JB300

I came back to Pattaya on the last Sunday last year... hit Pattaya around 1030 and went down Theppasit to Pratumnak no problem bar a bit of crawling on Thappraya - no tunnel works that year so may well be different this year.

There was no "last Sunday" of Songkran last year. Songkran was already over by Sunday the 20th. Most traffic would have been leaving Pattaya but some would be coming back into town for the workweek starting Monday.

Isn't that because Songkran ends on the 19th so Saturday would have been the last day last year...

I'm all set for my 1st Songkran there (arriving on the 16th) no doubt I'll regret it & swear never to do it again but you never try, you never know

I'm just dying to get married. If I got married I'd just die.

And I'm very happily married... Not married & very happy about it

Fwiw, my rough numbers for planning are:

- Rent ฿21,000

- Groceries ฿12,000

- Utilities ฿4,000

- Phone/Internet/TV ฿3,000

- Transport ฿2,000

- Misc (Insurance, Visa etc...) ฿15,000

- Entertainment ฿43,000 (or whatever's left)

Nb. I've set myself a budget of £2,000/s$4,000 per month so the ฿100,000 above is currently more like ฿95,000 so the "Entertainment budget" will need to be adjusted accordingly, not so important for a 3 month stay (though the same budget was around ฿120,000 a few months ago) but certainly something to allow for if you plan on staying longer term & rely on income/savings outside of Thailand.

If only I could buy 2 dollars for 1 Pound. I'd be backing the truck up.

Sorry, I'm used to the "s" in front of the $ indicating that its Singapore dollar.... (Around 2.03 SGD to 1GBP but I wouldn't be in any hurry to back the truck up [emoji4])

Edit: to clarify.... I quoted GBP & SGD as I'm from the UK & all my passive income is from there but for the past 6 1/2 years was working in Singapore & for the past 3 or so, saving 1/2 my salary in the bank there to fund my early retirement.

My thinking is, when (if!) the GBP is strong, I'll use money from UK, if the SGD is strong(er), I'll use money from SG.

This is In no way to me being smart & planning this beforehand, it's just that's how it worked out & it makes no sense to me to repatriate the money to the UK only to spend it in Thailand.... (Unless the SGD falls back to the 1.8 it was a few years ago).

Just posted this in a similar thread...

Fwiw, my rough numbers for planning are:

- Rent ฿21,000

- Groceries ฿12,000

- Utilities ฿4,000

- Phone/Internet/TV ฿3,000

- Transport ฿2,000

- Misc (Insurance, Visa etc...) ฿15,000

- Entertainment ฿43,000 (or whatever's left)

Nb. I've set myself a budget of £2,000/s$4,000 per month so the ฿100,000 above is currently more like ฿95,000 so the "Entertainment budget" will need to be adjusted accordingly, not so important for a 3 month stay (though the same budget was around ฿120,000 a few months ago) but certainly something to allow for if you plan on staying longer term & rely on income/savings outside of Thailand.

Fwiw, my rough numbers for planning are:

- Rent ฿21,000

- Groceries ฿12,000

- Utilities ฿4,000

- Phone/Internet/TV ฿3,000

- Transport ฿2,000

- Misc (Insurance, Visa etc...) ฿15,000

- Entertainment ฿43,000 (or whatever's left)

Nb. I've set myself a budget of £2,000/s$4,000 per month so the ฿100,000 above is currently more like ฿95,000 so the "Entertainment budget" will need to be adjusted accordingly, not so important for a 3 month stay (though the same budget was around ฿120,000 a few months ago) but certainly something to allow for if you plan on staying longer term & rely on income/savings outside of Thailand.

I'm sure this is redundant, but do make sure your Cambodian visa is multi-Entry or you'll need to get a new one when you return.

http://www.ddproperty.com/en/, they also have an app for the IPhone/IPad (not sure about Android).

I wanted to edit above but unable for some reason.....

The reason I ask is because in the quoted post of earlier its stated in bold that a tax free withdrawal can only be made once

That cant possibly be correct surely..........??

If I take 10k out of a 100k pot are we saying I lose all rights to any tax free element in the remaining 90k......??

That cant be correct.....

If that were the case you're better of taking the full £25,000 (plus any unused Personal Allowance) & sticking the £15,000 (+) in a savings account for a year or 2.

In fact, you're better off doing that anyway unless you have a discipline problem (aka known as a gf/wife ) in not touching the money or by having it you would lose any benefits (no offense intended by mentioning either of those points [emoji106])

@Maz3 and JB300

If you haven't already read this link http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-2634215/Why-millions-WONT-155-new-state-pension-theyre-expecting.html then I recommend you read the full article.

Thanks Faz, very interesting article & some good points made in the comments on it...

Cheers

Eric

class 3 NI are about £13.55 a week lets say £15.00, that's £780 a year, say a state pension will be £150,00 a week divided by 35 years = £4.28 per week for every year you buy. thats £222.56 a year. so 3.5 years to break even. If somehow you can pay class 2, its less than a year to break even.

