Money, Plata, Dinero

Money money money! In Paraguay, the currency is Guarani. It's the same name as the local native language. Guarani is only for Paraguay, but in Argentina you can pay with it because they are so close together and vice versa. It is very cheap compared to the US dollar and it's interesting how the entire culture can adapt to having such a cheap currency, it lowers the whole countries wealth.

So if you go to school here, which isn't mandatory, then after you finish high school you can go to University if you want too. If you don't go, you can still make enough money with a job to live on. However, if you do choose to go, it's typically two or four years and it is a much lower educational level than in other countries but here it is considered high education. If you want to be a policeman you only have to go for two years and only have to be 19 years old. Guns and weapons aren't allowed in Paraguay except for the policeman. It was really funny actually, last weekend I went to a Halloween party with my friends and he was a soldier so he went to the costume shop to buy a fake gun. When we were walking to the party, a police stopped us and asked if it was real because they don't have orange caps or anything, it looked very real. He said no and the police man asked where he can buy it so when he is somewhere where his real gun isn't allowed, it looks like he still has one! haha

Most typical jobs here are working at a store, a teacher, or a house cleaner. If you work at a store for an example, your salary is enough to pay for a car, a house, and to support a small family. The average amount people get paid per week is 250000 guarani which is 58.07 dollars. If the dad and mom work in the family, you can live quite well with just this amount of money here. Here is some costs of popular items: 4.000 Guaranies is $1

Bus ticket- 3000 G = .75 $
Three loafs of bread- 2000 G = .50 $
To fill up a van with Gasoline- 80000 G = 20.00 $
A basket of groceries- 40000 G = 10.00 $
A sandwich at a restaurant- 15000 G = ~ 4.00 $
Shampoo- 9000 G = 2.25 $
T-shirt or tank top- 10000 G = 2.50 $

Also, almost everyone is paid in cash. Cards are used rarely and only a few people have bank accounts. Bills are paid in person and it is rare for families to save money. It's normally the money you get paid with that week is the money you use for the next week. It's so different than in other countries but it's what they're used too.