Most people start thinking about Mexico as a way to stretch their retirement budget. With time in Mexico, lower costs take a seat at the back of the bus, but for now I’d like to stick with exploring the original idea of Mexico, saving money.

In spite of grumbings I’ve begun to hear from snowbirds that “it’s not such a great deal anymore,” the current less favorable exchange rate and uptick in costs to rent and even dine out doesn’t begin to tell the story of why Mexico remains a lovely, much cheaper alternative to life in the US or Canada.

Although groceries aren’t quite the deal they were 10 years ago, prices are still less and the variety of produce excellent. Mexico controls prices on staples like beans, tortillas and eggs, and personal items like razor blades - any items listed in the canasta basica of any Mexican state.

If you go to the outdoor market, produce is probably 35% less, and items Mexico grows such as pineapples, avocados, papayas, mangoes, tomatoes and limes will seem dirt cheap. Freshly butchered chicken costs less. I bring home packages of filet mignons than run about about $7 dollars per steak. I don’t have to go the market myself. If I want, I can call and they’ll deliver the produce from the back of a motor scooter within the hour.

Healthcare in Mexico is so much less expensive. What you might pay for deductibles in the US might be more than what the whole procedure out of pocket might cost in Mexico. Routine needs are convenient. Each time I need a prescription, I stop by the consultario next to my pharmacy, pay $3 and in 15 minutes have my prescription. High quality dentistry is a fraction of the cost.

Should you buy a home, plumbers, electricians, housekeeping or services such a rug cleanings cost usually less $50 (I get several rugs cleaned every six months for 700 pesos, or $35 dollars, which includes pickup and delivery). If you rent long-term (over six months), you can find gorgeous furnished two bedroom apartments on or near the beach or “El Centro areas” (the historical tourist cultural zones) for under $1600 a month, something you’d not find anywhere at home for four times that.

Mexico’s lower cost of living doesn’t derive itself from only less expensive healthcare, housing and food. In time, you’ll notice yourself spending less. Why? Because Mexico’s culture isn’t driven by the most sophisticated, relentless marketing machine in the world like yours is. Marketing messages aren’t incessant - I haven’t seen a single ad from the backseat of a taxi nor had to endure one while attached to a gas pump. (In Mexico they still pump your gas).

The Top 10 most admired retailers in the U.S. aren’t admired for their level of service. They are admired because they sell a boat load of product, assisted by one-click buying and other mechanisms that make spending so effortless.

Out of the top 50 top retailers worldwide, only one is Mexican, (position 47th), FEMSA, the company that plants OXXO convenience stores on practically every corner of Mexico. Mexicans are ingenious in many things, but marketing is clearly not their jam, thank god. To illustrate my point, I will tell you my favorite story about typical Mexican marketing.

An expat friend of mine often went to the same store to buy a particular item she needed. Often they were out of it. She remarked to the owner that she loved the product. He told her he quit carrying it because he kept running out. He didn't like to disappoint his customers. That story, by the way, tells you a great deal about Mexico and Mexicans on many levels, not just their marketing.

Another cultural mechanism that saves you from your crazy spending self is that Mexico is still more of a cash country. Much less so than 15 years ago, but you still feel the difference it makes in the buying experience.

Many of my friends back home have started carrying a set amount of cash with them when they go out at night so that their expenditures will register after a few gin and tonics. Paying cash makes you more aware of your spending. Perhaps cash hangs on as a form of payment in Mexico because credit cards are harder to get, or because only 55% of Mexicans have bank accounts (compared to 96% in the US). To this day, some Mexicans still pay electric and water bills in person, in cash

True, many more vendors take credit cards now than when I arrived in 2014, but Uber and Didi drivers still prefer cash, and might drive away one they see on the app you plan to pay with a credit card. Tipping has to be in cash if you care that your server receives it. Small vendors of all types of goods prefer it, of course.

Outdoor produce markets and casual eateries only take cash. In my first year in Mexico, I continually came up short when I went out for the evening until I began carrying at least 500 more pesos than I anticipated spending. Until this year, I had to hit the ATM three times to get the cash I needed to pay rent, always with the same vague feelings of illiciteness. My hair salon only takes cash.

Do you impulse buy online? Online purchasing is growing among Mexicans but still nothing like the craziness you find in the U.S. (I remember having to navigate an apartment mailroom full of Amazon purchases in Denver). Selection on Amazon.mx or Mexico’s Mercado Libre is far thinner. Online shopping from other sites is fraught with hazards such as not receiving merchandise due to Mexico’s back-of-a-bike mail service and stricter refund and return policies.

Years ago in the US, I got scammed online. Not by any of the top online scams like the emotional message from Nigerian prince or the fake antivirus software alert, but rather by a face cream company. The company runs ads on the internet to send you a free sample, saying you only need to pay the shipping. That’s how they get your credit card number. When you check the box thinking you’re agreeing to the shipping cost, you are actually agreeing to let them send you their expensive product monthly at the end of the “trial period. Predictibly, it’s hard to cancel.

This never would have happened in Mexico, where I limit my online buying to a few trusted sites. Sheer laziness prevails. The extra step of having to translate product descriptions and reviews from Spanish tends to take some the wind out of the sails of personal commerce.

Bots have generally been described as a positive development; answering routine inquiries and saving time (money) for companies. People won’t be able to abuse the poor $15 an-hour customer service people anymore.

The bad news is that bots add a whole new layer between the consumer and the companies we are giving our money to. We won’t be able to talk to any real people, period, anywhere in the loop, at any point of the purchasing cycle.

Bots seem to be much less a part of my life as a consumer in Mexico. Buying remains more personal and gratifying. You’re more likely to see the face of the vendor. Businesses remain people-intensive. Mexico is all about employing as many people as possible.

You will notice how many more people serve you at the car wash, the coffee kiosk, a restaurant or the department store. Mexico throws people, not technology, at its points-of-sale. You’re not likely to be able to pull your own draft of beer in a bar in Mexico anytime soo ((like you can in some Denver bars)

Those who whine that their restaurant meal may cost more than it used to or that an Air BnB rental isn’t so cheap anymore (the most expensive way to secure a place in Mexico), see only the most superficial aspects of what things cost in Mexico. For the rest of us, Mexico is an on-going, near daily, sigh of relief.

About the author:

I'm Kerry Baker, a partner for Ventanas Mexico and the author of "If Only I Had a Place" for aspiring expats planning their first long-term stays in Mexico.

My third book is “The Mexico Solution: Saving your money, sanity, and quality of life through part-time life in Mexico.” Most recently I co-authored The Lazy Expat: Healthy Recipes That Translate in Mexico for expats, snowbirds and travelers seeking to eat healthy in Mexico

Ventanas Mexico

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