Mike Teavee

51 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

Interesting, can you share what your format looks like (I spend hours on very boring conference calls so enjoy playing with my retirement spreadsheet(s) to pass the time).

 

Sorry, was too late to edit my post... here's another view of my retirement budget (I did say that I sit on a lot of boring conference calls so "play" with these a lot :))

The 1st set of numbers are my monthly budget in Singapore except the Rent which is for my condo in Bangkok (I paid 12 months upfront for the rent for the Singapore condo to get a 10% discount).

The second set of numbers are my budget excluding any income coming from the UK which is why it's 126k not the 180k shown in my other budget)

The 3rd set of numbers is if I don't use some (GBP) assets I have in Singapore so is my minimum budget.

[You can probably guess that I'm loathed to spend any of my GBP at current rates]

The 21.05 is today's FX rate for SGD:THB (It's showing as 22.05 on XE so I simply subtract 1 THB, I can usually bank on getting no worse than current rate - 0.5) at the Money changers or Transferwise etc...)

Edit to add: Lol, It's just struck me that I plan to spend a lot more money on Entertainment (& a bit more on Groceries) in Thailand than I do in Singapore ???? 

4 hours ago, bowerboy said:

 

Thanks! My spreadsheet format used to look pretty much the same as yours....but i changed it recently to be in a P&L format which I find easier to make adjustments to.

Interesting, can you share what your format looks like (I spend hours on very boring conference calls so enjoy playing with my retirement spreadsheet(s) to pass the time).

1 hour ago, bowerboy said:

 

Nice work.

 

May I ask how much in THB you plan to spend each month (including everything...so any annual payments would be shown as divided by 12 and then part of your total monthly costs).

 

FWIW I am way off retirement. I have 2 kids here in International school and full insurance for the family plus decent full life insurance for myself (death, critical, income protection and tpd) and monthly spending is 200k. And we do not have a flash car and our rent is actually really cheap.

 

Single and retired I think 100k would be the minimum (I would want to be traveling enough so as to never do a 90 day report).

My "Off the Cuff" number is 90,000 

    - 30,000 for house, bills, internet, mobile etc... 

    - 20,000 groceries

    - 30,000 "Entertainment"

    - 10,000 "Others" (Health Insurance, Visa expense etc...)

Which I think would be a very nice, workable budget for a single guy, obviously if you have wife & kids then things can skyrocket 

My actual budget is updated on a weekly basis and is currently... 

Edit to add: When it says 4, it's actually 52 (Weeks) / 12 (Months) so more like 4.334 which is why the numbers don't add up 

Edit2: I should explain the amortising of the Retirement Visa, i'm 76 months away from my pension(s) kicking in, until then I'm maintaining the 800K in the bank for Extensions, I've done the maths to remove it & there is virtually no difference so I just leave it there as is as I sometimes play with it being 1,000,000 for the 20 year PE Visa 

2 hours ago, StevieAus said:

So for Aussie Expats we don’t have Brexit so must be our idiotic government  also as a villain regarding our exchange rate would be happy with the UK rate!!!

Seriously?

You don't know that the decreased demand in China (made worse by trade tariffs but was in effect well before then) has led to a decrease on Aus mining exports and so had a knock on effect on the AUS$

I have no interest in any of the above (Aus exports, Aus$, China etc...) & I know that, so how ill informed do you (presumably somebody who does have an interest) need to be to not know that?

8 hours ago, LazySlipper said:

 

Well put.

My theory is the "show me yours and I'll show you mine" cliche. They are simply bluffing in an attempt to bash Thailand and they prolly never have any intent of leaving in the first place. Bunch of WASERS (<deleted>-losers combined...) in my opinion. 

In fairness a large number of people haven't "announced" their departure but have commentated from afar when these kind of topics come up and have shared details about why they left

I can only think of one other time a (>10,000 post) BM "Announced" his departure and he was met with "Don't let the door hit you on the a55 on the way out" type comments, but more comments from guys wishing him luck & asking if he can share his experience from the "Other Side".

At the end of the day there are only 2 reasons for leaving... 

1. Because it's better for you or your family (New job, Kids in school etc...)
2. Because you have to 

I wish both camps all the best of luck, no need to add to their hassles by giving them a hard time for posting about it. 

Typing this from my parents lounge in (reasonably) sunny Warrington (UK), thinking that in a few short days (Thursday) I'll be flying back to Bangkok, then a week or so later heading back to Singapore & can honestly say that much as I miss Thailand/Singapore, if for some reason I wasn't able to travel back again i would be quite (very) happy to live here.

I remember once having the Happy Clappers (Jehovah Witness) knocking on my door, pushing their "Watchtower" magazine & I was very polite but said thanks, but no thanks... 

