4MyEgo

20 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

Forum has just set a new low.

Packers sons birthday party went over budget by about £1 per head and he refused to pay it. 
and he was cheered on by five others.

i spend about triple that just on myself on an average night out. 
Luckily they were drinking water at this event.
 

It appears this all went over your head.

I could have easily paid, however I appreciate Packers stance, in other words, if you allow others to take control, your weak, nothing to do with $'s.

Spend up big MalcolmB, your purgative, however, you would have been the laughing stock, weak in my opinion, what Packer did was show that he wasn't going to allow some biatch to take control of HIS son's birthday party and if she wanted to be a show pony, then she can pay for it, otherwise why would she be stabbing him in the back. 

6 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Lonely sad depressed cooped up in a room in Pattaya,many sold their houses in their home country, gave away their jobs , 

Really interested statistics Dr Gerorge, is that coming from your mind, or do you have 1st hand experience knowing of these guys you are referring to ?

6 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Then one day after 5 months or even 14 months and say to themselves 

What the hell did I do ?

Again, statistics George as I have only know one guy in the decade that I have been here who returned to his homeland, because he retired early and spent all his money, he will be back on the pension in the next couple of years I believe.

7 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

I will be heading back to that woke highly taxed  country Australia this weekend,

Ah, yes, that dreaded Nanny State that I left a decade ago without any regrets.

7 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Oh they make it so good don't they the rosy rose coloured glass crowd 

They start off " oh I woke up went to the gym and then swimming then went for a lovely breakfast then went to the beach then had a beautiful massage blah blah blah 

Life in retirement is what you make of it Dr George, I don't wear rose coloured glasses, although I do wake up at 5.30am, make a coffee, let the dog out for a pee, drink my coffee and listen to some news, then I head off for an hours walk around a lake, when I complete my walk, I will sit at the lake under a tree between 8.30am-9.00am drinking coffee that I brought with me, it's relaxing and I enjoy it.

I will then head to Lotus, do some light shopping and head back home where I live in a BIG comfortable house and make breaky at about 10.30-11.00, after breaky, I'll check my emails, and give it about an hour before I go for a little kip, say 30 minutes to an hour, more if possible.

When I awake, the world is my oyster as I have half of the day to do whatever I please, now whether that's YouTubing it, watching TV, but that's usually in the evenings, or chatting with the Mrs till she cooks up a nice lunch, then in the evening, depending on which nights I go, up to 3-4 nights a week, I will head to the local bar to shoot some pool and chat with a variety of retired expats from all over the globe.

We are all content with our lives Dr George, life is what you make of it, sounds like your not very happy with yours, and aren't sure if you cut your ties with the Nanny State, whether you'll be happy here.

Pattaya is not for me, I like the country life, that provides me with the opportunity to travel around Thailand, not a City slicker and don't like touristy area's, where there are mostly low life's, to me Hua Hin, Chang Mai, Rayong and parts of Phuket (outside of Patong) that are nicer and more enjoyable.

You seem to get in trouble a bit, last I heard it was a 7/11, touch in that chest, it's no Australia here m8, learn to chill and take things easy, 2,000 baht + a bar fine for a woman for the night is average in Pattaya, I would think it would be 3-4 times that back in Oz for an hour.

You sound lonely, perhaps you should try and dip your toe's, you know, get a girlfriend, love you long time, there are some good ones out there, I know lots of guys who have long term relationships with girls from bars, self included, you just to know how to handle the beast (financially).

I really hope you find some happiness in life Dr George, because life is short, make the most of it, roll the dice m8.

On 3/31/2025 at 4:47 PM, emptypockets said:

Yes. I choose to be a tax resident. I spend roughly two thirds of the year in Oz and one third in Thailand. My Thai wife works seasonally in Oz and I farm. We come to Thai January to April most years.That time of the year in northern Australia is not conducive to farming.

The taxation issues are not a real concern for us. Nor is any government pension or benefits as we are well and truly above the threshold to receive anything.

One house and two cars in Oz and one house and two cars in Thai.

Life is pretty good.

