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What's gone up substantially (pricewise) in recent years?


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3 hours ago, CHILLIN said:

As far as decreased prices, people on the true off grid solar are saving a small fortune.

Well.....yes and no.    Off grid systems still cost a lot more than grid tied, plus CFE acts as both the "battery" and the bank account with any kWh credits good on a 12 month rolling basis.   

At the same time, hybrid grid tied systems and off-grid systems have become much better and much less $$, and thus much more popular, with li-ion battery storage now actually the same or less $$ in the long run than lead acid or AGM.    This is because while it costs more upfront, you can use smaller amounts of kWh storage because you can discharge it almost to 100%, (vs 50 to 60% for the others) and also easily see 7 to 10 years or more of good stable battery life, even with daily use - longer if just using it for occasional backup / power outages.      And it will change quite a bit more again in the consumer's benefit, in the next 6 to 12 months.     

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What I meant was e.g. if gasoline is twice as expensive in Mexico but you only drive a third of what you drive NOB then that cost of living is less in Mexico. Likewise if electricity is more expensive in Mexico but you don’t use A/C and winters are mild then that cost is less in Mexico. Therefore, prices sometimes don’t give a true picture of the cost of living.

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1 hour ago, blankletmusic said:

At 20 pesos to the USD that's $4 US/gallon. Between the tolls and the fuel costs extended road trips must be pretty costly.

1 US gal. is 3.78 liters so 20×3.78 = $3.78 USD per gal. Costco today was 18.75 per litro × 3.78 =70.88 or $3.54 USD per gal. Same price and same gas as in California.

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1 hour ago, Jreboll said:

What I meant was e.g. if gasoline is twice as expensive in Mexico but you only drive a third of what you drive NOB then that cost of living is less in Mexico. Likewise if electricity is more expensive in Mexico but you don’t use A/C and winters are mild then that cost is less in Mexico. Therefore, prices sometimes don’t give a true picture of the cost of living.

It also, of course, depends on your lifestyle. Electricity is so much cheaper in Mexico for me than it was in Canada, it's ridiculous. But I don't use AC or other things that put people up into the DAC rate. I don't have a pool. I don't buy much imported food, I very seldom eat out. I try to buy whatever I need on one big shopping trip once every 10 days-2 weeks so I'm not burning up a lot of gas.

I'm not suffering, I'm quite comfortable. I essentially live the same way in Mexico as I did in Canada. But much less expensively.

It appears to me that many retired gringos live a different lifestyle in Mexico than they did NOB. Up north, they quite possibly couldn't afford a maid and a gardener, they didn't have a pool to maintain, they weren't buying expensive imported foods, they didn't go out to eat all the time. But they can afford to do all that in Mexico. So they may not be living on a lot less money than they did up north, but they have a lot more to show for it here.

However, you can live quite inexpensively and still not really want for anything if you have simple needs.

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8 minutes ago, RickS said:

Yes but you've just compared it to the most expensive gas NOB. Many places are around $2.50....but rising as we speak.

I have never traveled interstate for many decades so I only bought gas there. I don't know other prices personally, only hearsay.

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6 hours ago, CHILLIN said:

Our rent has not increased for the past twelve years. There is much more skill to be a good tenant rather than a good landlord.

Not very darn many landlords care about that. If you cause them no trouble and keep the place nice, to them that's just "normal" and to be expected. Not a skillset.

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10 hours ago, CHILLIN said:

Our rent has not increased for the past twelve years. There is much more skill to be a good tenant rather than a good landlord.

 

4 hours ago, AndyPanda said:

Not very darn many landlords care about that. If you cause them no trouble and keep the place nice, to them that's just "normal" and to be expected. Not a skillset.

 

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11 hours ago, AlanMexicali said:

1 US gal. is 3.78 liters so 20×3.78 = $3.78 USD per gal. Costco today was 18.75 per litro × 3.78 =70.88 or $3.54 USD per gal. Same price and same gas as in California.

They are selling the same gasoline mix as is mandated in California? I didn't know that.

