Cost of Living in Thailand: Save money? You're having a laugh!

[yellowboat]

1 hour ago, DonaldBattles said:

THE COST OF LIVING FOR FARANGS IN THAILAND CONTINUES TO RISE. PAYING B2792 PER MONTH FOR CABLE TV IS JUST AN EXAMPLE. The government continues to increase the tax of wine to the point where it is not worth drinking. To say the least about the quality of the box wine. Thank god I live close to the border. Imported foods from Top's is almost prohibitive. Maybe they think we should eat sticky rice and chicken on the stick every meal. The import tax on US beef is impossible starting at 50% ++. If the US put this level of tax on importing Thai rice they would get real in a hurry. No beef fit to eat and rot gut wine is a way of protecting peoples income as no one wants to pay the price. The 420% import tax on wine for a country that has no market for local made wine is crazy.

The grass is greener if you can leave Thailand. 

[dallen52]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Rural Thais don't use furniture, they sleep on a mistress laid on the floor 

Sounds good to me. 

[metisdead]

Some more off topic posts and the replies have been removed.  This is not about the USA. 

[NCC1701A]

debt slaves eat your 7/11 food so you will be healthy. make sure you watch a lot of television so you know what to think.

 

[0815]

15 hours ago, ZeVonderBearz said:

Yeah but it's impossible to live in Thailand on less then 40k a month, so no wonder they can't save. I read this on TV often. Where are the Thais mentioned in this article getting their fix of premium import beer and superior western food from?

Can't live on less then 40k a month in Thailand ?
Come! I will show you how.
But a Thai who gets 11.000 a month and lives in a small room in the city or 3.500 per month can hardly live on that.

[ZeVonderBearz]

5 minutes ago, 0815 said:

Can't live on less then 40k a month in Thailand ?
Come! I will show you how.
But a Thai who gets 11.000 a month and lives in a small room in the city or 3.500 per month can hardly live on that.

I forget the sarcasm emoji. Sorry ????

[DonaldBattles]

Many ties sleep on the floor, eat on the floor and use a hole in the floor for a toilet. This is the the way they grew up and still like it. Many western people choose not to live on sticky rice and chicken on a stick as their main meal. I chose to live a comfortable life style and not sacrifice what makes me comfortable and taste good. TO EACH HIS OWN. 

 

The standard for people who disagree with you on this forum is, why don't you go back where you came from. If you wish to do so you don't this kind of advice from others on this forum. People chose to live they way they want to and don't need life style advice from others.

[simoh1490]

2 minutes ago, DonaldBattles said:

Many ties sleep on the floor, eat on the floor and use a hole in the floor for a toilet. This is the the way they grew up and still like it. Many western people choose not to live on sticky rice and chicken on a stick as their main meal. I chose to live a comfortable life style and not sacrifice what makes me comfortable and taste good. TO EACH HIS OWN. 

 

The standard for people who disagree with you on this forum is, why don't you go back where you came from. If you wish to do so you don't this kind of advice from others on this forum. People chose to live they way they want to and don't need life style advice from others.

That's fine Don, just don't try and tell us though that the cost of living in Thailand has increased dramatically simply because red wine and US steak has increased by xxx%.

[irwinfc]

saving money is a conscious and voluntary act, as is spending money. to say that thais don't earn enough to save is just an excuse to get more money for less/same amount of work. 

[ZeVonderBearz]

30 minutes ago, DonaldBattles said:

Many ties sleep on the floor, eat on the floor and use a hole in the floor for a toilet. This is the the way they grew up and still like it. Many western people choose not to live on sticky rice and chicken on a stick as their main meal. I chose to live a comfortable life style and not sacrifice what makes me comfortable and taste good. TO EACH HIS OWN. 

 

The standard for people who disagree with you on this forum is, why don't you go back where you came from. If you wish to do so you don't this kind of advice from others on this forum. People chose to live they way they want to and don't need life style advice from others.

Balls to the wall realism from the Donald. Chicken on a stick, damn peasants. 