Looks like you've got it down pat, that said, when and if you make the switch to move here permanently, i.e. if you so desire, things will change, that said, already starting to change here with the new tax laws here, not that I give a rats, because they ain't getting one baht from me. 

5 hours ago, Social Media said:

Allen, a producer at Times Radio, had raised concerns about the lack of transparency in the appointment of a new head teacher at Cowley Hill Primary School. However, instead of receiving answers, he and his partner were confronted by six uniformed officers. The couple was arrested, fingerprinted, searched, and held in cells for eight hours under suspicion of harassment, malicious communications, and causing a nuisance on school property. Following a five-week investigation, police determined that no further action would be taken.

A) There are appropriate channels to go through if you want answers.

B) If the parents didn't like how things were being run at the school or the schools responses, they could have taken the kid out and put her into another school.

C) Lawyer up.

These days you can't go head on, otherwise they will use whatever means available to them, let's not forget they banned from the school for causing a nuisance on school property, then carried on, the Principal sounds like a real nutter, but obviously knows law, hence the reason I suggested what I suggested in A), B) & C) above.

Overreach on the parents side if you ask me, especially when it's a public school.

14 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

More fool you...paid taxes all your life and letting them keep your entitled old age pension ,

I will be getting it as soon as I'm 67

More the fool you George, because you only read what you wanted to read.

Copy & pasted below from my original post:

"I have no interest in applying for the old age pension, because returning for the 2 year jail term to make it transportable is one thing for most, but (not feasible) for me because, they apply a thing called deeming, so even if I spent all of those $'s to return and stay to get the old age pension, once they applied the deeming rate to ones assets, they will reduce the old age pension, by 1/3 or a 1/2 or to zero depending on how much money/shares I own".

If you don't know what deeming is George, I suggest you look into it because it WILL affect your old age pension entitlements, and if I am not mistake you own a property which you may sell and put the money in the bank, or buy shares with or even rent it out to a tenant.

Read the below on what Deeming is and how it WILL reduce your old age pension. If you do decide to hold onto your property and not lease it out, then that will be a dead investment, so either way, "your up $hit" the creek as we say.

https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/deeming?context=22526

Let me know your thoughts after you have looked into it, or if I am still the fool you say ?

45 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

Yes.

 

The Ralf.

Ditto.

2 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

So the purpose is to gather information before travelers arrive while everyone is going to fil it in last minute as nobody knows about it. So much to their logic. And what information is additional? Their first booked hostel/hotel of which the TM30 should already provide that intel.

There is like zero reasons for Thailand to have implemented this, it also helps zero with any existing crime. It only annoys potential tourists.

Have you forgotten where you are man, just a reminder, the Land of Officialdom LoL 

10 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

 

On the website it clearly states All foreigners entering Thailand are required to submit the Thailand Digital Arrival Card.

 

Exemptions being foreigners transiting or transferring in Thailand without going through immigration control and foreigners entering Thailand using a Border Pass.

Yes I just read a few web sites thanks.

23 hours ago, JB300 said:

I thought the TM6 had been scrapped? 
 

is it back now? 

Amended: It's back, see above reply to a post.

18 hours ago, emptypockets said:

I can assure you there is capital gains tax to be paid on investments other than property. I sold a substantial amount of shares recently. My accountant told me to be prepared for the CGT hit end of June.

I am still a resident for tax purposes.

Why on earth would you remain a resident for tax purposes, for what, to retain the $18,200 tax free threshold ?

Retaining a property as a resident or non resident, attracts you capital gains tax, if I am not mistaken, the capital gains tax is calculated from the very 1st day you purchased it (new legislation) as a non resident, not from the day you left the country as it used to be ?

You can negatively gear the property and claim losses as a resident vs a non resident, taketh with one hand (negative gearing), but paying it back with the other hand (capital gains tax), and I reckon the capital gains tax payable will be larger than what you claimed from negative gearing it.

Shares are taxable as a resident, did your accountant not advice you that you would be better off as a non resident, i.e. to sell your property before you left the country so that no capital gains tax would apply, and to invest your money into shares/cryptocurrencies whereby no tax is payable as a non resident, unless the dividends on shares were not fully franked.

