Rising Inflation : Tips for Managing Living Expenditure in Qatar?

I cannot help much here, as i buy what i like and i eat what i like.

Everybody is right and Everybody is wrong, its depend where you stand

Go for a healthy diet ... eat only vegetables cooked at home ... you can say you are very health and diet conscious ... and can save a lot of money by not eating junk food and going out for restaurants ... watch movies only on dvds taken on rent ...

Is the cost of living really that unbearable in Doha ???

Nobody dies a virgin ... Life Screws you anyway !!!

YOU ARE REALLY A LUCKY FELLOW ....ONLY FEW PEOPLE ARE ENJOYING THIS FACILITIES....BUT THE MAJORITY REALLY STRUGGLES. THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES ARE STAYING HERE IN JUST A SINGLE ROOM WITH THEIR KIDS. WORLD IS NOT JUST FOR SOME PEOPLE ...ITS IS FOR CATS, DOGS AND THE POOR PEOPLE AS WELL.

So you are living in dreamland eh??

What about people who are earning QR 3.500 - 4.500 paying rent and paying food and paying transportation? What if they are not vegetarian and what if they never eat fast food and what if they never go to the cinema or afford a  TV or DVD player?? What about the same people who are sending money home to thier families so that they can live - what are they living on.

Your life is very simple!!

"Is the cost of living really that unbearable in Doha ?"  YOUR QUOTE

God this whole conversation topic is boring.

All the ex-pats came to live here because they felt they would have a better life here than in their home country.

If their life isn't any better here than in their original home, then they should stop complaining and just leave.

If you can't afford to live here and support your family, stop whining about it and find a way to improve your salary and your lifestyle. 

Honestly, everyone on this blog knows that there are people who are struggling, but let's be honest.  It is mostly their choice. 

If your salary here is lower than in your home, then GO HOME.

If your salary here is higher than in your home, then BE GRATEFUL YOU ARE HERE.

Either way, stop complaining - what do you want us to do about your rent?

not that "go home' rubbish again!

toast to that rami, but this is actually good topic. perhaps someone can give example to someone else in how to budgeting and survived living in Qatar.

Everybody is right and Everybody is wrong, its depend where you stand

Sorry CB ... but you have mistaken me ... I have still to land in Qatar ... I am still waiting for the visa ... That was a question from me regarding the Cost of Living in Qatar ...

Well yesterday, I was telling my wife that Qatar seems to be very expensive and she suggested me, we can save money by not going to the restaurants and movies which we do almost every couple of days ...

I hope you understood me ...

Nobody dies a virgin ... Life Screws you anyway !!!

You could offer to give him some money for his rent - this would be compassionate for instance.

I am happy to give all the compassion I can.  I normally prefer to give tips, since it helps to actually pay for food.  But if it's compassion you want, then that's fine with me. 

I'll keep my small change then and just give you a compassionate glance when you fill my car with petrol, or carry my shopping for me, or bring me my real in the local restaurant. 

Honestly, we all know that some people are doing it really, really tough.  I get that.  But my question is why bother?  Why oh why are you here?

Cost of Living and Standard of Living are inversely proportional ... One increases, the other decreases ...

Nobody dies a virgin ... Life Screws you anyway !!!

Give me QR 4000,-- and then you only have to budget QR 500, - easy

Thanks for your kindness...How blind the people are here.....How the people can think that they can solve a severe issue like this by giving some tips. Think..beggers are not worried about their house rent as they are willing to beg. Money cannot transform a stupid man to sensible. But…it can make a sensible man to stupid.

Is Food available for QR5?

YES......and thank God for the Malabari Restaurants dotted around Doha where you can have unlimited rice (mota) with Dal +fish Curry+Pickle & pupadam for QR5

and Unlimited Chiken Biryani for QR7.

Inflation has not touch them yet. They still have the rates that were 2yrs back!

Actually it was your suggestions that upset me - some are living on poor salaries and even with QR 3-4.500 this is what a salesman or a secretary may get it is just enough to get by on without fast food or anything else. Vegetables are not a cure for poor people it is a case if they can affor therm or not even the rice is expensive.

