Suggestion Living on the Australian OAP in The Philippines

I really appreciate the posting here which are in my opinion realistic and far away from wearing pink coloured glasses.

What I am missing is that obviously nobody is concerned about possibly future losses in exchange differences. Not long ago you got 41 Peso for 1 US. Presently it is much better, but it can change to the worse extend at any given time.
Putting this into consideration which 1.300 US you could end up with 55.000 Peso, and that would turn your life into miserably conditions out of the sudden.

Furthermore don’t disregsrd the inflation.
70.000 Peso in December 2018 will not be 79.000 Peso in 2 or 3 years time.

For me the conclusion is quiet simple:
You can do it in these days with 70.000 Peso per month provided you adjust your lifestyle accordingly.
If it comes, hopefully not, you will need considerably medical treatment: game over.

This is the reality from my point of view.
Saw too many people that were involved in an accident, got other health problems or just felt down in front of a bar, and were in serious trouble.
The good old days when you could have a decent living out here with 600 bucks are over. And they will not come back.

 

I agree 5 years ago the Aussie dollar was 30 baht to the dollar
and 6 years ago it = 33 baht, Now down to 23 or less . my Pension in dollar terms is slightly higher however in Baht in my bank is down 30% Inflation is up and OAP here are struggling to survive, yet if we try to explain that to our Partners, wife's they can not understand, you are Khun ATM or Mr money tree. to add to our woe the Thai Immigration department along with the four main Embassies have moved the goal Posts. Compulsory Insurance, the need to put $35.000 In a Thai Bank or it seems like perhaps we will need to have 65.000 Baht a month deposited monthly in a Thai Bank.
in Philippine Peso that is 65,000 THB = 104,975.85 PHP.
Whilst I fully understand the Reality of No Money no Hospital treatment it is no better here in Thailand. those Folks Mostly Americans it seems say we should all go home to our respective countries fail to understand that apart from medical treatment it is almost impossible to survive on the OAP, A basic nursing home would be my only choice if I could not take care of my self. Yet It seems to me in the
Philippines I could rent a nice Unit or Home and have a carer/nurse make me comfortable Apart from Immigration rules that is certainly possible here so that begets the Question Why not in The Philippines ?
Sorry for a long post perhaps I got carried away
Brian the Aussie OAP
PS Happy New Year to All

 

Thailand is looking expensive now for a retirement option , Malaysia went that way also .

 

I appreciate your posting and no, it wasn’t to long.

Personally I have no clue about life in Thailand. All I can say is that life in Philippines get more expensive by the day. Actually the exchange rate to Dollar (some 52,50) and Euro (61,00) is quiet nice, which is covering the inflation more or less.

Many Expats don’t realise that once the exchange will be worse, again they will be in serious trouble. And it will be worse, for sure.

It depends if course of your personal lifestyle how much money to need in a month, but from my point of view, and that are my personal preferences, you need almost 1.000 US only to cover medical insurance (300 Dollar), rent (350 Dollar), plus electricity, water, Internet, pay TV, petrol, costs for maintenance, clothes, sanitary stuff and so on.

Once you have spend these amount of money you can start thinking about eating, drinking, girl friend, bars, nightlife, restaurants, trips to other locations and so on.

You can do it cheaper. You can disregard medical insurance, can live in a smaller apartment in a worse area, you can reduce going to bars and restaurants to a minimum. No girl friend is an option as well.

You and everybody else has to answer the question whether you want to take the risk living without medical coverage, yes or no. Simple as that.

It all comes down to this question in my opinion. If the answer is yes, and you have some 1.300 Dollar per month for your disposal, you can have a fine life out here. Below that I wouldn’t do it, but that’s my personal opinion and other people might be happy to live with much less than that.

I don’t want to be too critical. Honestly not. Most important is that you are happy in your life. It’s all about that, and it’s not about what I think which amount of money is required.

 

AN Aussie $ is only 23 Baht and 37 Peso I would have roughly US $1400 or 74.200 Peso Pcm. Caught between a rock and a hard place regarding Medical so that reduces my option to keep a Plane fare out as a fall back plan, Not planning to ride a M/c or drive a car I also think my best option is to rent a fully furnished place.
Options are Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia in dollar terms all immigration costs seem to be similar over a 12 month period. any way planning on doing a recce in march for a boots on the ground Intel mission, one can only learn so much over the Internet
It seems to me the Thai Immigration are hell bent on forcing low income expats out.
It is perhaps interesting to note that the i/o doing the assessments have about 40% of my income as their full pay, leaving aside Brown envelopes of course

 

@Brian_Goddard
With 1.400 bucks a month you can have a pleasant life in the Philippines.
Give it a try.

In terms of medical, go for the cheap local version called PhilHealth which costs nothing, and additionally put 200 bucks every month under your pillow.

Welcome in the Philippines.
First beer after your arrival is on me.
Cheers.

 

Thanks
I have to check the exchange rate when ever want to see what my dollar is worth,
How I long for the times 6 or 7 years ago when we were stronger in dollar terms than the U.S

 

I don't think it is correct that nobody is concerned - it is just that it is not within our control. Best to be concerned about what we control and just accept the things we cannot. It may be that even living in the home country, anyone could suffer devastating financial problems due to loss of job, bad economic circumstances (such as hyper-inflation), war or other things which just come along, sometimes without warning.

So while we are here, and all getting older, then best just to accept we have no control but do what we can to put ourselves in the best possible position.

 

I agree that it is not within our control.

But if I am planning to move to a foreign destination, of course I am doing my homework, means to research costs of living, rent, food, petrol, taxes, insurances and so on and so on.
And if I get funded in a different currency than the one of my destination, I assume it is advisable to be aware of historical exchange rates and inflation.

I fully agree that everybody in his home country could be hit by negative circumstances as mentioned by you. There is nothing to do about.

 

We both agree on the principle of research and awareness but, on this issue, historical data is of little use. It is simply not possible to predict future exchange rates based on those from the past as they depend on economic sentiment of the two countries within the pair. There can be past information which helps see how a country deals with inflation and what issues can affect it but, again, if anyone can look a few years into the future and reasonably accurately predict inflation (and currency exchange rates) then his problem is solved anyway - he can make 'financial bets' which 'reward' him handsomely when he is proved correct.

I hold some gold (not in my house!) and that for me is possibly a security against a massive economic downturn - but I will not be sure until (if) it happens.