Thanks for the video Steve, but I have to disagree.. $1500 is more than enough to live well (putting aside initial start up costs, or large one off buys such as car, appliances etc) It all depends on what your definition of living very well is. Today I woke up, snorkelled for an hour or so on a beautiful coral reef where I live, partner cooked a tasty healthy breakfast, went for a ride up into the mountains, came back ate lunch, had a siesta - played badminton late afternoon on the beach, went out for bbq food this evening and will chill out and watch Netflix/Prime on the sofa for the evening - Keeping active, buying local food, cooking healthy meals, swimming, going to the gym, mixing with the wonderfully friendly Filipinos, getting outside in the fresh air - this is the joy of not having to work a 60 hour week - and I feel 10 years younger - if I wanted to eat at western fast food chains, I'd stay in the west! Horses for courses sir, but of course I respect others who wish to live that way 👍
I agree as well, I live in Iloilo, nice new 1 bedroom condo, eating locally, shopping at S&R from time to time, some travel every 2 months or so, internet electric, and pocket money. It can be done if you embrace the local somewhat
109000 - 182000 is 2000 - 3200 . Personally I would live on the 3k . Invest and save the rest of my income . This would put me in a very good position financially and still live a good life there. This would allow me to explore the Philippines while in my early 50s and other countries to see where I would want to spend my golden years. I’d rather continue to invest then live a crazy life style. I could stay in the states financially but a move there would allow me a lot more freedom.
I may never move to the Philippines but for now I enjoy learning more about the culture from this and other channels. I like your channel in particular because you dig a little deeper in to your topics using your personal insights, which I always find interesting,
Thanks to you, too, for replying, crowleysteveful! My response to you is the same as above to KingRat71. Thank you for your time and advice...much appreciated!
It all depends on your lifestyle and what you expect in retirement, I think I could live very happily on $600 a month living in the province. I don't go out to eat here in Arizona or do much, I just like watching UA-cam videos all day. A very peaceful life with no stress. I could do the same there in a province very happily. If I didn't have the three grandkids living very close to me I would be over there right now. Most of my monthly income goes to the grandkids to buy them things and to pay for things i have bought for them. i'm fortunate to have three different retirements, my military retirement, my Social Security retirement, and my VA pension. With all with those I'm living very comfortably here and could go out to eat every night if I wanted to, but I don't, can't be bothered, waiting in lines outside to get in the restaurant, waiting to get served and all the noise in the restaurant. I am happy just staying home watching TV and having very basic meals that I make. my daughter does not understand how I can stay home day after day week after week month after month year after year just staying home watching TV.
@@bigbearhugebear9018 you're right, the only time I go out for any length of time is when I go camping at Quartzsite on the border of Arizona and California for a week or two with some friends in January, a few weeks before I go I'm always thinking of 1 million excuses to tell them I can't go, but I force myself to go. once I'm actually on the road heading there which is only like an hour and a half away I'm OK just thinking about it stresses me out.
$600 is not a budget that’s living off a pension which is not very reasonable for pop ups!!! No safety net unless you have $15k-25k readily available which would be hard to do. Your budget should NEVER be your income!!!!
@@edwardlawler9487 what I said I could live on is not my budget, my income in pesos is 457,018.50 a month according to today's exchange rate. So I could be living very well there if I wanted to move there.
Nice video, but here is what I got from it - Single healthy guy can live comfortably on 1K, but if he has health issues and/or a gf , he will need 2k ++ .
There's nothing wrong buying food in a wet market taking it home and cook it. Its not lower class or just for people on low budgets rich Filipino's do it all the time, its far more healthier than eating that processed Western crap food you have here so you will have a better chance of a healthier life. Just have to overcome the dislike of eating food with bones in it!
One of the greatest opportunities the Philippines offers is affordable healthy whole food, we just need to be prepared to get off our butter and cook it. Cheers Aussie John
Me and my lady order food maybe twice a month mostly because we like home cooking, as for as going to the movies, we find no need when you have prime and Netflix , for a family of 3 in a condo that connects to sm and having swimming pools and a gym it's not bad living on 2,200 a month with plenty left over
There are other channels where they try to live an American lifestyle in the Philippines. They live in BGC and live as much like Manhattan as possible. That's fine for them. But I wouldn't live in Manhattan at all. And I cannot see the point of moving to the Philippines and trying to live like you're still in the US. Still, if that's what people want to do, more power to them. Currently, I live in Tennessee. We are receiving an influx of people from places like California, New York, and Michigan. These people fled those places because they had become unlivable. Yet they NEVER tire of telling the locals about how they did things in the states they fled. If you leave the US because it is unlivable, it doesn't make any sense to try to live like you did in the United States. That's what you're trying to escape! Adopt the lifestyle of the locals to the maximum extent possible. And NEVER tell the locals how they should become more like the places that caused you to leave.
$2000-$3200 US is upper class. I have a hard time spending $800/month here being single. My son was with me for 4 months. Paid for both apartments, multiple flights, buses, ferries, all meals, scooter rentals, multiple air bnb and hotels, excursions such as a couple at El Nido and other islands and much more. Averaged about $1500 US Monthly. I add to investments/emergency funds. If you hear people here say not to come unless you have 2K monthly as a single guy DON’T listen. If your health is a big issue I would reconsider though. Oh, and can one COMFORTABLY live and travel and rarely cook your own meals for $800-$1000 a month in the west? I do own my motorbike but that only saves me less than $100 monthly!
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the life expectancy in the Philippines in 2020 was: Male: 67.4 years Female: 73.6 years Total: 70.4 years
It would appear that I am wealthy. I am fortunate in that we don't pay rent, having bought our properties 4-5 years ago and they have appreciated significantly, and continue to do so. We get our income from renting out properties, a store and a coffee-shop as well as some stocks. I would recommend to anyone wishing to settle here that they invest in property. My step-daughter's greatest thrill after I met her mother and moved here was that she now has her own bedroom and bathroom.
