What's your cost of living here in Thailand?

[JLCrab]

9 hours ago, starky said:

Well if that's the only 2 options yeah I'd rather read. Love Japanese girls hate Japanese porn but too each there own.

No you can actually do both. But my original post on the Japanese porn was just snarkily comparing the number of porn titles in 300 GB to your 400,000 some books in your library so you really aren't reading through all your books anyway maybe just compiling a philological database like a mini Google books.

[balo]

On 8/3/2018 at 4:11 AM, simon43 said:

es - importing transceivers and antennas is a major headache (they get taxed through the roof...).  Better off to buy a transceiver in-country and make your own antennas.

 

I am a ham too , but haven't operated one since the 90's .  LA6 xxx 

 

I lost interest when the internet world opened  up.   But I did chat with a lot of hams around the world in the early 90's. Mostly on the 20 and 10 m bands. 

 

And what's going on with the sun these days ? I would think fewer sun spots will give you poor radio conditions. It was different back 30 years ago .  

 

 

 

 

[balo]

21 pages on this topic wow . 

 

If you can afford 100k per month , good for you , we all have different incomes/pensions. 

 

I earn around 40 to 60k on average , but some months only 30k .  But it's all in the budget .  Do not smoke and drink only a few beers.  . 

Since I stopped eating meat , and I'm now 90% a vegetarian I also save money on food. But eggs, cheese and milk I still enjoy in moderation.  

 

Luxurious lifestyle ?  Nope , but compared to my home country it's better. Free swimming pool and gym in the condo complex, it feels luxurious to me. 

 

 

 

 

[simon43]

Hi Balo - yes, low sunspot activity makes it more of  a challenge...

 

I'm not yet retired - and no plans to either. Teaching in-class and online is enjoyable and earns me (a single guy) a good salary.  I'm also mostly vegetarian (because quality lean meats are difficult to find in Myanmar). One beer a week, no smoking and a healthy lifestyle means my income goes a long, long way ?

Edited August 3, 2018 by simon43

[HAKAPALITA]

I find i spend very little since my long term friends have passed on Something i never gave any thought too untill the last 3 Years.monet cant replace old chums.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[starky]

7 hours ago, balo said:

21 pages on this topic wow . 

 

If you can afford 100k per month , good for you , we all have different incomes/pensions. 

 

I earn around 40 to 60k on average , but some months only 30k .  But it's all in the budget .  Do not smoke and drink only a few beers.  . 

Since I stopped eating meat , and I'm now 90% a vegetarian I also save money on food. But eggs, cheese and milk I still enjoy in moderation.  

 

Luxurious lifestyle ?  Nope , but compared to my home country it's better. Free swimming pool and gym in the condo complex, it feels luxurious to me. 

 

 

 

 

Yep 21 pages of ridiculousness. lol

If you live a great life here and spend 20k baht a month fantastic. If you don't think you can spend a penny less than 150k baht a month, fantastic! As I said about 19 pages ago it's horses for courses no need to be jealous, snarly or rude about what somebody else here lives on, nor take cheap shots at their monthly budget. End of the day if your living here you are happy and it beats the hell out of wherever you were living before, then more power to you and who gives a <deleted> aboit what everyone else thinks you need to spend here each month.

[gk10002000]

18 hours ago, balo said:

21 pages on this topic wow . 

 

If you can afford 100k per month , good for you , we all have different incomes/pensions. 

 

I earn around 40 to 60k on average , but some months only 30k .  But it's all in the budget .  Do not smoke and drink only a few beers.  . 

Since I stopped eating meat , and I'm now 90% a vegetarian I also save money on food. But eggs, cheese and milk I still enjoy in moderation.  

 

Luxurious lifestyle ?  Nope , but compared to my home country it's better. Free swimming pool and gym in the condo complex, it feels luxurious to me. 

