Job Discussion Forums

[BLAH]

i was just wondering if anybody in latin america is saving any money. i have read so many posts on this site about low pay. is it all true? i am trying to come down to chile with aboud 3,000$. how is the cost of living compared to the wages being paid? i used to live in costa rica, and it was cheap. i heard that costa, equador, and chile are the most expensive latin american countries. i just want to know some average wages from different people and what the rent is like and all that stuff.

[Justin Trullinger]

Where I am, at least, it's not so much exactly low salaries as weak economies.

I would never call my salary low, because, within the local economy, it isn't. I eat out when I want, go out when I want, travel (within the country)whenever I have time off, and live in a fairly big apartment, fairly near the center of town. I know I probably wouldn't manage all of this on a teacher's salary "back home."

Saving money, though, depends on your standards. I have a healthy amount of savings by the standards of the local economy. Which is to say, roughly enough to do an MA, take a long vacation, buy a motorcycle, or, perhaps in another couple of years, make a down payment on a small property. (Not near the center of town. Not in the capital city at all.)

However, if I were to take these savings back to a principal city in my country of origin, they would be, if I was lucky, enough for the first month's rent on a small, disagreeable apartment. At best.

The problem isn't really the wages, exactly. It's the issue of "dual economy lifestyle." In the economy where you live, south american teaching salaries are pretty decent, at least compared to what other people earn here. But they still represent practically nothing in the context of your "home country," in many cases.

Regards,
Justin

[Guy Courchesne]

It can take awhile to get to the point where you are saving. It's always a big bite at first paying for a flight, an apartment (security deposits, etc), and finding the cheaper spots to eat and methods of travel. Took me about 6 months before I was saving anything, and even now 5 years later, I'm not saving all that much.

[ls650]

I would be able to save a few thousand dollars a year if I didn't fly back to Canada every six month to visit family and friends. Last Christmas I warned everyone I wasn't flying north in July because I want to buy a motorcycle.

[entitynine]

I did some research on cost of living in Latin America. San Jose was more expensive than Oklahoma City. So if someone tells you someplace is cheap or expensive, take into account where they are from

[denise]

$3000 should be enough to get by on at first in Chile. You could pay your first month`s rent and a deposit, travel around a bit while looking for a job, etc. But... do you have a return ticket, or access to enough money for one, just in case you need to go back? Have you taken, or set aside money for, a TEFL course? If you`ve got those things taken care of and you find a job within a couple of weeks (there are loads of schools, so it shouldn`t be too hard), you should be OK. Once you start earning money, you can expect anywhere from $800 to maybe $1200 per month. Enough to live on down there, travel around, enjoy yourself, etc., but not really enough to allow for savings.

d

[naturegirl321]

[Justin Trullinger]

That would be local.

[MELEE]

During the first year I didn't save any money, there were too many start up costs. Years two to five, I went home twice a year, and went on pretty big shopping sprees while I was there, and still had a hard time keeping the money from piling up! I saved about 2000 US a year during that time, in a US bank, I've since brought that money back to Mexico. In year six I got married and built a house. In year seven I had twins, I'm just about to reach my 8th aniversary in Mexico and my expenses are almost equal to my income, but my mortage payments are about twice what I'd pay for rent in my city, but I'll have it paid off in another three years. Hopefully my husband will finally have reached the end of his studies around that time and we'll have a lot more income too.

[FreddyM]

I've managed to save up about $48,000 pesos working for 9 months in Mexico City, taking home about $6,000 pesos cash a month, plus another $1300 in vales (coupons). I actually have a stack of those vales in my drawer that are worth over $3,000 pesos.

Of course, I don't pay any rent since I live with relatives, nor any utilities, hardly ever pay for food except when I eat out. The school feeds me during work hours. My only real expense is transportation, which averages out to a little over 20 pesos a day. Ironically, with all the cash I've stashed away, I still had to borrow money for the combi and metro this morning cuz I ran out of coins, and didn't have time to go to the bank or ATM yesterday.

I've paid a horrendous price to be able to do this however, living with relatives means having super long and uncomfortable commutes to work. By July I hope to move out on my own to the city, to shorten my commute. My expenses will skyrocket. My income is expected to rise as well, but I still hope to be able to save up about $3,000 or $4,000 pesos a month even after paying for semi-decent housing, food, utilities, etc...
So, it's doable, even on a very low salary if you sacrifice a lot and try to figure out how to not spend much money at all.
You're never gonna get rich here teaching however. I really needed to build up a little bit of a back-up fund however before I struck out on my own. A lot of my savings will evaporate quickly since I own no furniture or appliances.

[delacosta]

As some of the other posters have said, the only way I started to save money was when I stopped going back to Canada, starting after year 3. I did manage to save about half of my monthly salary but always blew it all going home.
Since then I've been able to save about 5000 pesos a month which goes, along with an equal amount from my wife, towards paying off our house. We will be in the clear soon. I know I wouldn't have been able to own a house and be debt free in Canada in under 3 years.
We are set to make a payment this July when we get refunded our university saving's plan( which is a great tool for enforcing savings, 15% is deducted monthly from our pay and returned after accumulating for a year in July). I'm concerned that there's going to be a devaluation right around that time, as it's just after the election. I would love to see L�pez Obrador win (seeing the Mandoki video pretty much convinced me), but if he does, I think there will be at least a temporary fall in the peso.

[Justin Trullinger]

Hey, ls650-
How much do motorcycles run in Mexico? This is a big downside to Ecuador...they NEVER seem to drop in value...no matter how badly they get torn up.

My needs are simple- something 550 to 650cc, prefer two cylinder four stroke. Condition doesn't matter if it's pre-1990, which is about when the mechanics get too complicated for me.

Here in Ecuador, that would be $4000 to $5000, which is too much in local terms. The only bike I've ever seen for less than a grand was a 1970s Yahama 250 offroad.

It's the only thing I hate about Ecuador...


Justin

[ls650]

Look at www.mercadolibre.com.mx for some idea as to used prices. You'll see what people are asking (whether they get those prices, I dunno).

It's hard for me to comment on the used bike market, as here are the coast it's actually quite difficult to find a used motorcycle: people will usually run a vehicle into the ground before they sell it.

[MELEE]

LS,
If you're ever up this way, I can introduce you to a great bike mechanic, he also sells, ummmm, "rebuilt bikes". He and his brothers who live in Mexico City have a "buisness". They send him used bike parts and he "rebuilds" them and then they resell them...

You can pretty much name your price with them.