Sample Budget

Please help the animals of Mazatlan

A beautiful house in the marina section of El Cid

If you are considering moving to Mazatlan, why not try it out in style? We are renting our home for the next two years for only $2000 USD per month. For that you get 4 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, an office, a game room, and a swimming pool. Click on the picture for lots more info.

Cost of Living

Lots of people want to know about the cost of living here, so I’ve finally posted a budget after a year of closely tracking expenses. Obviously, an individual’s or couple’s lifestyle will change this budget considerably. There are two, 45 year old adults, and 2 dogs in our household. Our monthly expenses are around $1600 a month. About 40% less than what we paid in the US (Denver area) for a similar lifestyle, but without the proximity to the ocean.

All amounts are in US dollars and the exchange rate was around 10.5 pesos to the dollar at the time of this posting.

Expense Dollars ---------------------------------------------- --------- Insurance + 15 Car Repair 25 Gifts (Christmas, Birthdays, etc.) 75 Health & Dental Care 180 Home Repair ++ 80 Miscellaneous ( [FM3s], DL, Passport, etc.) 50 Trust/Real Estate taxes 40 Travel in Mexico 50 Clothes 40

- auto only, we dropped home owners
++ incl. replacement of durable goods

Expense Dollars ---------------------------------------------- -------- Grocery 400 Car - Gas 20 Electric/Gas 50 Water/Sewer/Garbage 10 Phone (local and unlimited US/Canada) 55 Plumber/Supplies 15 Entertainment/personal 400 Cable TV * Internet 70 Pet - food, grooming, vet 30

Fixed Costs

The first 9 items on the list are not regular monthly expenses, but we put the money aside and spend it as needed. For example, our health care premiums of $1460 (both) are due once a year. The other $700 is for regular dental exams/cleanings ($280) and unexpected illnesses. This is a conservative, but realistic approach. These items are more than 1/3 of the budget and are often omitted when people show the “cost of living” in Mexico.

We own our home, so we don’t have a “rent” payment, but we do have to keep the place up and pay our Trust fees to the bank each year ($130 a month). Our home would be considered a "median priced home" in most parts of the US - 3 bedroom and 2 1/2 bath.

Rental costs will vary significantly based on your location, length of lease, furniture, etc. The longer you have to look, the more likely you can find a “deal”. We know more than a few people with nice 2 bedroom apartments for $300 a month unfurnished on long term leases. On the high end, a house in Club Palmas (very exclusive beach front property) was renting for $1300 a month funrnished. Obviously your tastes and needs will dictate the price you are willing to pay.

We budget 1 a single trip in Mexico once a year, but Maureen goes back to the US twice a year on other trips that she finances through workshops or other means.

We also don’t have a car payment and expect our 1991 truck to last another 10 years as repairs in Mexico are very affordable, but realistically you might consider a line item for vehicle replacement. When ours dies, its unlikely we will replace it. Public transportation in Mazatlan is excellent and inexpensive.

Note that there is no item included for “savings”. If you are retired, this isn’t a factor, but if you are still working (as we both are) you should consider a line item for retirement savings as well.

Weekly Costs

The second set of 9 items is your normal weekly/monthly expenses. We spend $100 week on food and that includes beer/wine/alcohol/household supplies (TP, cleaning supplies, detergent, etc.). This item also includes going out to eat for a nice lunch once a week ($20). We eat very well here including lots of fresh fruit/vegetables and fish.

We each have $50 a week for personal stuff. Maybe a movie, or coffee or a few beers with friends, and we often have dinner out once a week.

Notes

There is LOTS of room for cutting this budget down. If you don’t have a car, you can save $100 a month or more. You could skip health insurance and take your chances on staying well. Doctor visits are cheap, so insurance is really for a catastrophic illness. An exam and cleaning at a dentist's office can be had for only $15.

Our food/entertainment budget could be cut in half if we went mostly vegetarian and went out less often. Live without cable TV and a phone to the US and save another $70 a month. Cyber cafes and cell phones are options for reducing your Telcom bill.

Significant savings here in Mexico are found in medical expenses and housing. Property taxes for our home (3BR, and 2.5 bath) are $50 a year. Health insurance is 1/3 of what it was in the US. For the quality of food we eat, the cost would easily be 50% higher in the US. Our last monthly water bill in Colorado was $132 US dollars - here it is always less than $4 US.

If you plan to air condition your entire house, you should add at least $50 a month to this budget (an extra $100 a month during the 6 month long hot season). Our electric bill includes running a single 2 ton unit, which does a large room, at night from May through October. It also includes running an A/C unit in my office (and all the computer equipment) during the day.

This budget is for our lifestyle. It’s a sample of what you might expect to spend living here in Mexico. Interestingly enough, this is more or less the amount required by the Mexican government for a married couple to obtain an FM3(around $1600 a month).

For an alternative look at living in Mexico on a tight budget, see CostOfLiving.

Please feel free to email me if you have any specific questions.

David Shafer Feb 12, 2006