55Jay

And VAT. You can actually file to get the bank interest tax back.

I do same as OP. A few ATM pulls each month, deposit into Thai bank account for local use. Suppose it's less about the means of access than the category and tax profile of the funds, and if your country has a tax treaty with Thailand. FWIW, I got a Tax ID number here in 2013 so I could file returns to recoup tax withheld on Thai bank account interest. Revenue Bandits called me to their main office for some questions. Figured it was the first time I was on their radar, so not a big deal. I got grilled by 3 different people about my income used to live in Thailand, not one question about the bank interest tax return. Felt like they were trying to catch me at something dodgy. I told them the source of my post tax income used for Thailand, and let them know I was aware of the US/Thailand Tax Treaty, and the specific paragraph that covered my income situation. They seemed to back off a bit after that, but still had me wait while they went away to research it. 20 minutes later, Boss Lady in uniform came back all smiles and said I was in the clear. The Tax Clerk at the desk then resumed processing my tax return for the bank interest. Not sure how this latest thing is going to play out. We'll see.

Indeed. Man purses and the laughable Man Bun hairdoo. I don't give a s**t, up to them, but it is amusing to watch from the sidelines as sheeple follow the trends. Case in point with evolving lexicon is this thread's title, using the "old timey" term "Bananas". My Grandmother (1912-1998) used to say the world was going to hell in a hand basket, or "topsy turvey", and the polite term that people were going "nutsy cookie". My Dad, growing up in the late 40s through the 50s, bit of a "Square" as an adult, would wince in pain listening to me talk as a teenager, using the 1980s surfer/stoner lexicon inspired by Jeff Spicoli in the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Wonder what my Dad would have been like had he participated in the '60s Hippie movement? Old military guys complained endlessly about the new generation being a bunch of pansies unprepared to fight the Commies in a war, and thus, the entire country was going to hell. Ruined forever! Well, those pansies grew up and now we're thanking them for their service for getting shot up and blown up the past 20-odd years. So now it's their turn to moan in their beer glasses about the video game playing pu**ies and Nancy Boys who wouldn't last 1 minute in combat much less make it through boot camp training - which, of course, is never as tough as it was back in the day when the old guys went through. It never is. Won't be long before I'm the one yelling at clouds, and telling young whipper snappers to turn their gawd damned music down!

The world's going to hell in a hand basket. Said every aging generation in human history. Not a new revelation, but we have access to millions of peoples' thoughts, actions, ideas, delusions, and straight up nonsense trolling for fun. The internet is both a blessing and a curse.

Big bump. Wife just got DCC'ed yesterday at Krungsi ATM. She knows about it after many years using our US credit cards here, but when she did a 30,000 Baht pull with US ATM card yesterday, at the same Krungsi branch ATM we've been using for years without ever seeing a DCC screen, she got it, didn't understand it, and accepted the rate. $890.58 for 30,220 = 33.9 Baht to Dollar instead of 36.3 quoted by Visa card FOREX calculator which would be about $832.50. Krungsi pocketed about 2,000 Baht. 🤬

Yep, double that to 500/day, and that's only if you don't do a whole lot. 1,000/day provides more leeway but still a very limited way of life. Never mind having a wife to support. Kids? ????

Been contemplating this for the past month. Anxiety and depression constant with surges in waves at times. Never experienced it, certainly not this level of severity, so it's terrible yet intriguing to examine and journal how I got here from there. Those times in youth chortling, "Ah hell, I probably won't make it past 50 anyway!" <thump chest, hoist another beer> play in my head. Certainly opened doors to better understanding of others who land, for whatever reason, in tough situations here, often in dire financial straits as time goes on, made worse if there's no safety net "back home". How votes of confidence that, "it'll all work out, don't worry" ring hollow in their ears, because they know it's not likely to. Sun comes up next morning, soi dogs mill about, birds chirp, Monks seek alms, the ladies at the morning market yell back and forth and laugh, delivery truck blocks the road in front of 7-11. Same as yesterday. The world carries on, with or without us.