# How much does $25 US mean to a poor family in the Philippines?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-25-us-mean-to-a-poor-family-in-the-philippines/520573
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 9, 2009, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-25-us-mean-to-a-poor-family-in-the-philippines/520573 "2009-12-09T09:14:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Batfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batfish)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2009, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-25-us-mean-to-a-poor-family-in-the-philippines/520573/1 "2009-12-09T09:14:10Z")
Groceries for a day? A week? Rent payment?
Recent news events have me wondering about the state of the Philippines these days.
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### Author:  [@Smitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smitty)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-25-us-mean-to-a-poor-family-in-the-philippines/520573/2 "2009-12-09T18:04:29Z")
Currently, $25US is worth about 1157 Philippino Pesos. Here is a link for cost of living in the Philippines:
> **[Philippines - Trifter](http://www.trifter.com/asia-pacific/philippines/)**
>
> The inhabitants of the Philippine islands are the country’s best asset, a friendly, happy, immensely welcoming people. They speak Spanish and English in most places, are intensely musical, and in fact, provide most of the musical groups one hears in...
Basically, $25 would pay about a quarter of the monthly rent, or a little more than all of their monthly electric bill.
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### Author:  [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-25-us-mean-to-a-poor-family-in-the-philippines/520573/3 "2009-12-10T02:58:55Z")
From the link above:
“This is for 2 young marrieds to live a fairly nice middle class life. If you want to be a party animal, then you can spend a lot more, of course.”
The legal minimum daily wage in the National Capitol Region varies from P345 to P382. [http://www.nwpc.dole.gov.ph/pages/ncr/cmwr\_table.html](http://www.nwpc.dole.gov.ph/pages/ncr/cmwr_table.html)
It is considerably _less_ in other regions. Many workers don’t get the legal daily minimum. Unemployment is 20%-80% in most places.
In most of the Philippines someone would be doing well to get the equivalent of $25 for a week of work.
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### Author:  [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-25-us-mean-to-a-poor-family-in-the-philippines/520573/4 "2009-12-10T03:03:12Z")
> [@Mr.Duality](#):
>
> In most of the Philippines someone would be doing well to get the equivalent of $25 for a week of work.
I have a fairly well to do customer who bragged to me he keeps a couple Phillipino girlfriends put up VERY nicely for around $500 a month each. As you might expect, he vacations there alot.
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### Author:  [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2009, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-25-us-mean-to-a-poor-family-in-the-philippines/520573/5 "2009-12-10T13:07:28Z")
> [@drachillix](#):
>
> I have a fairly well to do customer who bragged to me he keeps a couple Phillipino girlfriends put up VERY nicely for around $500 a month each. As you might expect, he vacations there alot.
And the girlfriends are doubtlessly siphoning off enough cash to support their extended families.
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### Author:  [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-25-us-mean-to-a-poor-family-in-the-philippines/520573/6 "2009-12-10T18:42:01Z")
> [@drachillix](#):
>
> I have a fairly well to do customer who bragged to me he keeps a couple Phillipino girlfriends put up VERY nicely for around $500 a month each. As you might expect, he vacations there alot.
Then again, how does he know this isn’t a time-share agreement, so to speak?
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### Author:  [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-25-us-mean-to-a-poor-family-in-the-philippines/520573/7 "2009-12-10T19:18:58Z")
There is a good possibility it is a time-share. The filipinas who do this might have 2-3 or more western boyfriends (euphemistically called “money ko”, a play on “honey ko” or my honey), plus a filipino bf. The ones looking for money kos are the ones to avoid.
Outside the larger cities, $25 will go a very long way.
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### Author:  [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-25-us-mean-to-a-poor-family-in-the-philippines/520573/8 "2009-12-10T19:25:08Z")
In a small town it could be even a month’s food, for a family of 5
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### Author:  [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-25-us-mean-to-a-poor-family-in-the-philippines/520573/9 "2009-12-12T00:10:10Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#):
>
> Then again, how does he know this isn’t a time-share agreement, so to speak?
My guess is he doesent know one way or another but I could see such an arrangement imploding messily on the girl if money ko appears without warning.
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### Author:  [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-25-us-mean-to-a-poor-family-in-the-philippines/520573/10 "2009-12-16T04:16:49Z")
> [@drachillix](#):
>
> I have a fairly well to do customer who bragged to me he keeps a couple Phillipino girlfriends put up VERY nicely for around $500 a month each. As you might expect, he vacations there alot.
you wouldn’t happen to live in tennessee would you? there is a guy where i live who does the same thing…
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### Author:  [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-25-us-mean-to-a-poor-family-in-the-philippines/520573/11 "2009-12-16T17:12:41Z")
> [@pope\_hentai](#):
>
> you wouldn’t happen to live in tennessee would you? there is a guy where i live who does the same thing…
Nah, Fresno, CA
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### Author:  [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-25-us-mean-to-a-poor-family-in-the-philippines/520573/12 "2009-12-16T20:45:42Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#):
>
> Then again, how does he know this isn’t a time-share agreement, so to speak?
Sounds like good work if you can get it.
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### Author:  [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-25-us-mean-to-a-poor-family-in-the-philippines/520573/13 "2009-12-17T05:08:55Z")
For comparison, it’s a little under the average monthly income for Cambodia.