Cash money

It is often said in Mexico that having a 500-peso bill is as good as having no money at all. Grocery stores are really the only place you can walk into with confidence and expect to get change. Go into an Oxxo convenience store and expect to either put up a huge fuss before getting change ("aaaaayyyy, es que no traigo caaaaambio") or to walk out of the store without your item. They would rather not change your 500-peso bill than make a sale.

So imagine my horror/bemusement when I cashed a 12,000-peso paycheck today at my neighborhood Banamex and received three 1,000-peso bills (or US$ 230.50). I considered protesting but then realized I had a bazillion 500-peso bills and probably took the bank lady's last one. Then I realized that next month's rent will cost 3500 pesos as I move from the maid's quarters to the master bedroom, and while my slumlord is my friend and roommate, it's a chihuahua-eat-chihuahua world here (ugh).