How to Live like a King on 150 USD a Month in Latin America

Quite often, you will see articles online or Youtube videos telling folks that they can live like a KING for 1,000 USD a month or less in Latin America.

Or East Asia, Eastern Europe…

Shit, maybe Africa too.

Well, I already wrote my thoughts on that – this article here that describes how much I have been spending down here.

And also this article here giving tips on how to lower your cost of living down in Latin America.

However, I feel I might as well give a blueprint for how to live cheaply down here – an actual budget.

You see, all those folks telling you that you can live like a king down here for 1,000 USD a month are BULLSHIT.

Why?

Because they obviously are a bunch of pussies who live in Polanco or some shit…

And never leave their high life neighborhoods.

So here I will tell you the real secret – how to live down here on just 150 bucks a month!

While living like a KING.

Well, since we are talking about Latin America….

A REY!

Un rey?

Anyway, let’s break down the budget!

Rent

So if we are living down here on just 150 USD a month…

We have options for our rent.

Not too many options…

But some good ones nonetheless.

First, we can choose to live in a Latin city that most people haven’t heard of.

Or a small town.

If we go for a small town, we can probably get a place that is very cheap.

I did some research now…

Would you like to live in your own little village by the sea?

Well, maybe not next to the sea but next to one of the biggest rivers of Latin America – Rio Orinoco!

Then try Puerto Paez!

Now, now….

I know half of you are thinking “where?!?”

You all need to leave your Cancun – there’s more to Latin America!

Puerto Paez…

A nice quiet town of immense beauty close to the water in Venezuela!

That’s right – Venezuela!

Now don’t believe the hype – Venezuela isn’t as dangerous as they say.

Sure, you might hear the occasional gunshot outside your window every so often and perhaps get mugged a few times a week…

But it’s cool!

They got these dope ass arepas – taste great!

And with 5,321 people living in Puerto Paez – you will have hundreds of hot sexy Venezuelan chicas all ready to fuck.

All to yourself as well by the way – ain’t no gringo competition in this part of the world.

And I’m sure you can get a place to rent over there that costs maybe 50 bucks a month.

I remember when I was in Pachuca, Mexico, rent for normal rooms was as low as around 40 to 60 bucks a month depending on the neighborhood.

Another great place to live also!

A little bit bigger too since it’s a city and closer to the US.

Here’s a screenshot of a room below for only about 55 bucks more or less in Pachuca.

And here’s a place in another Mexican city called Culiacan for only about 85 bucks.

Which is a great area by the way with lots of safety as you can see in this video below here.

And if you can get that in Pachuca or Culiacan – shit, you can probably get a room for maybe even 20 bucks in Puerto Paez, Venezuela!

Since it’s only a small town of 5,000 plus people!

Now keep in mind also that Latin America is full of non touristy cities that are that cheap and also small isolated towns in the middle of nowhere!

Shit, forget about towns also – if you really want to experience Latin America….

And find yourself a tradwife as I wrote about here….

Then go to a village!

Just take a trip to the town of San Borja in Bolivia and maybe you can move into any of the nearby villages.

I’m sure they will let you in!

Maybe….

Here’s a video of it anyway.

Anyhow, I remember when I visited some rural village areas in Chiapas years ago as I wrote here…

I learned a lot of the folks made their own homes and didn’t owe rent to anyone.

Now is that a way to save money or what?

But let’s say that this isn’t for your tastes…

You don’t want an isolated village or town to live in?

A city like Pachuca but much bigger?

Well, a place like Mexico City is going to be hard for your 150 dollar budget.

But we have options…

First is to increase the budge by another 50 bucks to 200 dollars more or less.

That is because the cheapest rental I have seen in recent months in CDMX was a room for about 2,000 pesos or 100 bucks near Metro CU.

It looked like a shitty option but it’s possible.

Otherwise, you would have to get a shared room with someone and might be able to keep things under 150 in total as there is the occasional shared room in Mexico City that charge maybe 1,600 pesos at cheapest or 80 bucks roughly.

Funny enough, in all seriousness, the cheapest room for rent that I ever saw in Mexico City was a few years ago when someone posted an offer on a site called Roomgo if I remember right.

