High cost of living in SP and how to economize

James · 2012-01-22T11:27:37+01:00

http://placar.abril.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/abre.jpg Most middle management jobs in São Paulo pay around R$7000 - R$8000 per month. The cost of living in São Paulo is quite high and climbing steadily so if you are considering a job here you will want to try and negotiate a salary that starts at about US $4,000.00 per month or better. Accommodations Renting an apartment in a decent neighborhood near the city center is on the top of the list. An unfurnished one bedroom apartment will cost upwards of R$1000 per month, plus condominium fees (where applicable) which can be almost equal to the rent in some cases. In most cases you will also have to pay the property taxes and rental insurance too. If you are willing to spend some time commuting to work (a hassle but manageable if you know the shortcuts and how the transit system works) you can save a great deal on rent which you can plough back into other areas of your budget. Not everybody can afford the rents in Itaim Bibi, Jardins, Paulista, Morumbi, etc., but there are some rather nice neighborhoods that still have reasonable rents and property values a bit farther from the city center. If you can manage it, visit a few real estate agencies in a neighborhood that might interest you. Most of them will have a bulletin board with photos and details of their rental and sale properties available. Remember, if you move farther from the city center for cheaper rents you will want to try and find a place that is as close as possible to a train or subway station or to one of the transit bus terminals in order to facilitate and reduce the time of your daily commute. Rental contracts are fixed by law at 30 months, nothing less. Only furnished apartments come with appliances and they are outrageously expensive, so you will most likely need to buy appliances. Refrigerators here range from the lowest price of around R$900 upwards to over R$2000 depending on the features you want. Washing machines are about the same and clothes dryers are almost unheard of here in Brazil. A basic 4 burner gas range/oven with automatic ignition will cost about R$500 and the more burners or features the price only goes up from there. Air conditioners are about R$1000 if you want one of those. Electric heaters (central heating is non-existent here) depending on the size are also expensive. In case nobody has told you, winter in São Paulo can get rather chilly and you will probably be more comfortable with at least a small heater. If your budget doesn't allow for buying expensive new appliances many bairros have small shops called "Topa Tudo" which sell used appliances, furniture, electronics, etc. You can usually find real bargains. If you buy a new mattress, for example, you can save buy purchasing a beautiful bed frame and headboard that is used. Other items like appliances, kitchen cabinets, etc., as long as they are clean and in good working condition what does it matter if they are new or used? I don't know if I would go so far as buying a used sofa, I guess that would depend on the amount of use it had seen. Grocery Shopping and Eating Out A trip to the supermarket can be frightening; prices are constantly rising on everything. A single person should budget about R$500 a month at minimum perhaps more if you like to eat a lot. Depending on where you go eating out can range from very inexpensive to rather expensive. Small "self-serve" restaurants offer ready-made dishes the average price in São Paulo is R$10 (higher in upscale neighborhoods). You can usually get a good meal at one of them (by weight) for about R$15. Good restaurants can charge about R$30 or more for a decent meal. You can economize on your grocery budget by organizing your shop; stock up by buying larger quantities of the products that dont spoil quickly, buy a large quantity of a specific product this shop and then something else the next shop. If you can buy your vegetables at one of the many local street markets you may be able to save over the produce prices in supermarkets. Keep your eye on the supermarket flyers and watch for bargains. Another way to economize on grocery costs (if you can adapt to the Brazilian rice & beans standard diet) is to buy a cesta básica each month. It is a standardized selection of the basic food and other items that comes pre-packaged, don't buy it from the supermarket even if they do sell it because they charge too much. Look around, ask people until you find some individual who sells the cesta básica. Chances are that they will even deliver it to your door in most cases. It is usually much cheaper than buying the very same items and quantities separately. You will only have to augment this with some of the perishable foods that the cesta básica doesn't contain. Ask your employer if they are already in the government program that provides a cesta for their employees as a benefit of their employment. If you live alone and dont eat a great deal at a sitting you can economize quite a lot by finding a small self-serve that has a decent variety on their lunch menu and order a marmitex. This is a prepared meal that comes in an aluminum take-out container which consists of rice, beans, sometimes a small amount of salad, farofa and a portion of meat, chicken, etc. The quantity of food is sufficient for an average person (who doesnt gorge themselves) for lunch and dinner. Depending on the part of the city the price averages around R$10, so you could consider that as a cost cutting measure if you have to buy a lunch at work anyway. If you do have the time to cook at home you can cut that cost substantially by shopping wisely. You can make a healthy and nutritious meal like a "marmitex", for example a drumstick, rice, beans, a vegetable. salad and juice for just a bit over R$3. Other Shopping If you buy anything, especially clothing and accessories, in the large shopping centers in São Paulo you will pay astronomical prices. Shopping in neighborhoods away from Morumbi, Itaim Bibi, Paulista, etc., you generally can find the same or similar products at considerably lower prices in small shops. You can really save thousands of Reais yearly if you look a little farther from home for bargains. What is your time worth? Is the convenience of popping into that giant shopping center near you worth the extra money you pay? I buy all household accessories and gadgets at a R$1,99 store whenever possible. These shops can be found almost everywhere and stock a wide variety of useful items. You can outfit your entire kitchen with pots and pans, cuttlery and chinawear, etc., at rock bottom prices. Many other handy household items, decorations and tools can be found there too. Utility Bills Utilities in São Paulo are also expensive. Electricity for a single person who uses lots of lighting and a computer will probably run around R$120 per month, water R$30, For a TV/internet/telephone basic plan you can count on paying at least R$175 per month without any extras and not counting long distance phone charges. Since many apartments do not have piped gas you will also have to pay for CNG to be delivered. The tank costs about R$90 the first time, then each further delivery they exchange it with a full tank and this costs about R$45. If you cook a lot or use the oven frequently it will generally last a single person only 3 months. Cutting costs in the area of utilities can be a bit tricky, but it is possible. Remember always turn off the lights when you are actually not using them and buy low-energy fluorescents. Since most showers are electric, take shorter showers and use the low heat setting and if possible confirm that the pressure restriction plug has been installed between the shower head and outlet pipe. Turn off the faucet whenever possible and dont let water run unnecessarily. If your toilet doesnt already have an economy flush valve you could fill a plastic bottle with water and place that in the tank to reduce the amount of water used for each flush. Many people dont even bother with having a landline fixed telephone and use cellular phone service exclusively and save money by doing this, think about your needs. Long distance telephone charges are cheaper on Sunday, at night and on holidays so organize your long distance calling habits to maximize savings. The strategic use of public phones and their phone cards can save significantly if you are making long distance calls. If you dont watch a lot of TV dont waste money on cable television, you can get a lot of great programs on the internet at sites like www.megatvonline.org or www.assistatvonline.com this is an option for those who have internet service. Cutting cost on the gas bill, prepare meals that mostly use the stove-top and limit the use of your oven. This will generally extend the period your gas bottle will last substantially. Get a good microwave oven recipe book and learn to use your machine for more than just defrosting frozen foods and making popcorn. You will save money and be much healthier too. Driving/Cars/Transportation Unless you REALLY need a car and plan on doing a great deal of driving every day you should forget about buying a car here in Brazil, they are just too expensive when you factor in all the additional expenses. Popular compact cars here (manual transmission) and no options start around R$23000 and go up from there. The larger cars run from R$50000 and up. Insurance is super-expensive and the list of things that it DOESN'T cover is frightening. Taxes paid every year like IPVA, DPVAT are horrible too, then there is fuel which depends on the system your car has, alcohol for "flex" cars is around R$1,25 a liter, regular gasoline around R2,20, diesel R$1,90 and natural gas is around R$1,50. Add to that high maintenance costs, tires, etc. Then too the bureaucracy involved in either having your (home country) drivers license translated and accepted here or getting a Brazilian license is absurd. If you come from Canada/USA/Mexico/Central or South America you can get a Inter-Americas Drivers Permit (IADP) which will allow you to drive here for 1 year with a valid drivers license from home. An International Drivers Permit (IDP) is NOT valid in Brazil since it is not one of the signatory countries. If your company doesn't provide you with a car and driver when needed you will probably save money in the long run by taking taxis when you really need one rather than buy a car. Public transportation in São Paulo is not the worlds greatest but it remains a viable option despite the fact that the cash fare for the bus or subway/train are the highest in Brazil at R$3,00. If you purchase a Bilhete Unico pass and keep it topped up with credits you can save money since using the pass permits using four different buses in a two hour period on weekdays, or two buses and subway/train. If you are paying cash there are no transfer privileges like those with the pass. If you know how the system works and you use the internet Google Maps and the SP Trans website to plan your trips you can find shortcut that will save you time and money making public transportation more attractive and worth the added inconvenience. FORUM ANIMATOR'S NOTE: While these comments are made with specific reference to Greater São Paulo the tips hold true for any place in Brazil. We live on a planet with finite resources, we have (unless you're the Sultan of Brunai or Bill Gates) finite incomes. Use your head and think about what you buy, what you use and how you buy or use it means money in YOUR pocket.

