My USD 26 is ‘enough’ to feed one family in the Philippines

“The cake can always get bigger because the cake is imaginary. We can always make more money because money is just an accounting system.” — Tom Suberg

I HAD USD 26 in cash in my wallet when I left Flushing, Queens, for Manhattan on the afternoon of Oct. 19.

At Union Square in Manhattan, I made a USD 5 payment on my Capital One credit card.

With USD 21 left, I went into McDonald’s and spent USD 7.93 on a chicken burger and a juice. I left with USD 13.07 in cash.

When I checked the exchange rate, one U.S. dollar was already equivalent to PHP 63. Thus, my USD 26 was worth PHP 1,638 in the Philippines.

My remaining USD 13.07 was equivalent to PHP 823.41 in the Philippines. What can PHP 823.41 buy for one household in the Philippines?

I just learned that a 25-kilogram sack (half-sack) of rice typically costs between PHP 1,150 and PHP 1,600.

A half-sack of rice (typically 25 kilograms, since a standard full sack in the Philippines weighs 50 kilograms) will last anywhere from two weeks to about two months, depending heavily on household size and how often rice is eaten.

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A breakdown by household size (using a 25-kilogram half-sack) shows the following:

• Solo/single person: Lasts about 1.5 to 2.5 months (consuming roughly 300–400 grams of dry rice a day across meals).
• Couple/two-person household: Lasts about three to four weeks.
• Family of four (two adults, two children): Lasts about 1.5 to two weeks.
• Larger family (six or more members or heavy rice eaters): Lasts about seven to 10 days.

Whew!

If I had not paid my credit card bill and had not dropped by McDonald’s that Monday afternoon, I could have helped feed one family for a month if I had sent the USD 26 to the Philippines.

The economy isn’t showing signs of growth, either. While the Philippine peso is being pummeled from pillar to post in the foreign exchange market, the Philippines’ headline inflation rate was 7.2% in September 2026, accelerating from 6.1% in August 2026, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The key inflation details as of September 2026 were as follows:

– Year-to-date average: The average inflation rate from January to September 2026 stood at 5.4%.

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• Core inflation: Rose to 4.7% (excluding selected volatile food and energy items) from 4.1% in August.
• Bottom 30% income households: Inflation for lower-income households climbed to 9.0%, driven heavily by essential food and utility expenses.

The main drivers of inflation were:

• Transport: Increased by 14.6%, driven by oil and energy cost pressures.
• Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels: Rose by 8.4%.
• Food and nonalcoholic beverages: Accelerated to 6.7% (with food inflation specifically reaching 6.8%, heavily affected by vegetables, tubers and cooking staples).
• Restaurants and accommodation services: Increased by 7.0%.

This could only mean one thing: The Philippine economy is facing a significant slowdown and growing financial strain in 2026, driven by high inflation, a weakening currency and contracting public spending.

To improve the Philippine economy, international financial institutions and economists emphasize moving beyond a purely consumption- and remittance-driven model toward high-productivity structural transformation.

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According to Doug Schoen and Carly Cooperman of Fox News, Democrats could well be on the cusp of a major wave in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with an 8-point lead on the generic congressional ballot, among their highest of the cycle.

“We say this based on historical trends and the current political mood. At this point in 2018, the last blue wave, Democrats led the generic ballot by roughly 7 points before gaining 41 House seats,” they wrote.

Moreover, the president’s party losing seats in midterm elections is essentially a law of American politics.

It has reportedly happened in all but three elections since the Roosevelt administration.

From 1934 through 2018, the president’s party lost an average of 28 House seats and four Senate seats, and over the past five midterms, the average net loss for the president’s party has been 31 House seats, Schoen and Cooperman explained.

To be clear, Republicans could make up ground for a number of critical reasons: Democrats remain divided ideologically, lack a message and an identity other than being anti-President Trump, and Republicans have a considerable cash advantage.

(The author is based in New York City and used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines. — Ed.)