Cost of living
  Your monthly budget

 Rent varies according to location and square meterage of an apartment as well as how furnished the apartment is. An average amount one can expect to pay for a semi-furnished 2 bedroom apartment in a decent acceptable area is LE500-1000 per month. Of course if you choose to live outside of the major city areas, you will find that you can save money. A furnished 2 bedroom apartment on the outskirts of Alexandria, for example, can be had for LE350 per month. Or 3 bedroom apartment in Alex on say, the 9th floor, with no elevator can also be had for LE350.

Phone: Phone bills are paid every three months. A standard MONTHLY phone bill without international calls, but with moderate internet usage (which is charged to your phone bill, not an internet company) is around LE150. A poll of sisters here found that their monthly bills ranged anywhere from LE 75 to 250.
Mobile phone charges: Amongst our poll group, bills ranged from LE125-250 per month, with an average around LE175 per month in mobile charges. This is moderate usage. But most people find that a mobile phone is almost a necessity that comes with life in Egypt.

Internet: DSL is available in many areas of Cairo. The cost is LE150 per month. If you share a connection with some neighbors in your same building, then you will evenly split the fee. For example, if you can get two neighbors to go in with you, then you will only have to pay LE50 per month, which might really be worthwhile. Otherwise, there is no monthly fee for internet usage. The charge is per minute, and shows up as a part of your phone bill.


Electricity (aka kahrabba): Of course electric bills anywhere vary widely depending on what appliances you use, and how much. An average you can expect to pay living in Egypt is Le120/ month for a standard family of 4 (more in the summer if you run an air conditioner and less in pleasant weather). The range of monthly bills amongst our poll group was from LE70 to 150.


Gas: Most apartments and families use natural gas, both for cooking and for heating water. Some times it comes in large tanks of pressurized gas called onbubas (or is it ombubas??) or sometimes if you are lucky, you will have a gas line that is piped directly to your home. Standard gas charges for the month will be around LE10.


Garbage collection: standard is LE3-5 per month payable to the man himself, when he comes to your door at the beginning of each month. However, some doormen will collect this from you, to pass it on to the garbage collector.


Bowab: Many buildings have a family that lives on the ground floor, usually in something that is a tiny fraction of a normal sized apartment (might resemble a broom closet). The father of this family is the building's "bowab" or doorman. He is usually really helpful and will be able to direct you to all sorts of local workers (plumbers, electricians, dry cleaners, etc) and will run and do shopping for you usually. Every building's arrangement is different but usually you pay the bowab a monthly salary for keeping the stairs and lobby and grounds tidy. Standard monthly payment to bowabs is about LE20-30, plus tipping them a pound or so everytime they are sent to bring you some bread or milk or whatever. If you own a car, the bowab will offer to wash it for you everyday or every other day. The payment for this is usually around an extra 10 per month.


Daycare (aka Hedonna rhymes with Madonna): If your child is 4 years old by Oct 1 of the coming school year, it will be expected that you enroll him or her in Kindergarten. Otherwise there are many daycares located in all areas of Egypt to choose from. Full time day care in a acceptable nursery in


Cairo (without meals service) will average around 375 per month. You can find things that are much cheaper, but please go check them out first to be sure you feel the environment is compatible with your standards for safety and care.


Food and Household Items: Here are some average prices of items many foreign families buy regularly. Note: "Many people find that buying fresh produce in the street markets, or souqs, will save them some money. Others feel that the slight mark up at the grocery store is worth the cleaner more convenient experience. The prices I we are listing are just a basic guideline to give you a reference point of what you can expect to pay, it might be less in the souq, it might be more in a market. Also, bear in mind, costs of grocery store items in Hurghada are maybe 25-50% more than in Cairo and Alexandria."
A glossary of the locally used Arabic words for common household items is on its way.
To be posted soon insha'allah.

