Cost of living in the Philippines – 2015

Cost of housing in my area Medellin Cebu is not too bad. A friend just rented a beach cabin for 250 Pesos a day including electricity and an air conditioner. That's about $5.70 per day or  7,500 Pesos or $170.50 per month and it's on the beach. This place has several rooms rooms. You can buy a small house here for 1,580,000 Pesos about $36,000.



Medellin Cebu Philippines has very low crime rate, no smog or traffic, friendly people near a large city Bogo City that has malls and shopping. Near beach resorts.

Hi all,

Here is my cost here in Davao.

Accomodation: p15000 Gated subdivision with guard, 3 bedroom, 2 cr, well built and fairly modern.
Internet: Bayantel 3Mbps, dsl
No phone, no Cable
Netflix: $7.99 Canadian $ + 6.99 for proxy
Two cellphone lines P300/month each
1 Car + 1 motor. Approx P1500/week for gaz
Private school tuition for 3 kids p3500/month each
Water bill P450/month
Light: P8000
Helper: P2500/month
Coffee: P60 at average coffee shop or P105 Starbucks (Lattee)
Movies: P100
Beer: P40-60
Family of 5 meal at foreigner type of restaurant: p1500
Otherwise Approx. P150 per person for a decent meal.
Fruits & Vegetable: p1200/week
Grocery. P3500 week. We don't eat junk food or soda.

That's it.

Regis

My monthly cost to Dumaguete City, capital of Negros Oriental, family of three.

Accommodation for a 3 bedroom, 2cr, in  a good area : 10000p.
Electricity : 2500.
Water : 180.
Internet and cable : 1300.
Grocery : 10000.
Petrol for one small car and motorbike : 1000.
Family eating to a restaurant : 600 to 1000.
various expenses : 6000.
Average per month at 32000p
END

for price of live in philippines that depend how you live and where do you live
but if you non live in a big city, i think you can find also a house for rent just for 5000 php, if you make a coffee at home it is just 4 php. i live with my girlfriend, we spend just 8000 php for food, water and elettricity.  but we eat always at home, we non like eat outside food. we have always delicious food and fruits. but i think if you live in manila then everything change.

How much does it cost to live in the Philippines?

> accommodation prices
P20000 /mth
> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.)
(P7 tricycle, P9 jeepney) x2
P200 x2
> food prices (your monthly budget)
P12000
> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)
i spend no more than 6mths in .ph so my credit card covers health insurance when I buy a return ticket
> education prices (if you need to pay)
nil
> energy prices (oil, electricity)
P5000 /mth
> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
P2000
> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant
P500

> price for a coffee or a drink
beer- P50
> price for cinema tickets
do not attend

How much does it cost to live in the Philippines?
I live in cebu....Lapu Lapu city
> accommodation prices
P20000 /mth
> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.)
(P7 tricycle, P9 jeepney) x2
P200 x2......taxi
> food prices (your monthly budget)
P12000
> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)
i spend no more than 6mths in .ph so my credit card covers health insurance when I buy a return ticket
> education prices (if you need to pay)
nil
> energy prices (oil, electricity)
P5000 /mth
P500 - water
> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
P2000
> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant
P500

> price for a coffee or a drink
beer- P50
> price for cinema tickets
do not attend

Naga  City, Bicol: Rent-P4,000 (2 BR, 1 CR, 500 sq. mtr, townhouse); Elect.-P1,500 (no A/C); Wtr.-P250; DSL-P1,000; Cell Phones (2 users, 4 lines [2 Globe, 2 Smart])-P3,000; Food & Drink-P10,00 (we party!); Transportation-P3,000

I figure $2,000 a month U.S. Rent p20,000 a month, 2 bedroom gated subdivision with pool and park.  Furnished.   Electric, p8,000 running 2 airconditioner's and house cool big screen T.V. water p350 a month. Shopping p5,000 a week. food cloths ,toilet  paper, what not. Rest goes on taxi, movie, beach, that is for me girlfriend and her preschooler.  Some weeks food is less next week more depends on what she buy's that week. We buy produce at the market cheaper there. meat at the Save , More as refrigerated there.  We live good here on that.  I know some live on less. Some on more.  If you have set up money and rent unfurnished much cheaper to rent.  Some times water and electric is cheaper.  You do need to learn how to shop here to save money. Hair cut for me P60 down the road no airconditioner there.  at the mall p2,000 if you want to spend it. You need imported food you will pay!

How do you net Netflix, every time I try to reopen my account I am told it is not available in the PI?

