Many expats live in Thailand on less than 45,000 baht a month

[Jan Dietz]

She called me ugly...

until she found out how much money I was making...

 

 

now she calls me ugly AND poor.

 

[SheungWan]

I do not think it is necessary to set a financial yardstick against which others should be judged. What's the point? The only question on the table is whether it is possible to live on ~40k a month. I am pretty sure I can do this (not including health and travel costs). Whether others want to is not of much interest.

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[upu2]

2 minutes ago, SheungWan said:

I do not think it is necessary to set a financial yardstick against which others should be judged. What's the point? The only question on the table is whether it is possible to live on ~40k a month. I am pretty sure I can do this (not including health and travel costs). Whether others want to is not of much interest.

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It is up to the individual but 40k does suggest a pretty bleak existence

[SheungWan]

 
 So sad , my heart bleads for you  guys . 
  Get a job with a pensions . 
   Only 45.000 bht a mounth ,  sad ..
 Try outer  Mangolia , teaching .. 
 

Some guys have pensionable jobs, others have income generating assets. Which pathway depends on a series of life choices along the way. It is a mistake to confuse one's own decisions which have paid off with advice to others to rewind their lives in order to fall in line.

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[SheungWan]

It is up to the individual but 40k does suggest a pretty bleak existence

I do not think it suggests that. Rather dependent on one's lifestyle. I wouldn't put 40k as the scraping by bar. A lot lower than that IMHO.

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[mommysboy]

6 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

Dude I didn't come here to paint and decorate and have to take a motosai to transit. U seem defensive too.

It's ok to be frugal. I am. But don't begrudge the hoi polloi.....

 

I don't think anyone is suggesting that you should do it.

 

Sometimes what life presents you with, and what you wanted are two different things.

 

[highonthai]

I find that people who use their wealth to define them self's are generally very shallow. And without their wealth are usually uninteresting.

Wealth does not define character. I've had old Thai guys offer to buy me a drink when I knew that they might not be able to afford it. The the foreigner that wears all the Gold and buys everyone at the bar a drink, just to elevate and make himself feel good. 

40k or 400,00k a month makes no difference to me.

[madmen]

I find that people who use their wealth to define them self's are generally very shallow. And without their wealth are usually uninteresting.
Wealth does not define character. I've had old Thai guys offer to buy me a drink when I knew that they might not be able to afford it. The the foreigner that wears all the Gold and buys everyone at the bar a drink, just to elevate and make himself feel good. 
40k or 400,00k a month makes no difference to me.

Your taking one example of wealth that does not define everyone with money

[Zikomat]

Spend around 120 k a month for 5 years in TH. Still getting squeezed out by the visa requirements. Get those cheap asses out and leave me alone! Do they have wives or are they on retirement visa? Who cares - just kick them out of the country and let the smart ones like me stay here without stupid annoyances.

[suzannegoh]

2 hours ago, Zikomat said:

Spend around 120 k a month for 5 years in TH. Still getting squeezed out by the visa requirements. Get those cheap asses out and leave me alone! Do they have wives or are they on retirement visa? Who cares - just kick them out of the country and let the smart ones like me stay here without stupid annoyances.

You spend 120K baht per month and you're calling other people cheap?  That's barely enough money to maintain a wardrobe.

[Mike Teavee]

On 8/24/2019 at 9:36 AM, Number 6 said:

Whatever. You looking for a prize for spending your money? My point is while I have sufficient funds in the US and bank three times what I spend in Thailand alone - we are content. You have well strayed off topic.

 

Dividing walls are ridiculous in small places especially living alone. They cut precious air circulation from the windows. I understand your ocd desire to compartmentalize but Thai design under 40sqm does not support this imo.

 

I don't need all that stupid stuff you mention and if I did I'd go buy a gym membership rather than suffer whatever the condo tossed at me. Not to mention the poor financial decision of owning one in the first place or the poor life choice of setting into Bangkok for ones retirement.

 

Im 3 minutes from 711 and 7 minutes from Max Value. Ten minutes from one of the largest open markets left in BKK. 15 minute walk to Big C. Ten mins to MRT.

 

Horses for courses. 

 

Also extremely pleased the apartment has the TM30 sorted.

Wow, beat me there.... Tops is a 3 minute walk as is Tesco Lotus but my nearest 7-11 is 5 minutes away ????

 

I'm not looking for anything, certainly not a prize about how I spend my money, If I was I would talk about my 90K pm Condo in Singapore & have a many times more money there than I spend in Thailand.

