The 800'000 Bht obstacle

[MyFriend You]

10 hours ago, Mac98 said:

Worked 40 years raising 4 kids in California. Then divorce at age 50, followed by the company you worked for the past 22 years going under. The money paid out went during one year unemployment and taking in my kids from the ex and getting my house back. Then I was retired early (age 62) on disability. Lots of medical bills. (No, everything isn't free in USA.) I had $120,000 equity in the house and put it up for sale when the global housing collapse hit and wiped out $200,000 in value. The bank got the house and I came to Thailand where my 65,000 baht Social Security pays my bills. I was just in the government hospital here for a serious problem. They fixed me up in three days for $500. So, no I don't have 800,000 cash and I'm not a layabout charity case.

If anything my friend, you have tenacity  

[JimmyJ]

12 hours ago, AlexRich said:

It’s a bit mean spirited to berate anyone for not being able to deposit 800,000 Baht. Many people in the west don’t have that cash readily at hand. If someone is living here and paying their way due to a small but regular pension then good luck to them, Thailand still benefits from their expenditure and they are not taking from the state.

Agree, except:

 

"It’s a bit mean spirited to berate anyone for not being able to deposit 800,000 Baht." - Much more than "a bit".

[Thaidream]

6 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

`s as I said; people like you try to buck the system and we all end up paying the price and worse still, you even boast about it

Don't ever tell me I am doing something illegal.  I have no business; no agreements related to any type of purchases. I don't even have a  User agreement. I have gifted my wife and her mother and father this land. I have no interest in it and want none.  By the way- each time - I have signed a statement at the land office in front of Thai witnesses indicating I have no legal interest in the purchase.  You are completely wrong on this issue and don't know what the hell you are talking about.

[inThailand]

20K and 18 pages of bitching. A kings ransom! 

[Naam]

7 hours ago, janclaes47 said:

I may be wrong, but I thought that if a foreigner has a retirement extension, his spouse is added to that without additional requirements

i was told last year that was changed, don't know when because our balance was always higher then 1.6mm on the joint and/or account. but whatever... as a precautionary move my wife has her own account with THB 800k because if something happens to me the piggy-back version is off the table, she has 7 (seven!) days to leave the country and come back with a visa to start her own Thai retirement visa from the scratch also known as "stay, respectively extension of stay".

[Naam]

1 hour ago, TunnelRat69 said:

Hmmmm  I have not tried, as I have the equal or better in another thai bank, I have just read that they don;t except a fixed account, maybe I am confused on that issue.    mea culpa..........but if you want real return on your money, Vietnamese banks are presently paying 7.5% PA on deposit in Vietnamese Dong accounts...........it is easily converted to USD and sent out of country at any time, I have two accounts there.

questions:

-is it difficult to establish an account?

-what's the maturity of a 7.5% fixed deposit account?

-can you get a debit card on a current account?

-if yes to debit card what's the interest rate?

 

thanks in advance for any answers.

[inThailand]

I never realized how poor most are here. They don't have a measle 20K to their name. 555!

[Lacessit]

13 hours ago, Naam said:

rong yew are! vee Tchermans are in fakt tchampions in producing rubbisch.

Yes, I believe the brand name is Mercedes-Benz.

[Naam]

7 hours ago, AlexRich said:

 

You pay taxes in Thailand every time you buy something, so you are contributing tax wise. You are also contributing to the local businesses, who pay taxes on the profit they receive, profits that are fractionally higher because you and other foreigners are there. The fact that you don't pay tax at home is not a gift from Thailand, it's a consequence of being non-resident, you are not using any resources of your home country. You could do the same thing by moving to Cyprus.

we have lived in Cyprus for several years when i still worked as a consulting (many rainy seasons ago). and we liked it very much.

 

Cyprus was on our checklist 14 years ago and so was Malta, Malaysia and the Philippines. Cyprus was a loser due to extremely high property prices for extremely sh1tty real estate. estimated rent for a home equivalent to our home in Thailand US-Dollars 5-8,000 / month. estimated construction cost US-Dollars 2.5-3 million.

Quote

The fact that you don't pay tax at home is not a gift from Thailand, it's a consequence of being non-resident...

call it what you want, we consider it a gift and are consequently grateful for it.

 

[Naam]

Just now, Lacessit said:

13 hours ago, Naam said:

rong yew are! vee Tchermans are in fakt tchampions in producing rubbisch.

Yes, I believe the brand name is Mercedes-Benz.

my wife is very happy with her Benz

[Thaidream]

4 minutes ago, inThailand said:

never realized how poor most are here. They don't have a measle 20K to their name. 555!

Luckily- some of us do but please remember that $25,000  to most  people is a lot of money.  Many of us  have worked for 50 years and our wage base starting out was very low.  When I was drafted into the Us Army I was paid $90 per month.  My first real job was $7000 per year.  I, and others worked hard all of our lives taking care of families and children.

US citizens living abroad are not poor but are not going to part with this type of money  without  some hard decisions.

I do not like Thai banks for various reasons but I do like having my funds in a US bank and used  a Thai aTM- i can walk down the street and take out my money as needed.  I have complete documentation to  prove my  65K per month income.  No reason to use Thai Banks unless I absolutely am forced into it.

 

So, poor is in the eye of the beholder. I spend more than 65K per month - others do not  because they don't need to or want to. I suppose if you are a dollar millionaire- I am considered poor but honestly I really don't care.

[Naam]

13 minutes ago, inThailand said:

I never realized how poor most are here. They don't have a measle 20K to their name. 555!

they don't have measles because they were vaccinated as children.

[marcusarelus]

1 hour ago, TunnelRat69 said:

How pray tell, please enlighten us less knowledgeable than thou..................I'm sorry you can't afford to live here, and can't come up with the cash the Thai Govt requires you to have, but don't take it out on the USA...........follow your friend to Columbia, I have spent months of pleasure lving/loving in Bogota, English is their second language.  I am also 68, and the avatar pic is only 2 years old.

You got the quote wrong.  I did not write that. 

[marcusarelus]

1 hour ago, TunnelRat69 said:

Hmmmm  I have not tried, as I have the equal or better in another thai bank, I have just read that they don;t except a fixed account, maybe I am confused on that issue.    mea culpa..........but if you want real return on your money, Vietnamese banks are presently paying 7.5% PA on deposit in Vietnamese Dong accounts...........it is easily converted to USD and sent out of country at any time, I have two accounts there.

There is a reason the return is high.  It is a high risk currency.  Might as well bet on horses.

[JimmyJ]

29 minutes ago, inThailand said:

I never realized how poor most are here. They don't have a measle 20K to their name. 555!

 

Yes, people with less money than you are to be laughed at.

Another quality immigrant.

[metisdead]

Not Pub related, this can be discussed in the Visas Forum.