Cost of Living...

Hi all. Lesley here. It's a quiet Tuesday night, all the kid's homework is done and Dean and I sit in our living room, computing, and waiting to go to bed, probably around 9pm.  No downpours today, but still fairly cool, nice breeze.  Temp sits roughly at 28 right now, but feels like 32.  We laugh at ourselves honestly, when we can join the locals in saying it feels "cool" today!  haha. When the sun comes out, that's when it really heats up.  Muggy and heavy all the time.

I thought it might be interesting for some of you to know some of the costs we've encountered here, for a relative comparison to your lives.  We are of course, renting one side of a large home for $500 a month, and we have just paid our first electricity bill, which was $110 for just over a month.  That was running one aircon pretty much everynight, and just lights.  There is no water heater, and the cooking stove is propane.  I don't think that's too bad.

We're paying our helper about $40 a week to feed us suppers  and to pick up miscellaneous household and/or some snack items we may need.  $40 seems to cover all that.  We usually get other food on the weekends, and pick up some small things during the week, and lunches are included at our school (I LOVE not having to make lunches everyday!)  Last month, our whole grocery bill was just well under $400.  We eat out about once a week.  

We bought bikes for about $40 each.  THey are tourist-type bikes, complete with baskets, and fenders.  They are used, from Japan which is supposedly better than buying never from Cambodia.

There are no copyright laws here in Cambodia, so we can get bootlegged movies for $2 or so.  They are usually terrible quality and not enjoyable.  Apparently there are better copies around, but we've had not alot of luck.  There are no theatres here to go see a movie.  I don't have time to watch movies--no matter what time we put them on, I'm asleep within the first 5 minutes. Getting old(er)!

We had to pay $15 for Julia's school supplies fee, and Steph needed a few things, which came to$38.  Most stationary here fairly cheap.  Our cel phones (one of which has either been lost (my opinion) or stolen (Dean's opinion--it was his) already) were $45 then you buy time.  $10 had lasted me weeks, until I accidentally called Canada direct, and within a few minutes, my last $5 was eaten up.  In comparison, you can go to an internet phone place, and pay just 4500 riels roughly for an hour!  (4000 riels =$1US)

Dean got Steph's moto helmet fixed (missing a screw) today for 500 riels (for you math guru's, that's only 12 or so cents.)  He's also had other repairs on his bike for those kinds of fees.  

The kids buy a decent sized bag of kettle popcorn from a vendor that stations himself wisely outside the school gate daily, for 500 riels each.  That's a sweet deal, so long as we don't get sick.  The popcorn is really yummy.  From school I can walk down to the local "show" mart (like a 7/11) that by cambodia standards is probably a very expensive little corner store, but I can get a cold can of coke for 40 cents, and sprite is $.35.  Other pop is more expensive--I won't always buy Dr. Pepper for the kids cuz it's $.85! haha

We have 4 house fans, each cost us about $11 each.  They are super cheap, but do the job.  We could stick our fingers between the metal to the blade, but that's besides the point!  

Coffee's at a nice little joint will run between $1-2, depending what you want.  You can pay $2-$3 for nice frapuccino type drinks.  But no mega sizes here like Starbucks VEnti--everything is more reasonable that way.  Lots of iced coffee's--that's actually easier to get and order than regular hot coffee.  Wonder why???

We can get a 12 pack of bottled water for $1 at our top of the street store.  But a 24 cans of coke, for that flat it's $6 plus dollars.  I think that's outrageous!  I'm on a quest to find one for $5.  We have a water cooler in our house, that the huge refill jugs cost just over 75 cents each, and they deliver/replace each saturday.  I have no idea how much they are in Canada--(Cindy, you would know) but that's a good deal for clean water out here.  

Eating out can be cheap, but can be pricy too, especially with a family of 5, or depending what you consider pricy.  A decently priced restaurant will have an entree for $4-$5.  We've seen menus that are close to $10 a dish, and some for $3 for a plate.  There is no distinction between lunch and supper menus, so it's no cheaper to eat out at any time of the day.  IF we get a dinner out, with beverages for our whole family for $30 or under, we think we've done pretty good.  In the $20's is prefered.  

TukTuk transportation is costing us a fair bit on weekends, when we go places together, run errands, church, that sort of thing.  We can pay up to $15 for various trips.  The pricing is so dependant on guesswork, but does involve how far you go, how long the driver waits for you, how many people in the tuk tuk (for some reason).  I'm pretty good at estimating what it wi.ll be.  A few hours of errands can run us $5, maybe $6. If we have a driver that we know, that we like (and we have a few) that we've been able to call and book, and they pick us up at the house, I like to pay them fairly.  If it's the joe's that are waiting outside a tourist spot, just trying to nab a fair, we negotiate right upfront, and I aim as low as possible.  You usually get what you pay for.  

We paid $15 for a medical visit at a clinic.  Then, I bought some acetaminophen for Maya (suspended) which came in a glass bottle, no childproof cap--just a 200 ml deal, and they charged me $2.  Suspended child stuff is apparently hard to find.  SHe's had her fair share of fevers since we got here, so it's good to have on hand.

I hope I'm not boring you.  The last price info I wanted to share, shamefully, are the costs of the "treats."  We found a nice massage place, clean, cool and good reputation, not far from our house.  A one hour khmer body massage OR a one hour foot massage is a whopping $6.  I've had a pedicure for $4 at a very nice place.  Kids were $3 there.  That's the same place I plan to go for a $3 haircut, and $3 head massage.  Our friends went for a $1 haircut close to school and were very pleased with the results.  Although, they did have to page through a magazine to choose the "style" they wanted, which was full of asian do's, so they finally simpley asked for a "trim."  Quite a funny story.  Kind, sweet Khmer girls at those massage places, and it's a pretty nice atmosphere to work in considering the other potential jobs, smells, and messes they might have to clean up in other occupations.  How much money could they actually be making???  IT's crazy.

Finally, I hope you enjoyed my play on words.  THe Cost of Living....

Mark 8:35  "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it." Another version says, "If you insist on saving your life you will loose it.  Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live."  (Thanks James & Cheryl!)

I had a pretty low bottoming out last week--both spritual, I could tell, and a naggingbut thankfully minor physical illness--just not at the top of my game.  Don't really want to go back that place any time soon, but it's a good reminder I'm not here on my own strength--I can't be.  Hey, None of us can do anything in our own strength. We just think we can. So, the Refiner is good and he's working overtime in Cambodia!  And we're really living!

Love to yous all!

L
:)