazing tuna... Did i need to eat like that? No, not at all. I did because i wanted to. But i also didn't buy the most expensive item without looking at less costly options either. And the way i lived would project out to around $1000 a month. I'm not saying people can't spend more, what I'm trying to get across is that it isn't necessary to live here! Heck, if anyone wants to give me the money, i could easily spend $25,000 a month quite happily! I just don't need to...

[pokermike]

Yes , i am going to move close to an S&R it looks like i will be happy shopping there . I like to cook and see many choices there so o can reduce my spending,  Steve i get crazy desires for food there also , somethings i dont even eat them here but crave it over there. I like your quote "living and not just being alive".

There is nothing wrong with that if you have to get by, but if you dont why do it.  Sure learn to live cheaper, as you learn the layout of the land. When i have visited  there in two weeks intervals too many times to count i have never spent less than 400,000 pesos,  but i was on vacation and doing research, flying all over the place and staying in some very nice hotels and eating well.

I am confident with all the info i get from this forum ,  i will find my place and it will hopefully lead me to living for less than $3,000 a month, that is my goal. Scot tH where do you live and do you mind telling me your rent?   Thanks Poker Mike

[pokermike]

Does anyone know how many S&R are now open last time i checked there were six. If anyone knows are there any within an hour of a beach ? Help get that budget down to under $2,000 some day!  Poker Mike

[scott h]

Scot tH where do you live and do you mind telling me your rent?

 

I am one of the fortunate ones Mike I guess. My wife inherited the family home and lot here in Paranaque, Metro Manila (NAIA area). So we tore down the old house and built ours to our own design. Cost us about P 4 Million around 175 square meter 2 stories.

 

Yes ,

i am going to move close to an S&R

i am going to move close to an S&R it looks like i will be happy shopping there . I like to cook and see many choices there so o can reduce my spending,  Steve i get crazy desires for food there also , somethings i dont even eat them here but crave it over there. I like your quote "living and not just being alive".

There is nothing wrong with that if you have to get by, but if you dont why do it.  Sure learn to live cheaper, as you learn the layout of the land. When i have visited  there in two weeks intervals too many times to count i have never spent less than 400,000 pesos,  but i was on vacation and doing research, flying all over the place and staying in some very nice hotels and eating well.

I am confident with all the info i get from this forum ,  i will find my place and it will hopefully lead me to living for less than $3,000 a month, that is my goal. Scot tH where do you live and do you mind telling me your rent?   Thanks Poker Mike

 

 

Does anyone know how many S&R are now open

 

http://www.snrshopping.com/location.html

 

I see 8 in metro manila. 1 Davao another in Cebu. Guess it depends where you want to settle. line shows them all.

 

S&R isn't really the only place We have found in out travels here in Metro anyway. SM has a international section that has stuff but limited at time. We found a place called "Makati Market" that has a pretty good selection of imported stuff also a place called "Cost less"

 

It seems that if you live or visit an area with a higher class subdivision the better the selection of stores. For example the Makati Market we found is near Alabang and Filinvest subdivision.

[scott h]

And the way i lived would project out to around $1000 a month

 

Bob, I am not trying to contentious or argumentative. But I have though long and hard about if someone asked me ONE aspect of what  made life "livable" and "enjoyable" here in the Philippines and I would have to say its the "little things" things that we are used to. Things that scratch that little itch you get. The things that a person cannot even describe, but he knows is missing and he is really not in a good mood until that itch is scratched. Just those little things like what you like to munch on while your watching TV at night, can a person do without it? You bet! Does it make watching TV more enjoyable? I think so.

 

Put it another way, you and I were both in the Service, and we both spent extended times in the field eating field rations. Well when we got back to the rear, the first thing we did wasn't to ask for an MRE, it was to head straight to the exchange and get a soda and a Slim Jim.

 

A silly thing that might also help put it in perspective. We live close to NAIA, my wife was raised here. And a lot of her batchmates and friends live overseas. Well when one of them returns for a visit they all get together for a party. But also they all hand the visitor a list of things to get at the Duty Free store that is nearby. Stuff that they all have gotten used to but can't get at the local store. Like Fritos, I would kill for a real Frito.

 

I don't know, I am rambling, but I really think that when a person asks that favorite question "Can I live on $XXXX" the answer is naturally a resounding "YES". It all depends on that person definition of "Living" and the only way that question can really be answered I suppose is by actually get the ole boots on the ground.

[Jollygoodfellow]

The most expensive being a little over 17,000 pesos for the night.

 

I always pay about double that a night as I figure why wipe my own ass if I can get someone to do it included in the price. Often I brag about the money I have when in the Philippines but after awhile I got sick of being held up or being shot so I quietened down.