Exchange Rates

[virginprune]

I have noticed that the pound is dropping against the piso on a fairly regular basis. Since I started to plan my retirement here the pound has dropped by 7 piso's. Now this in itself is not really affecting me at the moment but a really big drop could be rather worrying, fixed income and all that.

I was curious about what other members would think would be a big enough drop to seriously impact on their life here? Also for the long termers, has this happened before during your time and how low did it go and what did you have to, if anything, change about your lifestyle to adapt?

[scott h]

Virgin, this is one of those questions like....can I live on xxx amount a month. It boils down to the same thing really. My income is about 40% of what it was while I was working. My quality of life has not really changed at all, no if the dollar drops 10% then the quality might also drop 10% if that makes sense.

[earthdome]

FX rates fluctuate, inflation, monetary policy changes, recessions, etc. All sorts of things can adversely impact your retirement income or how much that income can purchase.  Bottom line is that when you retire you need to have 2-4 times as much income as you think you will need because over time that income will have less value. I could have worked a few more years to increase my retirement income but decided to retire when I thought I had enough. I would rather enjoy my retirement than work myself to death.

[Call me bubba]

Also for the long termers, has this happened before during your time and how low did it go and what did you have to,

if anything, change about your lifestyle to adapt?

 

when i 1st arrived 2001.rate 49-51 to 1.$

back in 2006 the USD$ was at 56p-1$. .

45p-1 2008,2014 it had drop to bout 41p-1$

 I have cut back , wayyyyy CUT BACK from a (poor mans)western TYPE lifestyle.

found some ways to make the most out of the $ to peso,

 

when ready to take out the $ and exchange i look at what the market is doing.is it increasing that day or DROPPING

over the years i can look and see what the rate is doing, if its dropping that day I will wait another day or 2 before i transfer, Been pretty good on what to do. better than a coin flip..(at least 75% success)

 

instead of BRAND NAME cereal for the children now buy X name or for every 1 brandname bought 2 X brand.

instead of SM/ROBINSON for major groceries or EVEN CLOTHES we shop at  the "budget" stores.

 

when it comes to clothes I repair instead of discard, then they are my "dirty" or poor white mans clothes to wear

for children's clothes 1 female expat on occasion have shared her outgrown child clothes

 

MANY prices have increased over the years and in the past few months the UHT MILK has too.

 We buy in BULK. not the usual 3-5 that we consume in a week ,the box of 12 items maybe 2box,

 tried the various brands and get what is healthy .agreeable  to the taste buds but not expensive 

have found a store that sells at a "deeply"discount of soon to expire items(60-90days or more away)

we now stock up on these items IF they are appropriate to our(me and my children) Dietary habits.

 

outside the house spending,,, movies. eating out..

BEEN REDUCED

 

however the best I have done was in 2008 when the $-P was to predicted to drop lower,

I moved out of MM/NCR/metro manila here to Sta rosa,

this dropped our COSTS tremendously(mainly on housing.transportation and miscellaneous )

and improved the quality of life.

 

Since I dont drink,  :morning1: chase girls,go to bars. that saves$$$$

THOU i must chase down my children :grouphugg:

 

added note I do help the extended parasitic  family w/about 2-4k php a year

after they have asked other sources for help then i will assist

if they have money for beer then they have money for their expenses.

Edited January 19, 2015 by Pittman apartments Sgn

[JJReyes]

My recommendation is to spend only 80% of your retirement. Keep 20% as a reserve. With sufficient cushion, your lifestyle changes are minimal.

[Dave Hounddriver]

My budget has dropped by 12% because the value of the Canadian dollar has slipped by that much against the peso in the last year.  I have been a world traveller all my life and I remember the pound dropping steadily over my lifetime against the Canadian dollar (used to be 4 dollars to the pound when I was young.  I remember the German mark rising steadily against the Canadian dollar (used to be 4 marks to the dollar in the late 60s.  I remember the Mexican peso rising quickly against the Canadian dollar in the '80s.

 

Bottom line is that, in our lifetime the exchange rate could conceivably get so bad we cannot afford to live here on our the budgets we have, so enjoy today for we know not what tomorrow brings, and have a back up plan like a provision to return home or another country to move to or investments that pay a return in Philippine pesos so you are not tied to the exchange rate.

 

Such is my opinion, such is how I live.   :cheersty:

[brock]

In 12 years the Pound was 110 peso,,,Now down to about 70,,,So a big drop.

[virginprune]

Thank you guys for good answers. So far,as I stated above, this small drop is fairly insignificant but I did experience a huge drop when in Thailand, it started at 84-£ but over a 3 year period it dropped to a low of 46-£.

I believe that I will only need about 60-70% of my income on current lifestyle so can probably take a hit if the drop does not become too low. I also have a back up amount/plan if things go really belly up but would prefer not to use this.

[JJReyes]

The Canadian dollar will more likely continue to depreciate in the short term because of oil export prices. Everything is relatively and by this time next year, the Canadian dollar will probably regain its strength. The recovery will come from the sale of other commodities. By the way, oil is oversold because of speculation. The correct price is around $65 a barrel.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Moved about a thousand post on oil prices to here, http://www.philippines-expats.com/forum/121-the-chatterbox/