Navajo52 wrote:flipicaneze wrote:I moved from Chicago 6 months ago. Although I have 20 in-stamps on my passport since 2004, I'm still adjusting. You can easily blow $5k on stupid crap in one month.
The real secret to living well as an expat is to think like a Filipino and stop thinking "Well in the United States this costs this much and it's much less here when I convert PHP to USD." That opens you up to being ripped off, even if it does costs far less in your country of origin.
Learn to spend like a local and negotiate like a local, you can live on much less and even more comfortably. Know what things actually cost here and not worry what it cost everywhere else in comparison.
There is a way to transfer money that is faster than electronic banking---it's called Marriage!
While funny, it has worked to my/our advantage. My wife and I have been married for over 14 years and have lived here in the Philippines the entire time. Also, for almost that entire time all our finances (what she earns at her full time job as well as my pensions from the US) are in her care completely.
I have found that with her taking care of the bills, kids, and school needs, and all other expenses we do much better than if I were to do these things. These people know how to get the most bang for the buck and can out-do us without a doubt.
Important though is to marry the "right one" or that advise will quickly work in reverse..
But if you're like me who is out on his own while she is at work, or worse yet she'll become an OFW and leave me here with my child, I have to know how to do things on my own here.
I have learned to get the most bang for my buck out here in the time I've been here.