Rocking the Balboa

In my research prior to coming to Peace Corps I learned that the Panamanian Balboa was pegged to the exchange rate of the US dollar.  What I didn't understand before coming here is that Panamanians use US currency.  

Panama does not have its own paper currency, so they use US paper currency.  They do have their own coin money (but use US coins too).  Panamanian coins are the same size and value as US coins.  

From Left to Right: medio balboa= 50 cents

quarra= 25 cents

diez centavos= 10 cents

real= 5 cents

centavo= 1 cent

In the photo they're all Panamanian coins, except the real, which is actually a US nickel because I didn't have a real on me when I took the photo.  Having a coin purse is pretty essential to life here.

Using US money (or Panamanian money of equivalent value) completely eliminates the need to do exchange rate math in your head (something I got really good at when I was living in Chile).  Instead, you just marvel at how cheap (or expensive) things are, depending on where you are in the country (and how much money you have left in your Peace Corps living allowance for the month).

The minimum wage in Panama is about $400 per month.  Peace Corps volunteers don't get paid a salary.  We get a living allowance each month to cover rent, transportation, food, household items, clothes, etc.  The point of the living allowance is for Peace Corps volunteers to live at the same level of income as people in the community where they're living and working.  

If you budget and save well you can do some really fun things, like having a pet, going to (or cooking) a nice dinner with friends, or taking yourself on vacation.  

I've gotten pretty frugal (a bottle of gatorade costs $1, not $1.50) and I keep myself on a pretty tight budget, which is a skill I wanted to develop during my service, because I was terrible at keeping a budget in the US.

Some examples of how much things cost:

• Gatorade: $1 (or 95 cents if you get it from one of the grocery stores in the city)
• A head of garlic: 20 cents
• A pound of potatoes: 60 cents
• Butter: $3 (equivalent of 2 sticks of butter)
• Half a Loaf of Bread: $2
• 4 hour bus trip from Santiago to Panama City: $9
• Monthly Water and Electric bills: $6 (to be paid at the Western Union in Matchetazo)
• My favorite rubber sandals: $4
• A meal at a Panamanian Fonda (small restaurant that serves typical food): $3-4
• Small personal pizza from my favorite pizza place in Santiago $6
• Intracity buses when I'm in Santiago: 40 cents
• Cab ride to almost anywhere in Panama City during the day, not at rush hour: $5 or less
• Chicken Tacos at my favorite Mexican place in Panama City: $5.50 (with cheese, cilantro, and onion, obviously)
• Empanadas from the kiosko at school: 25 or 40 cents each (depending on what kind they have that day)

The cost of living in Panama City is comparable to living in a city in the US, which makes it really expensive for Peace Corps volunteers, which means that I cook a lot if I'm at the hostel, but living in the interior (anywhere outside of Panama City) is much more manageable.

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