However, we are no longer in Thailand. Now we are happily residing in Chapala, Mexico. When we arrived six weeks ago, the peso was trading slightly below 10 pesos to the dollar. For our record-keeping purposes we simply rounded it out to 10. Now, a few weeks later, it's over 12.5 to the dollar -- meaning a peso is worth 8 cents. That's a big bump in the purchasing power of our retirement dollars.
To put this into perspective, our rent, which is priced in pesos, has now declined more than 25% in dollar terms. In fact, everything is now 25% off for us. Food, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment have all become less expensive.