Food, Friends and Fun!
I spent June thru November 2019 along the east coast of Mexico in the state of Quintana Roo. I split my time between the quaint town of Puerto Morelos and the larger city of Playa Del Carmen. Everyone asks, which do I like better? I loved them both! Puerto Morelos had beautiful big beaches and a super small town feel with easily walkable streets. It's about 2 miles long, so walking anywhere in town was easy. Whereas, Playa Del Carmen is a big city with an abundance of fabulous restaurants. Both locations were very satisfying to live in and I met the most wonderful friends in each.
Sun & Water
Whether it's the ocean or a pool, I like water in warm weather climates. Peaceful walks along the beach were very fulfilling, and social time in a rooftop pool was fun to spend with my friends. I also got to experience the cool waters of cenotes, which are underground fresh water sources.
I had the opportunity to take a catamaran ride from Cancun to Isla Mujeres, attend the Tigres baseball game in Cancun, play golf, enjoy pot-luck dinners at friends houses, snorkel, swim, see performances that represent historical Mayan ways, and eat my heart out at a number of restaurants.
There was always something going on in or around town. I truly understand why so many expats choose to retire in this part of Mexico. Besides the fact it's beautiful; there's never a dull moment.
Cost of Living
The average exchange rate was 20 pesos for $1 USD.
For a quick perspective:
50 pesos = $2.50 USD
100 pesos = $5 USD
200 pesos = $10 USD
500 pesos = $25 USD
Transport
Colectivo's are small buses that run locally. For 8 pesos ($0.40 USD) I could jump on a Colectivo from the port side of Puerto Morelos and get into the Colonial side which is a little over 2 miles or I could take a taxi for 30 pesos ($1.50 USD).
A taxi from Puerto Morelos to Playa Del Carmen was 500 pesos ($25 USD), whereas a Colectivo or Playa Express (another small bus) was 24 pesos ($1.20).
For the most part, I would walk as much as possible, however, that summer heat can get to you!
Laundry
Some of my accommodations did not have an onsite washer/dryer so I would drop of my laundry and pick it up the next day. About two weeks worth of clothes would cost me 40-60 pesos = $2-$3 USD, and my clothes would come back folded all nice and neat. Bonus!
Food & Drink
This was the second most expensive part of my monthly expenses, right after rent. Typically, I would make breakfast in my condo along with either lunch or dinner. Whichever meal I didn't make at home, I would go out to eat. As I scroll back through my expenses, it looks like I would spend around $10-$15 on either lunch or dinner. Most meals were big so I would take my leftovers home and definitely get one if not two more meals out of it. So although $15 sounds like a lot for one meal, it really came out to be $5 to $7.50 a meal. If I would have alcohol with my meal, the check would be closer to $20-$30; and I would still have leftovers with food.
Summary of Expenses
I found an App called WanderWallet after I had been in Mexico for a few months, and started using it to track every expense. Since one of my lifestyle goals is to reach FI, I really wanted to see how I was spending my monies. Below is a list of categories I tracked.
August 20, 2019 to November, 25, 2019
Lodging $3,554.90 44%
Eating Out $1,612.75 20%
Health Insurance $776.00 10%
Drinks $549.14 7%
Entertainment $366.40 5%
Groceries $340.52 4%
Transport $199.43 2%
Amazon Prime &
ATT TV Now $195.94 2%
Rotary Dues $125.00 2%
Medical $109.85 1% (Medication & Teeth Cleaning)
Shopping $101.54 1%
Donation/Gifts $72.00 1%
Coffee $19.99 <1%
ATM Fees $15.00 <1%
Laundry $13.75 <1%
So how did I do?
My goal is to spend no more than $30,000 annually, which is $2,500 per month or approximately $82.19 per day. Multiply $82.19/day times 98 days and my budget for the above dates was a total of $8,054.62. I came in budget with $2.39 to spare. Woo hoo!!
Why did I pick $30,000 for an annual expense budget? During my research phase I had learned that many expats can easily live off of $2,000 to $2,500 per month ($24,000 to $30,000 annually). I had originally thought I would try a monthly budget of $2,000 but because I wanted to stay so close to the beach, and those accommodations were more expensive, than being farther into town, I decided an average of $2,500/month would be more suitable. Additionally, I had crunched the numbers for my expenses living in my beautiful Arizona home, how I was living life, and I pretty much got sick! I don't actually know my true annual expenses for living in the US because I stopped looking up what I was spending here and there, after I reached a particular threshold. I can definitely admit I was spending everything I had been earning, and more. (Insert face-palm here.)
I had a very healthy income and was pissed at myself for not thinking through what I was doing, and how my poor spending habits would impact my future. I think I would over spend and splurge often because I had a mindset of, I can always earn more money to pay for that. But thAnd after reading more about FI and FIRE, that's when the light bulb went off for me. So, I made a decision to change my lifestyle and here I am, kicking ass and taking names!
2020 Annual Spending Goals
I see my time in Mexico as a great trial period for what will life be like living out of two suitcases, and in countries that I'm not as familiar with. So I decided to keep my $30,000 annual budget as my main goal. I feel comfortable this goal will allow me to live well and be able to afford sightseeing opportunities in each region.
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