To me, being a non resident has paid off, having sold my property and invested the money into shares/cryptocurrencies, means over the past 10 years, I paid ZERO tax, and my gains outweigh what the property value of my property would be today.

I can and do still use Medicare when I return, e.g. it's still active as long as you use it within 5 years, then it resets as you are technically not out of the country for 5 years straight.

Have I missed something, e.g. the benefits vs the non benefits of being a resident/non resident ? 

I have no interest in applying for the old age pension, because returning for the 2 year jail term to make it transportable is one thing for most, but (not feasible) for me because, they apply a thing called deeming, so even if I spent all of those $'s to return and stay to get the old age pension, once they applied the deeming rate to ones assets, they will reduce the old age pension, by 1/3 or a 1/2 or to zero depending on how much money/shares I own.

Not interest in returning to a country that is way over priced in any ones means, suffice to say I have no idea how people afford to live in Australia today. Getting out of there when I did a decade ago was perfect and still is, as I am living the life here that I would not have been able to do there, because of the cost of living and the taxes on everything.

Each to their own I suppose.

On 3/25/2025 at 10:20 PM, emptypockets said:

Tell that my accountant. I'm sure he'll pass it on to the tax department so they can see the error of their ways.

You do realise you will have a Capital Gains Tax bill when you sell, if you own property in Oz, plus pay $0.32c in every $ that you earn from rent, plus not able to negatively gear the property as a non resident.

2 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

I was thinking about buying a small apartment in Bangkok 

Why buy George, rent and invest the balance of your money to pay your rent for you +

I had over 3 decades in property back in Oz, and there is no way I would buy a place here, that should tell you something.

Renting means you can up and go anytime and you don't have all the outgoings that go with it, Thai laws are very different to Oz laws.

You might get sick of where you live after a while and selling can take forever, whereas renting, you give notice and see you later, hello new rental.

The above said if you invest your money in Oz, not property, it's tax free on any gains.

23 hours ago, piewarmer said:

B190,000 is the tax credit ceiling for family deductions

https://www.expattaxthailand.com/gift-tax-2024/

I believe you are incorrect, it's up to 20 mil baht.

I did state that I would gift her 1 mil baht, it's tax free.

Why should I declare the mil baht to the revenue department, I have paid taxes all of my life, and I am certainly not going to accept being taxed on my savings, even if my saving are working for me and earning me money.

In other words, I will exploit the system legally to avoid paying taxes on my money.

5 hours ago, DaRoadrunner said:

I would like recommendations for Health Insurance companies.

Give AA Insurance Brokers a call, they will find you a suitable insurer as they did me back in the days.

The above said, personally I would steer clear of Thai health insurers as the laws from my understanding are flimsy, that said, I self insure now because when I started out, I was paying 70k baht and within 3 years it went to 140k + with me having not make a single claim.

AA Insurance found me an insurer who took on my pre-exiting condition for extra baht (optional), then one day they changed their underwriters and it went up, but not before going up every year, from 70k baht to 90k baht, then 110k baht, then 140k + baht and of course the insurance was for inpatient only, e.g. emergency treatment.

In the years that I have not been insured, I have saved about 1 million baht in premiums with the cancellation of my families cover as well, so in the event of hospitalizes, I have a mil, then the balance is on me.   

12 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

I had also bought into this the ex wife deserves half and I voluntarily gave it to her. But actually I had bought a 4 bed house when I was 26. I had always made double what she earned, when she did start to earn. So actually in hindsight giving her half was completely over the top, when i considered it rationally.

What you did at the time, was the right decision, so best leave that in the past, no point in saying to yourself, I got sucked in, or I was still in love, you did what you thought was right at that time and stick by your decision, otherwise, you'll be punishing yourself and I don't believe you need that or want that, but learn from your decisions, not mistakes, decisions at those times.

14 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

She seems an honest kind, so the 16 may be true. However, it is different for men and women, we do not get ejcaculated on. There is a certain disgust factor with women who have really been run in the ground, though 16 is still a fortunate lower side of things.

