4MyEgo

If your financial and want to break away from the slave trade, then do it. Decided at age 47 after a medical scare that I needed to plan for an early retirement, I did that at 55 some 6 years ago and not a single regret, I gave up a 6 figure salary at the time and earn a 3rd of that here which is enough for a comfortable lifestyle. People work all their lives for a number of reasons, that said, I have a lot of wealthy friends, some in their 60's and 70's, and am not talking your average millionaires, I'm talking multi-millionaires, easily worth $30, 40, 50 million and can't stop, they don't know how to, they enjoy the work and making all of that money, sadly the one in his 70's had been diagnosed with prostate cancer 6 months ago, still working and planning how he is going to divide up his property portfolio in his will because he knows it's going to be a sheet fight when he's goes, as the kids will have it out, that said, all he has done all of his life is work, because that is all he has known and has enjoyed it, no long holidays, short long weekends away, Xmas breaks etc, that is it, doesn't make sense to me, but I do not criticize him. I am happy to sit on my rear and make budget every month, and some if it's a good month, each to their own, I have enough to see me through till I am 101, and what will be left for the kids will be left for the kids, certainly nowhere near a fraction of the above guys worth. Enjoyment can be achieved in a number of ways in retirement, just depends on what you want out of life. Just knowing that I don't have to be anywhere at any particular time, or have to take many calls is so just right for me, I remember the amount of calls I used to take, my wife saying once that I should glue the mobile to my ear....lol. Investing my money and watching it cost me nothing to live here in the past 6 years is very comforting, also knowing that the money I have is secure and readily available is a plus, that and I don't have to pay any tax on the income I earn is also a big feature. If your serious about retiring early, then good for you, just make sure your financial and how you are going to finance your lifestyle here, suffice to say if you have property back in Oz, be very careful because once your residency status changes when you move here, you will get hit with a hefty capital gains tax bill on your property when you sell it, like 42% hefty, and the new legislation takes the CGT event all the way back to when you first purchased the property, not when you left the country or rented the property out for the 1st time, so you WILL want to talk to your accountant, also any rent is 32c in the $ with no tax threshold, it's from the very 1st dollar, also no negative gearing allowed on the property for non-residents, which you will become after 183 days living here, and if you think you can get around your residency status as an Australian resident while living overseas, yeh well good luck with that one. You really need to do your research and talk to your accountant, but also know what he/she is talking about. You will want to also earn an income while you are here vs chewing into your savings so that it doesn't cost you anything to live here, otherwise your funds will only be going south, have a budget and stick to it, also recommend you take out private health insurance as Medicare won't cover you here and hospitals are not cheap for major surgery, but that is up to you, it's a topic where a few don't like as it's costly, some are happy with the public hospitals and that is ok, private cover will chew into about 15% of your budget, however if your earning, it's a no brainer. I have seen friends and a brother in their 40's all die due to diseases, which can and will strike at anytime, suffice to say if I carked it tomorrow, I could at least say I have really enjoyed my last 6 years sitting on my rear, but I intend on staying here for at least another 20 years, doing the odd domestic travelling with some overseas trips pre-Covid.

Those are not my words. That you have to answer yourself. Again, those were not my words, I did say however that those that cannot afford insurance should not be here. The meaning of that is, when you move to another country, one should plan and take insurance into consideration, if that insurance expires due to age and one cannot get insurance then plan B should be in place, i.e. funds in the bank to self insure. If one has put all of their eggs in one basket and cannot afford insurance then they will have to deal with what comes. I could say that my wife and kids can rely on the 30 baht scheme, but I will admit, the hospitals I have seen are not fit for the purpose they were built, call me a snob, I don't mind, but having enough money which I took into consideration when I planned my move here, for insurance, for me and my family means that at least I am comfortable to know we will receive good treatment, not at our expense, but at the expense of the insurer and if we don't make a claim, all the better, but to me insurance is a must, we don't all think alike and that's ok. I am not misguided by insurers and claims not being made for a number of reasons, but as long as you read the policy thoroughly and adhere to it's guidelines you shouldn't have any problems. While living here, I will continue to insure, and if they cut me after a certain age, which the policy states they won't as long as you joined before age 60, then I will continue, but policies change and if they do cut me, I will use plan B and self insure until we go back to my homeland as we can then be under the government public hospital system which is as good as the private system here.

I also do not hang around Thai men, or women for that fact, but I know how they think/talk, I listen, I smile unbeknown to them that I understand a bit of Thai. There in lay the problem, I have little to do with my wife's family because same same, sister-in-laws ex partner throwing money at them as if he could afford it, and of course she/they took him for everything he had, later crying foul play, I did try to warn him, but he ran to his then partner spilling his beans with the family having a go at my wife, with her telling them, he has eyes, he sees what is going on and he can talk, up to him she said. We have heard a lot of the village gossip about this farang and when my wife hears it, she tells those people, the more gossip about my husband the better, it just goes to show how stupid people in this village are my wife says.

