How to save money in Mexico

Avoid all things not made in the country. Shop little neighborhood grocery stores, street markets, little dollar stores. Eating out is cheaper here period, but again the small family restaurants with Mexican food. Air B&B has rooms in local homes much less than hotels , small B&Bs . Housing drive the streets look for by rent by owner signs. Cost of living here depends a lot on where in Mexico you shop and where you live. Have fun exploring.

If you make a budget be sure and build a lot of flexibility into it. Yes, the costs of living here are much cheaper, but the costs of getting here are costs , for the most part, that are unrelated to Mexico. They are costs related to how do you get here, where are you going and how much are you bringing with you.

We had a budget for those cost, but we still exceeded it for a time because the house we rented was not ready. So we had the cost of two weeks in a hotel that was not on our budget.
I definitely agree with Melo1 for the most part. Buy Mexican, avoid those perfect food items coming from the U.S. like flawless apples. The people here avoid them so should you. The local grown is not beautiful sometimes, but it is safer and tastes better. Oranges were not meant to be bright orange and perfect looking.

I use booking.com for trips, because they are very reliable and I can search properties on line. I get discounts from them for being a long time customer. I want to know where I will be staying,and what to expect. That is important to me.

My Mexican born friend who sometimes travels with me feels you should just go and find the cheapest places. That has lead to interesting places on the plus as well as the negative side. One time we were still driving around after dark looking for an acceptable hotel. Just what you want to do after driving all day, NOT.

As for food on the street, can be good, can be safe, or not. My friend was just sick for two days after eating at a roadside stand. I go to restaurants once a week, places where the employees can wash their hands. But mostly I eat at home which is even cheaper.

There are things you can get at the peoples market and pay less, and there are things you have to buy at a regular store. My food budget is low, but flexible.

The fixed expense I have less control of is the electric bill. In the summer it can get hot and despite having fans I sometimes really need the A/C. Then there is the wear and tear things . You can't get around broken or worn out things.