 

 

 

 

Yes.  You hit the nail on the head.  It can be a decent and comfortable life style that is often much better in several ways than back in one's home land.  While a cold winter chill in the air can be invigorating, when one gets old, the ease of just sliding out to the pool on a warm day can become pretty attractive!   Shovel snow, rake leaves?  That I will never miss.  Being able to walk around in shorts and comfortable walking shoes is heaven to me.  Being able to see so many pretty Thai ladies daily is great.  Being able to get foot massage any time, fantastic.  I still haven't signed up to punch out yet, but based on the way my two middle bosses at work acted towards me this week, well, if they don't want the 61 year old highly experienced and uniquely qualified test engineer that is the only person to have worked on and tested both UCAS and CMSW, and the person they themselves hired, well so be it.  I am fully funded for retirement without even counting social security which I could start next year.  Might be the year of a life choice.  I was going to buy my "permanent" house here in Florida, get a reliable house mate from work with a security clearance and offer a shit great rent rate that covers my expenses on the house.  Then I can hang here when needed or head overseas, keep a good USA address, have no mailing issues, leave my car in the garage, etc.  Or I may just head out.  Kind of nice to not really be tied to anything.  Medical insurance is the only nuance because Obamacare made the price so expensive outside of work, but there are ways around that.  Insurance in Thailand is not too bad compared to that.  I would be exempt from Obamacare if leaving over seas.  Next year no penalty for NOT having Obamacare.  Cigna Global had a decent silver plan at 248 USD/month that is the front runner right now.  Anything else is just a low level detail.  Lesson here is Do put money away in those years when jobs and contracts and costs were low.  I had 6 great years that pushed me well over 1 Mil USD, and I have that all invested in simple dividend and interest paying things.  Not trying to kill the market, just getting over 5% return on my money, much of which is tax free in Munis or my ROTH IRa distributions.  I could have done even better had I been a little smarter in some of the slower work years, but oh well.  Thanks to my buddy Doug (RIP) that was a great example and guiding light.

[55Jay]

That's an awesome post right there ^.

 

Still not sure how he likes his eggs, though.

 

Edited August 4, 2018 by 55Jay

[Kadilo]

34 minutes ago, 55Jay said:

That's an awesome post right there ^.

 

Still not sure how he likes his eggs, though.

 

Having just read that I will go with scrambled

[gk10002000]

18 minutes ago, Kadilo said:

Having just read that I will go with scrambled

yeah, good one.  I get it.  I am scrambled.  But having been broke, jobless and homeless before, having enough finances to have basically have lots of options and choices, most for my benefit, it feels good.  Much better than being on the other side and having to really sweat things out.

[Kadilo]

7 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

yeah, good one.  I get it.  I am scrambled.  But having been broke, jobless and homeless before, having enough finances to have basically have lots of options and choices, most for my benefit, it feels good.  Much better than being on the other side and having to really sweat things out.

Fair play to you. Good luck. 

[gk10002000]

On 7/30/2018 at 1:59 AM, Time Traveller said:

I wonder if , or how long ago since you lived in America ?

That top 37% rate does not kick in until around $500,000, or $600,000 for married filing jointly.

By comparison, the Thailand income tax rate  reaches 35% at 4million baht (around $120k) and have no married filing jointly allowance

 

But maybe you're trying to compare non thailand sourced unearned income at 0%.....well then you need to understand US taxes most investment income at 15% maximum. (and at 0% if your income is $50k or less singles / $100 k families once taking account of the deductions)

 

In that case, maybe there is a slight advantage on the income tax side of things when income from not working in Thailand and above $100k ......but then is that income from having do work outside thailand? or is it unearned investment income? 

 

Then of course, you are forgetting the fact that Thailand has much high consuption taxes than America....for example 30+% on cars....200+% on imported alcohol on top of the alcohol duties already imposed on all alcohol, then there's fuel taxes, etc etc.

 

Basically all goods (not services) are more expensive in Thailand than the US. Even Chinese made toys in America are cheaper than the same thing is bought in Thailand! 

