We have been living in the Philippines for almost 8 years already. Time flies! I believe that the longer you live here, the cheaper you can do so. When you first move here, you tend to buy more imported items, which are very costly. But, let’s face it, when you go in the grocery store and see that jar of gourmet mustard just like you loved so much back home, it’s hard to pass it by! So, in your early days of living in the Philippines, it is not hard to understand why your budget is larger than it need be.
To some extent, if you are a foreigner living here, some of these imported items tend to keep your eye over the years. Although a local substitute may be readily available, that one that you remember from “back home” is very alluring! I find that over the years, Feyma and I tend to go through streaks where we will cut down on the imported stuff in one category or another. Then, maybe in 6 months, we will choose another category where we will switch to a local brand.
Due to the fact that we have a business here that is quite successful, honestly, budget has not been a big concern for us. However, for our online businesses, most of our customers are in the USA, with some also being from Europe and Australia. I would say that at least 80% of our business is from American customers, though. Because of this, in recent months, we have seen a dramatic downturn in our sales! The economy in the USA has gotten rather weak and people are cutting back, particularly on luxury items. The items that we sell online are luxuries – certainly not a necessity. Because of this, when the economy is weak, people buy less. On top of people buying less, the US Dollar has slid to the point where it has really influenced our profit margin too, so it’s kind of a double whammy. Don’t get me wrong, we are not out in the streets looking for scraps of food, but when times get a little tighter than you are used to, it is also a good time to evaluate how you spend your money.
In the past, we used to eat out a lot! In recent months we have cut back on that a bit, and tend to cook at home most of the time now. We used to go almost exclusively for foreign (imported) goods when they were available. For the past few months, we have been trying to shift to locally produced substitutes for some of the items that we purchase. It’s a good move too, because many of these items are just as good! In some cases, we have decided to cook from scratch rather than using prepared goods. As an example, if you buy a bottle of Prego or Ragu Spaghetti sauce to feed a large family, you could pay nearly P300 for that, as these are imported brands. Filipino brands of spaghetti sauce are different, as mostly Filipinos like to eat sweet spaghetti sauce. We prefer more of an authentic Italian flavor, not something sweet. The solution is that you look for some recipes on the Internet for home made spaghetti sauces and go buy things in the market like tomatoes and such to prepare it yourself! It is way cheaper, tastes better, and healthier when you use fresh ingredients!
Over the past decades, as a society, it seems that most of us have shifted to “convenient” things that are pre-prepared and such. It is funny that we can save money, be healthier and enjoy our food more if we shift to fresher goods! I can already see some big savings in our budget, and better food on the table too!
It’s a no brainer!
When we came to the Philippines, none of the convenience foods we have now were available, and there were very little imported foods either. We took trips to Cebu to shop for a few precious items and to go to the nearest National Bookstore. So, we cooked everything from scratch. I have found that substituting what I can make at home for the local version, even now, is usually a disappointment. In fact, even convenience foods in the States don't taste as good! 🙂 I realize that most who read this blog will not be doing the cooking. Making the switch to local or home made will save you a lot of money, or enable you to spend your money on the imported goods for which there is no local equivalent, like good cheeses.
Hi AmericanLola – I totally agree! I remember when I first came to the Philippines back in 1990…. there were no convenience type foods here at the time! Everything was freshly cooked. Amazing the changes in 17 years!
Hi Bob and AmLola, I remember ordering a salad in a Manila hotel 10 years ago and wondering why it was called a salad. At least now, things like celery, lettuce, real red, yellow and green bell peppers are available. The peppers tend to be the same price as they were back in the USA, at least a year ago.
We don't eat out that often, but do like to cook international style foods at home, so our food budget is probably the same from the days of shopping at the Walmart SuperCenter. What we really don't miss here are the high taxes, heating bills and numbing cold of northeastern U. S. I'd rather be worrying a little about the fall of the dollar and gazing out my window at the Sea of Mindinao, than snowflakes flying.
Bob, just thought I would let you know that we were introduced to your site by Philippine-American friends living in southern Vermont.
I totally agree with your article. When I moved to Gensan in 2003, I was shocked at how limited the food choices were then (KCC was not open then). Sometimes we had to go grocery shopping in Davao or Marbel. Though right now we still have to buy clothes and books from Manila or Davao. It is oh-so-true that creating food from scratch is definitely better tasting and cheaper than the instant mixes. Example, Filipino's tamarind-based dish sinigang tastes a lot better when you use real tamarind than when you use instant tamarind seasonings!
Hi John in Bohol – I'm glad that you were referred to the site! Keep contributing more to the site, we all appreciate hearing from new folks who can add to our knowledge.