Then they (Happy Clappers) say...

HC's:Do you believe in God?

Me: I believe religion is a personal thing 

HC's: Yes but do you believe in God?

Me: I believe religion is a personal thing & best shared in one's home

HC's: Yes but what if you're wrong

Me: If you're telling me that If I live a good & wholesome life, take care of people as best I can & do my best not to cause harm anybody, that when I go "Upstairs" "HE" is going to say, sorry son, you got my name wrong you're going "Downstairs"? - Sign me up for hell right now, who would want a "Lord" like that.

And the sad fact is that the majority of religions believe that > 2/3rds of the planet are going to hell because they get "His" name wrong... 

5 hours ago, MadMuhammad said:

I’ve calculated my worst case scenario many a time and I put aside half an hour ago once a week to input the current data  to continually correct my forecast. 

I’m certain that I have done all that can be reasonably expected with the knowledge I have and I feel I’m prepared for just about anything, even that one off ‘crash of a lifetime’. 

 

Good luck to both if us, our successes or failures will most certainly not be due to the lack of planning 

Same here, I constantly take in data & adjust my plans, it's not like I'm obsessive, more I like to know what's going on in the world & (if it does) how it impacts me & my family.

I'm sure you have already, but if not recommend "Black Swan", not his (Nicholas Taleb's) best work (Fooled by Randomness is one of my favourite reads) but on the same page 

At the end of the day we can only plan for the worse & hope for the best ????

If you don't mind, can I ask when your planned retirement date is (FWIW Mine is Jan next year, 53 so still tempted to do 2 more years having been through a couple of "Black Swans")

32 minutes ago, Scot123 said:

Mike. Obviously it is enough money to retire on but there is more to think on than that. There are lots of places to choose to retire in Asia so look around. My family left Thailand recently after 9 years living there. The main reason was immigration rules changing at someone's whim, so uncertainty was the big reason ie what next! Second was financial in as much as yes we had enough money to live very comfortably but our life style was taking a hit. Then 6 police cars turned up at my house in the morning full of police. That was the last straw (reason for this visit was to check my visa status ie not working etc). I know people who live there still on a fraction of what we were spending but they count every satang and not being able to buy what you want or go out when you want is not my idea of the great life. We had a great life for 9 years. My advice to you as was given to me me: 1. Always have an out plan. 2. Never invest anymore than you can walk away from. 3. Don't put all your money into a Thai bank. 4. Keep a low profile and don't show off (ask the duch guy and his wife about that one) and last but not least 5. Always remember Thailand is a 3rd world country. 

I was answering the guy who said it was "silly" to retire to Thailand with only a pension & wanted to highlight that there are people who through luck & hard work have very good pensions and so can afford to move there on these alone.

I completely agree with your post and as somebody who's yet to fully make the move (I work in SG, visit Thailand 3 times every 2 months, have the Visa/Extension, Condo Rental etc...) the immigration points you mention are causing me to have 2nd thoughts, but one thing that draws me to Bangkok is I have more good friends there nowadays than I do in Singapore (all but 1 of my good mates there have moved on) so it feels more like home there to me than Singapore does (even after 12 years). 

Plan is to retire in Jan, move all my stuff over to BKK, then go travelling (In-country, In-Region & to Europe/LATAM) to see where I want to settle down.

4 minutes ago, MadMuhammad said:

I’m happy to use the excuse provided 555

 

I’ll run with your calculations as I am most definitely not skilled with percentages obviously lol

Thank you for the correction, appreciated 

Lol, I wouldn't go off my maths, I said that 45 to 37 was a 12 THB drop ???? 

I do agree with your 45 average though, when I 1st did my retirement planning (around 2008) it was around 55:1, so I used 50:1 then decided 45:1 was more prudent (was still recovering from my dividend income being decimated by the GFC) 

Nowadays I have a spreadsheet where every Monday I put in the current mid-rates and assume:

• -2THB for GBP£
• -1 THB for SGD$
• 4.2% annual inflation
• Ignore approx £750 a month in passive income (I take this as Scrip/DRIP dividends so don't see the cash)

... And still feel like I should be planning a worse case budget on top of this!

20 hours ago, MadMuhammad said:

If you look at historical charts and had your eyes open you’d realise the 70-90thb ‘value’ was never going to hold. You’re actually very lucky it lasted as long as it did IMO. 

As I stated earlier I see fair value of the Pound around the 45thb mark. It’s only 12% off of the historical average today 

I always mess up with percentages, but I make 37 approx 82% of 45 so an approx 18% drop which is not insignificant.

Did you mean it's "Only" 12 THB off it's historical average?

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Temples... 

Isn't that why we all came to Thailand???

