I see so many estimates of the real cost of living floating around. I find many of them to be inaccurate, so I decided to come up with my own list. I found it floating around the internet somewhere and updated it based upon my real numbers and research. I hope this is helpful.

This is based on a family with 2 kids in private school living in the central valley on a monthly budget. Though some things can cost less than what is listed, such as rent which can be had for as little as $200 a month, I’m assuming the reader wants to maintain a bit of comfort creatures and live in a modern place in a good neighborhood.

Rent                                            $700 - $1400

School (no bus, no meals)             $590 - $700

Supermarket                                $400 - $600

Medical Insurance
(INS plan $12,000 coverage)           $115

Maid service                                  $230 - $320
This number based on the assumption you’re doing things legally and are paying all taxe, etc.       

Electric                                        $40 - $60         

Phone, basic                                $13

Long distance                              $20 -  $40

Cellular                                      $14 - $24

Internet (DSL and Cable)              $25 - $50 - $100 plans

Televisión                                   $13 -  $27

Water & Trash                             $5 - $20

Gasoline                                      $150 - $300

Car Insurance                              $50 -  $350

Excise taxes                                $8 - $25

Maintenance                                $50 - $1241

TOTAL Monthly                          Between $2423 and $4094

This post was written by Alexandra Lancaster
of The Wright Group Real Estate.

I, like many folks who live here, get a lot of questions about how much it really costs to live in Costa Rica. A yardstick I use to determine if anyone can live cheaper here is to consider that the average Tico (Costa Rican) takes home $4700 per year and lives on it.   This Tico is clean, attractive, pretty healthy with good skin and bright teeth. If she can do it, so can anyone else!

What we are discussing here is whether or not you want to do it. The $4700 is an accurate statistic, please don't nitpick give or take a few bucks. We all come down here with our paradigm of what life must be like for us. I submit that most of us do not want to metamorph into a totally different human being. But most of us can adjust.

I like my good food.....this is not beans and rice unless I can gussy it up into New Orleans-style red bean soup with ham hock and andouille sausage. Good food costs more than simple food, in part because excellent spices and herbs are expensive here. Grow em? You can, but then you need a plot and many Americans who buy here buy homes with very small lots. The goat she does not graze on the rooftop. The Tones spices that have more flavour here are not cheap. Restaurants, for sheer value for the money, are more expensive here than in the States. Fast food joints are expensive. How a Tico buys a Big Mac I fail to understand, for sheer OVERPRICE FOR YUCKYUCK.   

Clothes, forget. I mend, I make do, and my adorable American friends send me Care Packages. A Liz Claiborne, should you wish to wear truly dowdy at horrible prices, costs twice as much as the U.S. and the styles appear to be what your Old Aunt Maude rejected in Duluth. Here, that is. I shop Ropa Americana and the other Fashionista Stripolas in Heredia where the used clothing stuff stretches out for miles.  Sorta.

No one here cares if your underpants are Calvin Klein and your bra is Donna Karan. My last bra came from Pequeno Mundo for $2.00.

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I just went to a BBQ this past Sunday. It was really nice to take a drive to Grecia (almost 2 hours from where I live) on a beautiful afternoon and hang out with fun, laid-back people. The picture to the left is a 5,000 colones bill. There is a picture below of folks from the BBQ.

I understand this part of the culture: taking time out on a regular basis to relax with people you really enjoy. Ticos seem to do a good job of this – much better than other cultures.

The part that I have a hard time getting used to is the financial end of things. Usually when I go to a party here in Costa Rica, there are snacks provided. And I have to bring my own booze. Though it’s not what I was used to, I can deal with it.

This last host threw in a new twist though. We were required to pay 3,000 colones (about $6) for the BBQ meat and bring our own booze. Could we pay at the door? Heck no! We were asked to bring our $6 to the bank, wait in line for a half hour and then deposit the funds in the host’s bank account.

I’d gladly pay double or triple if I didn’t need to go to the bank! But after talking to friends here, this is not totally out-of-the-ordinary.

Is it because I came from the US where everyone is crazy about making things faster and easier? Nothing here in Costa Rica seems “fast” or “easy.” And it is certainly an exercise in “letting go” in order to not let things bother me. (It’s okay Scott, just breathe!)

Thankfully, Isaac went to the bank for us. I would have just skipped the BBQ.

I ran into a course yesterday that teaches the same principles I do. Basically, the course promises to help you learn to attract money (and anything else you want) into your life. Much of it is based on quantum physics, which says:

• Everything in this Universe - even that which appears to be empty space - is Energy. That includes you, me, the dog, and even (and especially) your thoughts and feelings. You know...atoms, molecules, subatomic particles...that kind of "quantum stuff."

• All Energy vibrates at a certain frequency. Depending on the rate of the frequency, we experience Energy in different ways.

• When something vibrates at a certain frequency, it naturally resonates with and ATTRACTS things with the same frequency.

Therefore, it’s saying that what you believe is true already. The course works in very much the same way I do with my clients on re-programming the limiting beliefs we’ve developed.

The course also teaches us that WE are the cause of everything that does – or does not – happen to us. Our full “happiness potential” lies within each of us.

It’s really worth your checking out here.