Living on Bali for $900 a month or less

tintin

Bohong!

matsaleh

She doesn't say in the article if her $900 (US or AU?) includes her rent or leasing costs.

spicyayam

matsaleh wroteShe doesn't say in the article if her $900 (US or AU?) includes her rent or leasing costs.

I think you can presume that is US dollars, but still the article seems like it is missing a few important details, like her accommodation. Also many people say the insurance is much more than this for people over 65. She is likely underpaying her staff unless they are only part-time. And I am sure many people would like to know the name of the place where you can get "$4 for all the food you want".

balinews

Expat Judith Gold, 68, never runs out of places to explore on Bali, the tropical island she calls home. "I love to go to all the different waterfalls. It seems to be never-ending. I hear about new ones all the time," she says. "You're hiking through the jungle through papaya and mango trees, and your guide is handing you leaves that are every type of spice that you can imagine. It's amazing. I enjoy discovering what I call my 'secret gardens,' too. There are so many. The island has changed so much just in the time that I've been living here, but the old island that I fell in love with is still here." Bali, Indonesia is a place where luxury doesn't have to come at a premium. After rambling through the jungle, or meeting with friends along the beach, Judith returns each evening to the beautiful, 1,600-square-foot, two-bedroom villa she shares with her cat and two dogs. She has a private swimming pool in the front yard, a beautiful, well-tended garden, and plenty of tropical foliage throughout her 3,200-square-foot property. Her housekeeper leaves little handmade baskets full of flowers and fragrant incense around her home and pool, leaving it smelling fresh throughout the year. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/26/bali-luxury-tropical-island-living-for-900-a-month-or-less.html

JohnnyCool

[I][B]Unbelievable![/B][/I] I don't believe any of it. Maybe she sustained more injuries than she thought after her car accident.

davita

I also think the figures are undercounted. My wife is 10 years younger and I cannot get that kind of medical insurance for her for $1500. Last premium from Cigna, when she was 56, was quoted $2470 and included a $650 deductible but didn't include evacuation. We now have locally purchased Allianz Insurance for her which is more reasonable. Our part-time staff are paid considerably more than she suggests...if we paid less they'd move on. I think it may depend on the job required and the location of employ....i.e. size of garden, size of pool and how many hours spent. Our maid spends about 4 hours/6 days and gets $150/month and some benefits like gasoline for her motorbike etc. and she gets paid overtime if returning to help at a dinner party. Our poolman, 8 visits a month, gets $40. We pay our driver more as he is permanent 24/7 and also does the garden and other chores. However, I know that $4 is plenty for a decent lunch...I had one packet of mee goring yesterday for less than that. Our most expensive item is wine...:D

tintin

davita wrote Our most expensive item is wine...:D

So is mine! ;-)

lush4111

Sounds like she hit her head pretty hard! Definitely off with the fairies - in her secret garden! Maybe they pay for the rest of it!

Nydave

Something doesn`t seem quite right ,,some of the expenses seem more like monthly than yearly,Insurance $70 per year ??, internet $140 per year ??

Travelingrick01

Google it. Biznet internet package is 240,00r a month, thats $18.40 a month, split in two for 12 months is about $120, pls tax. Bpjs health insurance is 80,000r a month for the top tier (25,000r a month for basic) 80,000r x 12 months is 960,000r / 13,000 rupiah to the dollar is $73.80 a year.

Travelingrick01

I just recalculated my wife and my fixed expences. We have lived In Kerobokan for about five years, big house, garden, pool, couple of ac's. We have kitap's. We have paid for the lease on our villa so that cost is not inculded. so these are our base annual expenses, usa dollars, roughly and rounded, each (some things are split as we each pay 1/2) Visa $600 Property taxes $500/2= $250 Bpjs health insurance $70 Electricity $900/2= $450 Biznet internet $240/2 = $140 Cleaner, 1 day a week,$1,000/2 = $500 Banjar $100/2= $50 Trash pickup $100/2= $50 Total, $2040 a year / 12 months is $170 a month, each. And sure there is propane gas sometimes, bottled water and food, gojet and grab and taxis, but we live in paradise and are so very happy here.

