Why are 50 and 500 baht currency notes used sparingly?

[pearciderman]

2 hours ago, owl sees all said:

You only want a few farangs doing the same and the 500s would dry up altogether.

 

A few ? You mean 18,465,000 farangs ? That is how many it would take to "dry up" the 500 Baht notes if each farang took out 10k in 500 Baht notes.

 

(I am guessing you meant foreigner as opposed to caucasian westerner).

[owl sees all]

24 minutes ago, pearciderman said:

A few ? You mean 18,465,000 farangs ? That is how many it would take to "dry up" the 500 Baht notes if each farang took out 10k in 500 Baht notes.

 

(I am guessing you meant foreigner as opposed to caucasian westerner).

Well Ozzie Bob went back yesterday; paying for his ticket in 500s. So that's now just 18,464,999 hording the goodies.

Edited May 15, 2018 by owl sees all

[MaxYakov]

1 hour ago, NancyL said:

With this comment, you're demonstrating that you're just a tourist and not a full-time resident of Thailand.  I found that it didn't take too long before I started to think of prices and the cost of things in terms of baht.  In fact, I now find that in planning holidays and major purchases, it's difficult for me to think in terms of dollars and I have to convert quotes to Thai baht to really understand how much something is going to cost.

 

Recently, I went to the U.S. for the first time in ten years and found the money difficult to manage.  All the same color and size.  How did I get along all those years?

"With this comment, you're demonstrating that you're just a tourist and not a full-time resident of Thailand."

 

Wrong. How did you arrive at that deduction, Holmes?

 

I haven't even played a single game of Monopoly over the entire ten years+ I've resided in Bangkok. The only I reason have returned to my home country was for some serious medical treatment. I interchangeably / automatically and often almost simultaneously think in terms of THB and USD even with the fluctuating exchange rate (Roughly - divide Baht amount by 3 and take 1/10 of that result to get ballpark USDs). I have absolutely no trouble dealing with the more or less single-color US currency.

 

US Currency Tip: It helps to look at the printed value numbers and know who Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Hamilton, Jackson, Grant and Franklin are what they look like (especially, Franklin with the inflation in the US). 

 

Back on-topic: I routinely get both 50 and 500 Baht notes in my change at Foodland and 7-11s (and sometimes several thousand Baht in 500s at the Bangkok Bank Exchange window) so I don't understand why it's thought they're used "sparingly". 

Edited May 15, 2018 by MaxYakov

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, mogandave said:

 

What’s the margin on raw steel?

If the Chinese want to desecrate their environment producing steel they have to export at a loss I see no reason to stop them.

When the RMB/CNY replace the USD, and the value of the USD plummets, who’s going to buy all their crap?
 

 

They are selling it to themselves. That's what all the port and infrastructure loans, and the new Silk Road are all about.

Places such as Vanuatu, Myanmar and the South China Sea. Unsinkable aircraft carriers.

As I sit here typing on a laptop with a Linux Mint OS, I'm wondering how long the world will continue to buy the software crap the US produces.

[watcharacters]

 

 

Wouldn't ya just know it.

 

I stopped into a 7 today to buy juices and a water.   

 

I gave the lady clerk a 1000 THB note and sure enough she gave me a 500 and several 50's back in change.

 

She must have read the thread.    

[watcharacters]

10 hours ago, NancyL said:

I hate the way some expat live off of 1000 baht notes from ATM machines and are too lazy to walk into the bank behind the ATM machine and get smaller bank notes.  Instead, they think they can fob off the 1000 baht notes on small business in the neighborhood to get the small notes they need.

 

Just today, I meet some friend to chat and one guy presented a 1000 baht note for a 15 baht soda.  The restaurant owner had already explained how she'd had an unexpectedly busy night the night before and really hadn't expect customers so early, how she'd run out of of rice and all she could do was give us something to drink while she prepared for the evening.  This is a new restaurant and the Thai woman is clearly overwhelmed.  Really -- 1000 baht for a 15 baht drink?  Needless to say, I gave her 100 baht for the three of us and told her to keep the change.

 

Hubby or I go to the ATM outside our local Bangkok Bank branch twice a month and withdraw 25,000 baht and go inside and get 10,000 baht in 100s and 2000 baht in 20s.  Seems to work well for us.

