It's All Relative

Last week when I was pissing and moaning about my current electric bill -- about $100, no a/c, fans only running 24/7, about double what I pay in winter when the fans are off -- I ran across an article on Marketwatch about expats living in Belize.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/to-hell-with-it-she-ditched-canada-at-56-for-belize-where-couples-get-everything-you-could-imagine-for-under-50000-a-year-2019-09-05?mod=MW_home_top_stories

A highlight of the article was this list of expenses for living in Belize:

International Living magazine estimates that, if you’re frugal, you can get by on $2,000 a month. Sample monthly expenses might include:
• Rent: $850
• Electricity: $250
• Water: $35
• Cellphone: $50
• Internet and land line: $35
• Cable TV: $24
• Transportation: $50
• Gym membership: $100
• Food: $600
• TOTAL: $1,994
Source: International Living

Using the above categories, I tallied my average monthly expenses (no gym membership for me, I walk every morning).  Surprise!  My expenses came to about 1/2 of the frugal living in Belize total.  Seems I had nothing to bitch about after all.

Penny Pincher