 

So I don't think there really is any tax advantage that you are claiming. For 99% of people, you will end up paying more in total taxes in Thailand - either directly (income tax) or indirectly(taxes/duties/fees levied at the point of sale) than you would in the US. 

 

But Naam, if you're one of those 1% ers - with >1million dollar a year incomes, then maybe you're on the wrong forum.

yeah, that 39% thing is rarely an issue.  I make 160K a year and I pay ~ 25%.  And for investment income, I go out of my way to try and do much tax free by investing in municipal bonds, muni bond funds, and putting money into my ROTH IRA whose earnings and distributions are tax free.  And of course live in a tax free state (such as florida, texas, nevada etc) which is an approach I strongly suggest for any ex pat living abroad.  If you are maintaining a presence in the USA which is another topic, it can be a significant factor when counting ones expenses.  Whether you have to spend money in Thailand or in the USA, it is still your money.

[David Walden]

On 8/3/2018 at 10:38 PM, dddave said:

Eee-eee-eee-eee-eee-eee-eee-eee-eee-eee-eee-eee.................

Thanks for telling me, I didn't know?

 

[onlycw]

Well, I try to live on 10,000 B. Half goes towards rent, utilities, gas and the mobile phone.

 

Tips: #1, avoid supermarkets, buy bananas and stuff at open markets. #2, learn to live without that aircon being on 24/7.

[Naam]

13 minutes ago, onlycw said:

Well, I try to live on 10,000 B. Half goes towards rent, utilities, gas and the mobile phone.

 

Tips: #1, avoid supermarkets, buy bananas and stuff at open markets. #2, learn to live without that aircon being on 24/7.

hats off... may the force be with you!

[JAZZDOG]

8 minutes ago, Naam said:

hats off... may the force be with you!

My elec/water/cable/internet are more than 10K. Outside the USA the places I have lived LOS is the most costly. Even though I own my homes and cars in Costa Rica and Brazil, the upkeep on each of them is equal to the 25K rent I pay here. At the end of the day my expenses are about 15-20% less than LOS. Quality of life is about the same although for different reasons. Over the years all three have become less attractive as far as retirement. My plan is to rent my places out, buy a killer diesel pusher registered in Arizona and cruise the country until I find a good place to park it. USA is one of the few places one can pull that off.

[manjara]

On 7/29/2018 at 5:09 AM, jimmyyy said:

I do Drink, and dip snuss I have 3 kids and a wife, house paid for, we go through 160000 a month including insurances and school fees.  I don't think we live high on the hog, however, i don't feel like we are suffering at all. 

I'm not actually in Thailand, but I send money back each month. As far as I know, the costs are as follows (same as above, wife, 3 kids etc)

 - Maid :  9000

 - Electric : 8000 (Aircon in 4-5 bedrooms all night!)

 - Loan repayment : 35000  (Wife built an extension)

 - Petrol  : 8000  

 - kids  :  6000  (pocket money)

 - Alcohol  : 10000

 - MIL : 10000

 

As I send back about 140,000 a month, I presume the rest, about 55,000, is spent on food and house maintenance!  (wow, those kids are hungry!)

I also pay school fees directly, on top of that.

 

My wife claims she has income as well, that she spends all of!  ( as she is always saying I don't send enough)

[starky]

2 hours ago, onlycw said:

Well, I try to live on 10,000 B. Half goes towards rent, utilities, gas and the mobile phone.

 

Tips: #1, avoid supermarkets, buy bananas and stuff at open markets. #2, learn to live without that aircon being on 24/7.

Lol now you are just extracting the urine.

[ChakaKhan]

12 hours ago, onlycw said:

Well, I try to live on 10,000 B. Half goes towards rent, utilities, gas and the mobile phone.

 

Tips: #1, avoid supermarkets, buy bananas and stuff at open markets. #2, learn to live without that aircon being on 24/7.

pretty much what my budget is and where I spend my baht....rent-etc,,,street food--gas--phone........sangsom!

