When my group came to Uganda, the exchange rate was around 2500 UGX = 1 USD. Doing some research, for the past five years, the rate has bounced around that number, maybe going to 2700 or 2800, or maybe even 2300-2400.
In the past few months, the latest high has been 3700. This is great for people with most of their money in USD, but not so great for people like regular Ugandans and people who get paid in UGX (incidentally, PCVs are paid in UGX).
Local goods (which are mostly agricultural goods because in Uganda everyone is a farmer) do not increase much in price, if at all. My taxi/bus costs have not gone up, so for that I am thankful. But it hurts volunteers when they need to travel and be in Kampala, which given is not super often, but it can be difficult. Some place in Kampala keep prices in USD, which is a constant but then you pay in UGX so the UGX price increases. The way sanctioned Kampala travel works in Uganda is that volunteers travel to and stay in Kampala and front the money, for which Peace Corps reimburses them roughly one month later if all forms are turned in correctly. But as the amount of money for fronting increases, it becomes harder and harder to be there.
This is kind of a depressing post so here's some pictures of Ugandan money to cheer you up. I'll try to work out some commentary for each.
L to R, top to bottom, 50 shillings, 100 shillings, 200 shillings, 500 shillings.
-50 shillings gets you maybe a small candy from a roadside shack, and not much else. I really only get these when I come to Kampala and some people refuse to take them.
-100 shillings could be a small samosa or other very small food item.
-200 shillings can get a regular size banana, or a pile of small eggplants.
-500 shillings can get chapati, big samosas, an avocado or 2, 2 medium size tomatoes, half a bulb of garlic
1000 shilling coin front.
1000 shilling coin back.
1000 shillings can always get a bottle of water in the village. Also a pile of tomatoes (4-5), a pile of onions, or maybe if you need a boda boda (motorcycle) to deliver something for you, 1000 can be a transport cost. Big chapatis are 1000 each, or you can get two small ones.
A bottle of soda (pop for my MI people), a boda delivering something really big or farther away.
Five thousand shillings can get you a beer, a kilo of onions, a decent plate of beans and rice from a local restaurant. Instead of rice, you might get whatever the local starch is, whether matooke (savory bananas), posho (white corn flour mash), enyasa (cassava bread, also known as fufu), or kalo (millet bread). 5000 can also get a taxi ride between smaller towns. 5k at a clothing market can get you maybe two blouses or a nice dress.
Ten thousand can get a decent amount of supplies from a supermarket, like a combo of pasta, peanut butter, dish soap may add up to 10k. This is also how much it costs if I get a direct taxi or a bus between my village and the larger town where most of the other volunteers in my region live. This may pay for a nicer larger meal at a slightly less local restaurant. I can also buy a 60 min phone package to call the US for 7500. A kilo of beef might be 7k-8k.
20k is the cost of one night's stay at one of the hotels in Kampala where Peace Corps Volunteers often stay. This can also pay for a typical meal at a more Western-style restaurant (which many KLA restaurants are); the prices are from 15k-25k. You might be able to buy 1-2 chickens in the village if you bargain hard enough. Cheese is absurdly expensive in comparison to the rest of food, and might be 20k-30k for a small wheel, 500g or less.
The largest bill in Ugandan denomination. Don't try to use it in the village, because no one will have change for you. In UG we call change 'balance', because when you ask for change people assume you just want smaller bills for the one you have (breaking your bill). 50k will get you a VERY nice meal at Western restaurant, or maybe a good meal and a couple of beers or a glass of wine. This is also basically the cost of my trip to Kampala, which comes in around 40k-45k, plus buying street food on the bus on the way down. This can pay for a nicer hotel room at another hotel where PCVs stay; you may even get a bathtub or a bathroom within your own room (here it's called self-contained). 50k is also the price of maybe one piece of clothing if you buy it in a store in Kampala, or maybe the price of a small suitcase or backpack.
All PCVs also spend money on airtime (sort of like prepaid phone minutes in America) and internet. If you are a power user, maybe you spend 100k-200k per month on airtime for calling people, and also airtime for buying internet packages. If you don't use your computer that much, then maybe you spend less than 100k per month.
PCVs in Uganda make less than 1M shillings per month, so keep that in mind when looking at these prices.
How much do things cost where you live?
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