 

The point (On Topic) was that we all have different things we need to make us happy & mine is a nice Condo... I'm happy to just sit at home, watch some TV, read a book & drink a nice glass of wine.... In a Studio I'd be sat in the bedroom & so would have to go out.

 

Nothing OCD about it, I can afford to live in a room with walls so why wouldn't I? As I said, I spent many years travelling for work and have stayed in some of the world's top hotels (3 months in the St Regis in Singapore when it 1st opened, it's nice to have a butler bring you coffee but after the 2nd time you just want a kettle so you can make your own.... Ended up telling the company to move me to a service apartment or I was going back... to Karachi!).

 

Peace Bro... you're happy, I'm happy let's all be happy ???? 

 

[Mike Teavee]

On 8/24/2019 at 9:57 AM, BritManToo said:

I left my pension in the pension fund for an extra 4 years, earned me 20,000GBP on top of the 4 years worth of pension payments (and all tax free). So yes it was worth leaving it in the UK, rather than taking the money and putting it in a Thai bank.

Given the current GBP FX rates do you still think it was a good move?

 

I moved mine over when it GBP was 1:45 THB, SGD 1:24 THB so saved about 20% on GBP or approx 10% on SGD at today's rates

 

 

Edited August 25, 2019 by Mike Teavee

[bkk6060]

3 hours ago, suzannegoh said:

You spend 120K baht per month and you're calling other people cheap?  That's barely enough money to maintain a wardrobe.

You are right.

A female demand for Coach or louis Vitton every month easily covers that.

[jackspade]

On 8/5/2018 at 10:19 AM, BEngBKK said:

(And YES..... There are nice Thai women in Thailand.... Not all are gold diggers)


 

Very true.

I wouldn't live here for less than 100k a month. It's just not worth it for a Westerner, unless one has no other work options in one's home country.

 

I know many here who seem to be fine on a salary of 50k baht, though. And indeed, one can live "ok" here on that salary, but not exactly like a king, and don't even think about saving any of that money.

Edited August 25, 2019 by jackspade

[metisdead]

Some off topic posts and the off topic replies have been removed. 

 

An inflammatory post has been removed. 

[BritManToo]

44 minutes ago, jackspade said:

I know many here who seem to be fine on a salary of 50k baht, though. And indeed, one can live "ok" here on that salary, but not exactly like a king, and don't even think about saving any of that money.

I live here like a pensioner (but with a much younger woman in my bed, and kids running around the house).

I used to live on 50,000bht, but now I live on 37,500bht.

Glad the teen only has 1 year of university left, but I'll be OK after that if the pound doesn't fall below 25bht/pound.

 

Better than shivering alone in a UK bedsit.

Edited August 25, 2019 by BritManToo

[georgegeorgia]

48 minutes ago, jackspade said:

Very true.

I wouldn't live here for less than 100k a month. It's just not worth it for a Westerner, unless one has no other work options in one's home country.

 

I know many here who seem to be fine on a salary of 50k baht, though. And indeed, one can live "ok" here on that salary, but not exactly like a king, and don't even think about saving any of that money.

Depends your perception of “ living like a King”

 

I dont drink or smoke nor go to bars

Sometimes i go to a cafe for a coffee / cappucino

 

I like to buy my own food and cook ,although occasionally i like to go to a nice restaurant but not every night or every week , 

 

I like to go to the gym, i like reading , watching  movies on the internet, however i like going for massage a few times a week, i believe if i  owned  my own Condo say in Pattaya i could easily live on 45k a month 

 

i dont like the taste of beer, and crowded places like bars 

 

 

To me that is living like a king 

Edited August 25, 2019 by georgegeorgia

[gearbox]

7 hours ago, Zikomat said:

Spend around 120 k a month for 5 years in TH. Still getting squeezed out by the visa requirements. Get those cheap asses out and leave me alone! Do they have wives or are they on retirement visa? Who cares - just kick them out of the country and let the smart ones like me stay here without stupid annoyances.

 

Since you seem to consider yourself smart and belonging to the elite, the Thais have created a visa for cases like you - "Elite Visa".  Put your smartness and money in use and get one.

[RichardColeman]

As a basic - 2 bed house pattaya - 9k, bills say 2.5-3K, food me , the wife, daughter 15K. I only have about 58k at the mo' , but that's near 25k for everything else, school etc. Wife working , near 74k. We live quite a quiet life, we are all happy and days out are not an issue. The real question is can you live the lifestyle you want on your budget and be happy. Sure there are plenty of people out there saying how cheap you can live, and you could probably live quite good on 30k, provided you were happy sitting home or round the pool with odd bar girl to take your frustrations out on,

[BritManToo]

32 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Sure there are plenty of people out there saying how cheap you can live, and you could probably live quite good on 30k, provided you were happy sitting home or round the pool with odd bar girl to take your frustrations out on,

Most old folk I know in the UK my age (over 60), sit around at home watching TV with a bit of gardening, walking the dog, and that's it. Maybe a coffee and a biscuit at the old folks 'drop in' centre on a Wednesday morning.