I can guarantee you that she is the honest type as I know exactly what amount is in my wallet to this day, she never goes to my wallet, even when I tell her it's ok to, if she needs something she will ask, and I will tell her to go and get it from my wallet, she still to this day won't, I tell her I trust her, but she says, it's not my wallet, so I will get it for you and you take the money out, kind of strange, but it is what it is.

The thing I like the most about my wife is that she will discuss her past with me, and she tells me that I am the only one she will open up to, that I believe because she keeps to herself, few friends, doesn't want headaches, judgement and the usual talk down, lend me money sister, come on you have a farang and so on.

I have discussed her short career of 7 months on many occasions out of curiosity as I don't judge, and she feels comfortable being open about it with me. She has told me that she was fortunate, she had customers that would take her like an escort, for a week at a time, treated her nice and just wanting to go partying, drinking with friends and so on, getting trashed and getting to the hotels early in the morning, sleeping, most couldn't perform because they drank too much, others, it was over real quick, and others wanted a LadyBoy, but not in front of their friends, so they would go back to his hotel and he would give her instructions to get him a LadyBoy, pay her and tell her not to go back to the bar as he didn't want his friends to see her till the next night. She also didn't do things that she thought was weird or disgusting as she respects herself in that way, and would decline customers in a nice way, if they weren't up to scratch, e.g. if they looked like cheap Charlie's, not clean, she would say, it's that time of the month or I have a customer who has paid my bar fine tonight and I am waiting for him, etc, etc. She was fortunate to have 3 sisters who worked there before here, so they more or less taught her the ropes, drink the water (tequila shots) before the customer finds out (lady drinks) so she doesn't get drunk, that said, she doesn't drink.

I could go on, but hey, I don't need to prove anything to anyone, or brag about it, it really is the luck of the draw and keeping your assets separate, not spoiling them, or changing them, she is still a village girl with a village girl mentality, and that is what I love about her.

1 in a million or 1 in a billion, I am glad I met her in my lifetime, because I have been with a few gals, some models, others rich, but all had baggage, this one doesn't and makes my life complete, her payday will come when this golden goose as she refers to me as, kicks the bucket, as my will has her in it, but as I keep earning as I get older, she says she wants me to keep laying eggs LoL

On 3/17/2025 at 6:21 PM, Cameroni said:

I quite agree, but the really weird thing is the guys who think their ex wives DESERVE half of all their net worth, half the house, the pension etc, just because they had a night of passion with someone else. It is truly bizarre how men have internalised that women deserve half no matter what.

It all depends on how you look at things I suppose, for example, if both work, then yes, she should be entitled to half, or, if on has kids together, then yes, she should have half, maybe the whole house to shelter the kids. Naturally this would depend on the guy and how well off he is.

The above said, is she hasn't worked, and the relationship is only starting out, it's definitely a no go zone, suffice to say, before we married in my home country, I sorted legal advice from a Family Law Specialist who handled my divorce with my X (western) wife swiftly, without having to go to court, it was a 50/50 split with one child on a shared care basis, i.e. I got the kid one day a week less than her overall in a year, and he advised me to get a Prenuptial Agreement signed up before we married, with my now wife agreeing with me that I should protect my assets against the law that favored women, and it was carried out within days, i.e. she said, what you have is yours, why should I be entitled to them.

I ran that scenario by a few friends who were in relationships, not married, and wouldn't even think about going down that route in fear of pi$$ing off their girlfriends/future wives.

You might say mine is a rare diamond, fact of the matter is if she arked up about signing a Prenuptial, then I would know she was after 50% of what I had, my opinion, she did the right thing, and a decade later I kept to my word, built her a nice big home, so she has 100% of it, plus a car in her name, even though I could have put it in my name (yellow book), we have kids together, so if things went south, she needs to raise the kids, drive them to school, etc, etc and of course I would make sure she is taken care of, she is the type of girl that isn't our typical money hungry "B", she's still a village girl and hates it when the locals at the market call her Madam, i.e. she doesn't hang her bag off her arm which would be outward if you know what I mean, she loves her bum bag.