Joking aside, I fell in love with Thailand on my 1st visit 11 years ago & have visited 8-20 times a year since (now spend an average of 10 days a month in-country) but I would like to spend extensive time in some other places (Vietnam, Portugal & Colombia being top of the list) before committing full time.

Somewhat insulated from the Currency (Baht is "Only" 5% higher than SGD compared to when I 1st visited, though approx 18% higher than SGD's peak), no problems with Visas (extensions of stay) & don't bother with any of the TMs except the TM6 on arrival & a TM30 once per year when I go to do my extension), just feel like other places are starting to become more attractive & worth a try before committing completely 

2 hours ago, JamJar said:

 

Huh?

 

Are you confusing Thomson with Thomas Cook?

Apologies, yes I did confuse Thomson with Thomas Cook (that will teach me to go back to sleep at 4am instead of going onto the TVF ???? ) 

10 hours ago, Thaifriends said:

Has anyone seen TC even sign boards since 2 decades? I dont know who wrote this brilliant topic 

Used to see them all the time in the UK, but more recently they went under the brand TUI so rarely see Thomas Cook

On 9/1/2019 at 4:09 PM, cerox said:

Hello guys,

 

looking for information about Bohol; from people who have actually been there.

 

I will arrive in Bohol around mid-November after travelling other parts of the Philippines. I would like to explore it there a bit longer to see if it is suitable for living. Also, because there is lack of accommodation in PH and with Nov/Dec Christmas/New Year/high season is approaching I wonder if it makes sense to prebook 3 months there.

 

My questions to you:

- Panglao with the airport: is it more for tourists and the main/Alona beach? Or is it nice to live/stay there longer?

- is Tagbilaran city a better option? I see the ferry from Cebu goes there and they have a mall too

 

ExpatPH posted the bus schedule between Panglao and Tagbilaran - it looked a big gloomy so I need a bike. But perhaps the transport in Tagbilaran City is better.

 

Are there police checks on Bohol if I rent a motorbike because I do not have a local driving license?

 

Recommendations about other cities on Bohol island are appreciated too if the Internet is acceptable. ExpatPH mentioned good Internet, but I guess that he was on the main spots on Panglao and Tagbilaran.

 

Anybody been to Puerto Princesa? Nice for living or only a good travel spot?

I like Bohol, but if you're considering Puerto Princesa then have a look at Coron, probably my favourite place in PI. 

OP, a couple of thoughts

1. Housing is MUCH more expensive (to rent) in Philippines (as are like-4-like hotels), similar rules to Thailand re: being able to buy land/houses (i.e. you can only buy Condos)
2. If by "Cheaper Visas" you're referring to the practice of turning up on visa exempt & continually extending it up to 3 years, doing a border run and then starting again then the Philippines Bureau of Immigration is already looking to reduce the length of time that people can stay on Visa upon Arrival... https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/705806/bi-recommends-non-extendable-30-day-visas-upon-arrival/story so I would look at getting an SRRV (min $10,000 USD in the Bank) or have a plan B if they do the same with Visa exempts

I love the Philippines, have visited > 30 times  & used to have a house 2 hours north of Davao City, but when choosing a place to retire felt Thailand was overall the better option, however as my retirement date nears (4 months & counting) I find myself looking more & more at places like Vietnam, Portugal & Colombia so plan to take extended holidays in each place to see which I prefer.

Oh & this doesn't matter to you as you're from the US, but anybody from the UK would continue to get their State Pension increases in Philippines, it's frozen in Thailand. 

Seem to recall Thomas Cook did packaged tours to Thailand (at least to Phuket), not sure how often but there's a direct impact there.

From the articles in today's papers it looks like the other budget airlines are capitalizing on their misfortunes by jacking their prices up (quotes of 400% increase from some).

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

If that is the new reality, Thailand deserves to be devoid of tourists pronto.

I never had a booking for first night, as just looked around for somewhere.

Anyway, who wants to have to book for every night of a holiday? I never stayed longer than 3 days anywhere, and decided where I was going on the spur of the moment.

Oh Thailand, when did you become so idiotic ( being polite )? You had a good thing going and blew it.

Sorry but I can understand somebody only having a booking for the 1st 1 or 2 nights but cannot understand why somebody would have a hotel booked for weeks after but not the night they land

Good call on the Embassy's call in my view, all to easy to cancel a hotel in the future, not so easy on the day 

16 hours ago, Henryford said:

It is NOT an average then and no one really knows what range of earnings per month might be acceptable to IO on the day.

Of course it's an average (total divided by number of units)...

Care to share a different definition of average?

Is 10 x 20K + 2 x 140K ok

Is 6 x 60K & 6 x 20k ok

is 11 x 42,500 & 1 x 38,400 OK (Clearly not from the previous poster)

Edit Apologies, you might be right about it not being an average, i used the more common definition as I'm sure most people do...

a number expressing the central or typical value in a set of data, in particular the mode, median, or (most commonly) the mean, which is calculated by dividing the sum of the values in the set by their number.

