Retired in Mexico: A Detailed Look at Our Expenses

POSTED BY: QROO PAUL MAY 29, 2019

 Our Reoccurring Monthly Expenses

     1. Before moving to Mexico, we sold everything and used part of the money to buy a condo in a gated community. Condo prices start           around $175,000 USD.  

2. The maintenance fees pay for a full-time staff of around 35 employees made up of security guards, gardeners, maintenance workers, cleaning staff (for common areas) and an HOA manager to oversee it all. 

3. We use Telmex and the plan includes unlimited international calls to a long list of countries. Click HERE to see a list of the countries that are NOT included in that plan. 

4. Electricity can be expensive in Mexico, so we always monitor our usage closely. The amount shown in the chart was our monthly average from May-July. The most expensive electric bill that we have ever received was around $105 USD.

5. The cell phone plan is AT&T’s con Todo Damos Más Plan. It allows you to pay for 12 months and received 12 months free. Although we already paid for two years of service, we divided the amount over the term to show the impact on the monthly budget. The service includes unlimited calls and texts (Mexico, United States, and Canada) + 3 GB of data per phone (Facebook, Whatsapp, and Twitter do not count toward data usage). The phone service also works great when we travel back to the States.

6. Before moving to Mexico, we sold everything and used part of the money to buy a car.  

7. We have medical insurance through WEA. We chose a plan that does not include the United States (it’s much cheaper that way) with a $2,500 USD deductible. Since routine healthcare is not very expensive in Mexico, we generally pay for things out-of-pocket. 

Our Annual Expenses

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      8. This is for a shared policy that covers the entire complex that we live in (e.g. the structures and grounds). We elected not to get an          additional policy that covers the contents. We don’t have anything that isn’t replaceable. 

9. This is an annual fee to maintain a bank trust for the property.

What About Food, Gas Etc?

People often ask us about the cost of groceries, eating out, entertainment and even gasoline. I didn’t list those in the chart because they are all variable expenses that we can easily control by modifying our behavior.  We lump those all into the category of disposable monthly income.

For example, we can choose to splurge and stay at an all-inclusive resort for a few days and then get back on the budget by eating at inexpensive restaurants in the pueblo for a few days. Since many restaurants give us a locals discount, we have found that it’s often cheaper for us to eat out than cook at home.

Let’s Wrap This Up

People often ask me how much money they’ll need a month to live in Mexico. That magic number depends on three important factors: 1) where you want to live, 2) the amount of debt you have, and 3) the type of lifestyle you’re looking for.

In our case, we kept our monthly costs low by buying a modest car and condo when we moved. Since our reoccurring expenses are generally less than $600 USD a month, we have enough disposable income left over each month to live a very active retirement lifestyle (e.g. travel, eat out, visit local attractions, etc.).

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Mike C Beltran
"I´m never too busy for any of your referrals"

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