So much depends on how much debt people have…… I didn’t have any debt when I came to the Philippines to marry my Filipina, but my Filipina had some debt, but relatively little…….. The first thing we did was pay down her debt as fast as possible…… as well as keeping current on our bills. However we view our finances, debt plays a huge role in how we can live here. Thanks Steve, great job
Here in Pangasinan, I really miss Canadian poutine and fresh cheese curds, real pizza (sorry but PH pizza is gross). What I absolutely love is the super friendly, smiling people, the awesome street food everywhere, the sari stores everuwhere, full serve gas stations, etc etc. Overall a much better life here in Philippines vs Canada
Being something of a tight &Rse I enjoy indulging myself by making all the foods that I particularly like, that way I know the ingredients, cooked the way I like it, so I get to spoil myself whilst never hearing "out of stock po" or find myself wondering what the hell am I eating. Google solves most problems. Cheers Aussie John
Poutine, Veronica Hotel, Roxas City Capiz. Mind you I am from California so no guarantee that I have any idea how poutine is supposed to taste. Theirs is better than the stuff I got in California. Again no guarantee.
Here are the full figures: Income classification 182000 Rich 109200 182000 High income (but not rich) 63700 109200 Upper middle income 36400 63700 Middle class 18200 36400 Lower middle class 9100 18200 Low income (but not poor) 9100 Poor
If you’re a retired American with a monthly income of $5000 and living in the Philippines you’re not going to have financial issues unless you’re really really bad with money. Horribly bad. Criminally bad. 😂 because nobody is making 5k a month in social security so a good chunk of that is coming from some other form of income. The part coming from your social security is guaranteed for the rest of your life along with yearly col increases. Even if you make some poor financial choices you can recover by lowering your spending for a while and let your income catch up. Even if you never have to go that route, 5k a month is smooth sailing in PI.
I think the first category still makes up the majority. I know a lot of people in the Philippines who earn much less than p36k, even when both partners are working.
Always get a chuckle out of the homes built in earthquake, typhoon, hurricane&volcanic areas in the US High Risk I like the Nipa homes in the Philippines Seems more practical Imo Tc Steve♥️🙏
So my passport comes in December and planning on moving there in January on my 100% VA 3850 currently doing research on what area to live in that will be best for my money and lifestyle
When talking about income inequality in the Philippines, the discussion typically focuses on the poor vs. rich divide. But with the recent economic challenges that the country has faced, it has shifted to the poor vs. middle class. Low-income families are prioritized when it comes to receiving government help like relief goods and cash aid, especially during the recent pandemic. On the other hand, middle-class households hardly receive government assistance. This raises the question: Who should the government help more, the poor or the middle class? Before we get to that, it's important to understand first the different social classes in the Philippines. What is the Meaning of Social Class? Sociologists define social class as a group of people with similar socioeconomic class or status in the Philippines-meaning, their standing within society based on their level of income, education, and occupation. Social status in the Philippines ranges from low to high and often reveals inequalities in terms of power, influence, and access to resources.
I'm a retired social Worker so I'm really well aware of this stuff. This is a traditional matriarchal Patrón type society with a strong capitalistic meritocracy component. In other words, if it can stay away from first world mistakes there's a good chance that the Philippines could be a world power in a generation or 2.
Also there appears to be high mobility between the classes, which appears based on merit. There also appears to be a great deal of respect between most social classes, possibly related to the influence of OSWs, with the exception being from a lack of tolerance for poor who are not native to an area. The people who come out from the bush appear to have more respect. They are still treated fairly well considering. Family connections are the most important and families appear to range between the very poor and the very rich with the rich members of a family being obligated to protect and help their relatives. In other words, Social classes in this society is simply not a relevant distinction when the structure is this fluid and the individual or family is a much better metric. Of course, my brother in law who's a politician would probably disagree as his power base seems geared to the "lower classes", but I'm retired so I can tell the truth 😁
Your budget is going to depend on how your comfort level. It's can you adapt to the philippines way of life. Alot of expats forget to adapt, province living is not struggling to live. The more you expose your wealth the bigger a target you become. US embassy tells you to blend in not standout.
I took my girlfriend to a steak house at the mall of Asia, and she ordered fish and rice . I ordered the rib eye and cut her off a piece, and she shared her fish. I eat Filipino when I'm in the philippines and ad a little western twist to things to suit my palet, and it works well for me. It's all carbohydrates and protein with sautéed vegetables. A good woman will cook the way you like it but you have to tell her how you want it and getting in the kitchen with her can be a fun experience. A Filipina understands what a budget is, and most will have an envelope system for each bill, so everything is accounted for . They are very frugal as many don't have a lot to work with and will do without to take care of the essential things. It will more than likely be you and your Western spending habits that blow the budget and not her if she's a good woman.
Yep a Real Delicatessen type sandwich is hard to beat. Variety and portion size, toppings available, cheeses…. Subway is ok but comparison wise that is like TacoBell compared to Real Mexican food. Rich to the poor is 3 squares a day, shelter from the weather a pair of sandals rather than “slippers”, durable clothes…. Anything above those basics is gravy. I think I could survive well enough in say a town outside a class 1 city but within 0:30:00 to an 1:00:00 drive on $1,000.00 to $1,500.00 a month easily “as a single person”. I don’t need a lot. Kitchen , bathroom, bedroom, and a living area then I’m fine. Fish pork and chicken is great, fresh veggies and fruit is excellent… add rice and noodles 🍜 and that’s plenty. But I can live that simple life as I don’t need all the amenities others “require”. Add a boat and fishing gear well that’s going to make it heaven on earth. Add a garden area and my soul is filled up to overflowing. Perhaps I’m different than most, perhaps not I’m just in that other class of people that don’t need the extras to be satisfied. Like the song goes “Be a simple kind of man”….. If I ever make it out there perhaps I will find differently than I expected and not enjoy that life or that the living and the dream don’t match up. Only time can give the true perspective once there. That said I am in the sweet spot budget so I could up the pot a raise or two if I so chose. The other is as I said living as a single person… if that changes then so does the budget…. Wild card is insurance and any medical issues that come up. 70 years is a lot of years and just because I’ve been relatively healthy does not mean I will remain so…. Life can change or end in a heartbeat.
