Las Conchas Sunset

Mexico June 2006, originally uploaded by Botrash.

As promised here is the blog on money.

What you really have to do is bring cash. What you really don't want to do is rely on getting cash out of a cash machine while in Mexico. Peso's are cheap and cash machines in Mexico give you pesos, not dollars. So if you want a hundred dollars it will give you a THOUSAND pesos. And in addition, you get a slightly better deal when using american dollars anyway.

So how much cash do you need? Well I personally plan for the following, adjust your plan as you feel it applies to you.

Money for the Beach -
Aren't beaches suppose to be free? They are but the awesome thing about the beach is that local vendors roam down the beach all day so that every 15 minutes or so (when it's real busy) you might see a vendor and that vendor might have jewelry (personal favorite), pottery, swimsuit cover-ups, hats, sun glasses, trinkets, tiles, tortilla's, ice cream, horseback rides, or banana boat rides and a plethora of other things to numerous to name. Will you want this stuff? Well, not all of it, but I'm pretty sure you'll want some of it. You can get some nice silver jewelry, like a cool bracelet, for around $10. The kids love the banana boat rides and they are like $2 a kid or something like that. I just plan that I might need around $100 for the beach but honestly, I probably never actually spend that much.

If you go into town you'll want some for shopping there too - it's a lot of the same stuff you see on the beach but just MORE of it.

If we go out to eat I would say that for our whole family of 5 it's around $50? But you can eat cheaper than that if you want at some other places besides the restaurant we usually go to. Ice cream cones are like .50 or so. Mexican coke is around the same price as our coke. (but cheaper than buying Mexican coke here). If you are a non caffeine drinker, Mexican Orange Fanta is awesome!

The people I go with usually bring money for the farmacia (pharmacies). I'm just saying. Don't risk taking non-prescription drugs over the border though - you can get in trouble. BUT if you have a prescription that is costing you more money than you want to pay in the states you can get the EXACT same drug there MUCH cheaper. (most of the drugs you buy in the states are actually manufactured there - all the major drug companies have plants in Mexico) If you are interested in specific costs let me know, I might be able to find out before we get there and let you know. Bring your prescription bottle with you to Mexico if possible unless it's a drug no body cares about. No one's going to put you in jail for carrying lipitor across the border but phentermine is a different story.

Sometimes we buy fresh shrimp off the boats. Delicious! Not too expensive - we can usually feed the whole house for around $30.

Sometimes we run to the grocery store for something we forgot or ran out of - no problem, there are several good grocery stores. Food is slightly cheaper than here.

You can use your bank card or credit card for some things. Gas at the gas station. MOST stores or restaurants but not all of them.

Hopefully that helps you get an idea. Let me know if you have a specific question on money issues.

Next time we'll discuss plans for Sunday while there.