A room costs anywhere from QR 500,-- sharing with others to nowadays

QR 2000,-- which is about Euro 500,-- for this you can get a one room appartment in Munich.

Vegetables are expensive too and don't keep too long in the fridge, Qatar does produce some of it's own but not enough

The labourers are a different case and I blame other sources for this my opinion about this is well know.

Very good ..mohan. Are u still sleeping at the same foot path. I hope the government has not increased the rent of that yet.....Dont worry about the food ....you will get it for 5 riyal until the end of the world. 

Yes .now you are with us...

2 Porotas + 1 Egg Curry = QR 4 this morning

h

beggers are not worried about ANY THING as they are willing to beg. Who paid for your breakfast today

CB - So when can I collect my QR 50 note?

CB - ok corrected the typo error. now happy. my QR 50 pl.

hey...its lunch time... what happened  to you .......dont forget it ...

go to the street .... somebody may help you

And I take my lunch right in side my room :)

I "struggle to lead a decent life in [England] due the merciless hike in house [prices]".  And the inflation there generally!

You can forget eating out or going to the theatre or cinema on any regular basis.  I have no idea how we will survive there, once we retire. 

Working away from home (e.g. in Doha) is for us, like for most, hopefully a way to save a little money for when that time comes.

If someone takes work here then I assume it is because it pays better than staying at home, in the bosom of their family in familiar surroundings.  If it wasn't for that reason, then why come here?

I DO appreciate that it seems some don't read their contracts properly and so haven't seen that they have to pay for housing etc, but surely the white collar workers do and can read a contract?

I am thinking the poster of this thread isn't working as a truck driver.  Forgive me if I'm wrong.

Jauntie,

I am glad someone is injecting this discussion with some perspective.  Even most of the 'over paid' western expatriates are here because of the crippling cost of living in their own countries. 

I find it hard to believe that there are people on this forum who cannot afford to pay the rent and put food on the table, yet have both the time to access the internet, and the money to do so.

I don't even pay for the net - I put my laptop on a window ledge and pick up the signal from an unknown neighbor - so that's my tip for budgeting.

But honestly, how do those people only earning 3000 a month afford to keep up their net habit? 

So inflation stop spending on DJ parties

Guys, anyone of you went to the airport last few weeks. Indian people are runing from Qatar since thier economy getting better. it is so expensive country for nothing realy worth the high cost of living here.

the problem is that as long as there are people eating here and no major reflect or running our people, nobody will care for what we are crying for here. hopefuly rent will come down if the theory of offer and demand is aplicable here in Qatar

Good suggestions

but let me ask a question, does it mean that a middle income person should sacrifice 99% of his necessities to save money.

When
you have your family here there are certain things that you cannot
avoid like a decent house, a net connection, entertainment  etc,
even though these are very dear. what is the point of living like
that....

i do understand that dining out in a costly restaurant or buying really expensive stuff are spendthrift.

i am sure that most of the expatriates here own a good house back
home  with all necessities, its only for the extra income or may
be the unemployment situations in their country that brings them here.
their living conditions here are far worse than their home land.

to
be frank i have adopted Rami-leb's idea from long time by using the
unsecured wireless net connections and saving atleast a couple of
hundred riyals.

...The Oracle...

smulangad....

I am very proud to say that Malabri Restaurants are able to provide good food (That too at unlimited quantity till your stomach is full) at QR 5. (also Porota & Egg curry /-a-t-/ QR4 as Charan pointed out).

This at a time when the minimum fare of Taxi is QR4!

That you say they will charge the same till the end of the world seems to show how much grey matter you have.

There are people who use mobile phones only to miscall, If things are very urgent they send text message, speaking is done only through the land phone.

And for those people who Pay their employes Qr600 or there about and talk BIG about tipping at the petrol station, Waiters, and packing boys (who have now become cart pushers).....I say save those tips for somebody to push your coffin!

Let's get back to the original poster's topic:  budgets & how to save money.

In the past two years, my family (dw, dd, and me) total expenses have been (on average) QR2800/month.  This is from:  supermarket food/drink, housemaid salary, restaurant (once/wk), clothes, petrol, regular car maintenance/repairs, QTel bill (phone & Internet), and miscellaneous (we bought a blender last week).  This doesn't include rent, dd's schooling fees, and unusual expenses that won't (hopefully) happen again:  housemaid agency fees, buying car, and major car accident repairs (we only had 3rd party insurance).   

