ChumpChange

Rose colored minge?

gg/GG/etal

This will help you in your understanding of the terminology: Reading any post made by gg, and expecting it to make any logical sense, or to have an intellectual value, is like wearing rose colored glasses.

Who would ever willingly sit in a loud bar in Pattaya? That's reserved for mad-dogs and Englishmen. And seemingly mop-pushers as well.

That's a pity. I think having to pay an additional 20%-30% tax on certain things will prevent people from bringing money in at all for those purchases. Cars are already taxed at 100% I believe. Add another 30% to that and it seems unrealistic. So this kind of practice can't seem to help the economy. I wonder if you transfer in foreign currency for visa purposes (and keep the money in Thailand in that foreign currency) if it would still be taxed? Regarding pre-2024 savings, if you can prove that you had (as an example) 500,000 dollars/euros/pounds in savings prior to 2024, then does that mean that you can bring in that amount in total, but split it between various transfers over the next 10-15 years and still have it be tax free?

No psychology involved. Simple, if you want rose tinted glasses then just order some. Sheeeesh!

I don't know how the new remittance tax applies regarding a lump sum of money being brought in to obtain a retirement visa. It's a good question. Maybe it's been covered in one of those two long threads about the new tax laws for foreigners in Thailand:

Thank you. Yes, my general sentiment is that interest rates are all going to fall and western currencies will all weaken against the Baht and all likely by the end of this year. The lower interest rates will occur from central banks cutting interest rates, which will also weaken their currencies (the Euro, Dollar, GBP) against Asian currencies and all will occur around the same time. So it will be a double hit when it happens and the 2 year honeymoon we have had on strong Western currencies since 2022 is about to end. As you said, make hay whilst the sun shines. So covert as much as you can into Baht while rates are high and lock in fixed income rates on bank deposits before interest rates start to fall. The Euro will probably be the first start falling since the ECB already just made their first interest rate cut earlier this week. For GBP and Euros, there are never any fixed income opportunities as good as for USD. Usually you can't get any fixed deposits longer than 1 year for GBP. At the moment though you can get some decent interest rates on the GBP from Interactive Brokers who are paying nearly 4% on cash balances: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/fees/pricing-interest-rates.php - You can also get 3.5%-4% on GBP for a 6 month fixed deposit with UOB Bank in Singapore: https://www.uob.com.sg/online-rates/foreign-currency-fixed-deposits.page - This is about the best you can do. Maybe Lloyds in Isle Of Man and Skipton International in Jersey will offer some decent fixed deposit opportunities on GBP as well. As for your retirement visa, when you apply for your first 1 year visa extension on the basis of retirement, I believe you will need to prove that the 800K Baht came in from overseas. Not sure if they will accept evidence of inward transfers from a few years back though. There might also be a provision that says if you worked in Thailand and saved up the 800K from working in Thailand before retiring then you might not need to prove it came in from overseas. Someone with more knowledge on this can probably help confirm on those points though.

Anything he writes in one of his threads is a piss take. Same goes for anything I write onto one of bob's posts. I love bob. It's all fictional and good fun. Also, something to keep me busy after mrs. smith leaves my place in the morning. 😉

I feel your pain. I think to feel comfortable and not stressed, it's best to keep at least a total of 1.5 million in Thai banks. I realize not everyone can do that, but if possible it keeps things more relaxed. And then there is the dead money issue because of low interest on top of it as we have been discussing. I don't bother with any fixed deposits in Thailand. The interest rate is only nominally different and doesn't seem like it's worth the hassle. But I noticed quite a few foreigners in Thailand have fixed deposits for their 800K in the bank. I thought all IOs accepted that? At least I benefited over the last couple of years by exchanging quite a bit into Baht at current exchange rates and built up more Baht reserves for the future. If you consider the standard THB/USD exchange rate to be 30-33 Baht per dollar then you've been making over 10% extra on every exchange for the last couple of years. So that compensates a bit for the lack of interest. But if you keep the money in either a UOB V-Care or UOB Secure savings account then they also provide free accidental death insurance that will provide your named beneficiary a payout equal to 10X your account balance or up to a max of 10 million Baht. Better than nothing. The monthly income method using SS sounds a bit tricky. But I think COLA increases could help to offset FX rate fluctuations in the future. Can't you also do a 50% income and 50% money in the bank mixture to avoid the possible problems with SS you mentioned? I guess more paperwork, but also another option. In regards to exchange rates and interest rates in general on US dollars, I assume the Baht will be closer back to a 33 exchange rate by the end of this year. If there are people who are relying on current exchange rates and the income method, then it could be a problem in the not too distant future. Same goes for Euro and GBP currencies. That's why I think it's best to put the money in the bank now and exchange it at current rates for the FX benefit if you can. Then your future is also more secure with the 800K requirement. With regards to interest rates paid by banks on US dollars, it is also likely that, within the next year, they will be half of what they are now. It is also likely that we won't see the same current interest rates again in our lifetimes that are available now. So anyone interested in securing the current interest rate levels for a longer period of time would be best to lock in a 3 to 5 year certificate of deposit now before rates start falling. Fidelity offers brokered CD's that are FDIC insured up to $250K from various top US banks like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, etc. A present you can get around 4.5% to 5% on a brokered CD from Fidelity for terms of anywhere from one to five years. Just avoid the ones that say "callable" because that would give the bank the option to end the CD early if interest rates fall a lot. Unlike traditional Bank CDs, you can also resell these CDs like a stock if you prefer not to hold them until maturity. Once interest rates fall, you might even be able to resell some of these CDs at a profit prior to maturity since they would provide the buyer a high yield. Wells Fargo also pays the interest monthly on their CDs. Most others pay semi-annually. The minimum investment amount for most of them is US$1,000, but some offer fractional CDs for as little as a US$100 investment.