Steve -- several people still contend they 'live' (survive ?) quite comfortably on a $1500 budget or even slightly less in some cases ? (single expats) Obviously by your standards they aren't doing very well - but perhaps from where they came from - it's significantly better ? They seem satisfied and happy with their frugal lives. -- Expectations seem to vary a lot. -?-
There’s a big difference in how much expats are making in retirement. I will be making over $7000 in retirement. But that’s not the norm for the average expat. Each person needs to take their own personal situation into consideration, not go by what other guys are doing.
It is certainly relative in relation to the average filipino. But most of us would be considered well off. Now if you choose to live in a nicer neighborhood you'll see filipinos that have wealth in relation to their counterparts. My area I see many high end cars for example. So in relation to those car owners I am poor lol. 😂 But overall life can be good on a reasonably higher budget. 👌
We pay no rent we own our own homes If we did no traveling at all here in the Philippines we can live on 110,000 php a month. But we like to travel we spend a minimum of 150,000 to 200,000 php a month depending on holidays, birthdays and anniversaries. Good video Steve.
Hey Steve I saw a 14in round Punkin at Robison the other day. Like you would see in the US for jack o lantern carving. Just a little over 1800php. I have seen a butterball frozen turkey as well 2500php. Imported stuff can get pricy
You cant put a price on everything...I dont sweat money bc im okay..however its not all there is people try to get some INHERENT WORTH..LIVE WITH HUMILITY .
Philippine is deferent culture, many kinds off food, just because of deferent culture. Understanding, helpful ,hospitable. But If your not good to treat the pilipino .. pilipinos they don't like...
Exactly, Pesos spending is very subjective, plus foreigner spending pesos vs. Filipino spending is totally different. 2k-3k should be more than adequate, different strokes for different folks. Note typical white guy foreigner always comparing to back in the states. Please stop comparing and saying back in the states…..🤣 take care amigo
Great info, but with the current exchange rate of 56 pesos/dollar, "high class/upper class", actual US dollars is $1,918 to $3,203. That is a TON less than the estimate of $4,000. Talk about living like a king on $1,900 to $3,200 per month!
This at my age 60 male totally alone would be a big leap. How and where would I go to try a so-called test drive to see if it could be a good fit. So many reasons I could name to want out of the U.S. but of course I'm afraid of my own shadow never mind make a move like this. Thanks for any tips, Jim
I think the sweet spot is about 4k. Thats enough live well, save money, have the best insurance, have dedicated emergency fund, afford to support GF family, etc.
Realistic expectations is what every expat needs to keep in focus and look beyond the UA-cam "glamor-hype" showing you "the affordable Philippines" through rose colored glasses. In my opinion, anything less than $1000/mo. is going to fall short of most peoples' expectations and desired retirement lifestyle. Is less than $1000/mo doable? Absolutely, but you'll be living like a local at best. The majority of expats want better than that, so they really need to plan accordingly. $1500+/mo. is good if you plan to be perpetually single, $2000+/mo. if you plan to date or get married. That higher figure is also a must if you want to call BGC or Makati home or if you want to include some traveling as part of your retirement lifestyle.
Hence why you need a lot of money in the Philippines especially if your living in Manila nowadays ain't cheap especially the minimum wage in the PH the price's goes up in the Philippines but the wage ain't.
Sorry, the truly super rich here are not like Donald Trump. They didn’t declare themselves bankrupt several times. We also don’t base our social class based on income alone. But your video is helpful to foreigners wanting to live or stay here.
I turned 65 this month and find myself on Medicare and only making $1250 a month on SS, because I took it early while still working. I'm not officially disabled, but find that I physically cannot work anymore like I used to. I've been juggling a house of cards financially and now have to realize, after selling all my assets over the last 18 months, that there's nothing left to sell and am forced to look into other options...and quickly. I definitely cant live in the states on $1250 a month, and I certainly don't want to get on welfare, at all! I've been watching your channel for awhile now, wondering if my situation would ever get to the point of needing to seriously consider maybe living in the Philippines to be a real possibility. But, after watching this video, it doesn't seem that $1250 a month is going to be enough to live their either. Any advice you could give on a situation like mine, Steve?
Talk to your doctor and see if you can get some sort of disability assistance. Anything would help. Pride isnt worth risking being homeless or damaging your health if you cant afford medical care, medicine, or food.
1250 a month is essentially below the poverty line which opens you up for many social programs like housing and utility reductions as well as food stamps . Check with a social worker in your area to see what's available for you and what the requirements are. Some things may disqualify you so do some research. I wouldn't go overseas with less than a couple of grand a month to work with as Medicare isn't available for your medical. Perhaps you can work part time in a job that doesn't require a lot of physical labor and subsidies your income and help boost up your ss payments.
@@KingRat71 Thank you for replying, KingRat71! That's where I made my mistake. The men in my family don't typically make it to their 60s. I'm the first one, in fact, to live this long, in over 120 years. Heart disease (among other underlying issues) is in our genetics. So, I took the advice to start SS at age 62, because of my family history. My health didn't start to go really South (interfering now with my job) until last year at age 63, almost 64, and then even MORE so after getting Long Covid back in May of this year. I sought the advice of 2 Disabilty Legal firms. Apparently, one cannot quality for SS Disability if they have already started drawing early SS RETIREMENT benifits. Now, that's a scenario that is NEVER mentioned by advisors, but should be shouted from the rooftops, especially to folks, like me, who wonder if it's really better to draw it early or not. In my case, it was not. If I would have just waited for about 14 to 18 months more, I would have been definitely awarded full disability, making about $400 more a month for the rest of my life, which should still be a relatively long life. I would definitely be in the PI right now with $400 more per month. It's the working in the corporate world part that is killing me faster at my age. My doctor tells me that my age and particular biometrics require that my full time job should be taking care of my health, not minding the store. I'm working full time right now, but only seasonal...and it's taking everything out of me. Don't know how much longer I can even do that. I'm screwed! I've never taken any welfare, and still am looking at ways to avoid it, even earning this little.
