JB300

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It is possible making those kind of returns via trading, as I presently am doing.

However, trading needs discipline and patience. If you do possess those qualities, you may try

Trading is Gambling and above Discipline and Patience you need "Skill".

Many a Pro Gambler loses the first few hands. Many a Poor Gambler wins them! On Pure Luck Only! This keeps them at the table! So I see from your post you were lucky and won a few hands. But does this qualify you to give advice such as this? You should know that by the end of the day the Pro will walk away with your money, and you will walk away with your Shorts. If you are still a little bit lucky.

Anyone who would recommend to someone else to gamble away his 7 M Baht, and perhaps His Life Savings, is either a Lunatic, doesn't know anything about it, or is trying so hard to toot his own horn here, and be a Hero!

Which one are you?

I wouldn't rule out all "Trading", my investment strategy is basically find a good company & invest with them for the long term (top/tailing as time goes on & always reinvesting any income), but I do keep a "Punt Pot" that I use for speculative "Trading" when opportunities arise, usually when a company's share price has been (IMHO Over) hammered in the Market for a specific event (BP gulf oil spill being a classic example), with a view to getting out when my target % is either hit or I feel will be missed (but Even a dead cat will bounce).

But Day Trading? Might be an interesting hobby for some & I'm sure there are some who make money at it, but not for me, I think the pressure to find trades each day would feel like the Gambler who has to find a horse to back in every race... I'm much more the sort to sit back & wait for (what I think) is the right horse in the right race.

The 1st 2 #could# be quite innocuous,

1) It's not uncommon for people to have security cameras at their house & for these to be accessible via the web for times when they're away (much less sinister than "Cameras Linked to his Phone")

2) the GPS could be something as simple as Latitude or FindMyIPhone (Again, less sinister than "GPS tracking so he knows where she is all the time").

But the 3rd one! If he cared about her at all he would have lied & told her he was going on a business trip to somewhere else...

IMHO, there's a lot of political scaremongering going on about this, with Labour claiming it's because of the Tory plans for a referendum to exit the EU & the Tories claims that its because of an increase in the Banking Levy but as I understand it, HSBC used to carry out a review on where it had its headquarters every 3 years but hasn't done so since the GFC due to the amount of uncertainty around regulations etc...

Now that the regulatory picture is becoming clearer (in particular the UK ring-fencing requirements that need to be in place by 2019) it makes sense for it to review & I dare say move, but I think it's primary reasons are more around it being able to have full control over its UK presence (especially it's HQ) if these are to become ring fenced than the political rhetoric being dished out.

Nb if you look into why HSBC has its headquarters in the UK, you'll see that it was more or less railroaded into doing so by the Bank of England as part of its 1992 acquisition of Midland Bank, obviously the BoE having more of an "Influence" on both sides in those days.

I imagine that the BoE were grateful for HSBC's salvation of Midland Bank who were in deep doo-doo after the ill-judged investment in, then acquisition of Crocker Bank. That said, the £3.9bn acquisition costs was recovered within a few years.

In 1986 the BoE had already installed it's Deputy Governor Sir Kit McMahon as Chairman and Chief Executive as a condition of under-pinning support for Midland.

I also imagine that HSBC were pleased to find a safe haven ahead of anything going tits-up with the 1997 handover of Hong Kong.

Absolutely, marriage of convenience/necessity that worked out very well for both sides [emoji106]

IMHO, there's a lot of political scaremongering going on about this, with Labour claiming it's because of the Tory plans for a referendum to exit the EU & the Tories claims that its because of an increase in the Banking Levy but as I understand it, HSBC used to carry out a review on where it had its headquarters every 3 years but hasn't done so since the GFC due to the amount of uncertainty around regulations etc...

Now that the regulatory picture is becoming clearer (in particular the UK ring-fencing requirements that need to be in place by 2019) it makes sense for it to review & I dare say move, but I think it's primary reasons are more around it being able to have full control over its UK presence (especially it's HQ) if these are to become ring fenced than the political rhetoric being dished out.

Nb if you look into why HSBC has its headquarters in the UK, you'll see that it was more or less railroaded into doing so by the Bank of England as part of its 1992 acquisition of Midland Bank, obviously the BoE having more of an "Influence" on both sides in those days.

"Any good ideas how to make 100-150,000 Baht/month in Thailand?"

JB300 I think you've missed one zero.

No, I think you've got 1 too many, pls see my amended post

If i had 7 Million Baht i would NOT invest it in anything! Just use about 15,000 baht a month and enjoy a fabulous lifestyle ( although i don't drink or smoke ) you can work it out for yourselves how long it would last you! who would want the " carry on & problems " with a bar ! Life is so short so just enjoy your money and enjoy Thailand ( oh and don't waste your life like many who just seem to " sit indoors all day " on the internet or watching Television.Get out there and enjoy it!