Is this monthly expense too high?  I try to keep the phone bill down by not calling mobile phones from home b/c these are expensive.  I call somebody's mobile phone and ask them to call me back (if they can) on their house phone.  Of couse, if they aren't at home, then I just keep talking with their mobile.  Some things are naturally more expensive here:  Korean food (tofu, seaweed, Chinese cabbage (needed for dw to make her kimchi)), and the packaged Korean instant noodles (called ramien)).

What are others monthly expense?

This is such a timely topic because I have been calculating my monthly expenses and income over the past 2 years.  I'm hoping to buy an apartment in Toronto this summer so I need to know the size mortgage I can handle.

There is no way Out only if your Salary keep increasing or your Employer give you Company Accomodation...............

No one is going to do anything.......for us.......................

One good way is to go every week to vegetable central market (the auction area) and get your need at half the price.

try to share same one in transport to work

rent no way

First fix up ur mind whether u would like to  settledown here or u want to earn something and go back to ur country based on that u can plan ur further course of action. If u want to settledown here, try to maximise ur earnings and minimise ur cost.  if u want to go back to ur home country after certain period of time, try to be alone, earn, save and go back.   Changes in Qatar is not in our control,   We have to acccept the changes whether we like it or not.  

One suggestion is to use Skype to call people at home. Its cheaper.

What can i say? i am one of the people who won't be rich because i make people rich. We used to eat in the restaurant and only once in a blue moon when i have the time to cook. Everything is ready, i don't like this lifestyle but what can i do, i am so busy that i can't even teavh my grown up girls how to cook. 

"There's nothing we can do to change the past, if it teaches  you a lesson profit from it then, forget it."

im like mila, i shop(super vain when it comes to shopping), what i want and i eat where i want.

like mile,m into saving too(30% of my salary)

but unlike mila, my company pays my rent,

and unlike mila, i send money home(like monthly and i call this charity)

Tips for managing living expenditure in Qatar?  Well, I think this is an excellent thread.  I've read many positive, constructive remarks so far, and I think it's brilliant. One is really funny..... the response to Charansoi's question "Please tell me how to manage with a salary of QR4500pm?" and the response was "Give me QR4000, so you only have to worry about QR500 to manage". LoL

As for me, I planned my budget very carefully before coming to this country.  It's easy to do with Excel on the computer.  I researched QL website while being in my country, and managed to get very sound advice from many wonderful QL members. (Thank you very much)   I was sure of the costs of major items even before I arrived in Qatar.  Then, I calculated various options: staying alone in a one room flat, sharing an apartment, staying in a villa, bringing my family to stay with me, buying a car, renting a car, what type of car to buy, inflation rate, depreciating Dollar. etc etc

I now have a clear idea on how much I can save monthly, what is the maximum and minimum I can/want to save, when would the "tipping point" for me to leave this country, etc. 

Basically, doing thorough calculations has given me the comfort and the window within which I will be able to work in Qatar.  There are, however, several key factor that could change all this: 1) My decision to leave Qatar on my own free will, 2) My employer opting not to extend my contract, 3) Inflation exceeding 30% p.a. for the next 3 years,  4) US Dollar falling by 25% against its already low value presently5) Qatari Government regulations (such as expatriates living in Qatar over x number of years must leave!) 6) Accommodation rates rising by at least 55% from the present figures in the next 2 years. 

Another important point to keep in mind is " Buy what you NEED rather than what you WANT" 

Anyway, this is how I've done my calculations. I am fully aware that my calculations are not water tight but at least I have an idea of various scenarios.

 I hope it provides some useful information to QL members and those wanting to come to work in Qatar.

Ive saved myself a bundle with impulse shopping here in Q. Normally at home i would buy impulsively regradless of whether i need it or not, where here, i always think short term, no matter how long we stay here, its still not my permanent home, hence i think when i leave the only things i will be taking with me is whats in my suitcase, as shipping things overseas is not only expensive but a hassle.