 

And yes, I agree that it's just too easy to confuse 50s with 20s when you get old and have to do things like make payments in low light restaurants.

 

 

Light footprint NancyL.   25,000 ฿.

 

[lopburi3]

22 minutes ago, watcharacters said:

 

 

Light footprint NancyL.   25,000 ฿.

 

But it may last her more than the day.  I also always get the max 25k withdrawal from Bangkok Bank but often pull two times to get 50k.  Then I don't have to visit bank for a few weeks.  This is a cash society for most things so having baht on hand is a good plan. 

[mogandave]

They are selling it to themselves. That's what all the port and infrastructure loans, and the new Silk Road are all about.
Places such as Vanuatu, Myanmar and the South China Sea. Unsinkable aircraft carriers.
As I sit here typing on a laptop with a Linux Mint OS, I'm wondering how long the world will continue to buy the software crap the US produces.

We can only hope everyone is not as smart as you...

[smotherb]

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Valid point. However, I would not get too smug about it. The Chinese are coming, they've already replaced the US as the world's biggest steel producer. Now they are looking to replace the USD as the world's reserve currency. Trump can bluster as much as he wants, the fact remains US politicians sold out America's manufacturing industry years ago. He's not bringing it back. Service industries and software only goes so far in propping up an economy. American shale oil is a Red Queen's race. Why do you think the Chinese and Indians are buying gold hand over fist?

Well, now you are asking me to pull out my crystal ball. Not sure where you see smugness when I see fact, but all things come to an end and the US is certainly in a downward spiral on many sides. I think it was America's workers as much as their politicians who sold out industry. Their ignorance and greed are to blame; they vote in the politicians who promise the most and demand the highest wages and benefits for the same work other countries' laborers do for less. Service industries have done well keeping economies afloat for centuries; and both India and China, as well as most of Western Europe and North America are strong service economies. Why are India and China buying gold? Aside from both India's and China's affinity for personally owning gold, gold is the traditional hedge against uncertainty. Every time a commodity tanks, they flock to gold. Gold is short term wealth preservation, equities are long-term; not much has changed.

[smotherb]

3 hours ago, NancyL said:

With this comment, you're demonstrating that you're just a tourist and not a full-time resident of Thailand.  I found that it didn't take too long before I started to think of prices and the cost of things in terms of baht.  In fact, I now find that in planning holidays and major purchases, it's difficult for me to think in terms of dollars and I have to convert quotes to Thai baht to really understand how much something is going to cost.

 

Recently, I went to the U.S. for the first time in ten years and found the money difficult to manage.  All the same color and size.  How did I get along all those years?

The numbers are different, NancyL. Most Americans can read. I've been an expat American for more than 50 years. I have not been back to the US in the almost twelve years I have lived in Thailand. However, I exchange my USD to baht, so I do not think in baht or any of the other foreign currencies in whose countries I have lived and worked. I can do the math conversion in my head, perhaps that is a reason, but it is all monopoly money to me. So, if I am a tourist, so be it, I am sure not a Thai.

[seancbk]

3 hours ago, NancyL said:

With this comment, you're demonstrating that you're just a tourist and not a full-time resident of Thailand.  I found that it didn't take too long before I started to think of prices and the cost of things in terms of baht.  In fact, I now find that in planning holidays and major purchases, it's difficult for me to think in terms of dollars and I have to convert quotes to Thai baht to really understand how much something is going to cost.

 

Recently, I went to the U.S. for the first time in ten years and found the money difficult to manage.  All the same color and size.  How did I get along all those years?

 

I've been here 10 years and I still think in HK dollars because I lived there for 35 years.  Then again I have to think in THB, HKD, USD, GBP, EUR and BTC (Bitcoin) as I use all those currencies on an almost daily basis.

 

[lopburi3]

11 minutes ago, smotherb said:

So, if I am a tourist, so be it, I am sure not a Thai.

  And please tell us you will not mate with any.  

[smotherb]

Just now, lopburi3 said:

  And please tell us you will not mate with any.  

Why, are you planning on dallying with my children?

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, mogandave said:

 

We can only hope everyone is not as smart as you...

 

You're certainly doing your best to prove it.