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11 hours ago, AlanMexicali said:

1 US gal. is 3.78 liters so 20×3.78 = $3.78 USD per gal. Costco today was 18.75 per litro × 3.78 =70.88 or $3.54 USD per gal. Same price and same gas as in California.

Your math is good, but a little stingy on the exchange rate.  You used 20:1, but it's running 20.5 to 20.8 these days.  Here's a quick online calculator with a result of $3.45 USD per gallon.  Seems to be using 20.54 as exchange rate.  

https://www.vcalc.com/wiki/pro/US+Dollars+per+Gallon+from+Mexican+Pesos+per+Liter

 

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3 hours ago, virgo lady said:

XE.com is also a very good mid-market rate resource:   

1 USD to MXN | Convert US Dollars to Mexican Pesos | Xe

 

But this will do the Hard Math...convert Liters priced in MXN Pesos, to US Gallons priced in USD, by just inserting the pesos-per-liter price.  Pretty slick, in my opinion.

https://www.vcalc.com/wiki/pro/US+Dollars+per+Gallon+from+Mexican+Pesos+per+Liter

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There are better batteries, right here, right now. I sent in the links before. The Li Ion batteries are pulled from Electric Vehicles when they are 2/3 used. That 2/3 is very suitable for off grid. With an estimated life of 7 to 10 years. There is going to be a swamp of these batteries entering the market if you get in early enough. Right now, the used LiIon batteries are only considered useful for recycling the material. The Chinese are building a large facility on the Mexican border. I didn' look to far into prices, but $1,200 US rings a bell. plus expensive to ship on a one at a time basis.

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My Expat health insurance just went up 30%.

Gasoline was supposed to get cheaper with the "competition" created by Nieto's energy deregulation.  Poor Mexican people are increasingly not able to afford to drive. SAD.

Not sure about north of the border, but inflation is sure present here on most fronts. 

Seems like every time you shop at Walmart, many prices just keep going up.

Some prices around Ajijic are starting to compare to the US., IMO.  

 

 

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1 hour ago, mexijims1 said:

Some prices around Ajijic are starting to compare to the US., IMO. 

Other than things like electricity and gas/propane or Tillamook sharp cheddar what are some things that are approaching US prices.... just curious.

Sometimes when folks leave NOB.... and maybe don't travel back for several years... their memories of prices are stuck on "back then".   I can guarantee you that US prices for everything have been/are rising..... groceries especially....and it is not just Covid!

 

..

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Every single time I visit family in Canada, I am absolutely shocked at the prices. Add to that the agony of provincial sales tax and GST on many things and I can't wait to get home to Mexico where the price on the sticker IS the price.

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On 3/26/2021 at 11:56 PM, AndyPanda said:

Not very darn many landlords care about that. If you cause them no trouble and keep the place nice, to them that's just "normal" and to be expected. Not a skillset.

Oh I don't know about that.  Our latest house we had a years lease and the mexican owners were so impressed with us they gave us a five year lease at a fixed price.  Impress your landlord.  We have had five rentals here and always had good relations with landlords both Mexican and Gringo.  Show that you care.  We have always been rewarded in living here 15 years by being nice and caring about the landlords house. Fix the small crap and leave your landlord alone unless its something big.  We even helped pay to rebuild the roof and were rewarded with cheap rent.

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On 3/28/2021 at 4:39 PM, Ferret said:

Every single time I visit family in Canada, I am absolutely shocked at the prices. Add to that the agony of provincial sales tax and GST on many things and I can't wait to get home to Mexico where the price on the sticker IS the price.

I think both Canadian and US folks experience sticker shock when they return/ visit their  respective country, but the "shock "Is greater for Mexicans visitors. The stinger  in the tail in the US is the added tax to everything.  I recently visited Fl and the economy is booming, a lot of money in circulation 

With the "strong " US$ most countries have "some appeal " to those folks looking for a retirement community where the COL is lower than "home"

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Rent! Hard on people with a fixed income. 14  years with the same landlord & got hit with a 70% increase last time the lease expired. It was that or move. Can't even blame the landlords when new people go around advertising how much they can pay without finding out what the going rates are. Who wouldn't take more?

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