Yes I think those that get angry or go off, lose face very quickly, point is that I have never had an issue with respecting Thai's or anyone else in that manner, I always smile and try to make the Thai feel comfortable, oh this farang is ok, he doesn't bit, but out of the 100 or so you will always get comments when you walk away, from the limited Thai that I know, I can understand when a Thai is putting me down for no reason, that is why I say they are Xenophobic, naturally that wouldn't apply to all Thai's, perhaps I am using the wrong word ?

I am 61, have a pre-existing condition, my premium is 120,000 baht per year for 1.2 million USD (40 million baht) which includes the pre-existing condition. We are talking about farangs being insured, not Thai's, although I do also insure my family for 60,000 baht per year with a different insurer. Naturally the higher the age bracket 64-69, 70-74 the higher the premium, but 120,000/365 days = 330 odd baht per day for me.

When you have insurance, you don't care what they charge, and of course I would rather stay in a comfortable hospital, it's 5 star all the way for this cat ????

At least with insurance you will get the care you require in my opinion, without it, the hospital staff might be under pressure to limit what they do, don't forget, it's a business and has costs which it would like to recoup, and no one likes to throw money into something that isn't going to return on it's outlay. At least your in with a chance, without the machines, your gone, suffice to say all of us deserve a chance. Um, in case you haven't noticed, interest rates are so low the banks aren't paying any interest, I know my bank back home is paying 0.10% for over $500,000 so that means I am getting nothing for the money I have in the bank. Insurance is not that expensive when you break it down on a per day basis, the lump sum figure is what scares people, e.g. what do I get for 120,000 baht per year, I could use that money on other things, however I look at it this way, 330 baht per baht per day covers me for 40 million baht and 90 days overseas in another country, so I am getting something for my money if I make a claim, that said, I don't see what I am getting, but it's there, there to provide me with protection, so that I don't have to use my own funds. It works both ways, I could be paying insurance for 10 years, say 120,000 baht per year or 1.2 million baht with no claims, yes insurer wins, but so do I knowing that if I did make a claim, I would be covered. On the other hand, I could have made a claim in say year 5 for for 2.4 million, insurer looses. It works both ways. Have one of those as well and that is a fraction of the cost of health insurance, around 2% per year.

Understand, that is why I have insurance, that said, if I couldn't get insurance because of age, I would put $100k in a Thai account, suffice to say I have funds that are overseas in a bank account earning zero interest, that is just the way things are theses days and that is my back up position, e.g. if my investments crash, I will need funds, as a fall back position even though I am not receiving interest, it doesn't bother me, so if I had to put those funds in a bank here, I would, that would be my insurance. I used that as a guide, I am over 60 and pay 330 baht per day for 40 million cover, way over the top in cover but that is just the way the policy is, even if it cost me 1,000 baht per day it would still be feasible when considering the costs of being in hospital, for example, I know of a bloke who is around my age, went into hospital, 2 weeks was in the millions, he was very ill, they literally brought him back to life, now fortunately for him, he was insured and he was worth saving to them, what if he wasn't insured and didn't have any money to insure, from what he had and the condition he was in, I would say he wouldn't have made it, hospitals are a business and people profit, they also have reputations and in my opinion private hospitals will go the extra mile here if you are insured or have the $'s from self insuring.

I know where I would rather be if I was going to be hospitalised here and knowing that someone else was footing my bill, even better, you pay what you get, and if you have ever had any experience here in public hospitals, you will know what I am talking about, but then again, it really boils down to choice and who you want to look after you while being cared for, i.e. there is a clear difference between public and private here and where doctors/specialists/professors are trained, either here in Thailand or abroad, and whether they speak English.

For starters, they really shouldn't be here. The problem with most expats that I know is that insurance is readily available to them for a couple of hundred baht per day, however they choose to look the other way for the price of a couple of bottles of Chang per day, they enjoy that more than an insurance policy, will never happen to them, but when it does, it won't be pretty. But as Antonymous said in his above post, it's all about choice, but I will also add education to that.

Agree 1000%. Again agree 1000%, and for as little as 200-300 baht a day for cover of up to 40 million baht, I can't see why people don't insure, i.e. unless they can't due to age. Even those that money should see insurance as a fundamental requirement in my opinion, as it not only provides you protection, it also protects the money you have, so it works two ways in my opinion. I think if older folk cannot afford 200-300 baht per day or cannot get insurance here due to age, then they should self insure i.e. have at least 2-3 million baht as a fall back position, and if they haven't got the dosh to do so, they as you say, they take the gamble/choice, sadder if they don't have the money to self insure.

If you look behind the smile, you will find it, it's there, that or I am just paranoid, or perhaps I am using the wrong word, maybe jealousy could be a replacement, or an addition, either way i find both exist as much as paranoia does.

If you take the 3 hour wait for them to come back from their 1 hour lunch break, the hour drive there and hour drive back, it might not have been so simple, fortunately the young girl told me to come back in 3 hours, she had an embarrassing smile on her face, otherwise it would have been a little different, so off I went shopping and also doing some eye-candy watching at the local shopping centre, yep quite simple considering ????