[DonaldBattles]

My complaint is about the unfair trade practices of Thailand. The cost of imported goods could be reasonable if the import tax was not so high. I am not trying to tell you that chicken on the stick and sticky rice prices has increased. I do know that most prices are indirectly controlled by the price of oil. Cheap oil, cheap prices. It is not the price of imported goods but the high import taxes that you have to pay. After living here 35 years, yes I have seen prices increase as commodity follow demand, inflation which includes oil. They are still a lot cheaper and available than many other countries.  In Chiang Rai you can't buy any beef that is eatable but the pork is great. We grow our own vegetables and fish so we eat reasonable. I have given up on ever eating beef again as my teeth can't handle the 10 year old milk cows that have stopped calving and then slaughtered and sold by Makro. For many years I grew and aged eatable beef that sold good on the market. 21 days of dry aging an animal that has been in the feed lots for 3 months is not bad. Beef Pro in Supanburi is the largest grower of beef cattle in Thailand with average herd of 5,000 do an excellent job for eatable beef. I sold theirs for 15 years. Unfortunately they don't deliver to Chiang Rai. With the free trade agreement between Thailand and Australia imported beef is not so expensive but it is all grass fed and no better than  Beef Pro.  MY LAST COMMENT ON THIS SUBJECT. THANKS! 

[spoon1967]

17 hours ago, ZeVonderBearz said:

Yeah but it's impossible to live in Thailand on less then 40k a month, so no wonder they can't save. I read this on TV often. Where are the Thais mentioned in this article getting their fix of premium import beer and superior western food from?

"impossible to live in Thailand on less then 40k" , Thais could manage well on half of that, even westerners don't need 40k a month - why do you need premium exported beers and superior western food? ...., you're living in the wrong place.

[spoon1967]

1 hour ago, ZeVonderBearz said:

I forget the sarcasm emoji. Sorry ????

That's better....lol, thought you were serious....555555

[Mavideol]

17 hours ago, ZeVonderBearz said:

Yeah but it's impossible to live in Thailand on less then 40k a month, so no wonder they can't save. I read this on TV often. Where are the Thais mentioned in this article getting their fix of premium import beer and superior western food from?

Sorry but have a simple question, how is it impossible to live on less than 40K month when Thai people on my area make average 15-16K salary month, this is puzzling me because immigration requires us to have no less than 40K month income, is there a contradiction somewhere or am I not getting the point, thanks for any clarification

[DavidAlexander]

I know in the US 70M people have less than $1000 in the bank. It isn't unique to Thailand, or anywhere else....

[billybog]

most thais that i have met ( been in thailand every year since 1996) only think of today...not tomorrow...I have met 2 or 3 that actually save for the future...but they have been rare and far between.

[The Theory]

17 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Well, it is the most populated area.  And by far the most debt is there.

Many office workers in BKK do not make more then 15k. 

Especially the females I have met mostly have big big debt trying to make an appearance of being hiso.

But truly the US is not much different. Just a higher income, but their debt is much higher so who is the winner...

In US even legal low income workers who pay their taxes will receive SS retirement. 

 

 

[Cheops]

17 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

Horse poo, "partly", "fairly high", "less than half a decade"! Please post a link from a reliable source proving what you write is true and not just a brain fart.

He is correct! Many people here on TV maybe don't live so long in Thailand, but about 5 years ago the minimum wage went up 50%. Factory workers in the company that I work were getting a raise from 200 to 300 baht per day. They were happy, until they all realized that EVERYTHING got more expensive! There are more people in problem after the raise!

 

Google it if you don't believe him or me, but I know exactly what they earn from low to high in our company. Daily personnel (like operators) have about 10k per month with shift work. Engineers from 25k to 200k per month depending on experience and working years Director level 250 to 400k per month. 

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, masuk said:

I can never figure out how come so many Thais can afford any of the Apple I phones.  I've made do with a quite reasonable phone for the past 3 years, which cost $169 new.  There must be a lot of borrowing somewhere.