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, smotherb said:

Well, now you are asking me to pull out my crystal ball. Not sure where you see smugness when I see fact, but all things come to an end and the US is certainly in a downward spiral on many sides. I think it was America's workers as much as their politicians who sold out industry. Their ignorance and greed are to blame; they vote in the politicians who promise the most and demand the highest wages and benefits for the same work other countries' laborers do for less. Service industries have done well keeping economies afloat for centuries; and both India and China, as well as most of Western Europe and North America are strong service economies. Why are India and China buying gold? Aside from both India's and China's affinity for personally owning gold, gold is the traditional hedge against uncertainty. Every time a commodity tanks, they flock to gold. Gold is short term wealth preservation, equities are long-term; not much has changed.

Personally, I think the Chinese and Indians are buying gold because they are anticipating the demise of the USD. The Chinese in particular have always taken the long view.

Service economies don't produce physical goods. Countries that produce aeroplanes, cars, refrigerators and TV's are the ones with strong trade balances. Which is why the Chinese are now starting to build their own passenger aircraft. Boeing beware.

[mogandave]

Personally, I think the Chinese and Indians are buying gold because they are anticipating the demise of the USD. The Chinese in particular have always taken the long view.
Service economies don't produce physical goods. Countries that produce aeroplanes, cars, refrigerators and TV's are the ones with strong trade balances. Which is why the Chinese are now starting to build their own passenger aircraft. Boeing beware.

So the Chinese and Indians were buying dollars, now they’re buying gold?

As I understand it, Chinese and Indians have been buying and holding gold for quite some time.

I am concerned about the dollar as well, and I hold a little gold, but real estate and equities are good hedges against the dollar as well.

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, mogandave said:

 

So the Chinese and Indians were buying dollars, now they’re buying gold?

As I understand it, Chinese and Indians have been buying and holding gold for quite some time.

I am concerned about the dollar as well, and I hold a little gold, but real estate and equities are good hedges against the dollar as well.

 

The Chinese in particular are not buying dollars. They have a surplus of them due to the trade imbalance with America.

And they are using them to buy up assets before the world wakes up to the fact of US debt being unsustainable.

Hard to argue against real estate, which is what the Chinese are buying wherever they can. Equities IMHO are a matter of luck in picking the best stock to buy. What looks good on paper is at the mercy of the management and board of directors.

American debt seems to be operating on the same premise as a now-deceased Australian entrepreneur, Alan Bond. Did time in jail for fraud. He said " If you owe the bank a million dollars, you have a problem. If you owe the bank 100 million dollars, the bank has a problem".

[mogandave]

The Chinese in particular are not buying dollars. They have a surplus of them due to the trade imbalance with America.
And they are using them to buy up assets before the world wakes up to the fact of US debt being unsustainable.
Hard to argue against real estate, which is what the Chinese are buying wherever they can. Equities IMHO are a matter of luck in picking the best stock to buy. What looks good on paper is at the mercy of the management and board of directors.
American debt seems to be operating on the same premise as a now-deceased Australian entrepreneur, Alan Bond. Did time in jail for fraud. He said " If you owe the bank a million dollars, you have a problem. If you owe the bank 100 million dollars, the bank has a problem".

If the Chinese are not holding dollars, why would they be buying gold in fear of a dollar collapse?

Pretty easy to pick solid equities unless you’re trying to get rich quick. Or you can always buy a good index fund.

The US debt is big concern, but most every other economy blows as well, making it somewhat less of an issue.

Have you been to China? Huge recently completed industrial, commercial and residential complexes empty, with more being built constantly. A failing dollar would kill China.

[smotherb]

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Personally, I think the Chinese and Indians are buying gold because they are anticipating the demise of the USD. The Chinese in particular have always taken the long view.

Service economies don't produce physical goods. Countries that produce aeroplanes, cars, refrigerators and TV's are the ones with strong trade balances. Which is why the Chinese are now starting to build their own passenger aircraft. Boeing beware.

Well, let's see. Allow me to simply comment to each of your sentences.

 

I don't.

 

I think the decidedly long-term orientation of Chinese culture may be a clue.

 

Well, some of the service economies' reports may be called physical goods, but manufacturing economies are a bit lax with services production too, are they not?