I spend 70k baht a month for a family of 6, now that to me is cheap, we eat very well, this includes ALL insurances, car, bike, schools, although we are in a village in Isaan, which is where we prefer to be. The beauty of the last 6 years living here is that not that the cost of living has increased, it is still very affordable when comparing it back to my homeland. For starters, to build a house back there like this house would cost me 10 times more, plus the same for the land and it would be half the size, if that. Car registration, water and council rates and insurances would be much more expensive as would electricity. Thailand is cheap and there are bargains to be had if you search for it, that said, I look at the value here vs back in the homeland and we are far better off here, yes immigration is a pain, the xenophobia is a pain, there are pains here and back there because the homeland also has bureaucracy issues, not to mention the amount of speed cameras, fixed cameras etc etc, no point system here, cheap fines. Sounds to me your getting bored as you age, even though you say you have money that I don't doubt, but like I said, there are things that are cheap here if you look for them, I love the fact that labour is cheap when I get someone to do a job at the house as opposed to fearing the loss of an arm. Thailand is not perfect by fat, but its cheap to live and if you have money, it's even cheaper, that said, everyone has to maintain a budget and 70k baht a month works for me, although I could increase it, there is no need to waste it, i.e. unless I want to spoil myself and buy me some take away eye-candy, pre-Covid ????

I for one don't know, that said, after my 2nd dose I received my vaccination certificate which was in Thai, after that I gave it a week, then went to the Ministry of Public Health Office in my area to apply for the yellow vaccination book. They gave me a document in Thai to sign, I also had prepared a copy of my passport page signed true copy, same with my pink ID card and the vaccination certificate, which is what they wanted, also took all of the originals for them to sight, then they gave me another document and sent me to another room to pay 50 baht, receipt issued with another document provided to return to them, where I originally came from, then they gave me another document telling me to return in 10 days to collect my yellow vaccination passport. I am doing this in anticipation that quarantine restrictions are relaxed after Christmas so that I might want to for a holiday and that this yellow vaccination passport will provide me access into the country of my choice, but unless as mentioned above, quarantine restrictions are lifted, I won't bother, of course.

I also had my second dose of Pfizer last Monday, same as 1st dose 3 weeks earlier, slight headache, sore injection site for a day and a half, a little lethargic, maybe your immune system is better than mine ?

I'll drink to that.

There is a sentence in there that could refer to a few of us farangs here, hint, one size doesn't fit all, e.g. I don't work etc.....lol https://www.smh.com.au/world/aussie-hells-angels-member-arrested-over-huge-drug-haul-in-thailand-20171212-h0349a.html

Midnight Express came to mind 1978. Will have to think of a title for this one.

No harm in asking, if they say no, you sell/transfer it.

I honestly can't see them not giving you a later date to get your vaccine, as that would be just stupid as there are plenty of people who have paid for their vaccine, and some will have to wait till next year in the 1st quarter and later depending on when they paid, so pushing you back and bringing someone forward shouldn't really be a problem, if it does become one then you sell/transfer, as will I. Let's not forget the FDA as of the 17th said no booster approval for vaccines yet, based on not enough evidence, but those over 65 ok to get the booster, so we might not need the Moderna going forward.

Thanks, then the only thing I can hope for is that they don't call me for my October jab as it is my understanding that they are only receiving less than half what was ordered then, and the balance in the 1st quarter in 2022. If it comes in the 1st quarter, then I can decide if I should take it as a booster, but the FDA has just voted NO for anyone under 65 years of age to get a booster, if that is still the case by then, then I will sell it. The other problem I will have is what can I get the wife till then, she doesn't want Sinovac or AZ, Pfizer is not an option for her as Thai's can't get Pfizer, except for the kids 12-17 next month, although she does still fit into her school uniform.....hmmmm, I think I have an idea ????

Very few know this, it's all in the.....

May I suggest you hold off on selling it, why, well at the moment, you might not need it, but what if in 6 months time you require a booster, no doubt it was hard enough getting the vaccines you received. I received 2 Pfizer jabs even though I paid for Moderna in June for October, when they do call me for Moderna, I will ask if they can put me back 6 months, if not I have a buyer, that said the FDA in the USA knocked back boosters for Pfizer sighting that there was not enough evidence to suggest a booster, then decided to agree to allow over 65 years old people to get them, but selling your Moderna could create a problem down the track if in fact you do need a booster, and it's not as if it is that expensive for you to need the money, especially if it is going to assist you if you require the booster. This is gold in my opinion, and you leave gold for a rainy day to cash in. In other words, I don't have the confidence in this administration getting vaccinations, even in 2022 so I will be putting my shot on hold till March/April if they will permit it, alternatively have to sell it if they don't, but I don't see why they wouldn't put me on hold for my shot, plenty of others to take my spot.

The FDA in the USA has voted against the Pfizer booster at this time needing more evidence, although they have agreed for those 65 + to get it, so unless your 65 + wouldn't bother. You can YouTube FDA booster and there will be a tonne of videos showing this.