[balo]

20 hours ago, manjara said:

I'm not actually in Thailand, but I send money back each month. As far as I know, the costs are as follows (same as above, wife, 3 kids etc)

 - Maid :  9000

 - Electric : 8000 (Aircon in 4-5 bedrooms all night!)

 - Loan repayment : 35000  (Wife built an extension)

 - Petrol  : 8000  

 - kids  :  6000  (pocket money)

 - Alcohol  : 10000

 - MIL : 10000

 

As I send back about 140,000 a month, I presume the rest, about 55,000, is spent on food and house maintenance!  (wow, those kids are hungry!)

I also pay school fees directly, on top of that.

Walking ATM is your nickname. 

 

[Polaky]

On 8/5/2018 at 9:20 PM, manjara said:

I'm not actually in Thailand, but I send money back each month. As far as I know, the costs are as follows (same as above, wife, 3 kids etc)

 - Maid :  9000

 - Electric : 8000 (Aircon in 4-5 bedrooms all night!)

 - Loan repayment : 35000  (Wife built an extension)

 - Petrol  : 8000  

 - kids  :  6000  (pocket money)

 - Alcohol  : 10000

 - MIL : 10000

 

As I send back about 140,000 a month, I presume the rest, about 55,000, is spent on food and house maintenance!  (wow, those kids are hungry!)

I also pay school fees directly, on top of that.

 

My wife claims she has income as well, that she spends all of!  ( as she is always saying I don't send enough)

If your not there then who drinks all the Alcohol?.....the maid?

[Polaky]

On 8/5/2018 at 8:32 PM, onlycw said:

Well, I try to live on 10,000 B. Half goes towards rent, utilities, gas and the mobile phone.

 

Tips: #1, avoid supermarkets, buy bananas and stuff at open markets. #2, learn to live without that aircon being on 24/7.

I guess it's certainly possible when you budget as you do, realistically for a single retiree.....

A modern condo with sea views, a decent gym and pool can be had for about 12,000tb, you don't need larger than a studio of 25m2 so long as it has a kitchen, balcony, and nice bathroom, at that size it is cheaper to cool, and less lights etc, a kitchen so you can cook the occasional breakfast, a pack of cereal and carton of milk for the rest of the week is worth about as much as a full english breakfast 200tb at the bar ,  for dinner a bowl of soup, sorry guy's but there are way too many men that are overweight in los, it is the perfect environment to lose weight , like walking around inside a sauna, if you locate close to where you want to be then you don't need a car or even a bike, so your day would begin with breakfast, followed by a rigorous workout in the gym for an hour, off to the pool for as long as you like, then a nice long walk along the beach ogling the beach beauties, what more does a man in his twilight years need?.

[pankaj0008]

Electric 1500

Rent 8000

Water 100

TV wifi 900
Books 100000

[manjara]

1 hour ago, Polaky said:

If your not there then who drinks all the Alcohol?.....the maid?

The wife! She has people round quite a bit, but she gets through a fair bit! The maid has some too!

 

 

[Mike Teavee]

I enjoy reading these kinds of threads & find them useful for planning a Thailand budget, though I don't live there (yet) I've worked out my budget to be around ~90-100K PM...
 

My simple budget breakdown is:-

• 30k for the house (Rent, utilities etc...)
• 20K for Groceries (Food, household supplies, toiletries etc...)
• 10K for other (Visa, Health Insurance, Transport etc ...)
• 30K for me (Beer, Eating Out & fun)

... No plans to have my own transport which obviously limits me to where I can live, but if that changes I estimate another 25k-30k would cover the cost of buying (self-amortized over 6-7 years) & running an ok/decent car so up to ~120K all in

 

FWIW, I currently live in Singapore & my average monthly spend (excluding overseas trips) is ~165K THB almost exactly 1/2 of which is the Rent/Utilities for my Condo, so I'm pretty confident that the ~90K base will cover things but have planned for a reasonable amount of contingency for inflation, FX moves & any unexpected hits to my passive income.