Ralph

Manila....

Rent  3 room apt...  3500 month
water   100  piso
elec 250 - 350
food day 100 - 200 piso
sex free
jp bus ...300 month
clothes...ukay ukay..300 a year

no need a/c...fan enough 4 me..

Hello,
Perhaps even within this country, cost of daily living vary, depending on the region and our own priorities. Abilities of finding alternative solutions will help to lower the cost of "daily bread".
- We are living in Imus, province of Cavite, close enough to Manila (and far on a pick traffic hours!!!)
- Accommodation - we are paying a mortgage for a town house - around 5K peso per month
- No car - no petrol bills. Used to local transport (tricycles - our average distances around 40-50 peso max; jeepney - from 8,5 peso and buses depending on distance - Manila or Tagaytay - from Imus - 40-60 peso (preferably UV multi cab - but everywhere they are squashing too many passengers in),
- Food - well, local market is always the cheapest place but very monotonous. Still possible to improvise variety of food using available ingredients. Even wrapping for dumplings (Polish pierogi) is available on palengke. Supermarkets - for us the best are Robinson and South Supermarket. SM is more expensive and not always implementing changes in supply. On some occasions we also use a District Supermarket (Anabu). but it is much more  expensive and some "westernised" food is only named similar to what would you expect. It's quality is far behind. Good bakery - always more expensive (i.e. French Bakery at SM Bacoor). Beer? ha ha ha - still very cheap - Kettle Beer only 32p, Carveca Negra 34p (at South Supermarket only - in others much more expensive). Not enough sparkling water. People don't like it? Perrier - very expensive (or Evian). Monthly budget on food - 15,000p (for 5 person). Restaurants - not many enjoyable around here. Probably the best choice is poor MAX, but more sophisticated in Tagaytay (Antonio's Gardens or "Banana Leaf" in Manila. Coffee the best for me is Italian (dark) Roast at Starbucks but the espresso made at home! 700 to 1,000p per month.
We are not using private schools (one kid) so, the cost is as average.
- Electricity - the highest cost in Asia! Our monthly bill over 5,000p/per month, water on average 500p per month
- Internet - Sun wi-fi - usually very slow - ca 700p p/m, mobile phone pre-paid 800-1,000p/p/m
- Supplies of anything at Divisoria (Manila) - the cheapest! Supplies for our sari-sari shop from Abbat - and that helps to survive from "day to day"
- Medical... that is a BIG problem and big cost! No medical insurances, all from public or rather private hospitals (avoided as much as possible) and medications from Generic pharmacies (if their supplies last),
- no travel, no vacations - perhaps once a year trip abroad for 1-3 days.
- high cost of visas in this country, until residency permit will be granted,
Average, average, or rather on the bottom of the living ladder - that's where we are! But happy and somehow surviving - thanks to achievements and stresses of "in house" finance minister, cook, best wife and carer and working non-stop (only around house) - my lovely and dearest wife. 

Please, be aware, that local insurance companies - even these supported by big banks like Banco de Oro, are not giving full professional advice! We have lost 50K pesos and cannot recover it from Admiral Insurance! Always personal commission is the motive - NOT CLIENT! Especially when dealing with Filipino wifes, who knows little about insurances!!!
I was in this  in this business - well trained by Legal & General in UK - and had satisfied clients. 

Gooday

I have lived in the Philippines for the last 16 years with my wife and 2 children.  We have an above average lifestyle and choose to live as an average western family would

Accommodation Prices
The following units Pio del Pilar in Makati will cost you
Fully Furnished Studio  P18,000-25000 per month
Fully Furnished One Bedroom P20,000-35,000 per month
Fully Furnished Two Bedroom P25,000-40,000 per month
Fully Furnished Three Bedroom P28,000-50,000 per month
Fully Furnished 3 bedroom overlooking Villamor Golf Course would rent for between P78,000-90,000 per month

Public Transport Prices
Local Jeepney P8.5
Taxi around Makati P80-120
Taxi from Resort World Pasay (in front of Terminal 3) to Makati P120-180 including Skyway charge of P20

Monthly Food Prices
We spend approx. P3,500 per week on our food budget

Health Insurance
I have Blue Cross for myself, my wife and 2 children and have the Select Plus plan.   Premiums for Blue Cross are as follows

Select Standard
bluecross.com.ph/index.php?id=medicalplans&plan=sstandard&sub=prem

Select Plus
bluecross.com.ph/index.php?id=medicalplans&plan=splus&sub=prem

Education
We send our children to Aguinaldo International School in Manila mainly due to the class sizes which are on average 15 per class maximum - ais.edu.ph

Our 6 year olds fees for 2014-2015 were P46,000 and our 15 years olds fees for 2014-2015 were P95,000.

