Updated February 2022

The lower costs of self-care in Mexico

I wonder if everyone who lives in Mexico goes through the same mad spending spree in the run-up to a visit home that I do.  

You can take several different approaches on what to do with the money you save living in Mexico. You can keep it in the bank working for you, spend it on luxuries you may not be able to afford at home or blend the two models, like I do. Moving to Mexico was never about just saving money for me. It was about adventure, learning a second language and living better - perhaps even taking a little better care of myself.

Dental work

I calculated that having my recent root canal done in Mexico saved me at least $1,200. I had five appointments from initial consult to placing the new crown (quite a little mess they found there). The whole process cost $400 dollars.  

I’d venture to guess that aside from cleanings, most people don’t have dental work done until something hurts due to the cost. In Mexico, I approach dental work more proactively. What once would have been a luxury; replacing old crowns and back fillings before they became a problem, I’m able afford now that I’ve discovered the buzzing little clinic I go to in Mazatlán. There are hundreds of such clinics in Mexico border towns as well in as in all of Mexico’s popular expat destinations. Whitening trays, bonding, replacing crowns can all be achieved at a fraction of the cost.

Salon treatments

Instead of simply basking in wicked glee over the money I saved on the dental work, I decided pamper myself with a few other services, some that I only do in Mexico, and others that I did at home in the US, but are more costly.

First stop was an appointment for hair coloring and highlights. The cost at my salon in Mexico is $75. With tip, the trip costs $200 in Denver (it’s not just any blond I ask for, as those with experienced eyes can see in the picture.)

In Mexico, you can find hair and beauty products not available in the U.S. I purchased hair serum ampules from a Spanish company that they’d used in my appointment for about $60 dollars (which raised the question: How can vegetables have placentas?)

Optometrists

Next was a trip to the optometrist to pick up my contact lenses for six months. The supply that runs at least $250 in the U.S costs $165 in Mexico. The Mexican optician, who spent an hour and a half getting my prescription so perfect a year ago and charged 500 pesos (about $25 dollars), does not require a new eye exam to renew my contact prescription every year.

Dermatologists

A few days later, I went to my dermatologist and bought a good number of jabs of Botox around the eyes. I save about $75 and the procedure is carried out by the dermatologist, not a esthetician as in the U.S. She does a bang-up job.

I have a sun damage around my ankles due to my over-the-top, extreme radical whiteness. My American doctor told me there was nothing she could do. Her only suggestion was a lotion for $80 a bottle that probably wouldn't work and would take three months of application to know if it did.

While at my dermatologist’s office in Mexico, I also decided to take the bait for an elixir that she formulated up for the same condition. She said that so many of her patients came in with it, she decided to create her own treatment.

Her brew, a clear liquid that you dab in the affected area twice a day, along with a spray cost $120 for a six-month treatment, making it an experiment whose cost I could live with.

She conscientiously took pictures of my ankles before and after so I could monitor the improvement. She sells the products from her own little pharmacy off to the side of her office waiting area. The treatment and spray, with handwritten labels, are passed through what looks like bank tellers windows.

(I’ve learned to just stop asking why these crazy situations exist and just enjoy the possibilities.)

Vanity pharmacy items

And of course, I had my pharmacy runs to make. Someday I predict my pharmacy purchases will be of a more serious nature. For now, I’m enjoying being able to afford a little woman-in-full vanity. I stocked up on Latisse ($37 - called Lumigan in Mexico) for longer eyelashes, and Retin A ($15 - to treat my… acne), both available without a prescription here.

If you’re coming to Mexico, look up the names in Spanish of your favorite medications, ointments and any optional treatments that would make your life more comfortable or improve your appearance that you can’t afford in the United States. You may be able to buy them over the counter and more cheaply in Mexico.

I suggest the pharmacies Farmacias Modernas, Farmacias Guadalajara and Farmacias Similares, the latter of which is the place to go for generics. Check prices in several pharmacies. Prices vary a great deal from pharmacy to pharmacy. Mexican pharmacies often don’t carry deep inventories. Once you find what you want, it may take several runs to different pharmacies if you want to stock up for your trip back.

Paying in advance on my $10 a month AT&T phone plan

On a more practical note but still on the topic of stocking up, I also went over and pre-payed my AT&T bill for the months I’d be in at home in the U.S.

My plan, which includes unlimited calling to and from Mexico and the U.S from either country, costs $10 a month here. Buying this plan, which is monthly with no contract saves me at least $840 a year from the Verizon plan I had four years ago.

Leaving with more to give

Finally, I took the rest of my savings from the dental work and bought a beautifully-sparkling bracelet with turquoise stones at the Sanborn department store for the daughter of a Mexican friend of mine who just graduated from college.

It was a big week spending, and I left without a reason to feel guilty over even a peso of it.

Related Links:

Currency confusion when you first arrive in Mexico - Ventanas Mexico

Great beauty products you might want to load up on in Mexico - Ventanas Mexico

Next up:

The legend of La Malinche bleeds into the modern Mexican’s psyche…and my gift giving.

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Pharmacies deliver in Mexico.  How would their recommendations differ?

About the author:
Kerry Baker is a partner with Ventanas Mexico and author of three books.

The second book, "If Only I Had a Place" is a guide to renting the most luxurious places in Mexico or less, and avoiding the pitfalls of renting in Mexico, where fewer legal protections exist. More than a how-to, this a guide to a rich expat existence.

Her third book is “The Mexico Solution: Saving your money, sanity, and quality of life through part-time life in Mexico.” There’s no how-to book like it - both instructional and entertaining. Most recently she co-authored a cookbook, The Lazy Expat: Healthy Recipes That Translate in Mexico for travelers, snowbirds and expats trying to eat healthy in Mexico.