Most Thais don’t have enough savings to last six months if they stop working

[BestB]

34 minutes ago, Justfine said:

So why aren't Thais taking 5 months holiday?

 

They are lucky to have 5 days off.

 

A lot of Thai i know work only 5 months, the other 7 they spend swinging in the hammock. On the other hand, working thai's have 30 day sick leave, plus just as many public holidays, on top of yearly holidays.

[sammieuk1]

The amount they appear to eat more like 6 hours.

[lee68]

none of my in laws could last 6 days. there all maxed out on credit cards, paying one off with the other, and its no different in the UK!

[janclaes47]

3 hours ago, amexpat said:

4 hours ago, Jeremy50 said:

1. Don't have a credit card, and don't borrow.

2. Don't spend your capital.

3. If you don't have the money, don't buy it.

4. Embrace austerity if you have to, and find ways to benefit from that situation, for example, finding beneficial pastimes that cost little or nothing.

5. Don't be born into a poor family. 

1. I always used my credit card as a virtual wallet, never used it to buy something on credit

 

2. Didn't throw money out of the windows, though I had a business making good money.

 

3. Always been my idea also. I once when I was 21 bought a stereo on credit however I had the cash, because a close friend who's dad had a bank agency told me I would be stupid if i paid cash, and regretted it for 24 months.

 

4, When I left the my parents home to live alone at the age of 21 ( now 38 years ago) I owned the equivalent of 19000 Baht, of which i had to give 9000 baht as rental deposit, and which I didn't get returned when i was forced to move after 1 year.

 

5. My dad had the lowest rank in the army until his pension, and my mom had to go work cleaning homes, to be able to tie the ends with 3 children. They are both in their nineties now and in good health, so I didn't inherit yet.

 

6. I retired 27 years ago and moved to Thailand, never to work again, because i had a plan from the day I moved away from my parental home.

[DrTuner]

3 hours ago, neeray said:

Please clarify what you mean by " growing like mushrooms".

Hmmm...perhaps it's the old management principle. You know, keep them in the dark, feed them shit and if a head comes up, cut the neck.

[Enoon]

 

6 hours ago, Jdiddy said:

Similar in the western world

 

If you are prepared to wade through the data of the UK ONS (Office of National Statistics) I think you will find that about 50% of UK households would be unable to support themselves for more than 2 months (perhaps less) if employment incomes ceased.

 

That does not take into account how state benefits might ameliorate their situation.

 

 

Edited June 22, 2018 by Enoon

[kannot]

8 hours ago, Lungstib said:

Seems like the wealthy elite the world over have put the big squeeze on the workers. I saw this just yesterday .......        Can you cover an unexpected $400 expense? Four in ten Americans can't, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Board.          Where I live most people are working hand to mouth and like many suggest here couldn't last 6 days without work. In fact, many are permanently in debt and paying last weeks bills with this weeks pay. Its the price that has to be paid for that 0.1% who have the mega billions with no intentions of ever letting it go. Capitalism at its worst.

Seems to me like people seem to want everything  "now"without the effort of saving and waiting for it which makes it way more enjoyable.

I only buy anything after Ive saved for it, in some cases for years

[kannot]

6 hours ago, Justfine said:

So why aren't Thais taking 5 months holiday?

 

They are lucky to have 5 days off.

With their productivity level, elsewhere it could be done in half the time then they could have that time off.

[Damrongsak]

Half of my wife's siblings are half Thai.  The older ones who are of Vietnamese stock seem to do fine, although it could be a generation thing as well.

 

The young ones fritter stuff away, no thought to tomorrow.  Wife's older half-sister is looking to sell a 45 Rai property she bought cheaply for 45 million Baht now, though she lost 30 million in a failed trucking business venture.  But she started with virtually NOTHING except Vietnamese/Chinese greed. 555 . 

[greenchair]

My mother always said. 

If you've got it, spend it. 

You can't take it with you when you're dead. 

[Justfine]

I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.

 

In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol - it was the worst 20 minutes of my life.

 

I used to go missing a lot... Miss Canada, Miss United Kingdom, Miss World.

 

I've stopped drinking, but only while I'm asleep.

 

GEORGE BEST

[neeray]

2 minutes ago, Justfine said:

I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.

 

In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol - it was the worst 20 minutes of my life.

 

I used to go missing a lot... Miss Canada, Miss United Kingdom, Miss World.

 

I've stopped drinking, but only while I'm asleep.

 

GEORGE BEST

I don't drink, smoke or curse. But Gxx dam it anyway, I left my cigarettes at the bar.

[JAG]

9 hours ago, BestB said:

Most Thais can not think that far ahead, i am sorry to say

Most Thais are so miserably paid, by one of the most exploitative employment regimes imaginable in a nation which claims to be developed, that any sort of savings are simply unattainable.

[Prairieboy]

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Most Thais don’t have enough savings to last six months if they stop working

 

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

About 80 percent of working Thais, especially among the “Gen Y” and “Gen X” groups, have savings just enough to last only six months if they stop working or become unemployed,

Seems to be some conflict between the headline and the photo caption!

 

6 days would probably be more accurate - difficult to save money when earning 8,000 per month with expenses of 10,000!

[cmsally]

Yesterday morning saw Thai woman buying 300 Bts worth of stuff in 7-11 on a credit card (not debit)! Over coffee we were trying to think if there was any reason you would do this unless you had no money - either cash or in bank. I don't know is there a reason, it just seemed pretty strange.

[neeray]

2 minutes ago, cmsally said:

Yesterday morning saw Thai woman buying 300 Bts worth of stuff in 7-11 on a credit card (not debit)! Over coffee we were trying to think if there was any reason you would do this unless you had no money - either cash or in bank. I don't know is there a reason, it just seemed pretty strange.