Last activity 17 March 2020 by cfmurray

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bemcasadoMember04 March 2020 20:47:55

#41

One recent change is that there is now a digital labor card. For most jobs, a physical copy of the labor card is no longer necessary as everything can be done electronically.

cfmurrayNew member07 March 2020 13:35:56

#42

Thank you very much for the response Robal. Sorry to hear that James passed away. He was a very good source of information.

cfmurrayNew member07 March 2020 13:47:50

#43

Thanks Robal, I was thinking about getting a position at the US Consulate where I would have definite preference, as I'm a retired veteran, and the US government has to hire veterans before anyone else. The only problem is that my wife's house is on the northeast side of Sao Paulo, and the Consulate is on the southwest side.

GuestPoster204Guest07 March 2020 21:35:09

#44

214245

cfmurray wrote:
Thanks Robal, I was thinking about getting a position at the US Consulate where I would have definite preference, as I'm a retired veteran, and the US government has to hire veterans before anyone else. The only problem is that my wife's house is on the northeast side of Sao Paulo, and the Consulate is on the southwest side.

Traffic is horrible in São Paulo. If you take the bus I imagine to swing to the other side would take you about 1 hour.

GuestPoster204Guest07 March 2020 21:38:26

#45

214245

And thanks for your service!

robal

cfmurrayNew member17 March 2020 18:16:58

#46

No problem. I'm not going to insult your intelligence, and tell you that my motives were all altruistic. Because of the military, I was able to get my bachelor's degree in Business Mgt. But, that didn't require staying as long as I did. I enjoyed what I did, and I enjoyed serving my country. As for the distance between Vila Gustavo and the US Consulate, there's nothing that says we can't consider moving a little closer. My wife has said that the English schools that pay better salaries are in the area surrounding the Consulate as well.

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