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Cost of Living in Chisinau

This page will show you my monthly living expenses starting with September 2005. The main purpose of this page is to give you a real life example of what it costs to live in Chisinau, so that you could compare it with the official living minimum and with the average salary in Moldova. There are a few caveats, please read them to avoid getting a wrong impression from my particular way of life.

Here's a chart of Food and Utilities expenses. These are the only two categories that are constant, while others depend on circumstances and vary wildly from month to month.

I apologise if the table is not as readable as it could be, but I am not sure how to format it. Suggestions are welcome.

All amounts are in US dollars, converted from Moldovan Leu at the National Bank Of Moldova rate on the last day of the respective month. Even though the USD has dropped in 2007, I am keeping this currency as my income is in USD, like for many other people in the financial industry in Moldova.

Month	Food and drink	Baby	Pet (cat)	Public transport	Utilities	Communi- cations	Health and Beauty	Household	Clothing	Enter- tainment	Total	Exchange rate (per 1 $)
June 2008	353	184	41	1	65	40	48	45	5	8	790	MDL 9.92
May 2008	346	222	7	9	32	46	58	80	158	8	892	MDL 10.25
April 2008	351	501	45	1	60	45	60	39	0	12	1041	MDL 10.37
March 2008	230	203	3	1	62	27	46	94	8	14	616	MDL 10.61
February 2008	271	188	4	1	61	26	37	38	87	13	726	MDL 11.19
January 2008	192	59	42	1	64	25	84	24	75	15	581	MDL 11.28
December 2007	254	315	3	1	49	42	50	23	7	7	751	MDL 11.32
November 2007	181	103	35	3	47	24	63	15	88	7	566	MDL 11.26
October 2007	180	88	3	1	29	25	188	78	90	7	689	MDL 11.47
September 2007	214	212	37	6	30	51	334	119	26	7	1036	MDL 11.51
August 2007	202	---	0	6	29	32	76	47	72	13	477	MDL 12.08
July 2007	218	---	33	4	20	39	45	50	14	8	431	MDL 12.11
June 2007	284	---	5	3	24	29	16	240	22	6	629	MDL 12.27
May 2007	235	---	32	7	22	39	123	108	147	19	732	MDL 12.42
April 2007	234	---	3	11	41	32	122	102	220	6	771	MDL 12.41
March 2007	278	---	29	11	40	38	35	244	134	30	839	MDL 12.52
February 2007	176	---	2	10	44	30	78	50	37	6	433	MDL 12.80
January 2007	146	---	33	13	33	30	112	43	1	6	417	MDL 12.97
December 2006	202	---	7	10	35	30	68	100	14	61	528	MDL 12.91
November 2006	200	---	19	10	23	27	118	32	19	8	457	MDL 13.19
October 2006	174	---	21	10	19	30	37	39	69	13	413	MDL 13.23
September 2006	162	---	25	8	22	38	22	1	118	6	402	MDL 13.29
August 2006	245	---	59	10	25	28	94	62	164	12	699	MDL 13.32
July 2006	178	---	52	16	21	31	81	66	71	13	531	MDL 13.32
June 2006	237	---	65	11	19	35	92	53	51	14	577	MDL 13.29
May 2006	186	---	20	6	27	26	87	27	11	23	413	MDL 13.22
April 2006	206	---	52	11	36	22	86	22	144	10	589	MDL 13.01
March 2006	224	---	16	10	43	36	39	178	31	10	587	MDL 13.02
February 2006	145	---	12	6	40	20	14	3	0	10	251	MDL 12.97
January 2006	163	---	14	9	43	12	69	84	5	22	423	MDL 12.93

Please read the notes below regarding the data in the table:

