Millionaire Librarian

Cuenca, Ecuador — July 2026

Health 907
Rent 450
Food 437
Restaurant 320
Preschool & Aftercare 278
Alcohol 178 (This does include some meals we ate out as well, which inflates the number.)
Housecleaner 90
Household 86
Transport 70
Other 35
Social Life 28
Education 96
Beauty 15
Apparel 3

Total: 3099

US Estimated Equivalent (Used rural Missouri numbers where we used to live, where possible)

Health 2740 (twice-weekly speech sessions, insurance, and uncovered medications like Ozempic)
Rent 1000
Food 800
Restaurants 760
Daycare 1000
Alcohol 360
Housecleaner 400 (weekly home cleaners)
Household 170
Transport 400 (with paid-off cars)
Other 35
Social Life 70
Education 400 (private Spanish lessons, 1x/week)
Beauty 30
Apparel 10

Total: 8175

These are our July expenses in Cuenca, and for fun we estimated how much a similar lifestyle would cost in the US since we’ve expanded our lifestyle since moving here. In the US equivalent section, we added some details to help explain the major expenses in each category. A lot of these expenses we simply wouldn’t have bought for various reasons, like the housecleaner or Spanish lessons — mostly they wouldn’t have been worth the cost for us. We also receive better medical care in Ecuador and eat much better. At all times we have fresh fruits and vegetables in the house because they’re so cheap and great here. In the US, we would likely snack on chips or something less healthy instead. Better living and food has led to my wife losing 47 pounds and me losing 30 pounds in the last year. This is also a good time to note that August 4th was our one-year “Cuencaversary.”

We’re spending 62% less than the US-equivalent lifestyle — $5,076/month, or about $60,900/year. That’s not “prices are cheaper”; that changed our FI timeline.