Living in Los Cabos: Cost of Groceries 2013

Since the cost of living in Cabo seems to be the #1 topic of interest on the blog I need to make an effort to keep my blogs on the topic up to date. So I saved my grocery receipts for a couple of weeks, and calculated dollars per pound from pesos per kilo. I used yesterday’s exchange rate of 12.7 to make that calculation. The other disclaimer is that the folks at the organic farmer’s market decided to close for vacation for a few weeks, much of the produce would have been lower had I bought it there. And I shopped at the new MEGA store in Cabo San Lucas. I don’t know how these prices compare to the US, but they are high by Mexican standards. You need to remember that Cabo is the Hawaii of Mexico. Everything here was either trucked down 1,000 miles of very interesting road or brought by boat from the mainland, then trucked from our state capital, La Paz, to Los Cabos. And, if it came down from the US there was a 30% duty applied. All of that in consideration, here are the prices:

PRODUCE (Dollars per pound unless otherwise noted)
Watermelon: 17 cents
Raisins: 90 cents
Button Mushrooms: $1.75
Yellow lemons: $1.07
Cucumber: 35 cents
Honey Pinapple: 53 cents
Limes/Limones: 35 cents
Avocado: $1.36
Green onions: 38 cents
Bag of romaine heart lettuce: $1.28 per bag
Whole shucked coconut: 93 cents each
Tomatoes: 46 cents
Mangos: 21 cents
Yams: $1.14

BEVERAGES (Dollars per unit)
Tonic water: 57 cents per can
V8 juice: 47 cents per can
Pepsi: 54 cents per can
Powdered drink mix: 23 cents per 2L pack

PROTEIN: (Dollars per pound unless otherwise noted)
Deli ham: $4.33
Deli turkey: $4.58
Whole chicken: $1.03
Ribeye Steak: $5.68
Greek Yogurt: $3.07 for a one quart container
Eggs (Red, Extra Large): $1.73 per dozen
Ground pork: $2.06
Turkey breast cutlet: $4.18 (imported, of course)
Boneless, skinless chicken pre-flattened: $1.92
Cocktail hot dogs: $2.91 for about a pound, and yes, those are dog treats….

STAPLES: (Price per unit)
1 L Soy oil: $2.27
1 L Vinegar: 74 cents
Green olives, about 12 ounces: $2.10
Refried beans: 62 cents
Dried white beans, about 2 pounds: $1.25
Flour (about 5 pounds): $1.08
Cinnamon: $1.65
Fritos: $1.18
Bread thins: $1.79
Tortillas, flour so not subsidized: 96 cents
Sugar free cookies: $2.69
Rice, about 2 pounds: 70 cents
Breadcrumbs: 85 cents
Salt: 70 cents
Frozen waffles: $2.84
Dog Biscuits: $1.29
Evaporated milk: 84 cents

OTHER SUPPLIES:
Bandages: $1.57
Baby aspirin: $2.50
Large dishwashing liquid: $1.95
Club-sized tub of Oxiclean: $12.04
Fabuloso (multipurpose cleaner, 2 L): $1.23
Furniture polish: $4.17 (imported)
Clorox Color Safe, one liter: $1.48

Whew! Not the most exciting blog ever written but hopefully useful to those who are considering moving to Cabo San Lucas. As I mentioned above our location pushes the prices up, but for some of us it’s worth it.

Carol Billups is Broker/Owner of Cabo Realty Pros. She has enjoyed working with both buyers and sellers for over twelve years and still thinks hers is the best job on earth. She is also the real estate columnist for Los Cabos Magazine. You can read more of her articles on the website blog http://www.caborealtypros.com. You can reach her from the U.S. or Canada at 1-760-481-7694, or in Cabo at 044-624-147-7541. You can listen to our 24/7 broadcast on http://www.livecabo.net for a mix of happy music, weather reports and local information.

© 2013 Carol S. Billups

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