Leveraged

Evergrandes problems are already effecting most US indexes in a negative way. I personally hope it all falls down. The US stock market has been ridiculously overpriced for a while now, fueled by Biden’s unnecessary trillions pumped into the US economy, which is both sending inflation through the roof and creating a precarious position for any investors, especially those on the verge of retirement. There’s a serious market correction on the horizon and all it’s going to take to trigger it is an issue like Chinese corruption and market manipulation into the fray to send it all down for a while. For long term investors like me it’s a boon as I still have a while in the market before it matters, so I can keep buying in and the low potential prices are great - if/when they crash. For retirees relying on their portfolio right now? I’d be worried and cautious. For people with a long time horizon? Keep buying.

Some cooling system basics because it looks like it’s needed: Water cools the engine, not “coolant”. “Coolant” is added to the mix to resist corrosion and provide some lubrication, but it isn’t cooling the engine. Water is doing that. You can actually run 100% straight water in your system straight from the garden hose and the engine will stay cool just fine, but won’t last long as corrosion will set in etc. Coolant AKA ethylene glycol does raise the boiling point of water slightly, but the real workhorse of the operation is the radiator system pressure that raises the boiling point. Leaky cooling systems run hot because they don’t seal and can’t maintain pressure which lowers the boiling point and inhibits heat transfer. Either buy branded pre-mix or just make your own own at around 50/50 or 60/40 or read your owners manual for the appropriate ratio and rating.

It’s hard to get the USA companies to issue a letter because the Thai gov wants it to be stupidly specific and use pointed wording. It’s also worth noting that USA insurance will probably not cover you for asymptomatic hospitalization so it’s almost better to get “covid insurance” I got mine through AXA and they’ve got a proven track record of actually covering people with covid both asymptomatic and symptomatic. You could always get a higher fare return ticket for say 60 days after arrival, then cancel and get a refund for the return leg, thereby only needing 2-3 months worth of insurance. I think mine when I did it like this was around 7k baht for 3 months with AXA. It’s actually not a bad idea to get this insurance considering all the tests you’ve got to take and the fact that they WILL put you in a private hospital for at least 2 full weeks if you fail one.

Books absolutely murder any tv show or movie but it takes a certain kind of environment for me to be able to sit down and read. I usually read in bed at night to relax, but only a half hour or so before I fall asleep. The book reading environment is extremely hard for me to achieve so for that reason I don’t read as much as I’d like. Still get 4-5 novels in a year. Im 100% kindle

Anything Honda or Toyota will be a winner, but personally I couldn't live in Thailand without a pickup truck. We've always driven a double cab hilux and the baby carseat works flawlessly in the back. Toyota has "Isofix" mounting brackets for baby seats. Honda probably does too.

They wanted to see the whole stack including the insurance and ASQ booking confirmation every time I went through.

It reads like a list of whats needed in hand to actually travel to Thailand.

Just says to bring all your documents for the airline to review upon check in. Aside from that you'd have to provide a link to the site where you are pulling the information to get the full context.

My first shot of pfizer I had a slightly sore arm for about 48 hours and felt a little feverish but otherwise fine. Second shot gave me the same sore arm but genuinely felt like I had a head cold for about 36 hours. Stuffy nose and feverish. Only reason I notice any of it or cared was because I was focusing on it.

The only fatigue I have is from covid news and the part of the population thats obsessed with covid and feels the need to shame people or celebrate when people die.

The only good option is 3BB. 1000mbps speed with their 3BB android tv box. https://fiber.3bb.co.th/en/3bb-giga-tv/# You get all the HBO channels with this package as well. All the good channels that True dropped a while back. Live HBO channels plus the HBO app for on demand, plus regular tv all in one tv box. Or you can get an AIS SIM card and get their AIS PLAY app for an extra 200 baht a month. Download the AIS PLAY app on your smart TV or Android Box. But no HBO or super premium channels. Personally I have 3BB Giga TV with the Android Box and HBO and a AIS SIM with AIS PLAY on the same TV Box.

Ive flown to the USA multiple times over the last 12 months and the last time was 3 months ago. Look, the gold standard is the RT-PCR test preformed not more than 72 hours prior to departure. What that means is that you need to get the swab done not more than 72 hours prior to departure. People will twist this all up confusing the date you get the RESULT with the date that you get the SWAB TAKEN, rapid antigen tests and whatever else. If youre flying all the way back to the other side of the planet, just pay the 3,500 baht for the RT-PCR test and have the swab sample taken 48 hours prior to departure. Bangkok Phuket Hospital has next day results delivered usually around 11AM and sent direct to your email. No need to go back to pick up the paper copy. You do this, and you do not need to worry about looking up airline specific rules or transit rules because this is the standard that applies 95% of the time. Its the same thing returning back to Thailand. Deviate from this advice, and you'd better be paying attention and willing to risk flight delays (and timing out your original swab test) if you make a mistake.

