Money

I’ve mentioned in previous posts how cheap the cost of living is here, at least for the basics like food and clothing. The exchange rate is favorable for us now with one US dollar equal to nearly two Fijian dollars. Frequent coups and the political instability associated with them tend to have that effect on the value of your currency. According to the CIA World Factbook, Fiji ranks 158th in GDP per capita at $3,800. For comparison, Mexico is 83rd at $13,200, USA is 11th at $46,400, Norway is 5th at $59,300, and Liechtenstein is 1st at $122,100.

Like most countries (not the US) the currency notes of different value are also different colors, and in come cases different sizes as well, so it’s easy to spot which bill you want to pull out of your wallet. They reflect the country’s status as a former British colony in that one side of every note features the smiling face of Queen Elizabeth. The other side illustrates something native to Fiji like a famous mountain or a noteworthy building. This is true of the coins as well. They have a $1 coin but no penny. Every purchase is rounded off to the nearest 5 cents at the register.

There is a 12.5% value added tax included in the posted prices (some types of goods might be exempted from this; it’s hard to know since it’s already included in the price). I’m not sure how easy it is for the government to collect the tax though, since almost every purchase here is a cash transaction. We normally only use our credit card for large purchases at the main grocery store or the big store selling housewares. Those are also pretty much the only places to give you a receipt. To illustrate how informal the accounting is here, sometimes the vendor will just dig into her purse to make change. Fortunately there are three ATMs in town so that crucial cash is always easily at hand.