You can. 1250 is around 70k pesos. If you live in the islands that’s enough but of course, dont expect a lot of western food and stuff. Simple and healthy living in the provinces
We're building our home here. Meanwhile we're living with the in-laws and I pay for as much as they let me. We're still way ahead of what we spent in California.
Pizza in the PH is still bad though. They try but it isnt even up to Little Caesars standards (fairly cheap Americna pizza). Even at Pizza Hut in PH they simply dont fully cook the pizzas. Shakeys Greenwich and Yellow cab try but still need to improve alot. I hope one of these places finally steps up to a proper hand tossed pizza someday.
I'm in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico now. I haven't had a Shakey's pizza since the 60's. I've had good pizza in Arizona but have never had an excellent pizza outside of Massachusetts. I had the Shakey's in Brockton. It was okay but not excellent. The Central Cafe in Middleborough had my best childhood pizza.
I’ve been living off 1400-2k a month budget here in Ohio, I wonder how I’d do in the Philippines with that budget. I’m no stranger to staying home for 4/5 days in a row and saving money
Just a suggestion: If you had spent 5 minutes with a spreadsheet program before you started, you could have had all your numbers precisely converted and ready to spit out, rather than struggling with mental math. Otherwise, I found the info useful.
Dropping people out of insurance because of pre-existing conditions...it really sounds familiar to me...do you remember who terminated that practice here in the USA??? You got it!! The democrats
@@armandosanchez8901 Im an American, you obviously have no clue what his policies have done to our economy. Im not going to walk you through everything. Frankly, if you wanted to know, you would already know.
There are plenty of chicks in Thailand and Vietnam too from what I’ve been told and see on YT. Thailand is quite a bit more expensive to live than PI and the language barrier is much steeper. There’s also a different cultural barrier to break through if you intend to retire there. I think it’s easier for westerners to do this in the Philippines because of its colonial history and its “western” religion. I’d guess that Vietnam is similar in some respects to Thailand although not in all ways.
Real common sense videos - I subscribed- 3,000 is the number. It’s NOT where you live in Philippines it’s HOW YOU LIVE. PLENTY OF POSTERS will claim their living like kings on 1500. Yep you exist but living ?.. Of course these are ALWAYS the ones who call asking for loans, when they or the wife or kids need hospital or car craps out - remember there is NO SUCH THING AS A LOAN IN PHILIPPINES- always consider any transfer of money as a gift. Seen too many friendships down the crapper due to money HAVES HAVE NOTS DONT LET UNPREPARED HAVE NOTS DRAG YOU DOWN IF YOUR A HAPPY RETIREE.
Omg guy, please when you give information can you give context.. you keep saying numbers 345 345 109 109 finally figured out your talking about pesos and then I am just guessing it was per month about 5 minutes into the video
When he ran his business in Atlantic City the people that worked for him spoke well of him it is only when he started running for office is when they tried to make him out as the worst person in the world.
@MrSteven5975 he's okay, but he ain't Jeff bezos or Elon musk level rich, he ain't even kim kardashian or taylor swift rich, that's what I'm saying, should've worded my thoughts better, he's now selling stupid bibles and sneakers to pay off his legal fees, talk about embarrassing 😳
@MrSteven5975 he's okay but ain't jeff bezos or Elon musk level, he ain't even kim kardashian or taylor swift level, now he's selling sneakers and some stupid bible stuff to pay his legal bills, that's just embarrassing 😳
![Дон ДОН, Алаудинов и СБЕЖАВШИЕ из под Курска ахматовцы 😁 [Пародия]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dEfCf5IK26Q/mqdefault.jpg)
Hahahaha! I'm a Filipino and I like the way you discribe how we live there in the Philippines. More power to you!
Awesome! Thank you!
Thanks for the video Steve, but I have to disagree.. $1500 is more than enough to live well (putting aside initial start up costs, or large one off buys such as car, appliances etc) It all depends on what your definition of living very well is. Today I woke up, snorkelled for an hour or so on a beautiful coral reef where I live, partner cooked a tasty healthy breakfast, went for a ride up into the mountains, came back ate lunch, had a siesta - played badminton late afternoon on the beach, went out for bbq food this evening and will chill out and watch Netflix/Prime on the sofa for the evening - Keeping active, buying local food, cooking healthy meals, swimming, going to the gym, mixing with the wonderfully friendly Filipinos, getting outside in the fresh air - this is the joy of not having to work a 60 hour week - and I feel 10 years younger - if I wanted to eat at western fast food chains, I'd stay in the west! Horses for courses sir, but of course I respect others who wish to live that way 👍
Enough vs higher safety net.
Wow you are living my dream. You have a channel? I like to subscribe.
Yes!!
I agree as well, I live in Iloilo, nice new 1 bedroom condo, eating locally, shopping at S&R from time to time, some travel every 2 months or so, internet electric, and pocket money. It can be done if you embrace the local somewhat
I surprised my gf by eating all her cooking with no complaints. Building a house is cheaper than renting.
109000 - 182000 is 2000 - 3200 . Personally I would live on the 3k . Invest and save the rest of my income . This would put me in a very good position financially and still live a good life there. This would allow me to explore the Philippines while in my early 50s and other countries to see where I would want to spend my golden years. I’d rather continue to invest then live a crazy life style. I could stay in the states financially but a move there would allow me a lot more freedom.
I may never move to the Philippines but for now I enjoy learning more about the culture from this and other channels. I like your channel in particular because you dig a little deeper in to your topics using your personal insights, which I always find interesting,
Thanks to you, too, for replying, crowleysteveful! My response to you is the same as above to KingRat71. Thank you for your time and advice...much appreciated!
It all depends on your lifestyle and what you expect in retirement, I think I could live very happily on $600 a month living in the province. I don't go out to eat here in Arizona or do much, I just like watching UA-cam videos all day.
A very peaceful life with no stress. I could do the same there in a province very happily.
