My monthly expenses/payments as a family man living in Thailand

[HNWI]

2 minutes ago, RobbyXNorway said:

Renting a house in Hua Hin at the moment (switching to condo in August)

 

Rent : 25.000

Electric : 4.000

Part-time maid : 800 (cleaning service)

Water: 450 (fleecing me as its 80-100 pr month actually)

Total per month : 30.250

 

Mortgage : 0

Vehicle payments : Motorcycle and car paid cash (500K+450K) so only the insurance

Loans : none

Investments : Been saving about 20K pr month from my budget

Internet : included in rent

Food, phone +++: 30.000

Total about 32.000 pr month incl insurance I figure.

 

Monthly budget about 90.000 baht +/- with the currency fluctuation

 

How much we spend, if its 20K a month or 2 million a month is all ok as long as we are spending by our means and not living on debt or eating up savings that cant be replenished.

 

That's a very good savings ratio. Hats off to you.

[buick]

3 hours ago, HNWI said:

I see many lower end budgets being written online, I decided to post the expenses and payments that I have monthly.  

 

Rent 57,000

Electric 18,000-20,000

Part time Maid 9000

School for one child 43,000 per month

 

Mortgages 126,000 of which 82,000 covered from rent

 

Car repayment 129,000 per month

 

Investments 200,000-300,000 per month 

 

Loan repayments per month

41,000 

55,000

77,000

 

Eating out/spending outside 30,000 per month 

Online subscriptions 15,000 per month 

 

There are lots of other expenses and costs. But that's all the bulky consistent ones.  I have missed a few intentionally, I do not have or need health insurance.

 

thanks for sharing.  i have a two questions:

 

what is the situation with your rental income (82) not covering the mortgage payment (126) ?  did you buy a property using a 5 or 10 year loan ?  do you own multiple properties and is one vacant ?

 

what did you buy with the loans that are now being repaid (41, 55, and 77) ? 

 

other than that, depending on one's lifestyle preference, i would allocate more to housing and less to the car(s).  but, maybe you spend more time in your car than your home (i'm not counting sleeping hours at home).  when i was working i also spent alot of money on a car as i was on the road all the time, as much as 4 hours a day.  as i got older, i drove less, bought a much cheaper car, and that savings helped me build up my retirement account.

 

edit:  i retired at age 40. 

Edited June 9, 2019 by buick

[HNWI]

5 minutes ago, thequietman said:

A little difficult when I first came here 15 years ago. Quite a bit of money spent at that point. However, once you have the necessaries that make life easier, you pretty much don't need much. I understand that you only live once like you said, but my Ranger gets me from here to there and back again in comfort. I really don't see the point in trying to impress the neighbors.

 

I could spend my savings on a flash car, but I couldn't forgive myself if I did. There are people living around me, that don't have money to buy food.

 

You should be leasing if you want a top end car, otherwise the moment you drive it out of the showroom, it has lost 25% of its value already.

 

Anyway, happy spending and I hope the investment market doesn't crash, as you may well be in a world of <deleted>! ???? 

I am already ready for the crash. I invest in very good companies. There are great opportunities right now with the trade war. Crashes are great opportunities.

 

I brought this car for business reasons also. I wanted to own it and keep it for 6 or 7 years. My payments will finish in another year.

 

I'm not trying to impress my neighbours, I have never seen them anyway. This car is for my pleasure and key business meetings.

[thequietman]

10 minutes ago, HNWI said:

 

That's a very good savings ratio. Hats off to you.

With my small outgoings, I save roughly 500,000 baht a year. I can't save that back home. ????

[HNWI]

14 minutes ago, buick said:

 

thanks for sharing.  i have a two questions:

 

what is the situation with your rental income (82) not covering the mortgage payment (126) ?  did you buy a property using a 5 or 10 year loan ?  do you own multiple properties and is one vacant ?

 

what did you buy with the loans that are now being repaid (41, 55, and 77) ? 

 

other than that, depending on one's lifestyle preference, i would allocate more to housing and less to the car(s).  but, maybe you spend more time in your car than your home (i'm not counting sleeping hours at home).  when i was working i also spent alot of money on a car as i was on the road all the time, as much as 4 hours a day.  as i got older, i drove less, bought a much cheaper car, and that savings helped me build up my retirement account.

 

 

7 properties, two are vacant and the mortgages are more than what the renters pay. It was a mistake from many years ago. I'm selling them all soon because I dont want property, they are a hassle. That's why 2 are still empty.

 

I spend about 3 hours a day in my car and most the day in my home.

 

The loans were for shares and a business investment.

 

A few mortgages 7 years. The rest 25 years.

Edited June 9, 2019 by HNWI

[HNWI]

3 minutes ago, thequietman said:

With my small outgoings, I save roughly 500,000 baht a year. I can't save that back home. ????

I admire that alot. You respect money and it will stay around.

[madmen]

57k in Bangkok sounds about right for a newish 3 bedroom 150 sqm condo around Asoke. Not everyone wants to live in a shoebox on Pattayas dark side

[CGW]

42 minutes ago, HNWI said:

I'm not sure why I bothered but it's exposed a few peoples mindsets.

What did you expect, if you read TVF the demographics are obvious, look at all the posts on the cost of a visa, majority on here have retired here and are living on limited incomes, with that in mind, guess what the response will be?

I find your numbers quite believable as I lived and worked in Bangkok on a expat salary, as you are no doubt aware many make much more, but go to any capital city and there will be a lot of high earners.

In 1989 I stayed with a friend that had a lot better job & package than I did, his "house" rent then was B180k a month, it was a nice place ???? (I would never post that on TVF though ) so your 57k a month is to be practical, for Bangkok and your earnings quite reasonable, as is your electric bill, if your running AC that is what is consuming the power, light bulbs burn nothing, though if you have that lot on as the same time you will increase the AC as sure they would produce a huge amount of heat!