1. Prior to September 2007, all expenses related to a family of 2 - young husband and wife (in their twenties). Starting September 2007, the family expanded to include a little girl :) .
2. These expenses do not include rent or mortgage because we don't pay any (my parents own the apartment);
3. After the birth of our daughter in September 2007, our parents have been helping us with shopping and cooking, which mostly means that we are not paying for some of our food expenses.
4. The "Baby" category includes items that relate exclusively to the baby, such as clothes, diapers etc. Some items that we buy for our daughter but which can be used by us (e.g. some medicines etc.) go into their respective categories. Thus, the real Baby-related expenses are likely to be higher than what goes into the respective column in the table.
5. Beginning with September 2007, we changed our preferred shopping place from the Green Hills chain, which became far too expensive, to cheaper stores. It is less convenient, but more economic.
6. These expenses are by no means the total we spend each month. We spend more, but I am only showing those expenses that would be relevant to the general population.
7. Exchange rates are taken from the National Bank of Moldova for the last day of each month. With the falling USD, the dollar amounts are inflated even if the MDL amounts stay the same or are slightly lower.
8. When we buy food and drinks, we usually buy WHAT WE WANT, provided it is not abnormally expensive. We almost never eat out, but cook our food at home. I would say we buy a lot of stuff average Moldovans would not buy because of low disposable income. However, to have a decent quality of life (i.e. be able to consume coffee, chocolate, high quality meat etc.) one would have to spend at least as much as we do.
9. Communications include home phone bill and mobile phone cards; starting March 2006, this also includes monthly internet bill for the next month (currently MDL 240);
10. I mostly work from home, so public transport expenses relate mainly to Sasha, my wife; Transport also includes an occational taxi when coming home late in the evening;
11. We are still finishing renovating our apartment so household expenses are higher than average because we are equipping our household with necessary items (dishes, pans, tools, bed linen, home appliances etc.);
12. We have enough clothes so clothes shopping is rare. Read about shopping at the Living in Chisinau page to understand this better.
13. Entertainment includes mainly going out to have dinner with friends, buying magazines and paying for cable TV.
14. December 2005 Food & Drink expenses are high because of the preparations for celebrations. In January we hosted a friend for a whole month so January food consumption did not go down after December's high expenses. In March 2006, I guess, we just ate more expensive stuff. Another factor may be the fact that in 2006, the VAT (sales tax) on meat was apparently raised from 8% to 20%, and I like meat.
15. In 2006 our cat was sick and we had to take him to the vet a lot.
16. My birthday is in June, and Sasha's - in August, so June and August food expenses are high because we had a couple of small parties.
17. In August 2006 public transport tariffs were increased.

For those looking for prices of individual items, here's another table. It shows average price of items in the last month when we bought it (in MDL). Thus, these prices may not be correct at all during periods of fast changes (early summer for vegetables and fruits, for example). These tables are shown on an "as is" basis and are for guidance purposes only. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you want the table to contain other items. These prices are by no means the cheapest available - they are averages for us, depending on when and where we bought the respective products.

Category	Average unit price in MDL	Last measured month
Food
Fresh champignons, 1kg	35	Jun-08
Pasta, 0.4kg	10.91	Apr-08
Flour, 2kg	15.95	Apr-08
Rice, 1kg	19.23	May-08
Milk, 1 litre	6.40	Apr-08
Butter, 200g	14.50	Jun-08
Yoghurt 4x125g	14.00	Mar-08
Veal, 1kg	90.00	Jun-08
Pork, 1kg	91.18	May-08
Salami, 1kg	108.50	Jun-08
Carbonated drink, 1.5 litres	8.30	Jun-07
Mineral water, 2 litres	3.96	Apr-07
Tea, 100 teabags	29.60	Jun-08
Cabbage, 1kg	8.00	Jun-08
Zuccini, 1kg	6.00	Jun-08
Potatoes, 1kg	9.00	Jun-08
Onions, 1kg	9.00	Jun-08
Carrots, 1kg	10.00	Jun-08
Cucumbers, 1kg	9.00	Jun-08
Tomatoes, 1kg	15.00	Jun-08
Frozen chicken, 1kg	44.00	Jun-08
Eggs, 10pcs	13.30	Jun-08
Juice, 2 litres	18.53	May-08
Cheese, 1kg	100.86	Jun-08
Bananas, 1kg	16.00	Jun-08
Lemons, 1kg	37.00	Jun-08
Apples, 1kg	34.95	May-08
Household chemicals
Fairy, 1 litre	23.70	Feb-07
Persil gel, 1.5 litres	98.28	May-08
Liquid Soap, 1 litre	20.27	May-08
Calgon, 1kg	106.79	Feb-08
Hygiene
Toilet paper x10 pack	47.63	Apr-08
Aquafresh toothpaste	19.67	May-08
Toothbrush	19.19	Apr-08
Utilities
Electricity, 1 kilowatt-hour	0.98	Jun-08
Tap water, 1 cubic metre	5.07	Jun-08
Hot water (in addition to tap water charge), 1 cubic metre	19.30	Jun-08
Central heating, 1 gigacalory	233.00	Apr-08
Natural gas, 1 cubic metre	2.80	Jun-08