Would you believe that a person working in the Philippines has an average salary of around P44,600 per month?
However, the lowest average monthly net salary is more or less P11,300, which is true since most of the employees in the country are either on contractual or provisionary jobs. In fact, a government employee with a Salary Grade 1 category only earns P13,000 a month as approved by the Republic Act 11446, known as Salary Standardization Law.
Looking at the numbers above, can it cover the living expenses, especially if you live in some expensive cities? Can you set aside for savings or a house and lot in the Philippines? Let’s make a quick rundown.
What consists the average monthly cost of living expenses?
Like other countries, the cost of living in the Philippines depends on your lifestyle. But in general, the cost of living expenses includes shelter, transportation, food, and clothes. You must also include other recurring expenses for utility bills, education, healthcare, and how many family members you support.
Individuals living alone can have an estimated average monthly cost of living of around P27,000. But, this does not include shelter, savings or investment, and leisure expenses. Therefore, earning the lowest average monthly income in the Philippines. To support the lacking funds for living cost expenses, Filipinos do side hustles while others take out loans.
How much is a Filipino family of four estimated monthly costs?
Now it’s a different side of the story if you are a family provider. You need at least P94,000 to feed a family of four in a month. Like individuals living alone, the total cost does not include monthly expenses for shelter, healthcare, and other recurring expenses. You need to spend money on education, clothes, and utility bills.
As a result, both parents must have a regular source of income and side hustle jobs to cope with the family needs. As a family provider, you also have wants to achieve, such as buying smartphones, home appliances, and expenses for certain family occasions.
How much is the daily cost of living in the Philippines?
To calculate, a single person must earn at least 900 pesos daily to live by their needs. If you rent P9000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment, you need to make an additional income of P300 a day.
Meanwhile, a family provider needs to earn more or less P3000 daily to feed a family of four. If you are also paying for home rental costs of P12,000 a month on average, you must earn an additional P400 a day to add to your monthly budget.
5 Tips to Beat the Rising Cost of Living in the Philippines
Over half of the total population in the Philippines is cutting down costs on food and prefers eating less than usual. Others postponed their travel and canceled their life and health insurance premiums to cover the rising cost of living.
While others are grappling with how to manage their money problems, here are some tips to beat your living cost expenses.
Be smart about using your home appliances.
Cut down your energy usage to save money on electricity. Switch off lights or unplug appliances when not in use. Even if an appliance is turned off but still plugged on, it can consume electricity. To avoid frequent use of air conditioners and electric fans, open your doors and windows to ventilate the home properly. But consider upgrading your home for better ventilation if you save extra money.
For internet connection usage, turn off your mobile data if not in use, especially if you are charged with prepaid mobile tariff rates.
Buy groceries at local shops.
We, Filipinos, love going to the malls to window shop and sometimes spend on unnecessary things. It’s a good idea to stroll around the malls as long as you stick with yourmonthly money routine.
Since a huge portion of your living expenses goes to food costs, buying groceries at local shops or markets is better. Grocery prices in malls are way higher than in local markets. What’s best about buying in local shops is that you can get lower prices on bulk orders. Plus, you can also guarantee that these food products are fresh. Of course, you also contribute a big help to our local businesses.
Re-align your transportation costs.
With the rising costs of fuel prices, it is not practical to use your car to commute if you have one. On the other hand, transportation fares will also increase, which adds more financial burden for you as a commuter.
If your destination is close to your location, it is best to stretch out your legs and walk for a few minutes. Know the shortcuts to your destination so that it can be easy for you to reach it in time. Meanwhile, if you have a bicycle, you can ride a bike once in a when going to your office or city center to save money on transportation costs.
Since you reduce your cost of transportation, it is ideal to add them to your savings for your emergency needs.
Sell things you aren’t using.
Apparently, we have a lot of things unused at home. Some of these are clothes, bags, shoes, books, and even furniture. If you want to add more money to your savings or living costs, sell the stuff you aren’t using. Recycling those items is also a great help to save the environment from adding waste.
Wipe out your disposable habits.
Whenever you order take-out food from a mid-range restaurant or food chain, the cost of disposable containers is usually added to your total purchase. Wipe out those disposable habits and bring reusable containers the next time you order.
If you’re also using paper towels at home for cleaning, it is best to stop buying them now. Use old clothes instead. Cut them into towel-like shapes and stack them for cleaning your table, windows, and other parts of your home.
Overall, living in the Philippines isn’t expensive compared to other countries in Southeast Asia. If you know how to manage your finances, you can even put up an investment in buying affordable house and lot properties in the real estate market.
Lumina Homes, for one, provides housing packages suitable for minimum-wage income earners. Our affordable house and lot for sale units come with complete amenities in a master-planned residential community. We offer in-house, bank, and PAG-IBIG housing loan applications with flexible payment terms.
So, instead of paying monthly rent, get your own house and lot through Lumina Homes to manage the increasing cost of living expenses in the Philippines. Get in touch with our accredited Lumina seller today or book a home reservation for complete details of our housing packages.
