Static Major Unreleased Easy Come Easy Go
Well, it didn't necessarily come easy–I worked most of my life to earn that generous government pension. Now my only job is to spend it wisely and make sure the money doesn't run out before I do. I do maintain and loosely follow a budget, and most months I'm able to stick a few dollars in my savings account for a rainy day. Which is not to say I don't occasionally go on a bit of a spending spree. Take yesterday as an example.
I did my weekly grocery shopping at Royal as usual. Total came to 9500 pesos (I use a 50 peso to the dollar as my rule of thumb conversion). I paid my driver 1200 pesos for his vehicle and time.
A friend has an ill and elderly father hospitalized in a city several hours from her. I sent her 7500 pesos so she could pay him a visit. I remembered how much it meant to my mother when I came home a couple of weeks before she died.
I gave my regular weekly stipend of 2000 pesos to the woman whose family I've "adopted" since her American ex-husband died and the support money he sent to feed his three kids ended.
I heard from another young woman who advised that school is starting next week and she needs to purchase uniforms for her two kids. She said she was willing to "work" for it and since she asked so nicely, I agreed. I paid her 3500 pesos for her efforts.
Later in the afternoon, I headed out to Alley Cats for the dart tournament. We played doubles again and for the second time in a row, I drew Anabelle as my partner. I wasn't expecting much because there were some very strong teams in the mix, but to my surprise, we made it through the winner's bracket undefeated.
Over the course of the evening, I bought two beer cards for me and several lady drinks for my partner, Anabelle. When it came time to pay the tab I owed 2100 pesos.
After darts, I hoofed it over to Sit-n-Bull for a late dinner.
The fish and chips were 350 pesos. I also got the last pecan pie available for another 350. I had the pie boxed up for take-out. Adding in the beer I enjoyed with my meal and a generous tip, my dinner excursion set me back an even 1000 pesos.
I took a trike ride home for 100 pesos. Got inside the house and realized that I had left my bag with the pecan pie inside the trike. Damn it! I was so craving that pie last night. Ate some rocky road ice cream instead, but it didn't make me feel any better about my lost pie opportunity.
So, let's total up how much my Tuesday set me back–hmm, 26,900 or $512.00. More than usual, but really not so bad considering the special circumstances I dealt with throughout the day. When I go out at night, I carry 5000 pesos with me. Most nights I don't spend half of that. At this rate, I reckon I can keep on living large for the foreseeable future. My only real concerns are continued inflation and a fear that Brandon will cause the dollar to crash with his irresponsible policies. Since I've been coming to the PI I've seen the exchange rate as low as 42. Anything 50 or above I'm good. Now, obviously, I can cut way back on my frivolous spending habits (no lady drinks would cut my bar tab in half) but hopefully, it will never come to that.
So, there you have a snapshot of what it costs me to live here. YMMV. Of course, everything is relative. The beer that cost me six bucks a bottle in Korea is less than $1.50 here in most bars. I'm living a lot better here on a pension than I could there. But damn, sometimes I do miss those Korean sweeties.
Source: https://mccrarey.com/easy-come-easy-go/
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