cat costs.md
What does it cost?
Real numbers with a date on them beat "50–70% cheaper!" claims every time. These are what things actually run in Magdalena as of mid-2026 — a working town, not a beach resort, and prices to match.
| Item | What I actually pay |
|---|---|
| Rent — house in town | $400 / month |
| Electricity (CFE), typical month | $50 |
| Electricity (CFE), summer with A/C | $80 |
| Water | usually included in rent (~$30 when separate) |
| Internet + cable (Megacable) | $40 / month |
| Groceries, typical week | $100 |
| Meal out for two, local place | $35 |
| Tank of gas | $90 |
table updated: July 2026 · all figures USD
What's cheap, what isn't
The part the "live like a king for $800" articles skip: the discount is not uniform. Dramatically cheaper: rent, utilities, labor and services, food grown or made nearby, eating out, doctor visits. Not cheaper, sometimes worse: gasoline — look at that $90 tank — and anything imported, electronics especially. If your life runs on Amazon and horsepower, the arbitrage shrinks fast. Mine runs on a $400 house and $35 dinners, so it doesn't.
And a thing worth saying plainly: earning dollars in a peso town puts you in a strange position in the local economy. It buys comfort; it also carries responsibility. Tip well, pay fair, hire local. The math works because of the people around you — don't be the guy who forgets that.
Pesos, dollars, and how you pay
Every peso price on this page floats with the exchange rate, and the float is not trivial. I've watched the rate go from 21 pesos to the dollar down to about 17.50 — and the posted rate inside some stores is worse still, 16.80 or so. That's a 20% swing on every price on this page depending on when and how you pay.
The practical lesson, learned the usual way: when possible, I pay with my debit card. My bank settles at a rate consistently better than what any store or exchange window will give me. Cash has its place — plenty of places are cash-only — but if a business takes cards, the card is almost always the better deal for a dollar-earner. The people getting quietly skinned are the ones changing dollars at the counter and never doing the math. Check your own card's foreign transaction fees before trusting this one.