If I didn't have the three grandkids living very close to me I would be over there right now. Most of my monthly income goes to the grandkids to buy them things and to pay for things i have bought for them.
i'm fortunate to have three different retirements, my military retirement, my Social Security retirement, and my VA pension. With all with those I'm living very comfortably here and could go out to eat every night if I wanted to, but I don't, can't be bothered, waiting in lines outside to get in the restaurant, waiting to get served and all the noise in the restaurant. I am happy just staying home watching TV and having very basic meals that I make.
my daughter does not understand how I can stay home day after day week after week month after month year after year just staying home watching TV.
You should listen to your daughter and get out a little bit (:0)
@@bigbearhugebear9018 you're right, the only time I go out for any length of time is when I go camping at Quartzsite on the border of Arizona and California for a week or two with some friends in January, a few weeks before I go I'm always thinking of 1 million excuses to tell them I can't go, but I force myself to go. once I'm actually on the road heading there which is only like an hour and a half away I'm OK just thinking about it stresses me out.
$600 is not a budget that’s living off a pension which is not very reasonable for pop ups!!! No safety net unless you have $15k-25k readily available which would be hard to do. Your budget should NEVER be your income!!!!
@@edwardlawler9487 what I said I could live on is not my budget,
my income in pesos is 457,018.50 a month according to today's exchange rate. So I could be living very well there if I wanted to move there.
$600 for single in the province is enough. If you have a girlfriend, nope.
HEALTH is WEALTH too :)
Nice video, but here is what I got from it - Single healthy guy can live comfortably on 1K, but if he has health issues and/or a gf , he will need 2k ++ .
There's nothing wrong buying food in a wet market taking it home and cook it. Its not lower class or just for people on low budgets rich Filipino's do it all the time, its far more healthier than eating that processed Western crap food you have here so you will have a better chance of a healthier life. Just have to overcome the dislike of eating food with bones in it!
LMFAO
One of the greatest opportunities the Philippines offers is affordable healthy whole food, we just need to be prepared to get off our butter and cook it. Cheers Aussie John
Me and my lady order food maybe twice a month mostly because we like home cooking, as for as going to the movies, we find no need when you have prime and Netflix , for a family of 3 in a condo that connects to sm and having swimming pools and a gym it's not bad living on 2,200 a month with plenty left over
that sounds perfect. why do most youtubers say you need double that to survive?
Good points.
There are other channels where they try to live an American lifestyle in the Philippines. They live in BGC and live as much like Manhattan as possible. That's fine for them. But I wouldn't live in Manhattan at all. And I cannot see the point of moving to the Philippines and trying to live like you're still in the US. Still, if that's what people want to do, more power to them.
Currently, I live in Tennessee. We are receiving an influx of people from places like California, New York, and Michigan. These people fled those places because they had become unlivable. Yet they NEVER tire of telling the locals about how they did things in the states they fled. If you leave the US because it is unlivable, it doesn't make any sense to try to live like you did in the United States. That's what you're trying to escape! Adopt the lifestyle of the locals to the maximum extent possible. And NEVER tell the locals how they should become more like the places that caused you to leave.
$2000-$3200 US is upper class. I have a hard time spending $800/month here being single. My son was with me for 4 months. Paid for both apartments, multiple flights, buses, ferries, all meals, scooter rentals, multiple air bnb and hotels, excursions such as a couple at El Nido and other islands and much more. Averaged about $1500 US Monthly. I add to investments/emergency funds. If you hear people here say not to come unless you have 2K monthly as a single guy DON’T listen. If your health is a big issue I would reconsider though. Oh, and can one COMFORTABLY live and travel and rarely cook your own meals for $800-$1000 a month in the west? I do own my motorbike but that only saves me less than $100 monthly!
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the life expectancy in the Philippines in 2020 was:
Male: 67.4 years
Female: 73.6 years
Total: 70.4 years
And that was before the vaccines.
@@WAdelstein🤪
Great info like always. Thanks 🙏🏻
It would appear that I am wealthy. I am fortunate in that we don't pay rent, having bought our properties 4-5 years ago and they have appreciated significantly, and continue to do so. We get our income from renting out properties, a store and a coffee-shop as well as some stocks. I would recommend to anyone wishing to settle here that they invest in property. My step-daughter's greatest thrill after I met her mother and moved here was that she now has her own bedroom and bathroom.
So much depends on how much debt people have…… I didn’t have any debt when I came to the Philippines to marry my Filipina, but my Filipina had some debt, but relatively little…….. The first thing we did was pay down her debt as fast as possible…… as well as keeping current on our bills.
However we view our finances, debt plays a huge role in how we can live here.
Thanks Steve, great job
$3,000 Canadian for a couple is perfect. $2,200 USD. In the provinces
Great video. Thank you.
Glad you liked it!
I bet you dont miss the way the woman act back home?
LOLOLOLOLOL
Here in Pangasinan, I really miss Canadian poutine and fresh cheese curds, real pizza (sorry but PH pizza is gross). What I absolutely love is the super friendly, smiling people, the awesome street food everywhere, the sari stores everuwhere, full serve gas stations, etc etc. Overall a much better life here in Philippines vs Canada
Shakey's is also great
Being something of a tight &Rse I enjoy indulging myself by making all the foods that I particularly like, that way I know the ingredients, cooked the way I like it, so I get to spoil myself whilst never hearing "out of stock po" or find myself wondering what the hell am I eating. Google solves most problems. Cheers Aussie John
Poutine, Veronica Hotel, Roxas City Capiz. Mind you I am from California so no guarantee that I have any idea how poutine is supposed to taste. Theirs is better than the stuff I got in California. Again no guarantee.
There's also Pizza hut here. I'm going to build a pizza oven
@@paulpeirce7996Philippine pizza is mainly a miss unless it's them thin crusts pizzas.
Here are the full figures:
Income classification
182000 Rich
109200 182000 High income (but not rich)
63700 109200 Upper middle income
36400 63700 Middle class
18200 36400 Lower middle class
9100 18200 Low income (but not poor)
9100 Poor
@@inteland2734 yes, I think that's per month
Yes
Is this per household?
