Contributions By Members > Living Costs in different areas, cities, provinces
Things that can or do directly affect ones cost of living
Lee2:
Rents can be a big one, for us we own our own condo, so all we have to pay is our monthly condo fee of around $50 a month and the yearly property taxes of around $200 a year.
The type of visa a person has can save them some money and/or time, which is money, many people do not count running back and forth to the BI as costs but it is and should be counted into necessary expenses.
Medical can be a big one, either having medical insurance or setting aside money for emergencies of our own and for our families.
Hopefully others can list their major yearly costs, for us we spend between U.S. $1500 to $2000 a month on the months we live in our condo in Cebu but we stay on a Balikbayan Privilege so no visa costs.
jjcabgou:
Golf :D ;) :)
lost_in_samoa:
--- Quote from: Lee2 on July 30, 2018, 09:57:07 PM ---"Things that can or do directly affect ones cost of living" "list their major yearly costs"
--- End quote ---
"Please Briar Lee don't throw me into the briar patch".
Food.
When we first came here our market costs were really high. We lay out a big Amish style table, and who ever is around gets a heaping plate full of ...... what ever. All the kids prefer the farm to school, hanging on the plaza, or selfie - selfie. So there is usually 5 or 6 of them under foot too.
Small scale gardening. It never ceases to amaze me how much we can produce on so little space. This ain't your Grandma's gardening. Hydroponics, Aquaponics, Aeroponics, Fogponics, ad nauseum ponics. There are a pile of fascinating changes in growing. Folks are growing 40 -> 80% of their daily intake on a condo balcony.
We have all but eliminated those costs just with planters, and containers around the various buildings. Now that we are feeding with AD effluent the yields are unbelievable.
Ester is very much into food preservation in all its forms. This is an evolution from her earlier hobby of cooking. She can's, dehydrates, pickles, or ferments everything that does not move. If it does, she asks me to shoot it, then she puts it back. The vendors at the wet market watch for her, call and text her, find and cut her better deals.
Now she is investigating spice distillation.
Medical.
We pretty much only eat what we produce. It is of known origin and consequently better quality. We have managed to change most of the family's eating habits from a "plate load" of rice and one tomato to equal portions of carbs, greens, and proteins.
You can see the difference in people.
We produce a lot of folk remedies / toiletries. We are not getting sick as much as in the past. Much lesser incidence of respiratory and intestinal problems. "Sore Eyes" used to be a big deal.
We now make soaps in the carboy for the cost of a bar. So everyone here gets a gallon or so once a quarter. We are keeping cleaner as a result. Cuts, scrapes, abrasions, and boo - boo's get cleaned sooner and more often.
It was embarrassing to everyone, but hygiene has a huge effect on this subject.
We have eliminated about 90% of the over the counter stuff. It is surprising how big those costs added up to.
Entertainment
This is a biggie for us. When I first started out, long before I married Ester. I was working part time, at night, washing dishes in a steak house. I hated it. I hated having no options. I hated being tempted by the left overs in the bus pans.
That revulsion led me to seriously think about the meaning of "fun" and "work". I could not fathom how folks could slave away 40, 50, 60 hours a week at work to get 3 or 4 hours of "play" time. When there is really no difference between the efforts. That train of thought led me to Bernays, and other folks. People who are influential in driving what you think of as work and leisure.
So for us, our entertainment is providing for ourselves. If you are here you are active. Do something, or learn something.
And it is catching on. Most of the crumb snatchers are no longer enthralled with duck lip selfies. They are learning that "being" is more rewarding than "pretending".
We don't karaoke. But we do sing to each other. The Phones, TV, and Internet are for educational purposes. We use them as tools not toys.
The satisfaction from creating and sharing is out weighing the tiny rush you get from watching "The Provinciano". Folks are learning that gaining or teaching a new skill feels better than "Pinoy's got Talent".
We are slowly re-learning to defer immediate gratification, for a larger more meaningful return in the future. Some would call that discipline.
Attitude / Environment
A lot of my family resisted this. They searched for detractors harder than positives. Don't have money. Don't have time. Don't have land. Don't have know how. Afraid to try. It was infuriating.
The tide turned a few years back. The concept of not trying is "self inflicted failing", finally sunk in.
My Lolo came to me yesterday. All of us were lounging, burping and farting, after a huge lunch of super spicy Balatong, Umpalaya, and canned Carabao. He told me for the first time in his long life, money was not so important.
Normally when I post something like this it is a thread killer. Is that a reflection on me or Y'all?
JoeLP:
--- Quote from: lost_in_samoa on July 31, 2018, 09:42:45 AM ---"Please Briar Lee don't throw me into the briar patch".
Food.
