Cost of living in Argentina for foreigners improving?

[Rich One]

We are always talking in USD.

Correct . However most expats quote supermarket price changes in pesos. Rarely they convert to dollars at the Blue FX of the dates observed, to be precise.

A week ago I got $1561 pesos from WU today it's $1461, So in dollars prices went up more than 6%. Without taking into account seasonal variations, like lettuce.

 

[steveinbsas]

Correct . However most expats quote supermarket price changes in pesos. Rarely they convert to dollars at the Blue FX of the dates observed, to be precise.

A week ago I got $1561 pesos from WU today it's $1461, So in dollars prices went up more than 6%. Without taking into account seasonal variations, like lettuce.

The daily cost of everything that I eat and drink has been almost exactly $13.000 for some time (at least several months). That includes all the eggs, chicken, and butter that I have the desire to eat, as well as all of the bottled water, coffee, and milk that I have the desire to drink. If I eat roast beef twice a month, my average daily cost increases to $1.3333.

At the lower exchange rate it costs roughly $9.50 USD per day to fully satisfy my apetite. At the higher rate it's close to $9.00 USD.

PS: I am paying $3,000 pesos per kilo for the chicken, $11.000 per kilo for the roast beef, $2.690 for 200 grams of butter, $1.300 for a litro of milk, and $260 pesos per litro of water. I calculate the cost of the Nescafe instant coffee to be less than $1.000 per day. The cost of the grasa bovino which I use to cook the eggs is insignificant and is the cost of the pinches of salt that I use to season the eggs and the chicken.

PS2: Two months ago the chicken wings cost $3.200 per kilo, so there's a slight reducction.

Eggs have remained the same price for most of the year: $15.000 for 5 dozen (a two week supply). I buy the milk and the coffee on Mercado Libre, as the prices are lower than in the supermarkets here and I like recieveing two boxes of 12 litros of milk delivered directly to my door.

 

[Rich One]

Correct . However most expats quote supermarket price changes in pesos. Rarely they convert to dollars at the Blue FX of the dates observed, to be precise.

A week ago I got $1561 pesos from WU today it's $1461, So in dollars prices went up more than 6%. Without taking into account seasonal variations, like lettuce.

The daily cost of everything that I eat and drink has been almost exactly $13.000 for some time (at least several months). That includes all the eggs, chicken, and butter that I have the desire to eat, as well as all of the bottled water, coffee, and milk that I have the desire to drink. If I eat roast beef twice a month, my average daily cost increases to $1.3333.

At the lower exchange rate it costs roughly $9.50 USD per day to fully satisfy my apetite. At the higher rate it's close to $9.00 USD.

PS: I am paying $3,000 pesos per kilo for the chicken, $11.000 per kilo for the roast beef, $2.690 for 200 grams of butter, $1.300 for a litro of milk, and $260 pesos per litro of water. I calculate the cost of the Nescafe instant coffee to be less than $1.000 per day. The cost of the grasa bovino which I use to cook the eggs is insignificant and is the cost of the pinches of salt that I use to season the eggs and the chicken.

PS2: Two months ago the chicken wings cost $3.200 per kilo, so there's a slight reducction.

Eggs have remained the same price for most of the year: $15.000 for 5 dozen (a two week supply). I buy the milk and the coffee on Mercado Libre, as the prices are lower than in the supermarkets here and I like recieveing two boxes of 12 litros of milk delivered directly to my door.

Excellent data in pesos as sold by supermarkets here. The dollar price equivalents depend on the dollar rate on that date. Also your pricing in Bahia Blanca? may be very different than our Disco super in Recoleta.

 

[steveinbsas]

Excellent data in pesos as sold by supermarkets here. The dollar price equivalents depend on the dollar rate on that date. Also your pricing in Bahia Blanca? may be very different than our Disco super in Recoleta.

I buy the eggs from the wholesale supplier through a friend in Punta Alta. They are extra large and are individually hand stamped with the date. The yokes are as orange as the full moon rising over the unobstructed horizon in front of my house.

I buy the chicken wings (always frozen immediately after being "processed") from a small polleria in Villa Arias, and I buy the butter, roast beef, and the grasa bovino from the Cooperativa Obrera (supermarket in Punta Alta). The Nescafe instant coffee (170gr.) on Mercado Libre is about $7.000 and over $10.000 ar the Cooperativa.

I haven't bought any groceries in Bahía Blanca in over five years.

 

[Rich One]

I buy the eggs from the wholesale supplier through a friend in Punta Alta. They are extra large and are individually hand stamped with the date. The yokes are as orange as the full moon rising over the unobstructed horizon in front of my house.

I buy the chicken wings (always frozen immediately after being "processed") from a small polleria in Villa Arias, and I buy the butter, roast beef, and the grasa bovino from the Cooperativa Obrera (supermarket in Punta Alta). The Nescafe instant coffee (170gr.) on Mercado Libre is about $7.000 and over $10.000 ar the Cooperativa.

I haven't bought any groceries in Bahía Blanca in over five years.

Sorry, I had forgotten about your exact location..!

 

[steveinbsas]

Sorry, I had forgotten about your exact location..!

No hay de que, Rich. Your memory is fine. Since moving Villa General Arias in 2010, I often mentioned that I shopped in Bahía Blanca on a regular basis, almost always when I had to go to the bank. My last grocery run to Wal-mart was just before the c-19 lockdowns of 2020.

Since then, online banking has improved greatly and trips to the bank are now very rare. Also, since I started the Keto diet in 2021 and then the carnivor diet in 2022, there is norhing I consume that I can't get much closer to home, and there's no financial advantage in shopping elsewhere, but I haven't made that point before.