If you’re a retired American with a monthly income of $5000 and living in the Philippines you’re not going to have financial issues unless you’re really really bad with money. Horribly bad. Criminally bad. 😂 because nobody is making 5k a month in social security so a good chunk of that is coming from some other form of income. The part coming from your social security is guaranteed for the rest of your life along with yearly col increases. Even if you make some poor financial choices you can recover by lowering your spending for a while and let your income catch up. Even if you never have to go that route, 5k a month is smooth sailing in PI.
Correct
Thnx this is a really good video , makes allot clear
I think the first category still makes up the majority. I know a lot of people in the Philippines who earn much less than p36k, even when both partners are working.
Always get a chuckle out of the homes built in earthquake, typhoon, hurricane&volcanic areas in the US High Risk I like the Nipa homes in the Philippines Seems more practical Imo Tc Steve♥️🙏
So my passport comes in December and planning on moving there in January on my 100% VA 3850 currently doing research on what area to live in that will be best for my money and lifestyle
When talking about income inequality in the Philippines, the discussion typically focuses on the poor vs. rich divide. But with the recent economic challenges that the country has faced, it has shifted to the poor vs. middle class.
Low-income families are prioritized when it comes to receiving government help like relief goods and cash aid, especially during the recent pandemic. On the other hand, middle-class households hardly receive government assistance.
This raises the question: Who should the government help more, the poor or the middle class? Before we get to that, it's important to understand first the different social classes in the Philippines.
What is the Meaning of Social Class?
Sociologists define social class as a group of people with similar socioeconomic class or status in the Philippines-meaning, their standing within society based on their level of income, education, and occupation. Social status in the Philippines ranges from low to high and often reveals inequalities in terms of power, influence, and access to resources.
I'm a retired social Worker so I'm really well aware of this stuff. This is a traditional matriarchal Patrón type society with a strong capitalistic meritocracy component. In other words, if it can stay away from first world mistakes there's a good chance that the Philippines could be a world power in a generation or 2.
Also there appears to be high mobility between the classes, which appears based on merit. There also appears to be a great deal of respect between most social classes, possibly related to the influence of OSWs, with the exception being from a lack of tolerance for poor who are not native to an area. The people who come out from the bush appear to have more respect. They are still treated fairly well considering. Family connections are the most important and families appear to range between the very poor and the very rich with the rich members of a family being obligated to protect and help their relatives. In other words, Social classes in this society is simply not a relevant distinction when the structure is this fluid and the individual or family is a much better metric. Of course, my brother in law who's a politician would probably disagree as his power base seems geared to the "lower classes", but I'm retired so I can tell the truth 😁
Great video
The costs really explode when dealing with international shipping.
Your budget is going to depend on how your comfort level. It's can you adapt to the philippines way of life. Alot of expats forget to adapt, province living is not struggling to live. The more you expose your wealth the bigger a target you become. US embassy tells you to blend in not standout.
I took my girlfriend to a steak house at the mall of Asia, and she ordered fish and rice . I ordered the rib eye and cut her off a piece, and she shared her fish. I eat Filipino when I'm in the philippines and ad a little western twist to things to suit my palet, and it works well for me. It's all carbohydrates and protein with sautéed vegetables. A good woman will cook the way you like it but you have to tell her how you want it and getting in the kitchen with her can be a fun experience. A Filipina understands what a budget is, and most will have an envelope system for each bill, so everything is accounted for . They are very frugal as many don't have a lot to work with and will do without to take care of the essential things. It will more than likely be you and your Western spending habits that blow the budget and not her if she's a good woman.
Good post
I love some of the food there but you're right sometimes you get homesick for the food but they do have great corn grits
Yep a Real Delicatessen type sandwich is hard to beat. Variety and portion size, toppings available, cheeses….
Subway is ok but comparison wise that is like TacoBell compared to Real Mexican food.
Rich to the poor is 3 squares a day, shelter from the weather a pair of sandals rather than “slippers”, durable clothes…. Anything above those basics is gravy.
I think I could survive well enough in say a town outside a class 1 city but within 0:30:00 to an 1:00:00 drive on $1,000.00 to $1,500.00 a month easily “as a single person”. I don’t need a lot. Kitchen , bathroom, bedroom, and a living area then I’m fine. Fish pork and chicken is great, fresh veggies and fruit is excellent… add rice and noodles 🍜 and that’s plenty.
But I can live that simple life as I don’t need all the amenities others “require”. Add a boat and fishing gear well that’s going to make it heaven on earth.
Add a garden area and my soul is filled up to overflowing.
Perhaps I’m different than most, perhaps not I’m just in that other class of people that don’t need the extras to be satisfied.
Like the song goes “Be a simple kind of man”…..
If I ever make it out there perhaps I will find differently than I expected and not enjoy that life or that the living and the dream don’t match up. Only time can give the true perspective once there.
That said I am in the sweet spot budget so I could up the pot a raise or two if I so chose.
The other is as I said living as a single person… if that changes then so does the budget….
Wild card is insurance and any medical issues that come up. 70 years is a lot of years and just because I’ve been relatively healthy does not mean I will remain so…. Life can change or end in a heartbeat.
They just opened up an Angel’s Pizza in the waltermart at Trece Martires. The mozzarella pizza is delicious!!!
I tried it
Steve -- several people still contend they 'live' (survive ?) quite comfortably on a $1500 budget or even slightly less in some cases ? (single expats) Obviously by your standards they aren't doing very well - but perhaps from where they came from - it's significantly better ? They seem satisfied and happy with their frugal lives. -- Expectations seem to vary a lot. -?-
Frugal is the key word
There’s a big difference in how much expats are making in retirement. I will be making over $7000 in retirement. But that’s not the norm for the average expat. Each person needs to take their own personal situation into consideration, not go by what other guys are doing.
It is certainly relative in relation to the average filipino. But most of us would be considered well off. Now if you choose to live in a nicer neighborhood you'll see filipinos that have wealth in relation to their counterparts. My area I see many high end cars for example. So in relation to those car owners I am poor lol. 😂 But overall life can be good on a reasonably higher budget. 👌
I miss Subway because there aren't any here. Might be a good business.
