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Oct 8, 2002, 7:14 AM

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Budget/Expenses - 2002

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I've seen some expense estimates on various sites, but all without any dates. I know it's a tough question and depends on the area in Mex and other factors. I'm not looking for a poverty level expense budget, nor an extravagent one. Assuming I could purchase a US$150,000 home, what are the main, typical, average expenses in 2002, such as monthly cost of:
Electricity (no air condit)
Internet broadband
cable/satellite TV
Real Estate Taxes
other taxes?
Auto insurance
Homeowners insur
Local Telephone
Food 2 people at home
"Decent" restaurant lunch cost
OtherTHANKS for your help.

Joan Humphris

Oct 8, 2002, 7:38 AM

Post #2 of 16 (1524 views)

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Budget/Expenses - 2002

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: This is poverty level?: I've seen some expense estimates on various sites, but all without any dates. I know it's a tough question and depends on the area in Mex and other factors. I'm not looking for a poverty level expense budget, nor an extravagent one. Assuming I could purchase a US$150,000 home, what are the main, typical, average expenses in 2002, such as monthly cost of:
: Electricity (no air condit)
: Internet broadband
: cable/satellite TV
: Real Estate Taxes
: other taxes?
: Auto insurance
: Homeowners insur
: Local Telephone
: Food 2 people at home
: "Decent" restaurant lunch cost
: Other: THANKS for your help.
:

JAH

Oct 8, 2002, 8:22 AM

Post #3 of 16 (1520 views)

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Budget/Expenses - 2002

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Read his email again -- more carefully this time. He said he was NOT looking for poverty level, nor an extravagant level.

Oct 8, 2002, 8:25 AM

Post #4 of 16 (1520 views)

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: : This is poverty level?Hey Joan, if you find it desireable or attractive to live without electr, and therefore TV, internet & telephone and feel owning a used car is an extravagence, and even owning a home, then you need not reply.

Jim en Cancun

Oct 8, 2002, 8:49 AM

Post #5 of 16 (1519 views)

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Budget/Expenses - 2002--ok--here goes

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Oct 8, 2002, 8:59 AM

Post #6 of 16 (1518 views)

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Living Expenses - 2002, OK--here goes

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: (In USD at 10:1 exchange rate)Hey Jim,
Thanks very much for the data. Based on your particular info, it seems that US$1200-$1600 per mo is reasonable, taking into consideration some golf & tennis being played and occasional eating out in decent but not 'crazy' restaurants. I'm unsure as to a place to live yet, but was thinking about Dolores Hidalgo or north of Manzanillo on the coast. Anyway, again thanks for your time in posting this current 2002 data.

Georgia

Oct 8, 2002, 9:44 AM

Post #7 of 16 (1523 views)

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We have a house lakeside - near Joco - and these are my expenses (I should add that in some respects we do conserve quite a bit, in others not. We don't really eat much meat, don't use US type "groceries", have no TV (maybe someday, just too busy now), and have our own chickens:: Electricity (no air condit)$60.00/mo
: Internet broadband $20.00 - 40.00
: cable/satellite TV $12.00: local cable avail.
: Real Estate Taxes $20.00/yr
: other taxes? 15% IVA on most purchases
: Auto insurance (don't know offhand)
: Homeowners insur $400/yr.
: Local Telephone $25.00/mo
: Food 2 people at home $120.00 max (usually less)
: "Decent" restaurant lunch cost $6.00 - $12.00 for 2 (my idea of decent doesn't necessarily involve tablecloths -- this is lunch we're talking about)
: Other gas: depends on how much you drive - it is more expensive here, travel to see family -- again depends on where they are or if that's a priority, health care and insurance - again varies with your choices, maid/gardener (we have a full time caretaker and part time maid -- everyone has different arrangements) , clothing, entertainment, health club, etc. These factors can vary a lot depending on your lifestyle.: THANKS for your help.
:

Joan Humphries

Oct 8, 2002, 10:08 AM

Post #8 of 16 (1521 views)

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: No. I don't find living without any of that desirable or that having a car is extravagant, but my friends in D.F. and in Cuernavaca have those things, but I don't feel like that is living at poverty level--unless I completely misunderstood your post.: : : This is poverty level?: Hey Joan, if you find it desireable or attractive to live without electr, and therefore TV, internet & telephone and feel owning a used car is an extravagence, and even owning a home, then you need not reply.

Joan Humphries

Oct 8, 2002, 10:13 AM

Post #9 of 16 (1519 views)

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: Okay. I'm chastised! I thought he was listing buying a $150,000 house and all those other things and calling it poverty level. Sorry!: Read his email again -- more carefully this time. He said he was NOT looking for poverty level, nor an extravagant level.

jennifer rose

Oct 8, 2002, 11:20 AM

Post #10 of 16 (1526 views)

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Well, I happen to think that a “decent restaurant” spells tablecloth! But it doesn’t include liquor. Are you talking salad, entree and dessert, salad and entree, or just an entree? Does that include tip? Are we talking about a “decent restaurant” in Dos Burros or Polanco?Does food expense include dog food, Coke for the help, toilet paper, and
cleaning supplies, or just family victuals? What does the family of two eat
prepared foods, meat and fish, imported foods, or just whatever’s on hand?
$166.95 M.N. is the basic telephone rate. Do you intend to make more than 100 local calls per month? If so, there’s going to be an additional charge. Are you going to have more than a single phone line?
Most folks – and that includes foreigners – don’t have homeowner’s insurance.
Your car insurance is going to depend upon whether your car is foreign-plated or Mexican and whether you maintain liability only or comprehensive. And the extent of that insurance.
Even your electricity is subject to variation. How many appliances do you intend to run? Are you going to have a washer, dryer, a computer that’s on all the time, a side-by-side refrigerator? How many light bulbs will you have in operation? Are you going to run a space heater?Now, let’s talk about the “other.” Are you going to have a maid, gardener, or a mozo? Are you going to wash your clothes in a nearby stream or in the Maytag? How about yard and household maintenance? Replacing the hot water heater? Cleaning the tinaco and aljibe? And giving a little extra something to your mailman on Dia del Cartero? Newspaper subscription? Velador? Christmas presents? Club dues? Entertaining, road trips, books, and donations to worthy causes all add up.My point? Even an “average” budget is subject to interpretation. It’s like asking “What’s a reasonably good color?”