F.J x

This is very bad advice, unless you are terminally ill. It would not last even 4 years. Thinking how to make money with the money you have is the way to go. 7 mil is a lot of money so if you put it to good use you will do well.

Lord knows how you live on that though [emoji15]

Edit:I believe canarysun lives on around 5-6,000 per month (by choice, not necessity) so is being genuine when he says 15,000 would give a great lifestyle.

Whether country A or Country B is cheaper depends on your personal circumstances & how you live your life.

As an example, I left Singapore at the end of Feb after 6 1/2 years & can only say that it was #considerably# cheaper living there for me than living in the North West of the UK.

Only Major Expense in Singapore was housing which including all utilities was around £2000 per month Vs I own my home in UK so cost me around £5-600 per month in utilities, council tax, insurance etc...

Offset against this was a saving of around £1,200 per month as I wasn't running 2 cars & almost £2,500 per month (yes almost £30,000 pa) in less tax/no N.I. So I was quids in.

However, If I'd wanted to run a single (decent) car in Singapore, I probably would have been better off in the UK.

But obviously Singapore has recently been voted the most expensive city in the world so my personal experience can't be valid can it [emoji15]

Walen will tell you how. Plus he'll guarantee you a visa. Where is he when we need him? Oh ya, you have to pay him 1200 THB first.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/811854-walen-school-of-investing/page-31#entry9338814

"The duration of the course is one year. It is taught through a closed Facebook group and through webinars, there is on average one webinar per month, totalling 12 webinars. The promotion price is 1,200 USD"

I like the Philippines but retirement in Thailand is much easier, with respect to visas. I don't keep 800k in a Thai bank, I get a Verification of Pension letter from my embassy, thai immigration accepts it in lieu of money in the bank. As I recall the Philippines requires $10,000 US in one of their banks with a verified pension.

Alternatives to SE Asia? Back to the USA for me

no money required for I card if you have a filipina wife ....

much, much different.

I was divorced from my filipina wife, but passport says i am still married....Voila !!!!!

I like the Philippines but retirement in Thailand is much easier, with respect to visas. I don't keep 800k in a Thai bank, I get a Verification of Pension letter from my embassy, thai immigration accepts it in lieu of money in the bank. As I recall the Philippines requires $10,000 US in one of their banks with a verified pension.

Alternatives to SE Asia? Back to the USA for me

But if you don't want to go down that route, you can renew your 30 day Visa on Arrival for an extra 29 days at the Airport on arrival, then 2 months at a time until 16 months (technically you can go to 24 months but this needs approval from the Chief of Immigrations office) at which point you fly somewhere, come back & do it all again... Though you're most likely to have found a Filipina wife by then so yearly marriage visas.

Re Safety, check out Davao City... Despite being in the "No Go" Mindanao area it's the safest city in the Philippines & the people are really friendly (though a bit shy as they don't get anywhere near the number of foreigners as Manilla/AC/Cebu etc...)

I walked past this accident at 11am & though people (seemingly Chinese tourists) were just starting to come out with their water pistols I didn't see any evidence of any water being thrown, splashed or sprayed between Soi 6 & Soi 7 at that time.

RIP & my condolences to the Wife & kiddie

Found a typical household budget breakdown... http://budgeting.thenest.com/typical-percentages-household-budgets-3299.html... And thought I'd annotate it with #my# (YMWV... Your Mileage #Will# Vary) best guess of a Thailand Budget.

Housing (34% - covers mortgages & lots of taxes etc... that you wouldn't need to pay so I'd guess 15%)

Housing costs normally take the biggest bite out of your budget. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual report on consumer expenditures showed that 34 percent of Americans’ spending goes towards housing costs. Roughly 60 percent of the average housing expense covers mortgage or rent costs, real estate taxes and homeowner’s insurance, while the rest goes towards utilities, furnishings and maintaining the home. Potential lenders use this budget line item to determine how much mortgage you can qualify for. BankRate.com states that potential lenders limit your basic housing expense, including mortgage payment, real estate taxes and homeowner’s insurance, to 28 percent of gross annual income.

Transportation (17% covering 2 cars, would suggest this is more like 10% for Thailand)

Transportation is normally the second-largest expense in a household budget, although this amount can vary quite a bit depending on your personal situation. The BLS report shows that the average American two-car household’s transportation expense accounts for over 17 percent of the overall budget. This expense may run as low as 10 percent or as high as 20 percent if you work from a home-based office, live in a metro-center with public transportation or have a long working commute.