I can't remember the exact number but this was around 3 years after leaving the UK & they were asking for a few thousand £s to "Catch Up" (now I think about it, there was also 18 months of me being self-employed as well) & my projected State Pension was around £2,100 pa (around £40 per week) so the difference before & after paying wasn't worth it to me.

Obviously my projected payment are so low because I was contracted out of SERPS for the majority of my career (around 21 years) & it's possible that the £40 per week would have risen if I had started to pay but as I said, I'm assuming £0 from them & have planned accordingly.

Does raise an interesting point though, is the new minimum pension payable to somebody who was contracted out of SERPS or is this yet one more factor to consider in the new "Simplified" state pension scheme?

Edit: I think Faz has answered my question above (& Steve below, thanks guys) & I'm expecting to get around 4/30ths of the BSP or as I planned next to sweet FA.

Can't grumble though, I'm happy with the 21/60ths (index linked) of my final salary at 60, reducing by whatever I do get from BSP at 65

2,000 THB should be enough for 5 days a week living on less than 500 THB & a couple of "Blow Out" days on approx 6,000 (which I know isn't a lot when you're on holiday but should be a good night out once the novelty has worn off).

Assuming you'll get a Tourist Visa before entering or you'll need to factor visa runs into the equation.

@ Ricardo

Class 2 contributions are for self employed only.

Class 3 contributions are voluntary contributions to fill gaps in your record in order to qualify for state pension.

Your entitled to pay Class 3 even when living abroad, provided you made at least 3 years contributions in the UK (which you have).

https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions/who-can-pay-voluntary-contributions

I should contact HMRC again. Currently £13.90 a week for class 3 though.

Firstly, thanks for the helpful info, hope it helps pre-warn someone else reading this thread.

My only problem with doing that is that it's five-times the cost !

I should have lied to them, and paid it after I left (and became non-resident for UK-tax), but at that time I was assured by Newcastle that I already had one year's contributions more, than I would ever need !

It's hard to stay within their rules, when they keep on moving the goalposts, after one has made decisions & is committed.

FWIW I view early-retirement at being voluntarily-unemployed, without recourse to public-funds, and am quite happy to be so. I have no gripe about not being able to claim off the Social, it was my own free choice, and correct at-the-time. My 'employment' since then is managing our investment-funds, keeping-track of world economic-trends, and adjusting our strategy as-required.

I'd still be willing to pay the extra class-2 contributions, but not at five-times the price !

I didn't get where I am today (shades of Reggie Perrin, or rather, his boss ?) by being a mug !

Even at 5 times the cost for Class 3 years (over Class 2) - there is no better investment you can make. Within 2 1/2 years of starting your pension you will have recouped that outlay. It's all gravy after that.

Just be careful not to die in the first couple of years - not that you would be concerned then anyway.

I've successfully topped my years up from 14 to the required 30. All at Class 3 rates - over a period of about 6 years.

Sure it seemed like a lot of money at the time, but I figured the maths out.

When I start receiving my pension I'll also have over 3 years of delay, (an extra 10.2% / year) which also adds in those 3 years of inflation adjustment.

Should give me a little over 150 pounds a week.

Much better than the approx 50 pounds I could have expected without paying back years and starting it at 65.

Can you please share your calculations on how you get full payback after 2 1/2 years?

It's been a longtime (over 5 years) since I looked into this but at that time I calculated it would take around 35 years to break even for the contributions they were quoting me,

I wonder where this rule change will leave me?,paid over 35 years NIC,but 29 were opted out. Only 1% less,but may make a big difference?.

Not even our Pension Trustees could explain how much less we will get!.

I've got over 10 years(at the present rate)before I draw the BSP,I'll wait and see if paying extra to top-up any deficit is worth it.

I don't think that anybody more than 12-18months away from receiving a state pension knows with any certainty what they're going to get anymore so I (at 49) after paying NI for 25 years am going to assume that I'm going to get sweet FA... Anything more than that is a bonus.

I did the maths on AVCs when I first became a Non-UK resident for tax purposes (43) & at that time calculated I'd have to live another 35 years to break even, so given my final salary pension reduces its payout by whatever state pension I receive at 65, decided it simply wasn't worth it.

I do admit to being a little peeved at having paid the maximum NI you could pay from 1989 until they removed the ceiling (then I paid a lot more) I'll receive a much lower state pension than people who have contributed much less, but that's life...

Just downloaded ,secrets and lies from kickass , its set in a British car showroom ,i watched half of the first episode and to be honest did not like it ,but many of you may ,it just was not my cup of tea. ,on thursday a new series of inside no9 starts ,very dark ,the first series was very good.

Secrets & Lies set in a British car showroom? i claudius, surely, you jest...

I was sceptical at first of the show as it had already been done before. But I've got a bet running now with my mother as to who did it, so it's worth watching. My money's on the wife... Juliette Lewis bugs the shit out of me every time she opens her mouth, it's almost like she's trying to be robocop sans robotic exterior...

So sorry I mean ordinary lies,set in a car showroom,it's the Alzheimer's lol

Can't wait to watch it as its set about 5 minutes walk away from where I grew up [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

Wasn't a lot of homelessness caused by the so called "Care in the Community" for people with mental issues

Quite correct , I was born into the working class , who indeed have mental issues . and need counselling .