John V

Oct 8, 2002, 1:03 PM

Post #11 of 16 (1519 views)

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After reading this forum for 10 weeks in the states and pursuing other sources of information I was unable to find out anything at all that was reliable or not conflicting about how much it costs to live in Mexico. The only way to find out is to come here for an extended period of time and find out.

Georgia

Oct 8, 2002, 3:49 PM

Post #12 of 16 (1522 views)

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: Well, I happen to think that a “decent restaurant” spells tablecloth! But it doesn’t include liquor. Are you talking salad, entree and dessert, salad and entree, or just an entree? Does that include tip? Are we talking about a “decent restaurant” in Dos Burros or Polanco?Some days I'll take the liquor over the tablecloth! For "la comida" (significant meal of day -- whatever time) I want wine AND a tablecloth! For "lunch" anything goes! We have enjoyed some very fine "comidas" with all the bells and whistles for about $25.00 couple. Tablecloths, too!

jack swift

Oct 8, 2002, 5:58 PM

Post #13 of 16 (1526 views)

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frankly i have a problem with that sort of questionsome of my mexican friends have a lifestyle i couldn't even dream about, and on the other side i'm totally glad my style doesn't approach the lifestyle of their maidsif you want to go "native" you can live in mexico just as cheap as in the outbacks of californiaif you require civilization's services your costs will be similar to the USsure, insurances and taxes seem cheaper - until you really see what exactly you're getting for you megabucksyes, haircuts will be cheaper, maids will cater to you, and depending on your area - housing and taxes will be lessand rice & frijoles are dirt cheap, but weigh that on the cost of condiments you'll be paying export prices for in mexicobut the part that differentiated our grandparen't lifestyle from - i.e., telephone, internet, cable, etc. will not be appreciably less, unless you live downtown manhattanliving in mexico is a change of style not necessarily income - 
good luck: I've seen some expense estimates on various sites, but all without any dates. I know it's a tough question and depends on the area in Mex and other factors. I'm not looking for a poverty level expense budget, nor an extravagent one. Assuming I could purchase a US$150,000 home, what are the main, typical, average expenses in 2002, such as monthly cost of:
: Electricity (no air condit)
: Internet broadband
: cable/satellite TV
: Real Estate Taxes
: other taxes?
: Auto insurance
: Homeowners insur
: Local Telephone
: Food 2 people at home
: "Decent" restaurant lunch cost
: Other: THANKS for your help.
:

jennifer rose

Oct 8, 2002, 9:41 PM

Post #14 of 16 (1527 views)

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I wouldn’t peg the budget information you’ve been given as “unreliable,” but it definitely is inconsistent. Giving both Georgia of Jocotepec and Jim in Cancun high marks for their reputations for truth and veracity, it would be hard to characterize their budget information as “unreliable.” Inconsistent, yes. Does Jim, whose 2-person household spends $500 per month on food, eat better than Georgia, whose in-home gastronomic budget is a paltry $2/day? Unless they invite us over for comida every day for a full and average month, we’re simply not going to know. Both are folks whom I’d peg as upper-middle class, and I imagine that both aren’t exactly starving. I haven’t even given you my figures (and I’m not about to), because I frankly don’t know. There are months in which I’ll load up on goodies, buying in quantity, and there are times when I eat out of the garden and whatever’s in the pantry.What all of this does underscore is the vast range of line-items you’re going to find in Mexico. There are only a few areas in which you’ll find absolutely consistency of prices in Mexico, e.g. the cost per liter of gasoline, the basic telephone rate, and the kilowatt-hour cost of electricity. There is simply too much range in lifestyles to make broad pronouncements of what it costs to live in Mexico. Going “native” doesn’t necessarily spell living off the grid. There are natives in this land who eat much better than you do, there are natives who eat about the same as you do, and there are natives who go to bed hungry each night.

Kate

Oct 8, 2002, 10:47 PM

Post #15 of 16 (1522 views)

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:John..ask yourself this question..How much does it cost to live in the US or Canada? Could you give me an answer?

Don

Oct 9, 2002, 8:44 PM

Post #16 of 16 (1522 views)

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Expenses depend a lot on where you live. For example: I live in a town 60 miles south of Guadalajara. Today 5 of us went to a nearby town for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. This town has few if any "gringos" living there. We consumed 3 beers, 3 Pepsi lights, 1 Coke and 1 shot of Tequilla. We had 1 marinaded barbecue chicken dinner, 3 mixed with chicken and aranchera and 1 aranchera dinner. The food was excellent and the meat tender. Came with rice, refried beans, small salad and tortillas. Total bill for the five of us was 216 pesos or about $21.00 U.S. Try to get those prices in Guadalajara, Chapala or Ajijic. We then stopped at a local bakery to get some assorted sweet breads for the 10 guests we expected over in the evening. We got 40 pieces for 48 pesos or about $4.80. So, if you want to get some fairly accurate costs, you need to ask about a specific area.