Food (15-20%, feels more like 15% for Thailand)

A big chunk of most household budgets goes towards food. Although budgeting 15 to 20 percent of your expenditures towards food is acceptable, food spending for most Americans is closer to 13 percent of their overall expenditures. At-home food consumption accounts for almost 60 percent of all food spending, while Starbucks and the local cafe eat up the remaining 40 percent.

Savings, Insurance and Health Care (5-10%... 15% including Visa costs feels about right)

Life insurance, health care expenses, retirement savings, personal savings and cash contributions can take a toll on your budget, but they are the most important line items in your budget. Life insurance and retirement amounts to over 10 percent of the average household budget, health care comes in at roughly 6 percent and cash contributions almost 4 percent. Although Americans sometimes falter when it comes to personal savings, you should budget 5 to 10 percent of your budget towards it. Debt specialists Care One recommends taking a “pay yourself first” attitude when it comes towards savings to be sure you have enough reserves built up in case the unforeseen happens.

Personal Expenses (16%... 100% of whatever's left sounds better so 45% )

According to the BLS, roughly 16 percent of the average American’s spending goes towards clothing, personal services, education, reading, entertainment, tobacco, alcoholic beverages and other miscellaneous expenses. Be careful when calculating your entertainment expenses to not include meals eaten away from home, as they should be incorporated into your food budget.

You can't afford to live in Bangkok. I advise that you stay in cheap Chiang Mai, because if you want a nice "serviced apartment" in BKK, it will set you back at least 40,000 a month. What are these "serviced apartments" for 25k in central BKK that people are talking about? I think that only gets you a fairly standard, 1-bedroom self-service apartment, or if it's in a brand-new building it will be the size of a rabbit hutch.

Sorry, but I have found several serviced apartments in downtown BKK that are well below 20k. Yes they are single bedrooms the size of a hotel room, but I live alone so I don't have the problem of space.

I pay 14k for a fully serviced apartment in central BKK. I've been living here for nearly a year and have no complaints whatsoever. Compared to the previous places I've stayed in this is seriously the best deal I have come across. Here's a link potential future flatmates: http://www.libplace.com/EN/index.html

Not impressed at all by the photos! It looks extremely spartan and uncomfortable (virtually unfurnished), almost as I would imagine a prison cell to be like. Plus, the area is very bad and far from tourist areas. Enjoy your 14k a month stay in prison!

Can I ask why you say the area is bad?

I've found Soi 20/22 a great place to stay in Bangkok & convenient for BTS/MTS to get anywhere I've wanted to go, but I only visit for a max 4 days at a time so am interested in thoughts/comments from people who stay much longer...

As a follow-on question, where would you recommend staying longer-term in Bangkok?

Cheers

JB

Options open buy or rent at 6 k per month x 8 years = 576,000

Glad i chose option 1 @ 500,000, and at least i have something to show for it even it is only to handover to gf when i die.

1 - Working on a multiplier of paying 1/200th in rent, the rent would be 2,500 (or pay 6,000 & live in an apartment worth 1,200,000)

2 - Your 500,000 could have been invested elsewhere & could have accrued interest/gains, assuming 4%pa = 20,000 pa or 1,667 per month (more with compound gains if re-invested)

3 - There are "Ownership" fees to be paid (not just the direct ones like condo maintenance fees, insurance etc... but repairs/breakdowns that your landlord would normally cover), if these add up to 833 per month then it's a scratch, any more you're better of renting.

Obviously many more factors involved, you seem happy with where your staying & happy with the financial aspect so double win [emoji4][emoji4][emoji4]

Emirates have some great business class fares going now. For example, London 76,145, Amsterdam 48,115, New York 91,570. Nothing dodgy and you get frequent flyer miles as well.

http://www.emirates.com/th/English/destinations_offers/special_offers/special_fares/special_fares.aspx

"* All fares are exclusive of all taxes and surcharges. Fares may differ slightly due to currency fluctuations and/or government tax regulations as per journey booked. Fares and conditions are updated on 8 April 2015 and are subject to change without prior notice"

Which added 31,800 to the BKK-MAN flights I was pricing up.

