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Peso purchasing power


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I see the peso today is 19.07 to the USD. When I lived there (2006)  we only got about 10.5 pesos per USD .

How much purchasing power do you have now with 19.07 vs. the 10.5 pesos /USD then( as I know what I paid for a lot of things in 2006 but really don't know how the prices have increased since then). 

This question is for the people that have lived there since at least 2006 BTW.

Do you have more buying power now (as the peso conversion rate is nearly double) or have the price increases in the past 11 years negated a good deal of the higher exchange rate?

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Of course our purchasing power is greater now but Mexican inflation has eaten into that a bit.  Officially, the inflation rate is around 4% a year but not many statistics from this govt. are to be believed.  The staples like beans, rice, milk, tortillas and oil have risen much faster in the last 10 years.

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Gasoline is a ton more but most people don't use much of that commodity. Wonder what a certain steak was then at Ajijic Tango?  Pete may remember the cost of electricity then... Pete?  Propane is definitely higher now.  Maybe some can remember what they paid their help.... gardener and maid. Cellphones weren't even available then so that's out. I do remember that a movie was $2.00 on Wednesdays. Impossible (for me) to remember what groceries cost then vs now but obviously more. I suspect that private Medical Ins and car insurance has risen quite a bit. Bus was 3-4 pesos. Tequila MUCH more now. Taxes on a home.... well I won't even go there since it is such a bargain comparatively.

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Difficult to do a cost of living comparison using a single derived average (purchasing power)

Example: My property taxes are 100 USD in Mexico vs. 10,000 USD in the US, 99% cheaper here.

Gasoline, howeer, costs 3.34 USD per gallon here vs. 1.91 in the US, 74% more expensive here.

If you don't own your house, or drive a car, neither of those comparisons are relevant. 

Better to use a calculator that compares today's costs for individual items in both locations, like Numbeo.

This website  compares costs in Illinois to Ajijic; as submitted by people who  live in those 2 locations.

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+States&country2=Mexico&city1=Des+Plaines%2C+IL&city2=Ajijic

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Thanks for your feedback. Can any more of the oldtimers on the board offer their opinions?

BTW, I remember gas (Magna) being very close to the $3/gal. mark back then. I could be wrong, though. Didn't really matter as we didn't drive very much.

Just out of curiosity, one of our go-to meals back then was 1/2 chicken, a stack of corn tortillas, a salad similar to coleslaw( but with less mayo than the US version) with elbow macaroni and cucumbers marinated in lime juice that we bought on the carreterra in Ajijic (or Hidalgo in Chapala) for 30 pesos. Cheap, delicious and

healthy eating! What does this meal cost now? 

 

 

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21 years and yes, prices have gone up. Then again, they've gone up everywhere including Canada and the U.S. and it's still cheaper to live in Mexico. Here, in central Mexico at this altitude, the savings on heating and cooling alone are astronomical. Property taxes are still dirt cheap too. Less driving to do so I make an effort to squeeze 500 pesos worth of gas into my car about every six weeks. Fresher vegetables and fruits.

All in all, a better healthier more laidback style of living for less money. Who cares what prices were 10 years ago.

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It seems to me after reading these very informative replies that the whole thing is pretty simple: The exchange rate has basically doubled since 2006 

(10 pesos to the USD vs. 19 now) and a lot of prices (not all) have also doubled since then. Take the rotisserie chicken, tortillas and salad. 50 pesos

about 10 yrs. ago, 95 pesos now.

It seems to me that it's pretty much a wash. Your buying power now is pretty much the same as it was then which is great, actually. But it's only because of the weakened peso vs. the dollar. If it were still 10 to the dollar Lakeside would be on par pricewise with much of the overpriced US.

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19 hours ago, jrm30655 said:

When I came here in 2008, American cigarettes were 26P a pack and the exchange was about 10/1

Now, 50P a pack and 19/1 exchange

Basically, no change

 

 

 

No change if you are American whose income is in dollars. If you are a Mexican earning pesos your income has not doubled so there is a change.

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Purchasing power of Canadian $ between 2006 and 2017 is a wash. We are getting almost twice as much pesos for a C$ now but pretty well everything is twice as much expensive. Even if the labour around Ajijic  is still reasonable (in comparison where we live in summer) it too has more than doubled. Used to pay for maid $20 pesos now is 50-60 pesos.

I am talking from a renter's point of view. We do not own a house Lakeside so I cannot comment on saving on taxes, heating/cooling etc ....just consumables, gas, transportation, services.....all that doubled or more.  In addition there is a gringo premium on many things if one does not speak Spanish and does not know what and how things work in Mexico..

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It is a net positive by a considerable amount. Wages of gardeners, maids, pool guys, laborers, taxes, water, restaurants, utilities, etc.

Here are some prices in US$ from early 2008:

Ziplock sandwich (2 x 125) $5.70

Charmin (40 x 400sheet) $13.00

Bounty towels (8 x 78 sheets) $10.34

Ziplock gallon (2 x 38) $7.34

Dawn liquid dish deter (1.5 lt) $4.86

Chuck roast (Tony's) $3.16 #

3-pk Romaine $1.48

Sm lettuce mix $1.33

Qt cherry tomatoes $1.21

Doz veg eggs $1.19

Lg Herdez salsa $.97

1 k strawberries $1.11

 

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Have very detailed records on spending over many years. If always converted to USD at corresponding rate of exchange per time period, we are spending just a little more now than we did in 2009.  That said, we now have 2 vehicles rather than one, and rent just a slightly more expensive house than before. Also feeding more pets. Use MUCH less propane (landlord installed solar hot water).   Don't patronize expensive restaurants. Very careful with electric consumption.

Budget-minded in all purchases, and fluent Spanish plus well embedded in Mexican barrio, so don't feel a "gringo" pricing effect such as suggested by Islander. Minimal shopping at SuperLake. Never at Sam's or Costco. Every two months at Abastos.

Everyone has their own priorities, and that goes a long way in figuring out the "correct" answer!

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7 hours ago, Xena said:

No change if you are American whose income is in dollars. If you are a Mexican earning pesos your income has not doubled so there is a change.

Actually, I pay my housekeeper about twice what I did 10 years ago.  

Most of the things I buy are up quite a bit

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