34 minutes ago, ICELANDMAN said:

Cebu and  Manilla but for me I had enough lost my money and time, I see not interesting country for tourists, and rather dangerous for business, political corruption very high with connection local mafia. Yes I agree if you go only tourists place and eat on the restaurant hotel you fond every one speaking very well English, maybe I not lucky, taxi scam all the time, my last expensive restaurant on Makati with not English menu I try lottery menu but I not eat only pay bill and my last day on airport Manilla a joke with not control baggage because equipment not work, fortunately a not see terrorist on the fly ????

Sure I have lucky problem with this country ????

 

Lol, the only time I had a problem with a menu in Cebu was when they gave me the Korean one by mistake ???? & I used to visit the Philippines with my ex-Filipina so we tended to go native (using Jeepneys, public ferries etc... ), Mindano is not exactly a tourist destination 

Taxi drivers in Manila can be a rip-off (especially from the airport) but the ones in Cebu I found to be very honest (Especially when your with a local, my previous ex-GF was Cebuano - what can I say, I have a thing for the girls from Visayas ???? )

Again, try Palawan, Coron in particular, you'll get a completely different view of the Philippines 

P.S. Though I defend the Philippines as I think it does get a hard time from people who have never really visited, it's blatantly obvious from the fact that I choose to Live  (1/3rd of my time) in Thailand & plan(ned) to retire there full time next year that I prefer Thailand.  In fact the reason I split up with my Ex was that I wanted us to move to Thailand (went got a Visa & rented a Condo) & she wanted to stay in Singapore, or go to UK or move back to the Philippines. 

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

I changed nothing. That is a screen grab ot the translated police order.

The 480k baht number is simple math by multiplying in 40k baht by 12.

This has been discussed in other topics. And the conclusion is that it means you can use a average annual income to apply for the extension.

Of course if you transferred 20k baht every month for 11 months and then 260k baht it would not be accepted.

FYI the reason for the average being allowed is due to a person applying for the extension can be working here and might not earn 40k baht every month.

Hi Joe, is it possible that there is a different interpretation of the rules for those people who are working in Thailand (and so will probably not be transferring money in) who can prove income using a Thai Tax statement VS those who are bringing money in from overseas. 

E.g. I can see that they would accept an average monthly income for the scenario where somebody working in Thailand earning (say) 100k pm changes jobs and there's a month where he maybe gets paid 2 months salary followed by a month with no salary then back to 100k pm again, but I cannot see them accepting an average if somebody is transferring in 100k pm, then 200k, then zero then back to 100k.

Poster above had an average of 42,500 over 11 months; (467,500) & 1 payment of 38,400 (505,900) but was rejected

We don't have the finer details, maybe they did 1 month at 267,000 & 10 months at 20,000 then 1 month at 38,400 but I'm assuming that the 11 monthly payments were all above 40,000 so they were rejected for one being below @BHWcan you please confirm

I think it's fair to say that the only way to be safe using the income payment if you're not working in Thailand is to make sure that you transfer in > 40k on roughly the same date each & every month

1 hour ago, ICELANDMAN said:

Lucky man ????

No, that's the average experience in the Philippines, you cannot have ever been there if you've never met anybody who does not speak English.

Again, I'm interested to know where in the Philippines you've actually visited. I've done Angeles City, Boracay, Bohol, Carmen, Cebu (Car Car, Cebu City, Macatan, Maolboal & Oslob), Coron, Davao City, Manila, Samal Island, Surigao City, Tagum City and a fair few other Islands on island hopping tours & nowhere have I had a problem with anybody speaking English or English menus... 

In fact in my > 30 visits, the only people I've met who couldn't speak English were my Ex-GFs parents who live in a small barangay (Kapalong) 2 hours drive north from Davao City & even they managed to learn enough English to be able to have a basic conversation with me (as I learnt enough Bisaya to exchange pleasantries with them... Oh & how to say "I'm full" (Busog - Sounds like Boo-Soh) so that her mum would stop trying to feed me. 

37 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

The TM30 has never been required anywhere for a person on 30 days visa exempt or 60 days TR. Are you sure the article was about the TM30,and not the TM28? Was it the article with the picture? 

Now I think about it, you're right, it was TM28 not TM30... 

OP, what Visa is your friend in Thailand on?

Only reason I ask is there was a news article on here the other day where the Chief IO in Phuket said the TM30 wasn't required for people on Visa Exempt, Tourist Visa, Investment Visa or Work Visa - In other words only required if you're on a Non-O for Marriage or > 50