Play Money

Whenever Sarah and I travel internationally, I take charge of the money (and the passports, and the boarding passes - I am a control freak, what can I say?). The first thing I like to do, sometimes before we leave the US, is get some cash in the foreign currency. Then, I work out a "cheat sheet" method for converting the local money to US Dollars. That way I usually avoid that awkward moment of sorting through "play money" trying to figure out how much to give to the nice taxi driver or shop clerk while they stand there waiting.

Lunch at La Abuela.

When we have been in Mexico in the past, exchange rates were about 12 pesos to 1 dollar. So my cheat sheet method has been to drop a decimal place, treating the exchange as if we got only 10 pesos for a US dollar. Then, if it looks like an ok price, it's a GOOD price.

What I recently learned is that the dollar has gotten stronger since we were here last a couple of years ago. The rate is now 13.5 pesos to the dollar. Or, stated another way, it now only takes 75 cents to buy 10 pesos. That means if I drop a decimal place and it looks like a good price, it's a really GREAT price.

Not everything here is a great deal. We paid something like 770 pesos for a small espresso coffee maker, which comes to about US $57. I think generally manufactured goods are higher here, but services, food and lodging are cheap.

Like he said, not everything is a great deal!

So prices for most of the things we buy here have looked really GOOD - based on my "cheat sheet" method - lunch for 2 for US $7, a 15 minute "cab" ride for US $1 per person, a 5 gallon jug of drinking water for US $1.50. On top of that, the standard for tipping here is 10% (and even that is not really expected, so you usually get a genuine smile).

Artists (and husband and wife)
Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo
on the 500 peso bill.

So now that I know what the exchange rate is, these prices have gone from GOOD to GREAT!