To answer your question: I dont think you are going to have an easy time trying to find a local vet that will kill a perfectly healthy animal. Its a cultural thing. Its hard enough just finding a vet that will put a dog down with a terminal illness until the dog is damn near knocking on deaths door and suffering. Just post across facebook expat groups and local forums. Im positive the dog can find a good home as long as youre giving it away free and not looking for a profit. Certainly better than killing it.

You should be able to easily contact the insurance company to get a replacement card, or at least an emailed official policy document that will suffice. You can also come in on a visa exempt, then swap over to a single entry non-O from within thailand, then extend the same non-O just like normal. Dont need to get the non-o before you arrive. It can easily be swapped within thailand. You also need the 3,000,000 Baht/$100,000 USD covid insurance for the COE process. This covid insurance MIGHT also satisfy your OA insurance requirement. One policy for both applications, but this is just a thought - someone would have to confirm this.

Restaurant's don't "officially" serve alcohol, but most still do, and most of the bars do as well. You can still buy at 7-11 & all, plus theres loads of mom & pop shops about. I would absolutely do the sandbox over ASQ any day of the week, even if the trip to pattaya was a pain in the ass. Youll need to work that out as it changes all the time. I won't recommend any particular hotels but a decent 3-4+ star hotel close to Rawai or Nai Harn beach would be your best bet as its still mostly open there. Patong would be a waste as its still a cost town for the most part.

If you set the oven at 190C and it only reaches 150C then maybe turn the dial up to 200C and see where the actual interior temp sits at and adjust accordingly. These glorified toaster ovens have always been hit or miss in regards to temp for me, and thats what Ive always done. Just adjust the temp knob until I get the desired interior temp and ignore what it actually says on the temp dial.

Immediate effect from the date of signing the contract. You dont have much time and you need the policy documents for proof.

I would probably start by removing one lightbulb and then flipping the switch. If it trips out again, reinstall lightbulb and move down the line trying again.

At the moment Im considering using a financial trustee to basically manage everything so that I can get every benefit possible in death while making the money last as long as possible for my wife, and once she dies, setup an accounts in my kids names to get them started off. One thing i dont want to do is have my death trigger a sell of all assets and then a large payout to beneficiaries. It'll just get burned through and wasted. It happens like this in like 90% of cases similar to this. Dedicated people who live within their means can turn 2-3 million into generational wealth if they stay the course. Problem is getting others to understand how it works and the safety net it provides over just blindly thinking "Im a millionaire!" and buying a condo in Miami with a G-wagon to drive around.

You cant get most western people to understand the stock market. Its why the rich always get rich and the people in the rat-race rage-out all the time. Its also another aspect of retiring that I need to figure out because most of my retirement fund will be stock market investments and most people dont understand how it works, let alone my wife. Ill probably have to form some kind of managed trust handle paying her and my kids over X amount of time rather than a giant payout.

Or sold them and bought dividend stocks and kept it as a passive income stream, maintaining the capital for the event that one may want to repatriate. Loads of smart ways to do things like this, but most choose the "sell everything & move YOLO" strategy.

Should be noted that this is rather unreliable insurance with undefined payout requirements. They just say "Customary and reasonable medical charges will be eligibility after full deductible limit on your selected plan" which means they will review your claim on a case by case basis and its gonna be up to them. It'll get you into thailand but should not be relied upon for solid healthcare. It is better than nothing, for sure, but its also not much coverage in any case.

Theres a significant portion of the expat retiree community who completely sell up in their home country and take their liquidity to Thailand thinking they are saving and living cheaper with plans to live off modest pensions/annuity/returns. Which is true until you reach a certain point I guess, but it leaves you exposed and trapped if your money doesn't last.

Can you give any details of this policy and where you are getting it?

My thoughts based on the top responses: 1 ~ "My family will take care of me" - Ok, maybe, as long as you don't outlive your wife and don't mind being a burden on any children you may have by chaining them to your infirm living corpse until you die. Personally I would hate for my old self to be a burden holding my kids back from taking opportunities and living their lives and making a family of their own. 2 ~ "Healthcare is cheaper and better quality than in the west" It statement is true until a point. This metric skews once you start needing serious healthcare on a constant basis. Most western government provided elderly healthcare starts really making itself worth it right at this point because it'll cover all of your expensive care in your later years. Stints? Covered. Replacement hip? Covered. Heartattack? Covered. Home nursing? Covered. Whereas Thailand's basic healthcare is cheap but REALLY adds up once you start needing constant care and have to pay for it all out of your retirement fund and pocket. IMO this camp hasn't really thought this one through. 3 ~ "YOLO" - If you've spent your whole working life accumulating money for retirement and planning for the same, why on earth would you drop all foresight at the finish line and leave yourself open to possible disaster when you should be trying to protect yourself and your family the most?