Lacessit

Most of the military golf courses seem to be run by the army. AFAIK they are always open to the public.

This is like watching a circus combined with a train wreck. The RNC has spent millions on failed legal challenges to mail-in voting. It has also spent millions on encouraging Republican voters to - you guessed it - mail their votes in early. Meantime, Trump has said in a speech after the Iowa primary - no mail-in votes, paper ballots with voter ID only. Campaign donations from large donors have slowed to a trickle. A presidential candidate who has crowed over repealing Roe vs Wade, potentially alienating most female voters. Large donors employ large numbers of women. A candidate who says he'll let Russia attack delinquent NATO countries. Ironic, coming from someone who is renowned for stiffing contractors and creditors. A candidate who thinks US servicemen are suckers and losers. The small donors are still sending their money, blissfully unaware ( or maybe they don't care ) Trump is filching campaign fund donations to pay his legal bills - $55 million and counting. If I was a Hollywood scriptwriter, no way I could make this stuff up. It's too far-fetched. Thank the gods I am not American.

I have some obsessive - compulsive traits myself, in the way I order my possessions. IMO I am nowhere near the obsessive behavior KH constantly exhibits. I don't need to speculate on any other mental quirks he may have.

I'd agree it's a bit like a Test opener making 20 ducks in a row.

Another option I have is to bring in Australian dollars and exchange them for baht at SuperRich or the like, the rates are competitive. As I said before, when governments try on stupid things, people look for ways to circumvent them.

If you are happy there, fine. It's just not my preferred place to live. No longer interested in bars.

Noted you are not denying you are/were a public servant.

You may be right. However, I would argue we are less of a burden on the public purse than pensioners in Australia. We don't clog up public hospitals. We don't use the PBS for our medications. We don't get rent assistance, energy or phone supplements. We don't get a couple's pension if we are in a relationship with a Thai. IMO all the talk of not contributing to the Australian economy comes from miseryguts who are envious of our lifestyle.

I am talking about using an Australian debit card to withdraw baht from a Thai ATM.

Factual rebuttals go straight through to the wicket-keeper, don't they?

This guy has not got 200,000 baht in his bank account? He had better hope he doesn't get sick, or involved in an accident. Some bars are profitable, but they require very savvy management. He does not look or sound qualified in that respect.

I am guessing here, but I would say a private hospital endoscopy here would be in the region of $800-900. A public hospital would be much cheaper, although with a long waiting list. AFAIK both would be with local anaesthetic only, for some reason a general anaesthetic makes the procedure much more expensive. For example, Bangkok Hospital does my cystoscopies under local for 18,000 baht. With a GA, I was quoted 55,000.

His post about using an ATM with an Australian credit/debit card, and the website for a company which purportedly enables retirement visas/extensions for foreigners who don't meet the financial requirements.

AFAIK Biden is not using campaign funds to pay his legal bills, not that he has any. Trump has blown $50 million on lawyers to defend him. Back on topic, I have a friend who lost a lot of money when he tried to run both the bar and its mama-san.

To give the devil his due, he has come up with two potentially useful pieces of information. I suppose out of 747 posts, he had to get a couple that actually contributed. I am wondering if he is an ex-public servant, I just can't see him surviving for long in private industry with such relentless negativity.

IIRC you suggested using an ATM with an Aussie debit card. That's another avenue. IME, when governments do something stupid, people will always manage to find a way to neuter the stupidity.

I don't know. I do know you have a real talent for taking the most negative view of any situation. They can't tax the 800 K I already have in cold storage, so you may have suggested another avenue for me. I transferred enough funds prior to January 1 for another 2 years.

I go to the food court once a week, when I am shopping. I always have pad thai goong. All the cooks there know I don't want sugar or peanuts. Not that I have a peanut allergy, I just don't like them.

Would you mind staying on topic, and taking your children's sandpit somewhere else?

How does the metformin interact with Cialis and Viagra? Asking for a friend.....

So I get a TIN, and transfer savings only. However, there are reports from other posters the RD has told them they don't need a TIN. What do they do when the bank starts collecting tax because they don't have one? That sounds like the makings of a SNAFU to me.

I note they don't actually state they can get visas and extensions with insufficient funds on the website, I guess that is all face-to-face and verbal.

Why would I say anything to Immigration about my income? It's the Thai tax authorities who are interested, and they can't do anything if I prove I am only transferring savings. I have screenshots of every investment as at 31/12/2023. My pension can accumulate in an Australian account for the next 5-10 years, assuming I live that long. IMO quite a few age pensioners in Australia are understating their assets to obtain a bigger pension. Cash is untraceable, everyone knows that. It's why every government wants cashless. They can't really start sending out search parties for cash tucked under a mattress. You are jumping the gun somewhat, no-one knows who is imparting financial information to whom, or if the recipient is acting on it. I expect if/when the Thai authorities start taxing the Australian OAP, there will be plenty said about it on ASEAN.

Admittedly the risk is very low, I prefer not to take it when I don't have to. How did you get introduced to the agent? Was that word of mouth from another retiree? It seems to me there is also a risk of having an agent who is incompetent, or losing/stealing a passport.

Do you have any evidence foreign pensions are being taxed in Thailand?