Why work? , when you are better off , not working, and reaping the free benefits from social security , paid for by the tax payer.

The stupid Working class , have mental illness , sure .

You must be a lot younger than me (49) as I was born into a working class family/community where people did just that... Worked. Nobody in my family claimed benefits until my father retired for health reasons.

Have never claimed a single penny of benefits & in all likelihood won't do until I get my state pension, which 1) is an entitlement given the amount of NI I paid over the 26 years I worked in the UK & 2) of no financial benefit to me as it means my final salary scheme pension is reduced by that amount.

Wow, lots of angst here about what is essentially the cost of a cheap second hand car...

Hint... If you're looking to buy a property for 1Million THB (£20,000... $32,000 US)... , don't look for it in an area that has visitors who are happy to spend 10-20,000 THB a day

Edit: My p**s poor maths...

I thought it might benefit me as I have a small/18 months (albeit on a high salary) pension that I'd love to cash in if only to have one less thing that I have to manage/keep track of.

I managed to cash in my EDS pension for cash a couple of years back when they were taken over by HP & wound up their pension scheme, but I only worked there for 5 months so it was below the threshold at that time

"Thai women behaviour" rings similar to "Doberman behaviour". If you're thinking of getting a dog then it is fair to say "I'm looking for dog suitable for young kids" or " I want a guard dog". In those cases it is fair to start with a particular breed as their "behaviour" is similar although varies from dog to dog.

Please do not bring Dobermans into this, as they are good with kids and make great guard dogs!!!!

Completely misread the quoted post so comments about Pavlov deleted...

So this scheme is not available if you are already being paid a pension from the company?

I thought I'd read it was available to existing pensioners?

(Sorry, In the pub waiting for the Man U game so struggling to research )

From what I've read in this thread, I'd put it down to excitement on the girls part & wanting to move along everything they've discussed...

Good luck to the guy [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

​This crappy food is super pricey!-------------Singapore is not for the cheap charlies--like myself

You better have around 200-300 US a day to get by---not including hotel. Rank hotels are 125.00 US a night---and they are rank!------no towels or parking.

Singapore sucks------

Lol, we're talking about working there not visiting for a holiday...

Fact is if you earn £100,000 pa then in the UK you'll pay around £35,000 in tax (http://www.uktaxcalculators.co.uk/), if you earn £100,000 in Singapore, you'll pay around £10,500 tax (https://www.easycalculation.com/tax/singapore-income-tax-calculator.php)... That £24,500 (approx s$49,000) difference, more than covers annual rent on a very nice condo & a fair few nights out.

If you're earning a lot less than that or just visiting then yes it's very expensive (thats why when I stopped working there at the end of Jan, I moved to KL at the end of Feb) but the OP has a choice of where to work so again, all depends on his salary

Don't seem to be able to attach an image to the above post so here it is...

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1427022298.902287.jpg

Expensive and shetty taste. Even hawker centre foods are getting more expensive.

Couldn't agree more about Macdonalds, plenty of reasonably priced food options to eat that cr4p [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

Without getting into the precise detail -- It would appear that there's very little advantage in cashing in a pension pot, unless you have some capacity in your personal allowances. But if you have a a pension pot worth talking about - maybe giving £4k per year - that's your allowances used. So if you cash in 15% of the pot -- say £5k - you'll get taxed on the £5k payout, and then the pension will pay less as well -- sounds like a lose-lose situation ?

Or am I not reading this correctly?

I thought 25% could be taken Tax Free or would this be added to your other income & so effectively taxed (if that takes you over the Personal Allowance).

No..........The 25% tax free allowance is just that. Its NOT part of any annual income...............Its a "stand alone" tax free allowance for want of a better expression.

On an aside any tax you do pay on your pension pot can be reclaimed against your personal allowance IF THAT ALLOWANCE IS NOT COMPLETELY USED.......In my Case I will be able to use the entire £10,600 personal allowance as I have zero taxable income.......(my income comes from Spreads accounts which fall under the auspices of Gambling when it comes to taxation)

Thanks, that's my understanding also.... Let's hope it stays that way [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

Don't seem to be able to attach an image to the above post so here it is...

Dude, every single damn thing is expensive in Singapore. Just choose Thailand and you will be much happier.

It is super expensive! 12 US dollars for a McDonald Hamburger---truly the most prices are outrageous! 40 bucks for ciggs!-----18 US for a beer! why go there?

Lol, don't know where you get your information from but it's tosh... Don't eat Macdonalds but know they're less than s$8 , don't smoke but know ciggies are around s$16 for the premium brands & you can pay anything from s$6 for a 600ml bottle of beer in a hawker centre to s$25 for a pint in a hotel bar (possibly more in places like Kudata)

Cars are f'ing ridiculously expensive but you simply don't need one there as public transport & taxis are cheap & abundant.

It really does depend on how much you earn, the higher your salary, the more money you save by living in Singapore & so the cheaper it is (I'd estimate I was paying around 1/4 of the direct income tax in Singapore vs UK, then there's 7% GST vs 20% VAT, no council tax, tv license etc...)

Edit: posted Macdonald prices (in SGD$) below