It has taken me quite some time to educate my Thai GF debt is something to be avoided. The last time I owed money was 1974.

I do occasionally wonder, when a huge SUV or pickup blasts past my humble secondhand Vios, how many of the owners are in hock up to their eyeballs.

[The Theory]

My ex neighbor in Bangkok was a guy in  late 30s. He told me that he works as a manager in a cosmetic company. 

He bought an attached condo oposite side of my gf’s. 

He bought a small coupe MB like new later. I knew that all what he owns are on loans. He sometimes had parties every week, but after buying the MB he just became a parasite and he drank neighbors alcohol (anywhere there was a party) including his gf. No return. 

I was wondering what is it about driving a MB if he can not even buy their own beer !!! 

[TEFLKrabi]

18 hours ago, ZeVonderBearz said:

Yeah but it's impossible to live in Thailand on less then 40k a month, so no wonder they can't save. I read this on TV often. Where are the Thais mentioned in this article getting their fix of premium import beer and superior western food from?

Not sure I agree on the 40k per month. Most could live on less thank half that I’d imagine. And, if 40k were the figure, you’d have virtually no English teachers in Thailand as the salaries rarely top 40k for regular jobs. 

[simoh1490]

8 minutes ago, Cheops said:

He is correct! Many people here on TV maybe don't live so long in Thailand, but about 5 years ago the minimum wage went up 50%. Factory workers in the company that I work were getting a raise from 200 to 300 baht per day. They were happy, until they all realized that EVERYTHING got more expensive! There are more people in problem after the raise!

 

Google it if you don't believe him or me, but I know exactly what they earn from low to high in our company. Daily personnel (like operators) have about 10k per month with shift work. Engineers from 25k to 200k per month depending on experience and working years Director level 250 to 400k per month. 

We're not talking about the minimum wage, go read post 5 to see what he said and I responded to!

[Cheops]

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

 

If you look around you can get cheaper than 3k.I rent out 2 condominiums for 2k baht per month. They are 1 minute walk from the main road (Ram Intra) in Bangkok. 28 square meter with bathroom and balcony.

[PaDavid]

What's clear is that this country has as wide a spread of earnings as most others. Where one man can afford to buy an English premier league football club (rip & yes I know he was reported to be a great guy) and others can't even afford to buy a replica strip. 

 

It's down to global economies where the likes of the former create jobs for the latter and the latter create the wealth for the former. If there was a simple solution someone would surely have found it by now. Communisim has been proved not to work, and no-one has come up with an alternative

[Lucky mike]

Comparison causes lack of face therefore big problem a Thai version of keeping up with the Jones's

[wgdanson]

2 minutes ago, Lucky mike said:

Comparison causes lack of face therefore big problem a Thai version of keeping up with the Jones's

Luckily for me in my village....WE ARE THE JONES'S.

 

My Mum always told me to save up for a rainy day.............................so come on rain!

Edited November 3, 2018 by wgdanson

[Vacuum]

3 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

Thailand, 96% of the wealth is owned by 1% of the population............

And they want to keep it that way...

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

That's fine Don, just don't try and tell us though that the cost of living in Thailand has increased dramatically simply because red wine and US steak has increased by xxx%.

Actually, cheese has almost halved in price over the last 10 years.

Used to be nothing below 800bht/kg, but now I often find Mild Cheddar, Gouder and Red Leicester for 450bht/kg in in places like Rimping and Yok.

[Vacuum]

1 hour ago, Mavideol said:

Sorry but have a simple question, how is it impossible to live on less than 40K month when Thai people on my area make average 15-16K salary month, this is puzzling me because immigration requires us to have no less than 40K month income, is there a contradiction somewhere or am I not getting the point, thanks for any clarification

See post #96

[Cheops]

38 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

We're not talking about the minimum wage, go read post 5 to see what he said and I responded to!

Still he meant the same raise as I describe about half a decade ago, but I guess you're too stubborn to admit he (and I) are correct!