What is the average Monthly Spend for Expats in The Philippines
Foreigners often say that they go to live in the Philippines for the low cost of living.
Some find that it isn’t as cheap as they expect when they start shopping in the Malls.
Some example prices in August 2015
200 pesos – MacDonalds, Big Mac Meal – (A$5.78)
197 pesos – MacDonalds, Quarterpounder with Cheese Meal – (A$5.69)
530 pesos – Yellow Cabs Pizza, 14″ Hawaiian Pizza or New Yorker etc – (A$15.31)
480 pesos – Shakeys Pizza, Large Hawaiian Pizza – (A$13.87)
62 pesos – Supermarket, 600gm Loaf Bread – (A$1.79)
65 pesos – Supermarket, 12 eggs – (A$1.88)
200 pesos – Supermarket, 1 kg Breast of Chicken no bone – (A$5.78)
420 pesos – Supermarket, 1 kg Sirloin Steak – (A$12.14)
235 pesos – Supermarket, 1 kg Local Pork pieces – (A$6.79)
53 pesos – Supermarket, 1 kg Potatos (Small) – (A$1.53)
45 pesos – Supermarket, 1 kg Onions White – (A$1.3)
50 pesos – Supermarket, 20 Litres (5 US gallons) Drinking Water – (A$1.44)
Cornflakes and other breakfast cereals are not cheap, as they are all imported.
But for those who say it is cheap, they do say “NEVER shop at the Malls”, shop where the locals shop, eat Rice, and local meat etc. And, Yes, by doing that you can keep food costs low.
Accommodation cost in the Philippines.
Renting a house or a Condo. There are many cases of people paying 5,000 pesos per month for a local house.
20,000 to 50,000 pesos per month for a Condo is also quite usual.
The price difference is often down to quality and size.
A large condo, 70 sqm with one bedroom is about 37,000 in some places or 50,000 in others. But these will have hot water in bathroom and kitchen.
A small condo, 30 sqm, studio type is about 20,000 up to 40,000 in some places.
Some of the cheaper houses have no hot water at all, and very few have hot water in the kitchen.
We paid 30,000 pm for a brand new 3 bed house just South of Cebu. Each of the three bathrooms had hot water, but the Kitchen didn’t. Hot water is not needed, or common, for Filipinos.
A survey of about 120 Westerners living in the Philippines showed these results of average monthly spending:
15.5% Under 46,000 pesos per month
19.1% about 57,500 pesos per month
18.2% about 80,500 pesos per month
12.7% about 103,500 pesos per month
13.6% about 126,500 pesos per month
10.9% about 161,000 pesos per month
10.0% Over 184,000 pesos per month
This shows that on average:
About half spend upwards of 92,000 pesos per month (A$2,875)
About one third spend under 65,000 pesos per month (A$2,030)
About one third spend over 115,000 pesos per month (A$3,600)
FX Conversion rates at Aug/Sept 2015