I Moved to the Philippines at 68. Here’s What It Actually Costs Me to Live Here

I moved to the Philippines at 68 with what I thought was a realistic retirement plan: live comfortably on about $1,200 a month. Six months later, I checked my expenses and discovered I'd spent almost $1,900 — and I wasn't living in a beachfront condo, owning a car, or taking luxury vacations. So where was the extra money going? In this story, I break down the expenses I never properly planned for: air-conditioning, groceries, imported food, transportation, visa extensions, medication, eating out, dating, helping people, household expenses, and all the little things that don't make it into those simple “retire cheaply in the Philippines” budgets. I even spent one month deliberately trying to get back to my original $1,200 budget. What I learned wasn't that living cheaply in the Philippines is impossible. It was that there is a big difference between how cheaply you **can** live and how much it costs to build a life you actually enjoy. If you're considering retiring or moving to the Philippines, what monthly budget would make **you** comfortable? Would you rather live very simply for $1,200–$1,400 a month, or spend more for air-conditioning, travel, restaurants and extra comfort? Share your thoughts in the comments. #Philippines #Retirement #ExpatLife # CHAPTERS 00:00 My $1,200 Philippines retirement plan 00:56 Six months later — nearly $1,900 05:05 The expense I never budgeted for 08:10 My 30-day $1,200 experiment 09:32 Trying to save on air-conditioning 11:22 When saving started affecting my life 14:07 What I actually spent 14:49 Finding my real retirement budget 16:52 Why cheap retirement budgets can fail 19:25 The number that worked for me 20:49 What I told another retiree 22:26 What I finally learned