davita

Hi Travelingrick...your assessment of expenses is very informative but, if I may suggest, is a little confusing because you split some of the amounts and not others. It may have been easier to comprehend if you'd just declared your household expenses and a single person could then assess their own comparison. BTW what type Kitap allowed you to get BPJS and when did you join...I'm on a retirement Kitap and cannot apply. Also...what PLN system do you use...is it pulsa prepaid or invoiced? I run my pool pump 6 hours/day and I'd guess it uses at least $1/day electricity.

Travelingrick01

Expat Judith Gold, 68, never runs out of places to explore on Bali, the tropical island she calls home. "I love to go to all the different waterfalls. It seems to be never-ending. I hear about new ones all the time," she says. "You're hiking through the jungle through papaya and mango trees, and your guide is handing you leaves that are every type of spice that you can imagine. It's amazing. I enjoy discovering what I call my 'secret gardens,' too. There are so many. The island has changed so much just in the time that I've been living here, but the old island that I fell in love with is still here." Bali, Indonesia is a place where luxury doesn't have to come at a premium. After rambling through the jungle, or meeting with friends along the beach, Judith returns each evening to the beautiful, 1,600-square-foot, two-bedroom villa she shares with her cat and two dogs. She has a private swimming pool in the front yard, a beautiful, well-tended garden, and plenty of tropical foliage throughout her 3,200-square-foot property. Her housekeeper leaves little handmade baskets full of flowers and fragrant incense around her home and pool, leaving it smelling fresh throughout the year. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/26/bali-luxury-tropical-island-living-for-900-a-month-or-less.html

Travelingrick01

Hello Davida, We are on retirement kitap now but we were on retirement kitas when we got onto bpjs about two or three years ago. I haven't followed if there are rule changes but they haven't kicked us off. We are on prepaid electrical. When we got our villa the old renter was paying about 3,000,000r a month, invoiced. The villa was vacant for a couple of months before we moved in and still the invoice was about 700,000 a month. I went down to pln and asked them about it. They told me they had a 'stand by' fee if we used electricity or not, and told me to switch to prepaid to avoid this fee. We did, and changes all the lights from old halogens to led. Our bill now averages about 1,000,000 a month. We run the pool pump about 4-6 hours a day, use one bedroom ac at night or more if it's hot. 2 refrigerators, lots of fans. Prepaid is a lot more convienent for us, no more monthly meter reader.

davita

Ok thanks T-R your edit and above post makes more sense... People on retiree Kitas, when BPJS was introduced, were permitted and probably still can belong, but I'm now told that it is no longer available for retirees..... it is for spousal sponsored Kitas/Kitap holders. I've also been on Pulsa for over 5 years but our bill is around twice as much as yours with 2 residents. Our live-out maid is tasked with maintaining the Pulsa and keeps her receipts, so we know exactly our consumption. Our use is similar...pool pump 6 hours, one bedroom A/C probably 12-14 hours, all LED lights but we leave garden lights ON overnight for security, one frig, one water dispenser and one water heater. Cooking is done with propane. edit: Just did some sums.... My prepaid pulsa costs Rp1704/Kwh. Pool pump is 3/4 HP...6 hours/day costs approx. Rp370,000 per month. Bedroom A/C is 1Kw...assume 16 hours/2 (divide by 2 for compressor running time) costs approx. Rp410,000 per month.

joco

matsaleh wroteShe doesn't say in the article if her $900 (US or AU?) includes her rent or leasing costs.

I would be shocked if it did! Also - I understand that many land owners want a full year's rent UP FRONT! It's hard to imagine doing business that way. ??? And what about the cost of annual VISA's? Overall - it seems the details of this article need closer examination.

joco

JohnnyCool wrote[I][B]Unbelievable![/B][/I] I don't believe any of it. Maybe she sustained more injuries than she thought after her car accident.

lol !!