 

By "strong trade balance," I presume you mean trade surplus. To understand you must understand the balance of payments and the fact that the current account must equal the capital account. In other words, to have a trade surplus, a country must be selling more goods and services than it is buying and buying more assets than it is selling. A country with a trade deficit, like the US; saves less than it invests and must maintain a capital account surplus. It must import capital so its citizens can consume more than they produce; thus maintaining a current account deficit. 

 

Yeah, so does Europe and Russia; buy Boeing.

[Lacessit]

It's all a matter of opinion. I cannot see how the US can ever resolve its debt burden. The man in the White House is not going to be any help - his whole business is founded on debt, so it is more probable he will only double the bet on the table.

A considerable portion of American spending goes on its military. The Germans found out the hard way during World War 2 that having technological superiority does not always mean you are going to win. Vietnam is another case in point - men in black pajamas, equipped with a pouch of cooked rice and a firearm, beat the pre-eminent military power on the planet.

Anyway, with luck we'll be dead by the time the shit hits the fan.

 

[poanoi]

U think too mutt

[mogandave]

It's all a matter of opinion. I cannot see how the US can ever resolve its debt burden. The man in the White House is not going to be any help - his whole business is founded on debt, so it is more probable he will only double the bet on the table.
A considerable portion of American spending goes on its military. The Germans found out the hard way during World War 2 that having technological superiority does not always mean you are going to win. Vietnam is another case in point - men in black pajamas, equipped with a pouch of cooked rice and a firearm, beat the pre-eminent military power on the planet.
Anyway, with luck we'll be dead by the time the shit hits the fan.
 

The US debt issue will get worse before it gets better.

You should read a little deeper on Viet Nam and what happened there, as clearly you are misinformed.

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, mogandave said:

 

The US debt issue will get worse before it gets better.

You should read a little deeper on Viet Nam and what happened there, as clearly you are misinformed.

 

So inform me where I'm wrong.

[Lacessit]

6 hours ago, poanoi said:

U think too mutt

Someone has to do it.

[watcharacters]

On 5/15/2018 at 2:18 PM, lopburi3 said:

But it may last her more than the day.  I also always get the max 25k withdrawal from Bangkok Bank but often pull two times to get 50k.  Then I don't have to visit bank for a few weeks.  This is a cash society for most things so having baht on hand is a good plan. 

 

 

The fact is it's mea culpa for me.      I misread the post and thought she and her husband were getting by on 25K THB a month and not the 50 I now realize.

 

I was commending them for the apparent thrift.       Now I can only half commend them..  

[mogandave]

So inform me where I'm wrong.

You (apparently) know how to use Google.

The US Congress de-funding the war lost it, not the US military. The war was won....

[Lacessit]

3 hours ago, mogandave said:

 

 
You (apparently) know how to use Google.

The US Congress de-funding the war lost it, not the US military. The war was won....
 

Why did Congress defund the war? Because the American people were not willing to continue with a war which had their young men coming back in body bags. The war was lost in the court of public opinion.

Depending on how one looks at it, the Tet offensive resulted in massive losses by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese. It was also a huge propaganda victory for them.

[mogandave]

Why did Congress defund the war? Because the American people were not willing to continue with a war which had their young men coming back in body bags. The war was lost in the court of public opinion.
Depending on how one looks at it, the Tet offensive resulted in massive losses by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese. It was also a huge propaganda victory for them.

I agree, the press had more to do with it than anything else. But blaming the military is just wrong-headed.

[smotherb]

10 hours ago, mogandave said:

 

I agree, the press had more to do with it than anything else. But blaming the military is just wrong-headed.

Well now; what was it that made public opinion so against the war? With all the funding, training, equipment, support, and technological superiority the US military had; they still could not gain a sufficient victory over their Vietnamese opposition. What part of that failure was not the military's problem?

[pearciderman]

13 minutes ago, smotherb said:

Well now; what was it that made public opinion so against the war? With all the funding, training, equipment, support, and technological superiority the US military had; they still could not gain a sufficient victory over their Vietnamese opposition. What part of that failure was not the military's problem?

 

One of the major factors of the war in South Vietnam being lost was the fault of the South Vietnamese themselves.

 

 

"Defeating the Communist guerrillas would have been an easy matter if the South Vietnamese people had refused to hide them in their midst. Instead, American and South Vietnamese could only grope after the elusive enemy and were rarely able to fight him except on his own terms."

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/opinion/vietnam-was-unwinnable.html