FinnAir are 86,382 for the same trip (granted typically not as good planes as Emirates but good enough & the journey is a little shorter)

Emirates have some great business class fares going now. For example, London 76,145, Amsterdam 48,115, New York 91,570. Nothing dodgy and you get frequent flyer miles as well.

http://www.emirates.com/th/English/destinations_offers/special_offers/special_fares/special_fares.aspx

Looked a little too good to be true then I spotted the disclaimer at the bottom

"* All fares are exclusive of all taxes and surcharges. Fares may differ slightly due to currency fluctuations and/or government tax regulations as per journey booked. Fares and conditions are updated on 8 April 2015 and are subject to change without prior notice"

Which added approx 30,000 the the BKK-MAN flights I was pricing up, FinnAir are 86,382 for the same trip (granted typically not as good planes as Emirates but good enough & the journey is a little shorter)

Anybody know what happens re UK Capital Gains Tax if you sell your house?

I know the UK changed the rules around primary residence a few years back so it looks like I might need to pay it, but as I've spent over 5 complete Tax Years as a non-resident for Tax purposes, I don't pay Capital Gains on any share sales.

So would I need to pay it if I sold my house (it's the only one I own & was my primary residence for 9 years before I left the UK & where I stayed for visits for 3 1/2 years afterwards until I got sick of paying council tax/utilities etc... & started renting it out 3 years ago).

As I understand it, you must stay out of the UK/be non-resident for 5 years after making a capital gain which is taxable. If you become a UK resident before the five years is up you have to pay a portion of the CGT dependant on how long you have been away.

But as has been highlighted above, your house is treated differently than assets like Stocks & Shares and you need to pay CGT on it irrespective of how long you've spent as a non-resident [emoji17]

Thanks Alfie, I thought I'd read somewhere that it had changed, but good to get confirmation (even if it wasn't the news I wanted to hear :|)

Cheers

JB

Posted this in another thread but might be of interest to anybody planning their retirement...

What Happens if I Retire Abroad: http://www.litrg.org.uk/tax-guides/pensioners-tax/what-happens-if-i-retire-abroad

Walter Travolta, you seem to be interested in making side trips to bordering countries while on your tourist visa. A triple entry tourist visa from Savannakhet may be something to consider. This visa only has a 3 month validity, but it allows you to 'burn' entries if you plan on taking short trips to neighbouring countries and may come out cheaper than using a re-entry permit.

I believe Bali is the only place you can get a Triple Entry visa in Asia, would be a Double Entry from Savn.

Edit: Triple Entry from Bali would be valid for 6 months so you can get almost 9 months out of it, but they'll want to see each Entry mapped out & flights booked when you apply.

You can get a triple entry (3 month validity) from Savannakhet.

Sorry, I missed the "Valid for 3 months" part which makes it pretty pointless to me unless you have 3 or 4 fixed trips that you have to make & can't time to make best use of Visa Exempt entries

Anybody know what happens re UK Capital Gains Tax if you sell your house?

I know the UK changed the rules around primary residence a few years back so it looks like I might need to pay it, but as I've spent over 5 complete Tax Years as a non-resident for Tax purposes, I don't pay Capital Gains on any share sales.

So would I need to pay it if I sold my house (it's the only one I own & was my primary residence for 9 years before I left the UK & where I stayed for visits for 3 1/2 years afterwards until I got sick of paying council tax/utilities etc... & started renting it out 3 years ago).

^ 3 double entry tourists do you a year & that 6,000bt & it 12,000bt for 2 double entry tourist with 4 extensions to cover a year.

Most people who do constant extensions & quickest border runs are illegal boiler room workers, loads of the gobby idiots use to go with jack golf to poipet, fortunately most fell on hard times & tougher overstay possible changes cleared a fair few off & reduced amount of illegal work available.

It kiind of personal preference, it not just the money, for me I wanted travel a bit more & also saves you doing border run just for sake of activating a second entry you actually go somewhere & do/see something. Just mix it up how you think suites your needs, getting tourists is quite easy, getting extensions once been doing it repeatedly gets questions at immigration. Yo could even find yourself needing a short trip back to UK in a year or so to tie up loose ends or something & that would allow a new fresh passport to be ordered & a 3 entry tourist & start fresh :-)

Things are always changing so good keep an eye on things but common sense & bit of preparation is the main requirements ...

3 double entry TR's last a year ok, got that, but you still have to leave and re-enter every 60 days yes?

Need to leave/re-enter every (approx) 90 days if you extend each entry by 30 days, 60 days if you decide not to take the 30 day extension on one of the Entries.

Walter Travolta, you seem to be interested in making side trips to bordering countries while on your tourist visa. A triple entry tourist visa from Savannakhet may be something to consider. This visa only has a 3 month validity, but it allows you to 'burn' entries if you plan on taking short trips to neighbouring countries and may come out cheaper than using a re-entry permit.

Edit: Triple Entry from Bali would be valid for 6 months so you can get almost 9 months out of it, but they'll want to see each Entry mapped out & flights booked when you apply.