When we first came here our market costs were really high. We lay out a big Amish style table, and who ever is around gets a heaping plate full of ...... what ever. All the kids prefer the farm to school, hanging on the plaza, or selfie - selfie. So there is usually 5 or 6 of them under foot too.
Small scale gardening. It never ceases to amaze me how much we can produce on so little space. This ain't your Grandma's gardening. Hydroponics, Aquaponics, Aeroponics, Fogponics, ad nauseum ponics. There are a pile of fascinating changes in growing. Folks are growing 40 -> 80% of their daily intake on a condo balcony.
We have all but eliminated those costs just with planters, and containers around the various buildings. Now that we are feeding with AD effluent the yields are unbelievable.
Ester is very much into food preservation in all its forms. This is an evolution from her earlier hobby of cooking. She can's, dehydrates, pickles, or ferments everything that does not move. If it does, she asks me to shoot it, then she puts it back. The vendors at the wet market watch for her, call and text her, find and cut her better deals.
Now she is investigating spice distillation.
Medical.
We pretty much only eat what we produce. It is of known origin and consequently better quality. We have managed to change most of the family's eating habits from a "plate load" of rice and one tomato to equal portions of carbs, greens, and proteins.
You can see the difference in people.
We produce a lot of folk remedies / toiletries. We are not getting sick as much as in the past. Much lesser incidence of respiratory and intestinal problems. "Sore Eyes" used to be a big deal.
We now make soaps in the carboy for the cost of a bar. So everyone here gets a gallon or so once a quarter. We are keeping cleaner as a result. Cuts, scrapes, abrasions, and boo - boo's get cleaned sooner and more often.
It was embarrassing to everyone, but hygiene has a huge effect on this subject.
We have eliminated about 90% of the over the counter stuff. It is surprising how big those costs added up to.
Entertainment
This is a biggie for us. When I first started out, long before I married Ester. I was working part time, at night, washing dishes in a steak house. I hated it. I hated having no options. I hated being tempted by the left overs in the bus pans.
That revulsion led me to seriously think about the meaning of "fun" and "work". I could not fathom how folks could slave away 40, 50, 60 hours a week at work to get 3 or 4 hours of "play" time. When there is really no difference between the efforts. That train of thought led me to Bernays, and other folks. People who are influential in driving what you think of as work and leisure.
So for us, our entertainment is providing for ourselves. If you are here you are active. Do something, or learn something.
And it is catching on. Most of the crumb snatchers are no longer enthralled with duck lip selfies. They are learning that "being" is more rewarding than "pretending".
We don't karaoke. But we do sing to each other. The Phones, TV, and Internet are for educational purposes. We use them as tools not toys.
The satisfaction from creating and sharing is out weighing the tiny rush you get from watching "The Provinciano". Folks are learning that gaining or teaching a new skill feels better than "Pinoy's got Talent".
We are slowly re-learning to defer immediate gratification, for a larger more meaningful return in the future. Some would call that discipline.
Attitude / Environment
A lot of my family resisted this. They searched for detractors harder than positives. Don't have money. Don't have time. Don't have land. Don't have know how. Afraid to try. It was infuriating.
The tide turned a few years back. The concept of not trying is "self inflicted failing", finally sunk in.
My Lolo came to me yesterday. All of us were lounging, burping and farting, after a huge lunch of super spicy Balatong, Umpalaya, and canned Carabao. He told me for the first time in his long life, money was not so important.
Normally when I post something like this it is a thread killer. Is that a reflection on me or Y'all?
--- End quote ---
Not to that level yet, but my 5 years here has been pushing me in that direction. The whole system here is built on a tradition that is full of faults. If a mom can afford a table/ipad, she does because she's usually too damn lazy to raise her kid herself and wants the tv/tablet/ipad to do it for her. I was only here a year when I got Tina to agree the boys have to stay outside till dark. No tv/video games/net/etc. After our son was born I hid her Ipad because that was what she made his babysitter. It took time but now the older boys will take LJ out and play with him with only needing to ask if it's ok first now day. I can see an end in site I hope where I can get them seeing self education as more important that movies and such.
I shut down karaoke, but for different reasons...horrible singing at 1-2 am blasting out our doors as well as the neighbors is being horrible to me. And it's now Tina, our kids, or even her sisters and their kids. We rented one for one fiesta and people I never seen in my life were singing and turning it up louder and louder the later it got and singing worse and worse. Never rented again and when she asked told her no way we're buying one. I was in choir in high school and know the schools here lack it. I would like for my kids to get to practice their singing and all...but for whatever reason, saying no to guests is a horrible thing here(at least in my area) and that both drives me up the wall and made me say no to the noise box.
But I do like where you have it going there. Much healthier for the mind.
Lee2:
Please, lets bring the topic back around to costs, although some of the items mentioned within your posts definitely would cost us money, yet that was not the direction I was trying to bring this topic.
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