One liter of boxed milk: Le 4 (the milk here is "UHT" and pasteurized, not refrigerated and sold on the shelves. My favorite brand is Enjoy. There is also a refrigerated brand that is called Labanita which also seems to be a favorite amongst many people.
One kilogram (approx. one liter) of fresh milk (usually buffalo, not cow): 2.5-3 le but keep in mind this should be boiled before drinking.
One loaf of western style "toast" bread: Le 4
Ten pieces of Arabic style (pita) bread from the government subsidized bakery: Le 1
One kilo of chicken lunch meat: Le 23
One kilo of turkey lunch meat: Le 47
One kilo of salami lunch meat: Le 42
One kilo of beef steak: Le 30
One kilo of ground beef: Le 22
One whole chicken: Le 16
One kilo of chicken breast: Le 18 at the poultry butcher (where it's fresher), 25 at supermarket (where it's one stop shopping)
One kilo local fish: Le 12 (or LE8 if you are in Alexandria), you can have it grilled for no cost, or have it fried up for an extra LE1 per kilo
One kilo of shrimp: Le 60 (or LE40 ifyou are in Alexandria)
Plain Yogurt Le 1 for single serving
Flavored Yogurt Le 1.50 for single serving
Eggs: three eggs for Le 1 or around 40piastres each
Cheddar cheese: local is about Le 26/ kilogram, imported is about Le 60/ kilogram
One kilo of bulk butter (unsalted): Le 16.50
Cream cheese (Milkana Ultra Cream): Le 6 for what seems to be about 8 ounces
One kilo of bananas: Le 2-3 for local ones, imported are also available but there is really no reason to buy them.
One kilo of imported "Gala" style apples: Le 12
One kilo of broccoli (in season): Le 5-6
Persil laundry detergent 4.5 kilograms (about 10 lb. bag): Le 40
Disposable diapers: almost Le 1 per diaper.
Baby Wipes Le 7 for a medium sized package
Baby food in jars (Gerber, small) Le 4.75
One liter of unsweetened packaged apple juice: Le 6-7
One liter of fresh orange juice: Le 5
Small juice box (unsweetened) Le 1.75 (the size kids take to school)
Small juice box (sweetened) or flavored milks Le 1.25
Can of soft drinks Le 1.50
1.5 liters bottled soft drink (coke, pepsi, etc): Le 4.50
One kilo of almonds: approximately Le 60
One kilo of good quality dried dates: Le 8
One quarter kilo (250g) of Lipton tea: Le 7
One smallish box of local breakfast cereal (it takes getting used to): Le 8
One good sized boxed of Kellogg's breakfast cereal: Le 28
One liter of cooking oil: Le 6
One kilo of sugar: Le 2.50
One kilo of flour: Le 2.50
One kilo of rice: Le 2.25
One kilo of dried lentils or beans: Le 2
One half kilo bag of pasta: Le 1.50
Bottled water: about Le1 per liter
Local shampoo, standard sized bottle: Le 10
One bar of Camay bath soap: Le 1
Panadal (like Tylenol) pain killer, 24 tablets: Le 12
Generic maxi pads- Le 5 for 10 pads
Toilet paper - pack of 6 rolls: Le 5
Toothpaste - normal size: Le 6,5
Tampons: Le 10 small - Le 20 large


APPLIANCES:
Please note when considering bringing your appliances from outside Egypt. Egyptian current is 220volts. American current, for example, is 110volts. This means if you plug your appliances into the wall here, they will get fried. Computers have built in transformers so that is not a problem but other things will need to be run on transformers, and that is not always reliable. Especially for high wattage machines or things that are used frequently or often- vacuum cleaners, microwaves, TVs, even my hair dryer lasted only about a year. It even had the switch on it you can change with a screwdriver for travelling (yes, I did switch it). However, I have a stereo that I run on a transformer and no problems so far, but I do unplug it from the wall when it's not in use. For purchasing appliances here, many people recommend shopping in the "Duty Free" shops for appliances. Also check out the famous "Sharah Abdel Aziz" in the Attaba area of downtown Cairo. If you come prepared to pay in cash, you can really get a bargain!
Refrigerator (aka tallaga): average Le 2,000 range Le 1,000- 4,000 but on up to Le 12,000 if you want imported, top of the line
Washing machine (aka ghassala): front loading automatic washing machine Le 2,000 - 2,500 For LE5,000, you can buy a combination washer-dryer machine but there are complaints that the dryer function does not work very well (only dries half the clothes it can wash) so it may not be worth it. However if you simply must have a dryer and don't have the space for one, it may work for you. Many people here- or I should say most people here- have clotheslines from the balcony and with the dry climate, things usually dry in a few hours.
Computer: standard new desktop Le 2,000
Stove/Oven (aka butagaz): from Le 500-800
Dishwasher (aka ghasalat atbaa'): Le 1,5000 for a decent sized one, but you can find something cheaper for about half that much
Nice iron (aka makwa): Le 100, but I heard reports you can get a decent one for as little as Le 70
Nice blender (aka khalaaT): Le 100-300
Vacuum cleaner (aka maknassa bil kahraba): Le 400-600 on up
Nice Hairdryer (aka mugaffef sha'r -or- seshwar): Le 120-150 on up to 300
VCR (aka video): very basic multisystem, player only, doesn't record, Le 700
Automatic coffee maker (aka makenet 'ahwa): Le 200
Toaster : Le 100
Microwave: Le 1000 but I can't assure the quality of that
Television: anywhere from Le 600- 2,000 depending on brand and size, for Le 5,000 you can buy a 34" with built in decoder, but there are complaints that the decoder isn't worth it, and the TV malfunctions. There are large screen TV's available here, I believe for around Le 10,000
Mobile phones (aka mo-BI-el): anywhere from Le 400-2,000 on up (for a new one or about half those prices for a used one) depending on if has a camera, and other features.