statman78

Nicki, good points. I would like to add my experience although it was 7-8 years ago. I am an American and was looking for a mortgage in Thailand to buy or build a house for me and my Thai wife. I did find a company that would only provide a mortgage until I was 65. It would have only been for less than 10 years. They required a 50% down payment and life insurance equal to the value of the loan with the as the beneficiary. I also remember that the interest rate was outrageous. A few years after that we found some new construction going on here is Chiang Rai. With a 20% down payment were we able to finance the remainder with them for 5 years with an interest rate of 1% above the interest rate they were paying.

Don’t know if it was part of a scam but yesterday I received a call on my Thai phone that started with +697. I didn’t answer but after doing a little research according to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission of Thailand, +697 indicates a voice call over internet protocol from overseas. Their recommendation is to avoid calls beginning with +697 or +698.

Thanks for the tip. I’ve never had a problem just sending it through the regular mail but I’ll try sending it registered mail. One would think that it made it all the way to the US postal system that they could deliver it as addressed

Since I have my Thai address registered with the US Social Security office I receive a form every year which I fill out and send back to the US in the envelope provided. According to the directions the form is required so that I continue to receive my monthly benefit. As you see from the picture below, the envelope made it to the US but according to the post office it could not be delivered and was returned to me here in Thailand today. Has this happened to anyone else? Any suggestions for next steps?

Now in my upper sixties I stopped the running I used to do but now go for a 7 km walk every day. If it rains I have a treadmill. I also since we have our own pool I swim 15-20 minutes every day. This is all done before breakfast. I found that 2 meals per day is enough for me to maintain my weight. I also take some vitamin supplements as recommended by my doctor years ago. I used to eat a lot of junk food. I’d have a bag of potato chips with me while watching tv. I didn’t realize how much I ate. I now either don’t buy them or if I do I only take a small amount with me so that I would be forced to get more if I wanted some. I found that this is a good way of controlling the amount I ate. im lucky that I never smoked. I do have a drink almost every day. A glass of wine or beer and sometimes a little scotch which is less than I used to drink

I have received the same message for the last 3 months. I have been tracking my last couple of transfers. The money comes out of my US account within a day with a note saying that it is transferred to Wise. Five days later I get an email from Wise that they have received my money. On day 6 I get another email from Wise stating that they sent it to my Bangkok Bank account. Finally on day 7 the money is in my Thai account. Before it never took more than 24 hours.

My team, the Packers, are looking good this year if their quarterback, Jordan Love, plays up to expectations. He was one of the best quarterbacks during the second half of last season. I’m ready for the season to begin! Already renewed my subscription to NFL Game Pass.

At a private hospital here in Chiang Rai there will be a small charge. I think it was 100 baht.

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I came back to Chiang Rai from an overseas trip in March of this year. My 90 day report was due in June. This is the first time I had to do the report in person when coming back from overseas. I did not have to do a new TM30. I came back to the same address that I have been living at for 6 years.

Overall I achieved more than I ever expected to achieve. I’ve made poor decisions along the way (mainly wives 1 & 2) but now I am perfectly content living here in Thailand with my third wife. Even with the mistakes I’ve made I wouldn’t go back to change anything. Everything I did in the past has at least a little influence on where I am now. One small change and who knows where I would be now.

With my Bangkok Bank account I have a 25,000 baht limit per withdrawal with a maximum of 2 withdrawals per day. I I make a withdrawal from my US bank account using an ATM here in Thailand the maximum amount is $500 US. That limit is set by my US bank.

In general most people do not collect on an extended warranty, but some people do. It is like health insurance. Some people get more back than what they paid but most of the other people don’t. They subsidize the few along with providing some profit for the company. My wife purchased an extended warranty for our clothes washer and did use it when it broke down after the original warranty period.

Sure, many western nations have laid claim to an island to 2 but when you look at the map I provided China has laid laid to everything in the indicated area.

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All of these proposals are just campaign slogans. In the constitution it states that the justices “shall hold their offices during good behavior” which has been interpreted to mean lifetime. So it would take a constitutional amendment to impose an age limit or term limits. That requires 2/3 of congress and 3/4 of the states to approve. While it is a good idea, it won’t happen. A code of ethics would be nice but the Attorney General can bring up charges. Also Congress has the ability to impeach a Supreme Court Justice. In my opinion, most of the negative opinions about the Supreme Court is due to politicians and the media complaining about the decisions because they don’t agree with them.

It’s amazing that China claims these islands. Mainland China is nowhere near them.

While I would like to see the end of lifetime appointments, I think it would take a constitutional amendment to do this (see my previous post). I would also like to see term limits for members of the house and senate.

Trying to establish term limits or age limits on the Supreme Court is most likely unconstitutional. I’m no where near an expert on the constitution but after a few minutes of research I found that article 3 section 1 of the constitution states that justices “shall hold their offices during good behavior”. According to many experts this means for life unless they get impeached which has happen once. Any law passed by congress would most likely be challenged with the final decision probably decided by the Supreme Court. On another subject, a couple of days ago Biden said the only way he would drop out would be if his doctor said there was a medical condition that would keep him from completing another term. Now it’s reported he has Covid again. Could they be setting up a scenario where his doctor tells him he will have serious, lasting side effects, thus providing Biden with an excuse to bow out gracefully?

I’m glad we decided to add some additional panels to our current solar power system. They should be installed next week.

Since moving to Thailand 5 years ago I have my US taxes prepared and submitted by an American tax accountant (American International Tax Advisors) located in Bangkok. Earlier this year when I spoke with him he was already hiring some Thai tax accountants so he will be able to prepare and submit both my US tax return and Thai tax return if needed.

OP, I received the same notice last month when I tried doing my first 90 day report after arriving back in Thailand from an international trip. I do 1-2 international trips every year and in the past I was always able to do my first 90 day report online here in Chiang Rai. It looks like immigration updated the system so that there is more consistency across offices.

It used to take 1-2 days to transfer money from my US account to my Thai account. The last 3 months when I do my monthly transfer I get a message stating that it will take longer because my bank account was set up for micodeposits. It now takes 7 days. I didn’t change anything but the notice said I should delete my account and set it up again.

US Social Security money is not taxed in Thailand. I currently have my SS money deposited into my US bank account then transfer money as needed to my Thai account as you mentioned in your post. The remainder stays in the US and I use it to pay my US credit card bills. As long as the amount I transfer into Thailand is less than the amount I get from Social Security I will not need to pay any taxes in Thailand according to several tax experts I’ve spoken to. As for using an ATM here in Thailand, my US bank reimburses me for any ATM fees as long as I have my investment accounts with them.

I get mine cut short about once per month. Trims the ear hair and eyebrows too all for 80 baht.