 

Edited August 7, 2018 by Mike Teavee

[balo]

4 hours ago, Polaky said:

sorry guy's but there are way too many men that are overweight in los, it is the perfect environment to lose weight , like walking around inside a sauna, if you locate close to where you want to be then you don't need a car or even a bike, so your day would begin with breakfast, followed by a rigorous workout in the gym for an hour, off to the pool for as long as you like, then a nice long walk along the beach ogling the beach beauties

 

Yeah I agree, and I am a slim person so I must be doing something right.  But I  do not workout in the gym much .  

 

It's all about calories and how much you are in activity during the day . Seriously , I don't feel much hungry , I often eat oatmeal for breakfast , some fruits and that's it , until dinner time.  Dinner can be any Thai dish , but I prefer vegetarian food. 

  

Most older people over 50 here in Thailand have a big stomach , if you're American you're excused , but Germans,. Scandinavians, Brits , same same . 

Too much beer, too much food , do not care about their own looks as long as they can live with a beatiful Thai wife. 

That was my rant for today . 

 

 

 

 

[Neeranam]

Car payments 18k/month

Mortgage 14k/month

Water 1k

Electric 5k

Food 20k

Wife 25k

Kids 50k

Holiday savings 20k

 

Total about 170k

[Naam]

4 hours ago, Polaky said:

I guess it's certainly possible when you budget as you do, realistically for a single retiree.....

A modern condo with sea views, a decent gym and pool can be had for about 12,000tb, you don't need larger than a studio of 25m2 so long as it has a kitchen, balcony, and nice bathroom, at that size it is cheaper to cool, and less lights etc, a kitchen so you can cook the occasional breakfast, a pack of cereal and carton of milk for the rest of the week is worth about as much as a full english breakfast 200tb at the bar ,  for dinner a bowl of soup, sorry guy's but there are way too many men that are overweight in los, it is the perfect environment to lose weight , like walking around inside a sauna, if you locate close to where you want to be then you don't need a car or even a bike, so your day would begin with breakfast, followed by a rigorous workout in the gym for an hour, off to the pool for as long as you like, then a nice long walk along the beach ogling the beach beauties, what more does a man in his twilight years need?.

i'm a man slightly beyond my twilight years and i need 600m² airconditioned living area for two adults and two dogs to feel comfortable.

 

now hate me. you have my permission.

[dallen52]

On 8/5/2018 at 9:20 PM, manjara said:

I'm not actually in Thailand, but I send money back each month. As far as I know, the costs are as follows (same as above, wife, 3 kids etc)

 - Maid :  9000

 - Electric : 8000 (Aircon in 4-5 bedrooms all night!)

 - Loan repayment : 35000  (Wife built an extension)

 - Petrol  : 8000  

 - kids  :  6000  (pocket money)

 - Alcohol  : 10000

 - MIL : 10000

 

As I send back about 140,000 a month, I presume the rest, about 55,000, is spent on food and house maintenance!  (wow, those kids are hungry!)

I also pay school fees directly, on top of that.

 

My wife claims she has income as well, that she spends all of!  ( as she is always saying I don't send enough)

I'm not normally one to comment, but...

 

I'm trying to get by on the average expat farang pension funding the monthly for myself and my partner. 60,000 is the current costs.

Plus the odd excursion into savings of recent. 

 

This as posted above is obviously going to attract the questions..

 

Where is the location?

 

And, why ?

If you dont live there.

 

That's a lot of dosh in any currency. 

Especially if you dont know where its actually going..

 

Good for your wife, kids, maid, the local food industry, bank, and private schools whose fees are extra you say...

 

1.68 million baht. 

Plus school fees on top..

Plus what she earns.

 

And she says it's not enough..

 

Thank you for the contributions to the economy...

[Kadilo]

5 hours ago, manjara said:

The wife! She has people round quite a bit, but she gets through a fair bit! The maid has some too!

 

 

I bet she does.