The numbers don't add up!!!

down to our last 2 weeks here - for the second time.  Time to air this topic which has been going round and round in my head for the past 8 months.

The numbers don't add up.....

Money numbers that is.  On one hand, things are relatively cheap (inexpensive) here, but some things are quite expensive.

Obviously our Aussie Dollars go a lot further here - $1 = S/2.60 approximately - so it works in our favour.

I've been told that when travelling, you should try to work in the local currency, and not try to convert prices back to your own currency.  Fair enough, but you need to sometime to see how prices compare.

Some things are about equivalent $1 = S/1

For instance - a very good meal in a good restaurant costs 30-50 soles. Dollars = Soles probably fairly similar to Australia.  And of course you can get good meals a lot cheaper than that.  Great nachos at Paddy's Pub are about S/16 - and that's generally enough for Lex and I.  We also eat at a number of 'Menu' lunch places where you can get a 3 course meal and drink for S/10  Don't think we can do that in Australia even for $10

A large cerveza (620ml bottle of beer) in a bar costs around S/10.  Cider, that I like is around S/20

But groceries vary greatly.... and I realise I am quite out of touch with prices of things back home .... and am probably in for a shock when I go shopping.

How do these compare???
Tub of butter (500g)  S/9.30
Large box of cornflakes - S/10
1L long life milk - S/3
Ham S/35 per kilo - There's a lot of cheaper style pizza ham ...
mince  S/13 a kilo
Chicken breast meat is about S/14 per kilo
sausages are even more expensive  S/50 per kilo  chorizo sausages  More expensive than steak
Small tub of Philly cream cheese S/9.50
2L coca cola S/5.50
small yoghurt S/1

Families here are very good at stretching meals - with rice, beans, lentils, potatoes, pasta etc.  

We buy 'pan' (bread rolls) fresh - sometimes twice daily, and we can get 4 ciabatta rolls for S/1  delicious too!

So not all grocery prices seem cheap ... thinking $=S/  Anything that is imported is obviously more expensive than locally produced items.  Pasta sauces are starting to appear in the supermarket - around S/10 a jar.  Local Peruvian style sauces are not so expensive.

BUT the one price that still amazes me is the price of bus and taxi fares.

We catch a local bus - 70c will get you anywhere in Cusco - out of town is a bit more.  Obviously buses can be very crowded, standing room only, and this can be difficult for anyone taller than a Peruvian in a 'combi', which most buses are.  And of course, you need to be careful of pick pockets.

A taxi from town centre to our area usually costs around S/3 - sometimes more because we are 'gringos' or it's raining, or late at night, or the driver doesn't particularly want to go that way.  Varies.

So any way I figure it transport costs are a bargain...  Can't imagine a $3 taxi ride anywhere in OZ.

Because fares are so cheap, we take taxis often - so I guess they get their money in the end.  It's not as if fuel prices are all that cheap either.  Prices vary for different blends, but around S/15 per gallon - too much maths for this retired brain!!!

Of course I'm only looking at how far our $AUD go here - Any consideration on prices etc needs to also take into account local wages.  From what I understand and see around us, there's a growing middle class in Peru .... and there are some very wealthy people as well.  In addition, there's a large number of very poor people.  I understand that it is possible to live very cheaply here - especially if you have a place to live and don't have to pay rent.  It is possible to get a 2 or 3 course 'menu' lunch for S/2.50 - I probably wouldn't want to eat it.

Wages are generally NOT high by our standards.  I read that minimum wage in Peru has been increased this year to S/750 per month, and that the average wage in Lima is approximately S/1200 per month.

I find myself constantly comparing prices - considering  $ = S/ strategy, but I am still confused.  All I can be certain of is that our Aussie dollars go further here, and while we enjoying eating out often here in Peru, I think that will not be the case back home in OZ!!  So better live it up in our last 2 weeks here this year!!!