Day to day living

[stevewool]

Another thread on here got me thinking and yes i am not there yet and yes i have a budget and yes again we all live very different too.

We all like to think we can live on a set amount and some do but deep down and lets be honest too many of us do have a safety net just to top up the odd bill that comes along.

Anyway i have just been to do a little shopping , you know the sort we need  a lettuce and some bread but you buy lots of other stuff too.

I went to the local Aldi and here is what i brought,

2 thick bleach 750ml/   iceberg lettuce/  2 tins of sardines/ 6 tomatoes / 4 bread rolls / 1 white loaf /  pack of baby spinach / white seedless grapes /pack of chocolate biscuits / 15 eggs / 1 pack cold relief capsules / 1 pack night nurse capsules , grand total was £10.16pence  or just over 600 peso or around 12 $.

Now i think this is a bargain and some of these things will last a few days , and some of the other things i would not buy again, what i am saying is i budget here and i will budget once over there too, but also i will have a good life with what cash we shall have . but then again each to there own

 

 

[Old55]

Our plumber arrived at 8AM this morning he's nearly done it's 11:15 now. I pray it will only be $100.00 an hour plus material. 

[stevewool]

1 hour ago, Old55 said:

Our plumber arrived at 8AM this morning he's nearly done it's 11:15 now. I pray it will only be $100.00 an hour plus material. 

How much per hour

[Dr. Shiva]

8 hours ago, stevewool said:

 

Anyway i have just been to do a little shopping , you know the sort we need  a lettuce and some bread but you buy lots of other stuff too.

I went to the local Aldi and here is what i brought,

2 thick bleach 750ml/   iceberg lettuce/  2 tins of sardines/ 6 tomatoes / 4 bread rolls / 1 white loaf /  pack of baby spinach / white seedless grapes /pack of chocolate biscuits / 15 eggs / 1 pack cold relief capsules / 1 pack night nurse capsules , grand total was £10.16pence  or just over 600 peso or around 12 $.

 

 

I'm wondering what the same stuff would cost on the Philippines totaled together.

[Old55]

The plumbing company is co-owned by a friend I have no idea the hourly cost. All I know is the work is very high quality and honestly done.

The bill totaled $793.00.

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, Old55 said:

The plumbing company is co-owned by a friend I have no idea the hourly cost. All I know is the work is very high quality and honestly done.

The bill totaled $793.00.

A lot of materials or a complicated job?  For a 4 hour job, seems high even for the Seattle area.

By comparison, I have a crew of 4 or 5 guys working here for p500 per day each, which is probably higher than other areas of PH.  They have some good skills but I have not tested their plumbing skills yet.  Under my supervision, I will have them replace the kitchen sink and in the maids room, the sink and toilet.  I don't expect the same quality of work but I will make sure it is up to my minimum standard.

[Old55]

Some fairly complicated fabrication, materials about $100? The plumber is very good.

[Gratefuled]

Whenever I have anything done here that I cannot do I always get estimate materials & labor before I hire anyone. I also want to know just long long I can expect the work to be done. I always request receipts for material bought. I know the guy who does the work gets a discount from supplier but still I want to see receipts. 

I have good reliable men here who would make a very good living in the states doing the same work they do here for me. 

Just one problem that I had at first. Cleaning up after job is done. They know now to clean up any mess. 

 

[Bruce]

1 hour ago, Gratefuled said:

I always request receipts for material bought. I know the guy who does the work gets a discount from supplier but still I want to see receipts.

This is becoming a bigger issue here in the US now. Years ago, FORD started Flat Rate Pricing for repairs and put the mechanics on salary + commission. This is backed up by highly exaggerated and biased hourly price books to 'show' the customer the amount of time allotted for that specific repair, regardless of the actual time the repair took. And it did not take long for the mechanics to realize the more repair issues they found on their own, the higher the money earned by commission was if the customer agreed to the additional repairs.  

Today, this Flat Rate Pricing has become a standard thing for AC and plumbing and electrical repairs. No longer are jobs quoted in parts and material numbers. Just a flat price to be paid for the job. In the AC industry, there are now computer programs available, downloaded onto tablets to 'show' the customer the price for the repair. This puts the customer in a no win situation. Repairs are stacked on top of one another and there are even optional charges built into the computer program for 'ladder charge' and 'vacuum pump charge' et al. All components of the job in past years, now billed as additional fees. 

[not so old china hand]

6 hours ago, Dr. Shiva said:

I'm wondering what the same stuff would cost on the Philippines totaled together.

I wonder too. I mentally added up what these items would cost in Beijing and I estimated they would total around Yuan 130. That's about PDS 15 or $18.6. Beijing isn't cheap anymore.

BTW to get this price I would need buy the veggies in a wet market and buy Chinese brand biscuits, sardines and bleach. Not the higher quality and more expensive Western brands.