So I tracked all my spending in Yangon from July 20 to November 1 (about 3.5 months). It was cool for like the first 2 days; for the other ~100 it was pretty brutal. But, now I have some interesting data that I can share.

The big question. How much does it cost to live in Yangon???

About $15 per day (USD).

Actually I measured it in the local currency (kyat), so it’s ~19,000 kyat per day (which I converted at today’s rate of 1287 MMK/USD).

ALSO, that number doesn’t include health insurance (~$330/month) or housing (~$730/month). Adding that stuff gets to more like $60 per day ($1,800 per month).

Quick side note, check out that wild USD valuation spike in the below historical exchange rate chart (thanks xe.com):

Screen Shot 2015-11-12 at 2.37.57 PM

So, here’s a rough breakdown:

  • 32% – Groceries
  • 30% – Eating Out
  • 16% – Taxis
  • 09% – SIM Cards (mostly internet)
  • 04% – Donations
  • 03% – Cleaning
  • 02% – Pool
  • 04% – Split 1% each for Electricity, Gas, Movie Theater, Downloads

So,  how much does stuff actually cost? It sort of depends on whether you buy Western stuff (e.g. organic food, butter, etc.) or local stuff (e.g. wet market vegetables).

(all converted at 1287 MMD/USD)

Groceries:

  • $4.18 – Nutella (1 jar, medium size)
  • $3.43 – Butter (1 pack, ~two sticks)
  • $2.87 – Listerine Mouth Wash
  • $2.33 – Tomato Sauce (small jar)
  • $1.85 – Garbanzo Beans (1 can)
  • $1.59 – Head and Shoulders Shampoo
  • $1.40 – Watermelon
  • $1.00 – Pound of dry pasta
  • $0.81 – Fresh loaf of bread (local bakery)

Regarding wet market stuff, a banana is $0.08, a mango (in season) is $0.16, an orange is $0.39.

Eating Out:

  • $20.00 – Risotto, upscale western (Union Bar & Grill)
  • $13.99 – Burger at a Western lounge (Blind Tiger)
  • $7.77 – Large pizza (Pa Pa Pizza)
  • $6.99 – Sirloin steak with baked potato and vegetables (Onyx)
  • $6.99 – Seafood dinner, local (Minn Lan)
  • $5.44 – Japanese noodles, tsukemen (Koi Noburi)
  • $3.89 – Burrito (La Mañana)
  • $3.87 – Burmese style BBQ (local)
  • $3.11 – A fresh salad (Sprouts)
  • $2.64 – Noodle soup at a local chain (Feel)
  • $1.94 – Cheeseburger, Korean fast food chain (Lotteria)
  • $1.79 – Huge serving of Biryani rice (local)
  • $1.55 – Rice with two curries (local)
  • $1.17 – Cup of green tea at a nice cafe (District)
  • $0.54 – Egg pudding at local cafe (Season’s)

Taxis:

See my post on transportation.

SIM Cards:

I use Telenor, which gets me 2.4GB (at about 250 bytes/second) for $9.25. I go through that amount in about 10 days (little to no video or music streaming).

Cleaning:

$7.77 for one day of cleaning/cooking (we have someone come once per week).

Pool:

$3.89 per entry.