Electricity Charges
Rates vary obviously due to accommodation size, use of A/C and work routine.  Our 3 bedroom average bill ranges between P8,000 and P14,000 per month

Hello. My wife, three year old son and I live in Ormoc, Leyte.

We pay P 5,500  for an older three bed room house that we have to pay to repair for most problems. (Yolanda was not good for us)
Electricity is P 1,900 a month with four hours of AC each day
Cable TV is 450, very poor service and reception.
Internet is P1,090 from Globe in house DSL. Very slow.
Water is free
We take care of our own cell phone charges (Globe and Sun-no monthly services)
My wife has PhilHealth and the whole family is on it now. P600 a quarter
My meds for diabetes, high chl and high blood are about P2,900 a month
Doctor visits are P300
Dentist visits are P400
Teeth cleaning are P600 (by the dentist, no dental techs)
Optometrist visits P300
Bi focals with cheap frames run P1,800
Food bill is P2,000 a week which includes some grocery store foods such as yogurt
Almost no eating out due to very few quality restaurants (Filipino or foreign)
Transportation, tricyle trips in town P9, inter city bus to Albuera P15, bus to Tacloban P220 {nearest immigration office}, fast ferry to Cebu, P1,000
Yaya (house helper), from Friday after noon to Sunday afternoon, P880 a month
Legal aid, average quality, P300 a visit
Legal aid from someone who knows what they are talking about, P500+

I no longer own a motorcycle, so no LTO, repair, or vulcanizing fees an more.
Son isn't in school yet, projected monthly cost from private "Chinese" school, P2,000 a month for just tuition.
Cost of dealing with corrupt public officials- "varies", depending on what the issue is and how I feel at the moment.

We live a average middle-class Filipino life style

very realistic set of price

gmcne4 wrote:

How much does it cost to live in the Philippines?

> accommodation prices
P20000 /mth
> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.)
(P7 tricycle, P9 jeepney) x2
P200 x2
> food prices (your monthly budget)
P12000
> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)
i spend no more than 6mths in .ph so my credit card covers health insurance when I buy a return ticket
> education prices (if you need to pay)
nil
> energy prices (oil, electricity)
P5000 /mth
> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
P2000
> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant
P500

> price for a coffee or a drink
beer- P50
> price for cinema tickets
do not attend

I have been watching Netflix for a few years now with no real problem at all but to avail of it in the Philippines you need to use a Proxy service or DNS service which makes appear as if you are located in the US or Canada.
This service range from $3.00 to $9.00 per month depending on what you need it for.

If you only need something for Netflix only or some specially restricted foreign channels I recommend using the DNS services that are much cheaper and faster.

Do a Google for: (How to watch Netflix in the Philippines) and you will have plenty of choice.

I personally subscribe to Unotelly dot com for my dns and Hide My Ass dot com for my proxy service which I use for some banking and purchases at different online stores such as Walmart

I hope it helps

Regis

cost of living depends where you are staying;

rent condos from 45,000 in makati to 3500 in novaliches, quezon city plus consumed water 350 and elecitrity 1000
living near fresh produce markets you can buy by the kilo or bunched cheaper, fresh fruits of the season price vary daily,
bananas cost minimum .10 cents $ a kilo to 20 cents, mango less than 50 pesos (45.00 to a dolloa US)

fares are cheap, most of the places are reachable by public transportation, you can ask your neighbor, street vendor, or poiceman in english.

local meal in fastfood stores starts at 75 to 250.00 pesos, if you are senior w/c is 60 plus you get 20% discount if you where born locally in all transportation and foodstores.

Hello Regis, I am Canadian too.  Do you work in the Philippines?  If so, what do you do?  You look French to me.

Thank you

How does someone "look french"? lol or canadian?

gmcne4 wrote:

How does someone "look french"? lol or canadian?

You look kinda Cebuian   

Shock...horror...i've been here too long!!!!