After 70, most of them will be moved to a nursing home by their children where they wait to die.

 

What exactly are you expecting out of old age?

Edited August 25, 2019 by BritManToo

[gearbox]

10 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Most old folk I know in the UK my age (over 60), sit around at home watching TV with a bit of gardening, walking the dog, and that's it. Maybe a coffee and a biscuit at the old folks 'drop in' centre on a Wednesday morning.

After 70, most of them will be moved to a nursing home by their children where they wait to die.

 

What exactly are you expecting out of old age?

Sounds grim.

 

I would say at old age the lack of health is a much bigger constraint than money. There are heaps of old folks with money which can't live the life they want because of health issues. 

And then there are the expectations. The society expects the old folks to sit in the backyard and watch the bamboo grows until they die. If one succumbs to these expectations, 45K per month should be plenty.

[TSF]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

I live here like a pensioner (but with a much younger woman in my bed, and kids running around the house).

I used to live on 50,000bht, but now I live on 37,500bht.

Glad the teen only has 1 year of university left, but I'll be OK after that if the pound doesn't fall below 25bht/pound.

 

Better than shivering alone in a UK bedsit.

Very much the same situation for me too mate. A few years ago I had about 50K thb a month, these days with the very low AUD/very high THB I'm getting by on about 36K a month. Fortunately my tirak owns her home in Korat and we own everything - car & mc...no debt whatsoever, plus I have in excess of 800K thb in the bank to satisfy my retirement exts. So I'm not in dire straits just yet. Nonetheless I've had to pull the belt in a fair bit. No more flying off to Vietnam for a couple of weeks, or driving trips into Cambodia. Eating/drinking hadn't changed much really as we we were never extravagant in that area, preferring to go to some quiet little Esarn restaurant and have a few beers and some tasty dishes, which generally tallies up to 400-500Bt.  

[TSF]

23 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Most old folk I know in the UK my age (over 60), sit around at home watching TV with a bit of gardening, walking the dog, and that's it. Maybe a coffee and a biscuit at the old folks 'drop in' centre on a Wednesday morning.

After 70, most of them will be moved to a nursing home by their children where they wait to die.

 

What exactly are you expecting out of old age?

I'm 72 and walk 5-6 kilometers every morning and travel to new places as often as I can. If any of my kids tries to move me to a nursing home I'd grab them in a headlock and wrestle them to the ground...????

[Huckenfell]

On 8/5/2018 at 10:23 AM, 55Jay said:

My Mom lives in San Diego, California.  She "gets by" on social security, I think it's about 12 to $1,400/mo and about $500 paid quarterly from a small investment.  She has a small mortgage, about $300 something a month, $220/mo HOA fee, I think a couple hundred in health insurance (Kaiser) and whatever Medicare involves, then all the usual bills - internet/tv, electric, etc.  She babies her 1995 Toyota Avalon, trying to make it last until she's unable to drive solo anymore.

 

There's not a whole lot of discretionary money left over.  I figured there were a fair few here in roughly the same financial situation. 

If you are going to inherit her house, why dont you pay her morgage.

 

[55Jay]

4 minutes ago, Huckenfell said:

If you are going to inherit her house, why dont you pay her morgage.

It's not quite that simple, and not relevant to this thread anyway.

[BigFalang]

I'm not working yet, but I've recently moved to BKK and I'm going to start working here within a few months now. I've already gotten a job, just waiting to get my work permit and a few other things in order before i start.

My salary is going to vary, 55-90k a month depending on how well I do each month. 

Terrible month - 55k.
Decent month - 70k.
Great month - 90k.

Now even if I had a terrible month at 55k and I payed 10% taxes I think I'd still be fine with 50k. I have just signed a contract on a nice 1BR that I pay 13k/month for. Internet, electricity and water and I'm up on 15k. The company deducts 1k every month for health insurance, I can only go to one hospital but it's close to my condo and it's a decent hospital. That leaves me with 34k. 

Spending 600THB/day for food, cigarettes etc is fine for me, that's 18k for one month and I'm now down to 16k. Lets say that every weekend I spend 3k besides the 600THB/day that would be 12k every month and I'd be down to 4k having already covered ALL of my expenses. So then I've spent 46 out of my 50k. The remaining 4k I can either save or buy some clothes etc.