It was located in Tepito – famously known as one of the more dangerous neighborhoods of Mexico City and you can see in this video below.

Well, the room itself wasn’t much of a room – it literally had only enough space for the mattress that was on the ground.

And it was a small mattress.

No room for belongings or suitcases or bags or anything.

Barely any room for your feet even as the mattress looked like it took up the whole room.

Bed bugs included?

Maybe if you’re lucky as I was once some odd months ago…. 

No bathroom in the building either.

Nor a kitchen.

Price?

Literally just 500 pesos from what I remember – 25 bucks!

So if you are interested in a room that looks like some heroin addicts dream in a neighborhood where you might get shot at a few times…

This place is for you!

On the plus side, I’m sure the professional hoes by the corner are cheaper there if you are into that.

5 bucks for some ass anytime so we are already saving some money!

Not encouraging it but just sayin….

Plus the drugs – if you are into that – got to be cheap there also.

My boy Hunter B. goes there all the time!

Anyway, jokes aside…

Price for rent then on our luxurious 150 budget?

I think 50 is reasonable given the wide variety of places we can live in…

From drug addict looking rooms in dangerous neighborhoods in Mexico City….

To non-touristy cities like Pachuca to small towns and maybe even villages!

And keep in mind that the 50 will cover utilities also in a place like Pachuca actually.

So let’s move on…

Rent: 50 Bucks

Food

Food?

Well, we are going to have to be on a diet.

Which is good for our health!

I’m going to give us 60 bucks for food.

I had an ex girlfriend who used to do…

And she was fine!

Our diet will have to consist of high quality foods in reasonable portions – mac and cheese boxes that cost 1 dollar a box.

If you eat 2 of those every day, that will keep us at 60 bucks!

But let’s say you want to change it up every so often…

Well, you can always get 4 small tacos for 5 pesos a piece!

Or, depending on your neighborhood, you might even find a place offering 5 tacos for 4 pesos a piece!

When I lived near Metro CU, they had one place like that actually in CDMX.

Other street food options will be helpful here also.

If my ex girlfriend could do it in Mexico City, so can you!

Food: 60 Bucks

Drinkable Water

Given the tightening budget…

We might have to make a minor sacrifice here.

Normally we could probably get enough drinkable water for maybe 20 bucks a month.

So that’s an option.

Or we can simply pour some water into a pot and boil it so it becomes drinkable!

No water fees here.

We got to save that for the chicas!

Water: 0 Bucks

Chicas

This is where living like a king comes in.

We already have a fancy place in Tepito, CDMX or Puerto Paez, Venezuela…

Now we need chicas.

So let’s say you take your shot at Tinder hoes for free.

And you get some pussy now and then…

Do the usual “take them to a park, then back to your place to see if they are down to fuck” strategy.

Works half the time.

Chica costs: 0 Bucks

Liquor

Given our budget, we are going to have to go for the cheapest liquor possible.

Now, I remember some Mexican chick told me that there is some cheap brand of liquor that costs like 25 pesos or something.

I forgot what it is called.

But, in Mexico, we do have Oso Negro!

Vodka bottle of 1 liter for 5 bucks!

I actually do drink it since I drink it a lot anyway.

And it tastes fine though literally everyone I know says it tastes like shit.

But my taste buds are dead anyway!

So if you did 4 of those 5 dollar bottles, that will get you 4 liters for 20 bucks!

Plus, while that is a decent amount for most people…

If you want more, you can always try to convince the occasional chica that you are fucking to buy you beer and liquor for free!

If you dick her down good that is – dick her down so good that she falls in love with you and buys you a free bottle every once in a while!

Shit, we might be able to cut the liquor cost if we did that.

So let’s say 15 bucks instead assuming we get one free bottle a month from any of our Tinder hoes.

And now THAT is living like a king – getting girls to buy YOU drinks!

Of course, prices will vary by country.

You know, if you are in Colombia, maybe you’d get aguardiente instead. Who knows.

But you get the idea – this gives us a basic number to work with.

Liquor: 15 Bucks.

Transportation

Transportation really doesn’t cost much down here.

It never matters for what I’m spending money on.

