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Peso Closes at a New Low Against USD July 17


John Shrall

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The peso closed at a 52 week low today at $15.9280 to the US dollar. Since currencies are not traded over the weekend the rate should remain in effect until Monday morning. ATM exchange rates should be pretty close to the international rate so this might be a good opportunity to get some extra cash.

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Timing is everything but most times elusive.

I spent $1.4 million pesos last year on a remodel of a house on the beach at an average exchange rate of under 13:1. If it would have been this year it would have cost 20% less with the peso's fall.

Enjoy the good times and forget about the bad, especially when good and bad are out of your control.

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These things go in cycles. In this case, it is directly related to the price of oil which is hitting new lows.

Tell your NOB relatives to go out and buy those huge SUVs and trucks they love up there. :D

Yeah, except that gas is going at over $4 a gallon.

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This is killing me. I moved N last Sept and I have money trapped in MX? What's going on? - I realize that if this had happen in the last 7 years I lived there it would have been party time, but now???????????

Look at the savings you have NOB: gas, electric, food quality and prices. We just returned from NOB and we are in "price shock" at the grocery stores here. Sure got spoiled on Texas HEB and WalMart foods selection and prices. :)

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HEB is one hell of a great food chain. They know what they;re doing, stock high quality items, and keep their prices low. If you are near one of their super-size stores and you're "cheap" you can have a full lunch on just the samples! Jajaja, of course I never did that.

BTW they have several stores in Mexico including Monterrey. Maybe worth the drive?

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Yeah, except that gas is going at over $4 a gallon.

Not NOB it isn't. Here you have a combination of an inefficient government oil company combined with a government trying to live off of it for 30 percent of its revenues, hence you pay more for gas.

Fortunately, the compact life style here makes it possible to use a lot less gasoline. At least that is the way it works for us. We use a lot less gasoline here than we did in New Mexico.

At 15.5 pesos per dollar, gasoline here is about $3.32 per gallon for magna.

http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/

Of course in places like CA and the NE where state and local government policies drive up gasoline prices, it is more. But generally it is under $3.00 per gallon in most of the U.S. and under $2.50 in most of Texas. It is more expensive here but not grossly so.

And because of Pemex you don't get those big price spikes here like they have in the U.S. Supposedly in 2018, gasoline prices in Mexico are supposed to equalize with those of the U.S. As the crude oil surplus appears to be here for some time, this might result in lower prices here.

I'll believe it when I see it, however. :)

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Just drove through parts of NM and returned via Santa Fe to San Antonio to Laredo and gas was 2.59 to 2.79. Excellent highways, no tolls, no topes, no cobblestone and cleanliness everywhere were refreshing. More expensive for groceries (we buy at local markets as much as possible) and most restaurants but great service. Love Albuquerque, Santa Fe and San Antonio.... impressive. Not related to topic but not impressed with border crossings especially at Santa Teresa in terms of how Mexicans are treated.

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We pay about $.90 a gallon more in Mexico than we did in Texas. HEB is special, NOB, but those in Mexico are not exactly the same (think WalMart here and WalMart NOB). The "price shock" I referred to above on food prices was actually from an HEB in Leon, Guanajuato, just the other day. We also find the prices at restaurants here to be more than where we visit NOB(that includes fast food diners).

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We also find the prices at restaurants here to be more than where we visit NOB(that includes fast food diners).

This one stuns me, Hud. Could you tell where you're eating in restaurants NOB that tend to be less expensive than restaurants here? Where is "there", and what kind of places are you eating?

I'm curious in a serious way. I had a big meal in Ajijic today, pork ribs with squash and rice and beans and tortillas, so much I couldn't finish it, for $55 pesos ($3.45 USD at today's exchange rate). And then it was DELIVERED to my office a few blocks away….. so I went crazy and tipped 10 pesos.

What are you eating for $4 Dollars US up there?

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On the high end......

A 14+ oz. tenderloin filet + a choice of potatoes, vegetables, or salad at Tango for 12.43 USD, including a 16% sales tax, and they just raised the prices. A quality cut, at least choice grade, probably imported.

I would hate to see the piece of meat and meal that kind of money would buy in the US.

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I am also curious about where food in Mexico is more expensive. My total budget for food is less than half of what it was NOB.

Breakfast yesterday was $40 p same meal (minus the beans) in Michigan would have been $7.00 USD

The only food items I ever find that are more expensive are imports, where they do not make a Mexican equivalent.

Still can't find black licorice :huh:

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Ah the elusive black licorice - of course SuperLake has several Euro brands occasionally they have Switzers, but never licorice twizzlers.

Workers and contractors have asked if it is possible for us to pay in US dollars. These are for big projects we are beginning and they are suggesting if not entirely paid in US dollars then at least partial. I assume they have enough cash flow to pay their workers in pesos and want to bank the dollars. They certainly can't have the published rate of exchange which might be hard to explain but that would be crazy. If I agree we will negotiate a rate.

Over the years we have had several business people ask for US dollars versus pesos.

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Just the other day, we got a craving for Mexican food, so we went to the Guadalajara Mexican Grille in Tucson. Menu shock!!!

We had one sizzling pan of mixed grilled meats and vegetables, with beans and rice on the dinner plate, along with three tortillas. We drank water, as beer was unaffordable and a margarita required a mortgage on our home. It was enough for two old folks to share, and it was tasty. $21.57 USD before tip. Oh, the table-side salsa was excellent and reminded me of Viva Mexico in San Juan Cosala. Only the salsa server spoke Spanish. Our server was a college kid with red hair.

If we had ordered two similar meals and had a drink and flan for desert, lunch would have easily exceeded $80.00USD with a tip!!!!! We cannot do that sort of thing, no matter how tasty or how much we were craving a Mexican lunch. Yikes.