We pay no rent we own our own homes If we did no traveling at all here in the Philippines we can live on 110,000 php a month.
But we like to travel we spend a minimum of 150,000 to 200,000 php a month depending on holidays, birthdays and anniversaries.
Good video Steve.
Hey Steve I saw a 14in round Punkin at Robison the other day. Like you would see in the US for jack o lantern carving. Just a little over 1800php. I have seen a butterball frozen turkey as well 2500php. Imported stuff can get pricy
That’s because that’s like you importing Japanese Wagyu beef or truffles from Spain, France.
You cant put a price on everything...I dont sweat money bc im okay..however its not all there is people try to get some INHERENT WORTH..LIVE WITH HUMILITY .
so for about 10k a month, one would live pretty good
Way to expensive for me to live there. I’m from the Midwest; between transit, heakthcare and amenities, it’s cheaper here.
Gloria’s Subs in Beverly, MA was the best deli subs!
I'm diabetic. I had to give up subs a long time ago 😭😢
Philippine is deferent culture, many kinds off food, just because of deferent culture. Understanding, helpful ,hospitable. But If your not good to treat the pilipino .. pilipinos they don't like...
I can live on 71,500.php per month.
I eat Filipino food, ie Budget meals.
Exactly, Pesos spending is very subjective, plus foreigner spending pesos vs. Filipino spending is totally different. 2k-3k should be more than adequate, different strokes for different folks. Note typical white guy foreigner always comparing to back in the states. Please stop comparing and saying back in the states…..🤣 take care amigo
Great info, but with the current exchange rate of 56 pesos/dollar, "high class/upper class", actual US dollars is $1,918 to $3,203. That is a TON less than the estimate of $4,000. Talk about living like a king on $1,900 to $3,200 per month!
I make 3280/mo. and live quite well
This at my age 60 male totally alone would be a big leap. How and where would I go to try a so-called test drive to see if it could be a good fit. So many reasons I could name to want out of the U.S. but of course I'm afraid of my own shadow never mind make a move like this. Thanks for any tips, Jim
Take a vacation trip over to phi. You have nothing to lose. Get busy living or get busy dying
I think the sweet spot is about 4k. Thats enough live well, save money, have the best insurance, have dedicated emergency fund, afford to support GF family, etc.
lol I could live well in any country on $4000 usd
Exactly
Realistic expectations is what every expat needs to keep in focus and look beyond the UA-cam "glamor-hype" showing you "the affordable Philippines" through rose colored glasses. In my opinion, anything less than $1000/mo. is going to fall short of most peoples' expectations and desired retirement lifestyle. Is less than $1000/mo doable? Absolutely, but you'll be living like a local at best. The majority of expats want better than that, so they really need to plan accordingly. $1500+/mo. is good if you plan to be perpetually single, $2000+/mo. if you plan to date or get married. That higher figure is also a must if you want to call BGC or Makati home or if you want to include some traveling as part of your retirement lifestyle.
Who in the Philippines are as rich as Elon Musk?
So anything over 182K per month is rich?
Hence why you need a lot of money in the Philippines especially if your living in Manila nowadays ain't cheap especially the minimum wage in the PH the price's goes up in the Philippines but the wage ain't.
Sorry, the truly super rich here are not like Donald Trump. They didn’t declare themselves bankrupt several times. We also don’t base our social class based on income alone. But your video is helpful to foreigners wanting to live or stay here.
Very informative Steve but it is very unlikely to impossible anyone in the pinas is as wealthy as Elon Musk that is worth 253 billions dollars...😅🤣😂✌️
What are some of the things you miss there Steve?
Certain foods
I turned 65 this month and find myself on Medicare and only making $1250 a month on SS, because I took it early while still working. I'm not officially disabled, but find that I physically cannot work anymore like I used to. I've been juggling a house of cards financially and now have to realize, after selling all my assets over the last 18 months, that there's nothing left to sell and am forced to look into other options...and quickly. I definitely cant live in the states on $1250 a month, and I certainly don't want to get on welfare, at all! I've been watching your channel for awhile now, wondering if my situation would ever get to the point of needing to seriously consider maybe living in the Philippines to be a real possibility. But, after watching this video, it doesn't seem that $1250 a month is going to be enough to live their either. Any advice you could give on a situation like mine, Steve?
Talk to your doctor and see if you can get some sort of disability assistance. Anything would help. Pride isnt worth risking being homeless or damaging your health if you cant afford medical care, medicine, or food.
1250 a month is essentially below the poverty line which opens you up for many social programs like housing and utility reductions as well as food stamps . Check with a social worker in your area to see what's available for you and what the requirements are. Some things may disqualify you so do some research. I wouldn't go overseas with less than a couple of grand a month to work with as Medicare isn't available for your medical. Perhaps you can work part time in a job that doesn't require a lot of physical labor and subsidies your income and help boost up your ss payments.
@@KingRat71 Thank you for replying, KingRat71! That's where I made my mistake. The men in my family don't typically make it to their 60s. I'm the first one, in fact, to live this long, in over 120 years. Heart disease (among other underlying issues) is in our genetics. So, I took the advice to start SS at age 62, because of my family history. My health didn't start to go really South (interfering now with my job) until last year at age 63, almost 64, and then even MORE so after getting Long Covid back in May of this year. I sought the advice of 2 Disabilty Legal firms. Apparently, one cannot quality for SS Disability if they have already started drawing early SS RETIREMENT benifits. Now, that's a scenario that is NEVER mentioned by advisors, but should be shouted from the rooftops, especially to folks, like me, who wonder if it's really better to draw it early or not. In my case, it was not. If I would have just waited for about 14 to 18 months more, I would have been definitely awarded full disability, making about $400 more a month for the rest of my life, which should still be a relatively long life. I would definitely be in the PI right now with $400 more per month. It's the working in the corporate world part that is killing me faster at my age. My doctor tells me that my age and particular biometrics require that my full time job should be taking care of my health, not minding the store. I'm working full time right now, but only seasonal...and it's taking everything out of me. Don't know how much longer I can even do that. I'm screwed! I've never taken any welfare, and still am looking at ways to avoid it, even earning this little.
