Cost of Living in Quezon City (Philippines)

Greetings!

When we start attending school we were immediately thought about the three (3) basic needs of a human being, they are food (including water), clothing, and shelter. These are the things that experts are saying that must be met in order for a human to live decently in a given period of time. Sometimes air is included in the list, making it four (4). But we are not going to talk about air because it is free. We are going to be talking about food, clothing, and shelter since they are the ones that most of the time need to be paid for or bought.

Income or salary goes hand in hand with the cost of living. Your lifestyle is dictated by your income or salary. It is your income or salary that you use to buy food and clothing. Your income or salary is the one that you use to buy or rent a house. But an income or a salary is not always proportional to the cost of living because an income or salary varies with individuals.

With that said we are here to discuss the cost of living that we are currently experiencing at the moment. As for me, I am living in Quezon City, the biggest city (by land area) in my country, the Philippines.

I'll be giving you a glance at how the cost of living differentiates before and after the pandemic in the city that I live in. Let's start by differentiating the prices of basic commodities...


1 kilo of Pork before pandemic = PHP 210 (about 4.3 USD) - this is average


1 kilo of Pork during pandemic (today) = PHP 355 (about 7.1 USD) - this is average


Let's take a look at the price of pork before and after the pandemic. Before the pandemic, the average price of one kilo of pork is PHP 210, during pandemic (today) the average price of one kilo of pork is PHP 355. That's an increase of PHP 145 (about 2.9 USD).

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1 kilo of Special Rice before pandemic = PHP 50 (about 1 USD)


1 kilo of Special Rice during pandemic (today) = PHP 52 (about 1.04 USD)


Let's take a look at one of the most important necessities in my country, rice. Rice is eaten in my country three times a day. Before the pandemic, one kilo of special rice is at PHP 50 and during the pandemic (today) it is at PHP 52, an increase of PHP 2 (about 0.04 USD).

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1 kilo of Chicken before pandemic = PHP 170 (about 3.4 USD) - this is average


1 kilo of Chicken during pandemic (today) = PHP 190 (about 3.8 USD) - this is average


Another commodity that is worth mentioning when talking about the cost of living is the price of chicken. Before the pandemic, its price is at PHP 170 and during the pandemic (today) it is now priced at PHP 190 an increase of PHP 20 (about 0.4 USD).

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1 kilo of White Sugar before pandemic = PHP 50 (about 1 USD)


1 kilo of White Sugar during pandemic (today) = PHP 50 (about 1 USD)


Sugar is also one of the most common commodities that is always being watched and one of the commodities where experts based their opinion on the cost of living. Before the pandemic, it is priced at PHP 50 (about 1 USD) and during the pandemic (today) it is still at PHP 50 (about 1 USD). Although it got as high as PHP 65 (about 1.3 USD) between a period of 11 months it managed to get back to its original price as of today.

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1 kilo of Tomato before pandemic = PHP 40 (about 0.8 USD)


1 kilo of Tomato during pandemic (today) = PHP 30 (about 0.6 USD)


Last, but not least, let's take a look at the price of one of the most common vegetables on my country's dining table, Tomato. Before the pandemic, it is priced at PHP 40 per kilo (about 0.8 USD) and its price during the pandemic is at PHP 30 (about 0.6 USD).

Looking at the price of tomatoes, all is not lost since the price of pork and chicken have increased during the pandemic. A sign of relief that not all commodities' prices have risen can be expected because a commodity like a tomato has decreased in price.

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Now that we have an idea of the prices of some of the basic commodities in the city that I live in let's further discuss the cost of living based on my experiences before and during the pandemic


We are a family of four, me, my wife, and my two sons (a 15 years old, and a toddler still feeding in a bottle of milk). We are renting a studio type of house. We are paying monthly bills for electricity, water, and the internet.

On food, our daily expenses are about PHP 350 (7 USD), snacks included, that's PHP 3,500 per month (70 USD). My son's milk is priced at PHP 1,500 per month (30 USD). Our electricity bill is about PHP 600 (12 USD), our water bill is about PHP 150 (3 USD), our internet bill is about PHP 2000 (40 USD). Our house monthly rent is PHP 4000 (80 USD). My wife would go to a grocery once a month with a budget of PHP 3000 (60 USD).

If you sum it all up, our expenses per month are about PHP 14,750 (295 USD). That's the average cost of living for a family of four like me (in Quezon City) today. That cost of living could only go up (not go down) most of the time because of unforeseen circumstances like riding on a taxi if it is raining. Medicine expenses are not included. Vitamins expenses are also not included.

Taking into account the computation that I made on my family's cost of living of today (during a pandemic) we can easily determine the cost of living of my family before the pandemic by looking back at the prices of the commodities that I discussed earlier in this article.

With that said it is safe to say that the cost of living before the pandemic is less low than today (during a pandemic), which is become higher after a period of 1 year and 1 month.

Just like I said, with or without pandemics, the cost of living could only go higher. That's what I learned beginning from the day that I understand what I read, hear, and watch to the daily news.

And that's the cost of living in Quezon City for a family of four like me. How about yours?

Until next time. Keep safe!



I am an I.T. professional (Computer Engineer) working in a private company, a blogger, a father, and a husband.


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