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Just a small point. Currencies are traded 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Currently 15.911 pesos to the dollar. As one market closes another currency market opens somewhere in the world.

I bought some pesos today and got 15.81 exchange rate from my bank. I was shocked at how good that rate was. I expected no better than 15.7 on 15.9 bank-to-bank rate.

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The days of "living cheap" MX" are over, they began changing when I arrived in /07 and have accelerated since. I've not paid more than $2.55 for gas since moving NOB in Sept '14. I took a trip through NW TX, NM, CO, WY and into NE and back and nothing was more than that. I live a simple life, so cerveza is cheap, food is less than I spent in MX and cat food is generally 40% less. The place I bought is reasonable in taxes and ESPECIALLY IN ELECTRICITY, we're in hot TX summer and my rate per KWH will be $0.10 per KWH, plus the benefit of it being ON all the time and CLEAN, so no additional regulation required. I needed an eSTATA to SSD cable the other day, ordered it late in the day on Amazon, it was in my hands two days later. So, it's just wash in some cases, better in some, not as good in others, but the days of "living cheap in MX" are gone.

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Just a small point. Currencies are traded 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Currently 15.911 pesos to the dollar. As one market closes another currency market opens somewhere in the world.

All true BUT: most ATM cards use the VISA system and it's VISA that sets the rate, NOT your bank AND VISA maintains the same exchange rate from close of business on Friday to opening on Monday.

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"The days of "living cheap" MX" are over..."

Well, my eyes see this differently. While you have the 'advantage' of having lived at Lakeside and I only travel there several times a year since 1998, you may have the edge, but....

Your 'old life' was in a gringo-affected area and even has the 'lakeside lure' for Tapatios, and thus the area is surely not representative of Mexico vis a vie cost of living. And, you moved to Texas which is probably about the cheapest place one can live NOB. Yes, electricity is cheaper many places NOB (especially in the West where I live) but an investment in solar panels at Lakeside has such a short pay-back period it makes sense to make that transition and then electricity is 'almost' free.

Gasoline is now cheaper NOB for sure (Gringal was quoting California pricing I guess.... mine in Colorado and in surrounding states is about $2.65 as you suggested), but most folks Lakeside don't travel significant miles in a year so $3.50 isn't a real problem for transplants.

Food.... This one is hands down, for us, better SOB.... both eating out and buying food. I could tell you many stories which confirm RVGRINGO's 'night out' adventure. We just won't drink a beer or have a margarita eating out anymore! Just a 'reasonable' night out w/out drinks is pushing $55 for two.... and then there's the tip. And a non-fastfoods burger is $12/per with fries. And a trip to the local grocery stores, Walmart included, is basically shocking these days. Aside from shopping at SuperLake, our bill there is much less and the quality is seemingly the same... often better there when one considers veggies.

Housing is still a 'bargain' even at Lakeside in my opinion.... at least compared to my state and surrounding states. The only problem SOB, in my opinion, is no (reasonable) mortgages exist. But I would probably, as you did, rent Lakeside anyway and keep my dollars working for me. Texas does have places with significantly lower home ownership costs than Lakeside, but of course that is true about other places NOB. My $300k townhome in Colorado would probably sell for $189k some places in Texas!

One area I totally agree with you is.... 'getting things'! Anymore we just order off the Internet and usually get it shipped 'free'.... and quickly. And competition keeps the pricing low there. But, of course, this is not a cost-of-living thing in the main.

Anyway, enough babble. Just have a different perspective on cost-of-living NOB vs SOB. At least from where I live.

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"The days of "living cheap" MX" are over..."

Anyway, enough babble. Just have a different perspective on cost-of-living NOB vs SOB. At least from where I live.

Well, my eyes see it differently.

I have to agree with giltner68, at least from our perspective. In your state things may be as you describe them, but where giltner68 lives, I trust what he says. However, I do think that you would not be happy living where he lives, but the 2 states where we go, things are more like what he describes than what you describe. I believe that everyone has different experiences, so from our experiences, where we go, NOB provides us a better "bang for our buck". Except, year round climate. Still better in some places in Mexico than in some affordable areas NOB. We have changed from living here full time for some 14 years to "part timers", as we get better "bang" NOB. But, we still spend 4 months a year here, and enjoy the better weather here for those 4 months.

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We go to Arlington, TX, a suburb of Fort Worth, twice per year. I can guarantee you practically everything there but gasoline is cheaper. The price of beef is obscene. You can't go out for breakfast at Cracker Barrel for two for less than $25. Movies are $12 to $15 and don't even think about buying popcorn and a drink.

My relatives spend a small fortune heating and cooling. Their homeowners insurance is $4000 per year.

I will say that comparable houses are cheaper. However, go to a resort area like Port Aransas and it is goodbye cheap.

We do live in a resort area here. The climate, ambiance, lake, and beautiful surroundings makes it thus.

I really question where one could go in the U.S. and live cheaper than here. And if you start comparing resort areas, there's simply no contest.

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I really question where one could go in the U.S. and live cheaper than here. And if you start comparing resort areas, there's simply no contest.

Actually, MC, you can question all you like, but we live cheaper NOB than here. And, we have a place there where there are 2 lakes and 2 rivers nearby, that attract a lot of tourists. But, you would not like living there. Not everyone wants to live in Arlington, Texas, or Phoenix, Arizona, or Denver, Colorado. Some small towns offer everything some people need to be healthy and happy. As another poster said, we also spend about 4 months here, and the rest NOB. Perhaps, if we were NOB in the winter and the summer, our costs would be more, but we are there when the weather is to our liking, and in those times, our costs there are less than here, plus, we save a lot in those times on food costs compared to here. Speaking of food, the selection NOB is so much better than here. Just our personal experiences.

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