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Home Up

 

Thanks to Gordon (Scott Michael Long) for permission to use this article.

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Does it cost less to live in Mexico than in the United States or Canada?  Good question and I don't have a precise answer.

However, I can offer prices for some locally purchased goods and services and you can make comparisons with prices in your area. Please take note that because of slothfulness on my part, I've made absolutely no attempt to comparison shop or look for lower prices. Also, the stores that I frequent, both in the Lake Chapala area as well as Guadalajara, tend to cater to foreign residents and/or be a bit up-market. The prices, which are in U. S. dollars, are based on a peso exchange rate of 9.0325.

A six week supply, more or less, of liquid gas for one stove and    two hot water heaters.                 

$55.35
Housekeeper/five days a week/ 4 to 5 hours per day which includes washing both my dog and my car.                                        

$47.60
Gardener/three days a week/ 2 to 3 hours per day.                            

$16.60
Dog walker/six days a week/1 hour per day.                                      

$13.28
Laundry per week for two people who change clothes a lot.                                                     

$9.41
Fee for the person who picks up our clothes on Monday takes them to the laundry and brings them back on Tuesday.                                           

$7.19
Painting the inside of four kitchen cabinets and the ceiling of a rather large shower. The painter supplied  the paint.                                                 

$42.89
Painting the two outside walls of my house. I had the paint on hand.

$33.21
Daily home delivery of the Mexico City Daily News and the weekly Colony Reporter.  

$8.74
One hour developing of four rolls of 36 picture per roll of film.

$31.22
Construction of a built-in, floor to ceiling closet with louvered doors. 

$365.34
Premium, unleaded gas for my Plymouth Neon. The tank was almost empty.                                   

$28.41
Visit to a doctor on a Saturday with no appointment. 

$13.28
Nasal spray for a sinus condition

$32.81
Robitussin Cough Syrup.

$5.18
2 packages, approximately 25-30, locally made breakfast sausages.

$9.00
A very large rump roast suitable for a very large family or a very hungry couple. We had left overs
for days. 

$14.06
1 liter bottle of imported vodka

$6.30
4 bottles of Australian wine. 

$22.13
2 boneless, skinless chicken  breasts. (4 pieces)

$4.28
2 nicely thick rib eye steaks.

$9.29
Between one and two pounds of locally made Italian sausage.I bought by the number of links
rather than by weight.

$4.42
6 bottles of dark Mexican beer.

$3.15
Half of an imported fresh salmon.
(6 very generous servings)

$18.37
Filets from a nicely sized Red Snapper fresh from the  Pacific. More than enough for two people. 

$7.96
1 plump rotisserie chicken.

$5.20
3 New York Strip steaks.

$9.63
1 carton Marlboro  Red Flip Top Box cigarettes.

$11.84
8 bars of Dove soap.

$9.07
1 carton of long shelf life  milk. 

$.88
1 carton of Mango juice

$1.10
1 package, 4 pieces of cooked, frozen chicken breast fillets

$3.54
1 can of beans.

$.55
1 medium sized plastic bottle of Hunts catsup.

$.88

Could I have saved money on the food items, without a doubt! However as my shopping habits reflect I have become lazy, I don't frequent the street markets, Tianguis (Tee-ann-geese) where fruits, vegetable and other items can be had for a song, as much as I did when I first arrived here six years ago. In Mexico, just as in the United States and Canada, substantial savings can be achieved by a savvy shopper.

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