You might say why did my X only get 50% with one kid after 12 years of marriage, well the way I looked at it was as she only earned 30% of what I did, 50% was a good deal, and it was that or nothing, suffice to say she got enough to buy a house outright and if she wanted to go to court, I would have made sure it would have been chewed up in lawyers fees, that and her dad, told her it was fair and that I would looked after the kid, which I did.

On 3/17/2025 at 6:21 PM, Cameroni said:

But getting back to your wife, you said she worked in a bar, so she would have had a fair number of clients before you, assuming she worked there a few years. That thought never bothered you?

Dinner is served so got to jet.

Never bothered me, she was there for  months, checked, double checked and confirmed, and yes she could have been elsewhere, but her inexperience told me a lot, 16 customers to be exact, most drunk and not able to perform was the story and I believe it, that said, doesn't bother me, as I have been with scores of women in my life, should that bother her ?

No disease to date LoL 

On 3/15/2025 at 7:28 PM, Cameroni said:

 

Always good to hear one that worked out. How old was she when you first met?

25

I will add, she had parents you wouldn't dream of, a physically abusive ex partner and then won the lottery with me, so she counts her blessings everyday as she has stability and security in her life, as I do as well.

I'd say I was and am pretty lucky, no doubting that, but that said, it's not the title people should be worried about, as it's the beast within the woman, putting down the Thai girls working to survive is easy, albeit it, everyone will sleep with them, but no mention of the X western wives taking 1/2 to 3/4 of the matrimonial house in the old country via the courts, just saying, you want a younger prettier babe for your ego's and to show them off on your arm to your friends, just make sure you have the brains to know what you actually have on your arm, regardless of ethnicity or career.

15 hours ago, Magpiefan1892 said:

Is it really free because my dad (a farang) who lives in Thailand has to have medical insurance and pay for medical bills. 

It all depends, if her mum was really sick and went to the hospital, it's basically free, however, hospitals have long ques if she is from the north, north-east of Thailand, the poorer side, some go to the clinic which costs, and ques are less.

450 baht is cheap and could go towards meds.

What I don't understand is why she asked you for 8,000 baht ?

Thai's are always borrowing, they see it different to how we farangs see it, e.g. a friend in need is a pain in the A$$, Thai help each other out and always borrow if the loaner is in a better position than the one asking, they mostly never get it back, it's part of the culture.

1 hour ago, Cameroni said:

 

If you build her a house it may work.

 

And if you're lucky to get a woman of good character, it may work.

 

A lot of "ifs".

Wow, that's a lot of "ifs", like I said, you have to set boundaries.

My plan was to always leave my home country because it was going to and still is going to sh-t.

The woman, as you say has to have good character, morals, ethics etc, the thing is most Thai women don't have a clue about farangs, and when mine came back with me for a decade, she saw how hard I worked and how expensive things were, so she appreciated that I had a plan in place to retire elsewhere, and it was good for her that it was Thailand, as I had been here once before and liked it, and it was close to my home country if I needed to return to visit family etc.

I have always said on this forum, only invest as much as your prepared to lose, which is typically 10% of ones worth, the other 90% stays in the home country where you pay no tax for investing there as a non resident, won't go into the gist of it as most here live on their government pensions and have either piss-d up what they had, i.e. if they had it, or put too much of an investment into their Tiruks, or the "B" back home got most of it from the divorce because she had the kids to look after.

Relationships can works, regardless if its a bargirl or other, for me personally, I don't judge people for the type of work they did, or had to do, as long as they are a good person, that said, I also know people can turn, and laws can be on their side, so there is a lot to research and plan, and if it all works to your advantage, then you roll the dice, well that's what I did and it's worked for me, maybe not for others, but not all women are the same, are they, and not all blokes think with their heads, do they.

1 hour ago, Celsius said:

 

Wow... how does a bargirl look like 20 years later.....

 

Like any other women would, except Asians look younger, and it makes me wonder why you ask, are you thinking of marrying a bargirl ?

If you are, let me know as there are many benefits to it Vs marrying a western woman, i.e. if your the marrying type....LoL