So for 50k THB/month you can definitely have a decent living standard in Thailand as long as you don't go crazy 7 days per week. To be honest even if I'd only get a set salary of 55k a month paying 10% taxes I'd still live a good life and be very happy. I don't really understand the people implying that you need to eat food for 50THB if you're going to spend 45k-50k/month, it's simply not true.. You might not be eating imported gold sprinkled caviar every day but you definitely won't be struggling to get by.

[TSF]

24 minutes ago, BigFalang said:

I'm not working yet, but I've recently moved to BKK and I'm going to start working here within a few months now. I've already gotten a job, just waiting to get my work permit and a few other things in order before i start.

My salary is going to vary, 55-90k a month depending on how well I do each month. 

Terrible month - 55k.
Decent month - 70k.
Great month - 90k.

Now even if I had a terrible month at 55k and I payed 10% taxes I think I'd still be fine with 50k. I have just signed a contract on a nice 1BR that I pay 13k/month for. Internet, electricity and water and I'm up on 15k. The company deducts 1k every month for health insurance, I can only go to one hospital but it's close to my condo and it's a decent hospital. That leaves me with 34k. 

Spending 600THB/day for food, cigarettes etc is fine for me, that's 18k for one month and I'm now down to 16k. Lets say that every weekend I spend 3k besides the 600THB/day that would be 12k every month and I'd be down to 4k having already covered ALL of my expenses. So then I've spent 46 out of my 50k. The remaining 4k I can either save or buy some clothes etc.

So for 50k THB/month you can definitely have a decent living standard in Thailand as long as you don't go crazy 7 days per week. To be honest even if I'd only get a set salary of 55k a month paying 10% taxes I'd still live a good life and be very happy. I don't really understand the people implying that you need to eat food for 50THB if you're going to spend 45k-50k/month, it's simply not true.. You might not be eating imported gold sprinkled caviar every day but you definitely won't be struggling to get by.

I don't know how anyone could spend 90,000THB a month unless they were doing lots of shopping, or giving it away to TGs to buy buffaloes for mum & dad, or just squandering it by ringing bells in bars. I get by on a 3rd of that amount and I'm about 10K overweight, have a beer-gut from drinking too much Heineken, I drive a nice car, have more clothes than I need. If I was suddenly given an additional allowance of 50K a month I honestly don't know what I'd do with it, other than have some holidays. I certainly couldn't eat/drink any more, and I own enough junk to fill a warehouse.

Edited August 25, 2019 by TSF

[Zikomat]

7 hours ago, suzannegoh said:

You spend 120K baht per month and you're calling other people cheap?  That's barely enough money to maintain a wardrobe.

If the one spending 120 k a month is cheap then what we will call those spending less than 45 k? Actually, I never measure people by the money they have or earn. My post was an angry reply to those staying in TH on ‘married’ or ‘retirement’ visa, spending pennies but always happy to support government’s action when it comes to making problems to farangs staying in Thailand for a long time as tourists (the ones like me). Because who is more useful for Thailand at the end?

Edited August 25, 2019 by Zikomat

[bkk6060]

38 minutes ago, TSF said:

I don't know how anyone could spend 90,000THB a month unless they were doing lots of shopping, or giving it away to TGs to buy buffaloes for mum & dad, or just squandering it by ringing bells in bars. I get by on a 3rd of that amount and I'm about 10K overweight, have a beer-gut from drinking too much Heineken, I drive a nice car, have more clothes than I need. If I was suddenly given an additional allowance of 50K a month I honestly don't know what I'd do with it, other than have some holidays. I certainly couldn't eat/drink any more, and I own enough junk to fill a warehouse.

At least you are honest.

If a person has no other lifestyle then drinking beer and eating probably can do.

Staying active having a varied lifestyle and doing other things will cost you.

Edited August 25, 2019 by bkk6060

[Zikomat]

2 hours ago, gearbox said:

 

Since you seem to consider yourself smart and belonging to the elite, the Thais have created a visa for cases like you - "Elite Visa".  Put your smartness and money in use and get one.

You are correct. My problem is that , while I stay here for 5 years, I am still ready to leave the place any moment. I would definitely pay for Elite visa if I knew I would stay here for so long. But to pay 500 k baht and then leave Thailand in a month or two - that would be quite stupid. I think I have spent not less than 500 k during the period I stay here to solve my visa situation. Not mentioning the psychological problems caused by humiliation at the border and immigration every two month.