gamb00ler

Unfortunately, I don't qualify for the stress waver given to the blissfully ignorant.

The example they give is quite clear. The following uses the assumption that investor starts at age 45. You pay a premium of 983K each year for 7 years. They keep most of that money until you turn 77. At year end of each of those first 7 years they give you a cash benefit of 100K, but keep 883K. At the end of the 7 years the net total you have given them is 7 * 883K = 6,181K For the years remaining up to when you turn 76 SCB will give you 100K without requiring you to pay any more premiums. At the end of the year you turn 77 they will give you back the 6,181K plus another 819K = 7M. The total you receive from SCB is 10,100,000฿ and you paid in 6,881,000฿ So you come out ahead by 3,219,000฿ for SCB having 6,181,000฿ of your money for many years. To get that same total benefit you would need to let money earn compounded interest at 1.5% for about 28 years

I upgraded to a newer iPhone and it was very simple. I backed up my old iPhone to my Mac desktop. I then restored that backup to my newer model iPhone. All my apps were already installed. For the Bangkok bank app I had to go through a verification process. I didn't have to go into a branch. I can't remember the steps involved but I did have to have online banking already in place. I think I was given a choice to verify my identity using my debit card, but that option is only available to Thai clients.

The SCB EZ savings account is perhaps a better deal. It pays 1.5% APR on a balance up to 1M ฿. If you let the interest accumulate and compound in that account for 7 years the total return will be 10.98% provided you don't let the balance exceed 1M ฿. For example if you deposit about 901,000฿, after 7 years you will have very close to 1M฿. Of course you can start with less capital if you wish.

I think there are some small deviations but just looking around on the Imm. webpage, I was able to get it done.

Exactly... I needed a copy of the receipt to hand in with the request for a residence certificate. At least the receipt is free apart from costing me 20 minutes of waiting. Waiting at the Imm. office better than at many places because it's a good spot for people watching.

You need a tm30 receipt to get a residence certificate, which is required if you want to get/renew a driver license or to open a bank account.

I did have to wait about 20 minutes sitting in the office to get the tm30 stamped receipt. All the rest was done at my own pace on my desktop at home.

@Red Phoenix has put together a guide how to do your own tm30. If you send him a PM he will send the guide and other files to you. I managed to do it all from start to finish by myself using signed copies of Thai ID and blue house book from my wife, the house owner. I went to Immigration and got my stamped tm30 receipt and requested two residence certificates a couple of days later.

I think I mis-remembered. It probably was the bar code.

A few months ago the power meter reader guy separated the power bills incorrectly and I got one page of my bill and the other page was my neighbors bill. My section didn't have the QR code so I thought I would try and scan the previous months QR code and.... it worked perfectly for paying the amount currently owed. It seems that the QR code is just an easier method to input your customer number, etc.

For the cost of my time (I'm retired, so == 0) and a few electrons... I'm trying to connect with Onkyo Thailand via Facebook. Hopefully they can point me to a place to order parts such as a power supply for the Asian model of my receiver.

Most banks have a smartphone app. Have you tried using that to initiate an ACH transfer to Wise? Sometimes the app can do things that aren't available on a browser.

One good method to ensure you get OTP's from US financial institutions is to get an UltraMobile PayGo sim card. In addition you will need a smartphone that permits WiFi calling and texting. The sim can be purchased on eBay for $13 including shipping to a US address. You MUST set up the sim by inserting into a phone and connecting to the UltraMobile network while you're in the US. You will be able to receive OTP codes as an SMS over WiFi and the number will be identified as belonging to a US carrier. For further details see the eBay listing here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/285112988423

I thought all the internal circuitry of an audio amplifier uses DC power. If that is correct the frequency of the input AC should not matter. But.... I know so little about electronic things, that my opinion is of little value, even to me.

I live in Chiang Mai and my efforts to find somebody that even seems to have a clue how to fix it have so far yielded nothing.

There is a label on the side of the power supply but it appears to only give the part number. It looks to be easy to replace the power supply. Maybe I can just buy the power supply part that they use in the model sold for Asia.

I should be able to manage that!

Thanks for your post. I thoroughly checked the unit's capabilities before deciding to bring it over from US. I don't think I messed it up.

It sounds like you don't need to prove the monthly transfer of foreign funds for Thai Immigration Does "CS" refer to Charles Schwab? If it does you can just take your CS debit card to a Bangkok Bank branch and get a "cash advance" from the teller for up to 15K US$ for free at the current VISA exchange rate. That exchange rate is typically very close to the rate that Wise uses but there are NO fees, so you end up getting more ฿ per $ withdrawn from your US account. Apart from any waiting in line time at the bank, that transaction should only take 5-10 minutes.

Sadly it's a North American model with no ability to select the input voltage. The amp and sub-woofer are the only 120V items we brought over. Maybe I'll just borrow the stepsons sound bar to see if that's enough improvement over the small and back-facing TV speakers.

The backstory on Remembrance Day and the poppy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields

I have a 120v surround sound system that we packed from USA with our household goods. I brought it because I figured selling it and buying a replacement wouldn't be efficient and the 20' container had room (barely 😳). It's time to set it up so I'm looking for advice on a transformer for 230V to 120V. The amp specs. say 540W and the powered sub-woofer requires 135 for a total of around 700W. I have found a transformer on Lazada rated @800W. Should that be OK or should I leave a little more headroom and get a 1KW transformer? Are there different types of transfomers available? If so, what is the best type for a sound system?

LOL... maybe I'm just lucky but 5 of my female inlaws have received US visas on their first attempt.