You can. 1250 is around 70k pesos. If you live in the islands that’s enough but of course, dont expect a lot of western food and stuff. Simple and healthy living in the provinces
@@mmchannel8056 Thank you! I guess I need to find the best area, then....
TRUE STAY IN USA FOR MEDICAL HELP
We're building our home here. Meanwhile we're living with the in-laws and I pay for as much as they let me. We're still way ahead of what we spent in California.
Is fully rated VA Medical coverage good enough to meet the medical requirements in the Philippines?
Only Service Connected
What no love for Yellow Cab?
Living in new mexico for $700 a month Living the high life wt cheap rent and car😅 food is rice and pinto beans every day $150 a month
What budget do I need to eat at the Texas Roadhouse everyday?
Lol
Pizza in the PH is still bad though. They try but it isnt even up to Little Caesars standards (fairly cheap Americna pizza). Even at Pizza Hut in PH they simply dont fully cook the pizzas. Shakeys Greenwich and Yellow cab try but still need to improve alot. I hope one of these places finally steps up to a proper hand tossed pizza someday.
I'm in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico now. I haven't had a Shakey's pizza since the 60's. I've had good pizza in Arizona but have never had an excellent pizza outside of Massachusetts. I had the Shakey's in Brockton. It was okay but not excellent. The Central Cafe in Middleborough had my best childhood pizza.
I’ve been living off 1400-2k a month budget here in Ohio, I wonder how I’d do in the Philippines with that budget.
I’m no stranger to staying home for 4/5 days in a row and saving money
Just a suggestion: If you had spent 5 minutes with a spreadsheet program before you started, you could have had all your numbers precisely converted and ready to spit out, rather than struggling with mental math. Otherwise, I found the info useful.
Are you trying to say middle class in PI is comparable to poor in America?
Yes
Rich is 182000 peso a month....
Steve, I take it that this is gross income?
Dropping people out of insurance because of pre-existing conditions...it really sounds familiar to me...do you remember who terminated that practice here in the USA??? You got it!! The democrats
lol good job finding something positive they did. look around now. enjoy paying way more for literally everything. lol
@@Bobster0007 yeah. Thanks a lot for that trump. Nice tax plan you suckered us taxpayers into.
How tyrannical and immoral,the government forcing insurance companies to insure people with pre- existing conditions.
@@Bobster0007 Aren't you paying more for everything where you are right now??? .Is Biden the president of the entire world?
@@armandosanchez8901 Im an American, you obviously have no clue what his policies have done to our economy. Im not going to walk you through everything. Frankly, if you wanted to know, you would already know.
You always talk about vehicles. I like Metro Manila. No need to buy a vehicle.
Life hack ~ take a PanDeSal dough and make a pizza out of it! You are Welcome...
$2,000-$3,000 just go to Vietnam or Thailand. Why mess around in the Philippines? Oh right, the chicks. We all know why you guys go over there. 😂
If i had 2k - 3k mo. i would definately start in Thailand.
There are plenty of chicks in Thailand and Vietnam too from what I’ve been told and see on YT. Thailand is quite a bit more expensive to live than PI and the language barrier is much steeper. There’s also a different cultural barrier to break through if you intend to retire there. I think it’s easier for westerners to do this in the Philippines because of its colonial history and its “western” religion. I’d guess that Vietnam is similar in some respects to Thailand although not in all ways.
@@JLALALALA vietnam is cheaper than both and Thailand has better infrastructure. The cost of goods in the Philippines keeps on rising as well.
If you are to be comparing life in USA and there why have you relocated?
So I can compare and live cheaper.....
😜
as rich as elon musk???? don't think so...
As it should be
Real common sense videos - I subscribed- 3,000 is the number.
It’s NOT where you live in Philippines it’s HOW YOU LIVE.
PLENTY OF POSTERS will claim their living like kings on 1500.
Yep you exist but living ?..
Of course these are ALWAYS the ones who call asking for loans, when they or the wife or kids need hospital or car craps out - remember there is NO SUCH THING AS A LOAN IN PHILIPPINES- always consider any transfer of money as a gift. Seen too many friendships down the crapper due to money
HAVES
HAVE NOTS
DONT LET UNPREPARED HAVE NOTS DRAG YOU DOWN IF YOUR A HAPPY RETIREE.
There isn't a lot of people over there that are living as wealthy as Donald Trump and Elon Musk no way...
There aren't many people in the world who can live like Elon Musk or Donal Trump!
yea that was pretty funny the OP has no idea how rich Elon is...
Omg guy, please when you give information can you give context.. you keep saying numbers 345 345 109 109 finally figured out your talking about pesos and then I am just guessing it was per month about 5 minutes into the video
I mentioned the rate
Donald Trump is actually poor. Don’t mention him, please. He can’t pay the people who work for him.
When he ran his business in Atlantic City the people that worked for him spoke well of him it is only when he started running for office is when they tried to make him out as the worst person in the world.
Donald Trump is not rich, hes a failed business man tho lmaooo trump university is such a fail
He turned down his Presidential Pay and has way more property than the average person and owns a massive plane. I’d say he is rich by any standard.
Remember…. failure is when you quit….. He never quits.
@MrSteven5975 he's okay, but he ain't Jeff bezos or Elon musk level rich, he ain't even kim kardashian or taylor swift rich, that's what I'm saying, should've worded my thoughts better, he's now selling stupid bibles and sneakers to pay off his legal fees, talk about embarrassing 😳
@MrSteven5975 he's okay but ain't jeff bezos or Elon musk level, he ain't even kim kardashian or taylor swift level, now he's selling sneakers and some stupid bible stuff to pay his legal bills, that's just embarrassing 😳
PERFECT AND EXCELLENT EXPLAINATIOB!!!
Glad you liked it!
I bet the Subways serve rice as a side dish.😀