Hi Cathy – I never thought about it, but coming from Manila to GenSan as you and Milper did, you are almost like an expat in GenSan. The provincial life is so much different from life in Manila. I remember the days living in GenSan when we would come to Davao to buy certain grocery items that they just didn't have in GSC. I think things are improving a lot down there, though, as far as product availability goes. The re-opening of KCC probably added a big push to the local economy and product availability, I'd guess.
Hi Bob and to all of you. Very interesting and so very true. When we came to Davao City 1999 we missed a lot of "our food". Nowadays you can get everything, what you like. You can dine out at international affordable restaurants, you can buy stuff in deli stores, you can fresh goods at the market,you can cook at home. That's how we do it since a couple of years. And regarding your topic, Bob, we don't miss anything, plan well and save money on our budget. 😆
Hi Klaus – great ideas, and also great to hear some confirmation of my idea that a lot more products are available here now than just a few years ago!
Great suggestions Bob. I remember when I was young my mother told me to always shop just the perimeter of a grocery store. She told me I would be healther and save money by staying away from the interior or middle of the store. That has always stuck with me and I find it interesting how after all of these years I still just shop the perimeter of the grocery store. Marlou however has discovered the center and if you can imagine a kid at disneyland imagine a Filipina new to the U.S. in the center aisles. The challenges I face are mighty. (-:
Take care and if you like cookies let me know. We were sent an email with just about every cookie recipe imaginable. I will send it to you if interested. Ron
Hi Ron LaFleur – I agree with you. All the good stuff is on the perimeter of the grocery store, except for things like personal care items and such.
Hi Bob , me , being a chef , i will allways on our
holiday's when visite my family in law,
make the food [ and that's for 10-15 people ]
last party was 50 people , then of course allso buy a lechon,
that my brother in law prepared.
And i use always local [ fresh ] products.
And it,s taste good.
For me , i find the imported stuff to expensive,
some are much more expensive then in Europe.
Hi Anton – Next time you are in Mindanao, you will have to come over to Davao and show off your chef talents! We will welcome you kindly! 😆
Hi Bob- I'm very fortunate that Marilou is both a good cook and household manager. Even although we live in a country where all things are readily available she would rather cook meals from scratch. This mind set is due to living with her Lola in her formative years and this influence certainly rubbed off to my and our childrens benifit over the years. I could say I'm spoiled but have never craved Big Mac's or Kentuckt Fried as I prefer Marilou Burgers and her Crispy Fried Manok.
I would think just living in the Phil's out of the cold weather with the cheaper cost of living is worth a little hardship of leaving out convienience food with all its unknown and possibly unhealthy additives.
Hi Bob. Not adding insult to injury, the National Bureau of Economic Research chief, Martin Feldstein, thinks that the dollar is overly strong.
"The dollar is causing us to have a nearly $700 billion trade deficit. So it has to come down in order to make U.S. products more competitive in global markets and more attractive to buyers here at home.", he said(Businessweek).
So I think the dollar will continue to go down.
Please forgive me if my question is considered off-topic but I wanted to ask about another imported luxury. Are American and British Books expensive and difficult to obtain in the Philippines? I love reading and I'd hate to have to give it up or even have my choices severly limited.
Does Amazon.com ship to the Philippines? If so, would one have to pay a large premium for the service?
Hi David S- There is an abundance of second hand book stores stocking mainly American hard backs from novels to reference to suit all interests.
Hi Jim – Ha ha… it's good that Marilou is a great cook, because you won't be seeing too many KFC's, McDonald's or Convenience stores around Talakag! And… that's a good thing!! 😆
Hi Dr. Long – Oh, I believe that. It looks like the Peso could pick up another 25% against the Dollar over the next few years. That would make the dollar worth only about half of what it was a couple years ago. I am planning for it and making changes to counter the drop. I've already shifted many of my businesses to Euro based companies. It's too bad!
Hi David S. – Bookstores are not widespread here. Unless you are in Manila, the only bookstore you are likely to find is National Bookstore, and their selection is not too good. As Jim says, you can find second hand books for sale a lot of times in Mall kiosks and such, though. And, yes… Amazon will ship to the Philippines.
Hi Jim – Thanks for that answer for David S.
David S
Bob answered about amazon, and i am interested in that too, i am a keen reader and always spend time browsing through the second hand book stores Bob and Jim refer too, they are right there are loads of books……BUT they are random, and whereas i have found some gems on other times i have searched through 4 or 5 such stalls and only seen trashy or romantic fiction novels and so have walked away with nothing
however as Bob says we can rely on amazon, can't be stuck without a good book
about amazon.com and books. i don't know of this might interest you guys, but amazon just released a new product — featured in time magazine (usa edition).
it's called kindle — a handheld book device. its supposed to revolutionize reading and purchasing books. you can purchase and download books on amazon and read it on the product.
i know, sounds alien and offputting to DL a book. but i thought about it being a good product to purchase if i move to the philippines. i'll miss my visits to bookstores and reading what i want and the book selections in the philippines is quite random. the reviews have been great.
you can view the product on the website. a little pricey for my taste, but a worthy investment for any book lover moving to uncharted territory. thought i'd put it out there.
