Sample PR budget

Excellent info from someone who has thought it through. Thanks Rey, very helpful barometer w/ at least one expense I hadn't contemplated, RE tax. Either I am getting bad advice or misunderstood that situation, probably the latter. I need to call my attorney tomorrow.

Tax is a big unknown and it is different for every person.
If the property is your principal home and you are a resident, then numbers are different. I seen two numbersÑ one says value up to 85K is tax free, other say 150k  it is tax free. However the central government took a lot of money away from the towns and each town is scrambling to find ways to make money, some are considering raising property tax and charging for services like trash pickup, while others are taking a wait and see and let the major towns figure it out for them to follow later.

I have land for over a year so I am paying as a non-resident which will be solved later, also I don't have a building so it is hard to determine what my property taxes will be like. A lot is going to depend on the appraisal of the property once build.

As to income taxesÑ I will be living mostly from my Social Security since it covers all the expenses in the above budget and saving my IRA for investing in additional properties or enhancing my property later. Since I will be mostly paying taxes on my social security (mostly) I based some income taxes based on that.

Taxes is a weird thing to figure out without hard numbers and tax tables.

Hi, Rey, How much AC would be included in the $150 /month?

annabfalter wrote:

Hi, Rey, How much AC would be included in the $150 /month?

6-10 hours a day for 1 for sleeping. Note that you want an efficient unit, not a window unit. The more efficient the better and maybe you can run 2 for the electric price of 1.
In my case is 1 AC and a pool filtration system. Most of the time in PR i turn on lights only at night, air dry clothes, i turn off lights as I leave a room. With switching to LED and using a gas stove you can get a second air conditioner for the same amount.

Check you state side electric bill, get the KWH for a summer month and multiply by 22 cents (.22) that will give you an idea of your bill ll if you change nothing. You may pay less in PR if you have a good breeze and spend more time on your porch.

I seen expats spend 1,500 in electric by running AC in the whole house and living like a hermit. Some people live at 60-65 degrees 7/24. Hello large bill.

I will be living at 1,000 foot above sea level with a strong breeze so 150 may be too much to set aside, but is there because I want to ensure reasonable worst case scenario.

What are you thoughts on your pool? Design, contractor. Any custom touches? Solar heater?

35th wrote:

What are you thoughts on your pool? Design, contractor. Any custom touches? Solar heater?

The wife does not want a restangular one like we currently have, curvy is what she likes. She wants it blend with its surroundings. Probaly will use earth colors or stones around it, want the return water to run thru some stones with plants around it. Give it a look like a natural pond.
We have not build the house yet so not talking with any engineer or contractor until we are island bound then we will go looking at the options for the house and the pool.

The plants would have to be plastic if you use chlorine. You might want to consider salt water pool. It is another form of water treatment and not as harsh as chlorine. Our friend in Florida had one. We had chlorine and hers was much nicer. I think plants would only work in fresh water pools.

We are investigating that option Mrkpytn, thanks

Hi Rey,
So now that you're living there in PR are your expenses working out as you'd estimated?
I believe you are still in the process of completing your home, but what, if any, changes might you make to your above figures? I'm putting my own budget on paper now and making adjustments. It's looking promising for me 😁

kircordero wrote:

Hi Rey,
So now that you're living there in PR are your expenses working out as you'd estimated?
I believe you are still in the process of completing your home, but what, if any, changes might you make to your above figures? I'm putting my own budget on paper now and making adjustments. It's looking promising for me 😁

Some minor things
Prescriptions = 0 we feel a lot better
Water = 26 a month
Electricity with one 18,000 btu split air conditioner in the bedroom running 7/24 set at 69 degrees = 150 a month including an electric stove/oven since it came with the rental.
3 phones plans with higher data is expensive running me about 170 a month
Internet running me 80 a month
Not using propane, not using cable TV At the moment, instead Hulu, HBO, Netflix and amazon for our movies and shows all streamed.
The place I am renting is 700 while I wait to build the house, we selected it because it was close to our land, could have gone a lot cheaper.
Food is around 600 but wife likes wine so a few bottles a week are not part of the budget
I drink so rarely that a bottle of rum last me several months and maybe have 2 beers a month at a dollar each.
That's about it for differences

One thing I forgot, medical, our medical cost for me under Medicare Advantage, taking their most expensive package is 53 dollars a month, however the wife is not old enough for Medicare so she has a private plan that is around 450 a month (2nd from top of the line plan), a saving from the states, her medical plan in the states was over 700 for a plan with less features and much higher deductibles. They do have family plans if all of you are under 65 and that can save you money also. Wife doctor visit is 5 dollars, my visit is 0. Dental and glasses are part of these plans. Wife we t to fix some old fillings and get a clean up, her cost was 5 dollars total.

Excellent information! Thank you!

From the sample budgets I've looked at, it seems we can afford what we want in Puerto Rico 😃
Our income will be around $4500/month for three people (self, husband, teen son) in Quebradillas.

I'm excited!