"unless you had no money"

You answered your own question. I'll guess that this is also the answer that you came up with "over coffee".

[utalkin2me]

when the six months is up, i can volunteer to open my doors to some of these poor gen x and gen y folks. every human deserves the basic human right of having a warm bed to sleep in. 

[cmsally]

16 minutes ago, neeray said:

"unless you had no money"

You answered your own question. I'll guess that this is also the answer that you came up with "over coffee".

Haha we did, but we tried really hard to give her the benefit of the doubt ! One person suggested "collecting points" on your card! But seriously for 300 Bt, do people do that?

[Justfine]

20 minutes ago, cmsally said:

Yesterday morning saw Thai woman buying 300 Bts worth of stuff in 7-11 on a credit card (not debit)! Over coffee we were trying to think if there was any reason you would do this unless you had no money - either cash or in bank. I don't know is there a reason, it just seemed pretty strange.

Points

[Justfine]

Just now, cmsally said:

Haha we did, but we tried really hard to give her the benefit of the doubt ! One person suggested "collecting points" on your card! But seriously for 300 Bt, do people do that?

People get into habits. Collect points every week it adds up.

 

 

[Justfine]

6 minutes ago, utalkin2me said:

when the six months is up, i can volunteer to open my doors to some of these poor gen x and gen y folks. every human deserves the basic human right of having a warm bed to sleep in. 

All genders knocking on your door

[BestB]

48 minutes ago, JAG said:

Most Thais are so miserably paid, by one of the most exploitative employment regimes imaginable in a nation which claims to be developed, that any sort of savings are simply unattainable.

I guess that depends on who is doing the judging and comparison 

[Happyman58]

What the survey did not say if they actually had trouble finding Thais who actually did work. Just looking around the village where I live there seem to be lots of men doing nothing The retirement age in Thailand is 60 and I can assure you these guys are much younger. Maybe they think the retirement age is 30 or is it the Tired aged at 30

[Happyman58]

23 minutes ago, Justfine said:

All genders knocking on your door

Yeah i agree and most welcome to the warm bed are ladies 30s 40s who look great Rest assured they would be well looked after

[lovelomsak]

11 hours ago, Jeremy50 said:

Most Thais are in debt, between 100.000 baht and a million usually. If they stop working, they'll be living off their credit cards, or more likely off family members who are also in debt. It's all going to end in tears.

 

The basic rules for 'happy' financial probity are:

 

1. Don't have a credit card, and don't borrow.

2. Don't spend your capital.

3. If you don't have the money, don't buy it.

4. Embrace austerity if you have to, and find ways to benefit from that situation, for example, finding beneficial pastimes that cost little or nothing.

Works for me

[Happyman58]

28 minutes ago, Justfine said:

Points

They know they won't have to pay the money owing on credit card back. Household debt in Thailand is through the roof Most sooner drive the latest model car or pick-up then spend money on boring things like education, food, clothes. Its called saving face showing other Thais you can drive the latest model car and look rich. This saving face is so strong in Thais I know an educated lady who is divorced from her husband 2 years now and her friends still thinks she is married because she won't tell them she is divorced In fact it came back to bite her a few weeks ago when her friends had a gathering and invited her ex-hubby to go and he could not say no and worse part was she had to sit beside him all night and act like they were married. If I was him I would have played my cards right and got a bit extra that night lol What could she say lol lol lol? She is saving face right?

[Monomial]

36 minutes ago, cmsally said:

Haha we did, but we tried really hard to give her the benefit of the doubt ! One person suggested "collecting points" on your card! But seriously for 300 Bt, do people do that?

 

We get 1% cash back on our credit card.

 

Why doesn't everyone do it is a better question. Do you honestly think 7-11 needs that extra 3% discount rate the banks charge for a credit transaction? I am happy to take 3% away from the greedy bastards at CP, and share 67% of that with a greedy bank. The net result is a 1% discount to me, and I don't really care which group of sociopaths gets the rest. They are all the same.

 

Everyone should get a card that pays cash back and use it everywhere they possibly can. If you spend 500,000 baht a year, the result is 5000 baht absolutely free. Why turn that down?

 

[Vacuum]

6 minutes ago, Monomial said:

 

We get 1% cash back on our credit card.

 

Why doesn't everyone do it is a better question. Do you honestly think 7-11 needs that extra 3% discount rate the banks charge for a credit transaction? I am happy to take 3% away from the greedy bastards at CP, and share 67% of that with a greedy bank. The net result is a 1% discount to me, and I don't really care which group of sociopaths gets the rest. They are all the same.

 

Everyone should get a card that pays cash back and use it everywhere they possibly can. If you spend 500,000 baht a year, the result is 5000 baht absolutely free. Why turn that down?

 

That's an illusion, there is no such thing as "free".

[Monomial]

52 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

That's an illusion, there is no such thing as "free".

 

In this context, "free" means either I get the 5000 baht, or a group of greedy sociopathic businessmen get the 5000 baht.  I don't have any illusions. Taking 5000 baht from greedy corporate entities is, in fact, "free" in every meaningful sense of the word. Especially when the only thing they ask in return is that I help one greedy company take a small of money from a different greedy company.

 

 

Edited June 23, 2018 by Monomial

[bert bloggs]

12 hours ago, kotsak said:

Ok, now that all has been said, when is the new iPhone coming out? ?

Never a truer word , our son has a very well paid job , but saves nothing , the other day he asked me if i wanted his "old" phone , which is newer than mine , he just said that he was getting the latest model 23k ,  words failed me as his is only about 9 months old .