If you are living in a city that is relatively small and walkable, you probably won’t ever need to take it outside of an occasional combi that costs 9 pesos in Mexico.

Or the metro in CDMX being 5 pesos.

Of course, if you want to save money on this, you can always pretend to be an “innocent foreigner who doesn’t know his way around” at the metro station…

And ask locals for the 5 pesos to get on the metro.

Therefore, you would eliminate the transportation cost entirely each month!

Whereby you would have to spend maybe 5 bucks a month normally for the occasional public transportation…

Now you don’t have to spend anything!

Transportation: 0 Bucks

Total Budget: 125 Bucks

Of course, this budget would be about 10 bucks more expensive if we don’t beg at the metro station and manipulate Tinder chicks into buying a free bottle of vodka each month.

So that would be 135 then and still leaves us an extra 15 bucks under budget!

So we can do anything then with that extra 15 to 25 dollars a month!

We could save it and infest it into a retirement plan…

Buy some Apple stock…

Or Bitcoin perhaps!

Might not be a lot of bitcoin but it adds up!

Maybe even splurge a little!

Where every night we might be eating Mac n Cheese…

But then, one night in particular out of the year….

We go get ourselves some McDonalds!

They got 5 dollar meals down here….

And with 25 dollars, we can do that 5 times a month!

Pretty awesome.

Or we can save that money and get us a nice steak at an Argentine steakhouse once a month!

Or whatever you prefer!

Save it, spend it, whatever.

We are rich!

25 dollars a month…

Or 300 dollars in an entire year!

Like a king!

Un Rey!

Now did I tell you we were going to be living well on this budget or what?

Some might say the budget is a bit restricting but I see it as liberating!

This is what the digital nomads mean when they say freedom!

To be free living in shitty living conditions on just 150 bucks a month….

Writing those Fiverr articles and getting the occasional Tinder chick to visit you!

In all seriousness….

The Points

So let’s get serious and wrap this article up.

Could you actually live in LATAM on just 150?

Well, it’s a different question from should you?

Obviously no.

But you can do it though!

Many of the locals do who are earning minimum wage or whatever.

Would be fairly difficult though to do this in Mexico City – unless I can find again that 25 dollar heroin addict looking room in Tepito again.

Even if I got a shared room, Mexico City would be difficult – I’d have to make it a 200 dollar budget or maybe a 175 budget.

175 I probably could pull off if I was determined.

But in many of the small cities in Mexico or elsewhere in Latin America that don’t ever get tourists?

Yeah, 150 is definitely possible but would require some strong budgeting skills…

Some luck in that nobody mugs you for shit when you be living in shitty ass neighborhoods.

And also a lot of sacrifice in terms of material well being.

As I wrote here and here, I did actually live on a budget of 300 USD in Mexico City once.

It kinda sucked.

But if we were to live in a small non-touristy city like Pachuca or the equivalent of Pachuca in other Latin countries…

For that 50 dollar budget.

Add in the 5 dollars for transportation needed (it literally isn’t much unless you are taking Uber or Taxi and I work from home also).

Plus maybe starve myself a little but add maybe another 20 bucks to the budget.

Or starve myself more but use that 20 for water instead (or use free boiled water and cool it down…)

Or maybe cut the liquor out entirely and use it for water instead!

Boom.

And it would work!

Again, it wouldn’t be comfortable but it is possible.

And really does show you how cheap you can live down here.

Plus, to a degree, this article was meant to poke a bit of fun at those who exaggerate claims about the living costs down here.

I actually do live cheaply down here at about 800 bucks a month but I’m comfortable.

But I’m also a bit more minimalist just because that’s how I am.

But comfortable nonetheless.

However, I feel a lot of folks would have a harder time doing 800 a month down here but it would depend on where they are living and their expectations for what they want to consume each month.

Years ago, I remember a Spanish girl in Colombia who would take taxis everywhere just because she felt she was too good for public transportation.

In her words specifically.

That would add up financially.

So it is what it is.

Obviously, you are not going to be living anywhere like a king on 150 but this article is meant to demonstrate a more extreme version of how cheaply one can live down here also.

Got any questions or relevant comments?

Drop them below.

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Thanks.

Best regards,

Matt