My Time in Morocco

The Moroccan Dirham and a Student Budget

I have always been very conscious of how much money I have and what I can and can’t afford. I know what things are worth and whether I should get the no-name brand on one product or go for quality on another. I know what to budget for food and for transportation when I’m at university. But I am a fish out of water here! I don’t know what is a good price or not or what I should spend on certain items.  1$ CAN is $7.50 Dirham and the lowest denomination on a bill is 20 dirham with 1/2 dirham being the lowest coin. I expected things to cost the same as in Canada like a loaf of bread for 3.50$ is normal in Canada and so I expected it to cost 37.85 dirhams but it’s only 5 dirhams (50 cents)!  I had to get data for the sim card on my phone and it cost 50 dirhams (which is 4.62 CAN) and when I was buying it, it felt like it was a lot of money. I thought for a second about if I really needed it. But it’s only 5$ CAN! When I go to Tim’s in Canada, I easily spend that much without thinking of it! 

Food has been the majority of my purchases so far which makes sense. We went out for food the first few days while we were still settling in and I naturally looked at the prices rather than the food. The food ranged from 25 to 50 dirham and it was an average sit down restaurant (like Swiss Chalet or Kelsey’s). I couldn’t bring myself to spend over 30 dirhams which I realize is crazy when you convert it to CAN $. In university, I live on a tight food budget and I rarely eat out (like maybe once a month) but this change in currency has really thrown me off. Technically I can afford to eat out often but I can’t shake the feeling that I should eat in and prepare my own meals like I normally do.

Grocery shopping is also different here. My friend and I tour around to different shops to get what we need. We go to the butchers, the bakers, the corner stores, etc. We usually just go after work to get everything we need for one meal. In Canada, I go grocery shopping every 2 weeks and I get everything that I need. I usually don’t think of what meals I will make and get the ingredients I need for that specific meal. Mostly, I look at what on sale and get the basics like rice and pasta. It’s weird to me to get only what I need for the day. Somehow it feels like I am spending more this way than if I bought in bulk all at once but that’s not how it’s done here. 

I am also confused about the money in general. At the stores, I have to pause and look at the coin in my hand. I have to take my money out (which really isn’t safe) and think about whether I got the right bill! I really can’t tell if I’ve been given the correct change and I don’t really feel like I have time to stare and ponder the change in my hand.