To live in the Philippines comfortable then it doesn’t have to be expensive but it certainly helps if you can afford that bit more. Some people say you can live OK for $1000 US per month while others say they could get along with $500 US per month in the Philippines. It really comes down to what you want to spend and where you are prepared to live.

For  a single person I’m going to go over some expenses below for a month.

Accommodation: This could start at 5,000 pesos per month in some provinces but in a city it would be at least 15,000 pesos per month for something reasonable. Of course there are exceptions but in general I think this is about right. For something similar to what you would be familiar to back in the US or Australia etc then it would probably cost at least 20,000 pesos per month in a city like Cebu.

Food: This is something that really depends on what you want. If you prefer to dine at restaurants every night and go to coffee bars for the other times of the day then I would guess it would cost around 300 pesos for a small coffee and snack and around 300 – 600 for a restaurant meal. I think you can get a good restaurant meal at a city for 300 pesos though.

Maybe you prefer to cook at home or in the place you rent. If this is the case then I would suggest you expect to pay around 2000 – 3000 pesos per week to eat well for one. It would not cost a lot more for two, maybe another 500 pesos. You can buy all your supplies at the city supermarket and buy your fresh food like veggies and fish at your local shops. You can also find somethings cheaper at local shops or at least easier to just buy there like rice for example.

The local provinces are good for getting fresh seafood at the markets along with veggies and fruit. You will find that you can haggle the prices down a bit in most cases.

Clothing: Clothing is quite cheap in the Philippines and you can buy anything from cheap t-shirts to designer labels. Just look around and compare what you see in the street stalls to the department stalls. At least with a department store they usually can provide a return if it’s not what you want.

Bed, Mattresses: You can pick up a basic Queen sized mattress for about 1,500 pesos.

Electrical:  A house fan will set you back about 800 to 1000 pesos at least.

Fridge: At least 8,000 pesos but probably 10,000 for something decent.

Mountain Bike: For 15,000 pesos you get something nice to ride. Anything less is going to come down a bit in quality and have less features.

Magazines: Usually about 300 – 800 pesos for a standard magazine you would pay about $10 for back home.

Trail Bike: something like a new Honda XR or Yamaha TT 250 is going to cost you about 150k.

So there we go, there are a few things that you might be interested to know the cost before you head off on your trip to the Philippines.

You can also read my other article called Affordable Accommodation in Cebu if Cebu interests you.

Bookmark It