Thanks Macky i will try to look for it
Thanks for the responses. I've investigated electronic book readers and I think the time is rapidly approaching when they will be the medium of choice. One of the major obstacles at this point is the limited availability of electronic media. Hopefully the success of the music download business will spur publishers to make more books available electronically.
Hi David S- Like you I also am an avid reader and I enjoy novels by Jeffrey Archer, Fredrick Forsythe, John Nichol, Andy McNab, Jack Higgins, Gerald Seymour and Chris Ryan as well as the odd Wilber Smith for good measure. LOL.
Hi rick b – Amazon is good… only problem is waiting on the arrival!
Hi Macky – Yeah, I am familiar with the kindle, it's cool, but expensive! I think that a much better buy is the Asus eee PC. It is a tiny laptop, about the size of a hardback book. It is a full PC system, and also has a built in e-book reader. All that for $100 less than the kindle.
Hi David S. – I agree, electronic books are the wave of the future!
Hi Jim – I bet you'll get some reading time in on that hammock!
HI Bob – I agree. Kindle is too expensive now, but that's expected of a 1.0 model (besides, I'm always leery of buying a 1st version product).
What is appealing about Kindle/Amazon is that they have thousands of books scanned already. The screen is designed that it appears like book text and not a pc screen that produces eye strain (not sure how that works). It's also flat, light & ergonomic designed. I just know this from the TIME cover story.
I'm curious how future models work out. I expect the prices to drop off too when competition stiffens — like the Asus you mentioned. The more products the better — especially for frequent travellers like me.
This would solve a lot of book buying problems in places like Davao. I buy a lot from Amazon, so this makes it more convenient. No trees cut too for all you eco-conscious people.
It's funny how months old magazines like People or Entertainment Weekly are hot buys there — re-wrapped in plastic and sold at double the price.
Hi macky – you're right… the first release of anything is going to be a little buggy and also pricey. In a year this thing will probably retail for half the price and be a lot better too!
Hi Bob – This is a late entry, but do you think that maybee you are unwittingly becoming more and more Philippino, the longer you live there? 😉 😉
Hi anthony – Oh my… maybe! 😆
I was looking at the Kindle the other day and noted it is not available outside the USA. I very much doubt the wireless service that it connects to will be available here any time soon. And, those books are still 10 bucks a whack.
My husband and I are always on the prowl for good books and have found some good ones in the used book sales. For a particular book, we usually buy it through Amazon marketplace used books, have it shipped to family or friends in the States, and then they ship the lot when it is a reasonable sized package. If you need a lot of stuff from the States, order online, gather them at a friend's place, and have a forex box shipped when the box is full. this is the cheapest way to ship here from the US, $85-$100 for a large box, no weight limit, delivered to your door, anyplace in the Philippines.
Hi AmericanLola – Great advice, as usual! I was not aware that the Kindle used it's own wireless network. It's not available through the net? 😡
Nope. it is their own thing, somewhat like cell coverage, they say. My guess is that they have a deal with all the cell networks in the US, because it is supposed to be instantly connectable anywhere (in the USA).
Hi AmericanLola – Wow, that is really a mistake, in my opinion. The internet is present almost everywhere nowadays, and it would seem to be the very best delivery system for Amazon on this. And, they are missing a market of people overseas (like us) on this too. Come on, Jeff Bezos!
Hi bob.
"the longer you live here, the cheaper you can do so."
I totally agree with this idea.
Before I got used to the life style in Davao, I spent a lot of money and I often withdrew cash from ATM machines.
But now, I can survive with local salary…
Hi Bob. What's your projection with Microsoft taking over Yahoo? Will it improve your revenue?… that is Google will now compete with Microsoft in the advetisement real estate of your sites?
If I'm right, then you are in a very sweet spot indeed.
It will be interesting to know.
Hi Dr. Long – It's too early to tell if the deal will be beneficial or not, or even if the deal will go through.
I currently use Google for advertising on this site. I also have a Yahoo Publishing Network account, although I am very selective where I use them. You see, Yahoo will cancel your account if you have a high percentage of non-USA traffic, so it is not ideal for people with sites like mine. Also, if you are not a US based person or company, Yahoo won't even give you an account. My business is US based, thus I was able to get an account with them.
I'll be keeping my fingers crossed!