On this island I pay 6,000 for rent
electric is never more than 3,000
water is unlimited for p50 per month
Gas for my motorbike is p200 per week
food for 2 people is 10,000 per month
cable tv is 600 per month
internet is 1000 per month

tommieboy999 wrote:

On this island I pay 6,000 for rent
electric is never more than 3,000
water is unlimited for p50 per month
Gas for my motorbike is p200 per week
food for 2 people is 10,000 per month
cable tv is 600 per month
internet is 1000 per month

Nice island

Hello tommiboy99,

WOW!!  That's cheap!  And what Island are we talking about?
Are you retired and receiving apension from Canada?
What about any prescription medication?  How does one go about that?


Thanks,
Helen from Montreal

Shabbychic100 wrote:

Hello tommiboy99,

WOW!!  That's cheap!  And what Island are we talking about?
Are you retired and receiving apension from Canada?
What about any prescription medication?  How does one go about that?


Thanks,
Helen from Montreal

Welcome, Helen.  From where in the Philippines is your future husband?

Shabbychic100 wrote:

Hello tommiboy99,

WOW!!  That's cheap!  And what Island are we talking about?
Are you retired and receiving apension from Canada?
What about any prescription medication?  How does one go about that?


Thanks,
Helen from Montreal

its not only this island.. but many provinces are as cheap as this one. there is  a home for rent across the street from me that is 3500 per month.. 2 bedroom 1 c.r. fully furnished and fenced in... im not retired, I teach English online via Skype to Koreans (in korea)..  im not sure about meds... im not on anything -thank goodness

gmcne4 wrote:

How does someone "look french"? lol or canadian?

look French = appear ready to surrender

I think it would be hard to put an amount as to how much is the cost of living in the Philippines. There's are lots of options and variances in prices for accommodations, utitlies, food, etc. In other words, your cost of living will depend on your preferences.

Just here in Quezon City,one city in the so many cities and towns in the Philippines, accommodation costs vary depending on where you want to live. A house in Corinthian Gardens or a 2-bedroom in Novaliches?

Food prices: portobello or canned mushrooms? Haagen Dazs or Magnolia ice cream? Imported US grade beef or public market beef?

Education: IS Manila or a never-hear-of private school?

Electricity: 24-hour centralized aircon or a desk fan during hot afternoons and nights?

Cable tv: Subscription with many HD channels and 6 cable boxes for all the tv rooms and bedrooms  in your big house or just the very basic?

Eating out: Friday's or Jollibee?

Coffee: Venti macchiato everyday at Starbucks with their glazed doughnuti or an occassional Dunkin Donuts coffee with their glazed doughnut?

Cinema tickets: Imax 3D or regular 2D?

Depending on your preferences, condition, personality, etc., you can live simply and happilty on just US$500 / month or still feel crummy and lacking on a bigger budget of US$5k / month.

You are absolutely correct. But i think survey is worthy to get an overall picture as long as your location is specified. Also need to be specific about what you spend your monthly budget on

where in quezon city are you?

waxytweety4 wrote:

where in quezon city are you?

Closest landmark is SM City Fairview. How about you?

Hi everybody,

There are some posts which are quite off topic here.
Let's concentrate on the real subject of this topic which is : Cost of living in the Philippines - 2015 please.

Thanks

Priscilla

Can you please elaborate on "nil" when you mentioned the cost for education?  Do you mean that if you wanted to attend school there as a foreigner it is for free?

Hello Mugtech,

My fiancé is from Imus, Cavite.

Ok thank you Tommieboy999!  I LOVE all this info cause I am considering retiring early if my pension plan will allow it and moving to the Phills with my Flip hubby once he has saved up some sort of money.  We will not be able to afford living here (Québec) soon anyway with the prices of EVERYTHING going up all the time.  It's getting pretty scary to be honest.

Helen.

Hahhaha very funny but I can detect a Frenchman usually.  It's a "look" trust me.

Shabbychic100 wrote:

Ok thank you Tommieboy999!  I LOVE all this info cause I am considering retiring early if my pension plan will allow it and moving to the Phills with my Flip hubby once he has saved up some sort of money.  We will not be able to afford living here (Québec) soon anyway with the prices of EVERYTHING going up all the time.  It's getting pretty scary to be honest.

Helen.

There is no escape from inflation in the Philippines, plus one never knows about the currency fluctuations.
There are a lot of different costs of living within a province like Cavite

Hi,

No no I don't want to live in Cavite.  I want to be closer to Canadian and American expats.  Where there is less pollution and less noise.

Shabbychic100 wrote:

Hi,

No no I don't want to live in Cavite.  I want to be closer to Canadian and American expats.  Where there is less pollution and less noise.

Less pollution and less noise means out of and away from Manila and the former military bases, which also means less expats.  I would imagine your hubby wants to stay on Luzon.