bob, please help me with some maths here. if your tranny wife, I mean mrs. smith, doesn't cook any meals for you for 3 days, nor does she play bedroom bully with you, yet she drops 10,000 Baht on your credit card at the mall, then how many short times have you just missed out on?

Was that an attempt to see how many words starting with the letter "p" you can put in a phrase? Well, I think you forgot a couple of the more important ones.

Maybe they all take turns eating mrs smith's hot dog and eggs.

In a town where the nights are long, Lived a man named Bob, with tales of wrong. His wife, she spent, with a lavish hand, On shoes and jewels from every land. She'd scoff at the stove, with a frown and a sigh, No meals she'd cook, no pies or rye. Her joy was found in a shopper's spree, While Bob's bank balance would often plea. But Bob had his vices, wild and free, He’d slip out at night, for a drink or three. With friends and laughter, the hours flew, In smoky bars, the bottles grew. He danced with women, in the shadows dim, In a world of neon, where morals were slim. Debauchery's call, a siren's sweet song, In Bob's reckless heart, he could do no wrong. Their lives entwined in a web so tight, Of broken vows and endless nights. A tale of excess, both loss and gain, Where love was lost, but thrill remained. So Bob and his wife, in a life's cruel twist, Found solace in pleasures, too fleeting to list. A dance of indulgence, a heedless flight, Into the arms of a never-ending night.

Nothing to be confused about. Re-criminalizing cannabis will increase the market price. This will benefit the methamphetamine and alcohol industries. Great for certain cartels. Bad and more danger for individual people living in civil society.

Those 1 million plants from 2 years ago could now be 10 million or more plants from all the clippings and cuttings. Anyway, the point was Anutin was on cooking shows in flashy print cannabis shirts and at upcountry events showing locals how to cook with it too. It seemed like a surreal rodeo. Anyway, yes, the ones trying to dismantle it now are not the same ones who legalized it two years ago. That is a big part of the issue. But still, even in the land of flip-flops and U-turns, this seems like something logistically impossible to reverse given how far it's blossomed into a large and sustainable industry. It will become both a judicial and law enforcement nightmare trying to turn the clock back. Everything will return to the black market. They really should be careful what they wish for.

Seems perfectly fine just the way it is. It got rid of much of the black market, prices came down a lot, created a very profitable industry, created a business opportunity for many young people, alcohol consumption is down, everyone is happy. I don't see any problem. Nothing needs to change.

Phrase it however you want, I was referring to foods we grew up eating a certain way in the West.

I really like the natural taste of the oil I made. But if the taste or smell bothers you then put the oil on a spoon first, then add a drop of sweet syrup to it before you put it in your mouth. A drop of natural vanilla bean extract for flavor works good too. Cinnamon or ginger could also be nice.

Yes, I had forgotten that you used to be able to use all the money up during the year and then top it up again just for renewal. Now I think many feel it's better to just leave the full amount there and not touch it because of a possible mistake on withdrawal and deposit dates. I've read of people making those mistakes and then having to fly out and start the whole visa process all over. Interest rates on fixed deposits in Thailand are slightly better, but still less than half of what you can earn at the moment on dollars.

If you want the plastic eye dropper bottles, you can also get them in 10 ML. 10 for 35 Baht: https://s.lazada.co.th/s.oc3zW

So what are all the recipients (of the one million free plants handed out by Anutin in 2002) supposed to do now? Presumably, a lot of the people now have flourishing plants in their possession. If Anutin wasn't giving them out for recreational use, then what was it intended for? Medical use when none of these people receiving the plants were examined for medical conditions? You give people free plants, tell them to grow them at home, and then accuse them of using it for recreational use? How does that work?

That's a good point. I think many also just leave the full amount there and never take any out during the year. The money is just kind of like a performance bond.

That's good too. I use the glass dropper bottles on the following link. I like these particular ones because the glass dropper inside the cap is also marked with measurements on the dropper. The 10 ML bottles for 29 Baht work great: https://s.lazada.co.th/s.ocXAk

Your welcome. A sliver of an old, nicely-worn cotton t-shirt, then folded over a couple of times under the jar works perfect. Prevents that direct heat between the metal and glass. Only problem is can make the jar a bit wobbly though and the boiling bubbles might cause the jar to tip over. So I also put a small 500 gram metal weight on top of the jar too to keep it sturdy.