Be hard for me to justify spending as much as you do on a car, but if I was young and was guaranteed future employment - why not - what else are you going to do with your money - enjoy.

 

[Thaidream]

3 hours ago, HNWI said:

I see many lower end budgets being written online, I decided to post the expenses and payments that I have monthly.  

 

Rent 57,000

Electric 18,000-20,000

Part time Maid 9000

School for one child 43,000 per month

 

Mortgages 126,000 of which 82,000 covered from rent

 

Car repayment 129,000 per month

 

Investments 200,000-300,000 per month 

 

Loan repayments per month

41,000 

55,000

77,000

 

Eating out/spending outside 30,000 per month 

Online subscriptions 15,000 per month 

 

There are lots of other expenses and costs. But that's all the bulky consistent ones.  I have missed a few intentionally, I do not have or need health insurance.

I must be  missing something-  why would you or anyone post on an open forum what your expenses are?   

 

Why would I even care or should care?   Wouldn't expect or want anyone to care what I spent.  This is strictly personal information 

 

I

[Gecko123]

OP:

You claim to be an investor and to subscribe to $450/month worth of online investment newsletters, etc. Presumably you would know how to analyze a corporate balance sheet. Yet when you outlined your personal expenses you used vague unuseful wording like "spending outside the house " as an expense category.

 

You also have a category of expenses labeled "investments" which ranges from 200-300K/month. If that's money you are investing, no accountant would consider that an expense. That's an asset classification. If the 200-300K is investment income, that's not an expense either.

 

Another expenditure category you provide is "mortgage payment" and "rental income." As neither appear to directly pertain to your monthly cost of living, it's unclear why they are included in a discussion about monthly cost of living. Similarly, without knowing what the "loan repayments" are for or to what extent they support your lifestyle in Thailand, this information is of little value to readers as well.

 

For me, the disorganized presention of your expenses raises questions about your business acumen and motives for posting. To me, it has many hallmarks of a troll post.

 

 

[buick]

2 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

I must be  missing something-  why would you or anyone post on an open forum what your expenses are?   

 

Why would I even care or should care?   Wouldn't expect or want anyone to care what I spent.  This is strictly personal information 

 

i see a post on expenses/cost of living on this forum nearly every week.  this particular post is different in terms of the amount of money.  but i often ask myself why others post their expenses which seems extraordinarily low.  some people live on 20,000thb/mo and others live on 500,000thb/mo.  and i'd say half the people that post about the 20,000/mo model are bragging !!!   'i can live on 20k a month and i'm loving it'.  it is refreshing to see the other side.

 

 

[BritManToo]

38 minutes ago, HNWI said:

I admire that alot. You respect money and it will stay around.

I've made a graphical display of my monthly expenses for you ......

 

[55Jay]

Just now, BritManToo said:

I've made a graphical display of my monthly expenses for you ......

 

????

 

 

 

[luk AJ]

I've made a graphical display of my monthly expenses for you ......
 

What are you doing with Zambian Kwatcha?



Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[HNWI]

40 minutes ago, CGW said:

What did you expect, if you read TVF the demographics are obvious, look at all the posts on the cost of a visa, majority on here have retired here and are living on limited incomes, with that in mind, guess what the response will be?

I find your numbers quite believable as I lived and worked in Bangkok on a expat salary, as you are no doubt aware many make much more, but go to any capital city and there will be a lot of high earners.

In 1989 I stayed with a friend that had a lot better job & package than I did, his "house" rent then was B180k a month, it was a nice place ???? (I would never post that on TVF though ) so your 57k a month is to be practical, for Bangkok and your earnings quite reasonable, as is your electric bill, if your running AC that is what is consuming the power, light bulbs burn nothing, though if you have that lot on as the same time you will increase the AC as sure they would produce a huge amount of heat!

Be hard for me to justify spending as much as you do on a car, but if I was young and was guaranteed future employment - why not - what else are you going to do with your money - enjoy.

 

I did expect a negative response. There isnt a day that goes by where I dont think about selling my cars. But business is good and it makes me feel good. I'm sticking with it.

[HNWI]

42 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

I must be  missing something-  why would you or anyone post on an open forum what your expenses are?   

 

Why would I even care or should care?   Wouldn't expect or want anyone to care what I spent.  This is strictly personal information 

 

I

You are posting in this thread. So its generating some entertainment, thoughts or debate.

[HNWI]

41 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

OP:

You claim to be an investor and to subscribe to $450/month worth of online investment newsletters, etc. Presumably you would know how to analyze a corporate balance sheet. Yet when you outlined your personal expenses you used vague unuseful wording like "spending outside the house " as an expense category.

 

You also have a category of expenses labeled "investments" which ranges from 200-300K/month. If that's money you are investing, no accountant would consider that an expense. That's an asset classification. If the 200-300K is investment income, that's not an expense either.

 

Another expenditure category you provide is "mortgage payment" and "rental income." As neither appear to directly pertain to your monthly cost of living, it's unclear why they are included in a discussion about monthly cost of living. Similarly, without knowing what the "loan repayments" are for or to what extent they support your lifestyle in Thailand, this information is of little value to readers as well.

 

For me, the disorganized presention of your expenses raises questions about your business acumen and motives for posting. To me, it has many hallmarks of a troll post.

 

 

I said payments and expenses in the title.

[Saltire]

Your post reminds me of many times back home with friends whose sole topic of conversation was comparing house values, salaries, bonuses and who had the latest 'expensive car etc. Bragging. No other reason. Bet you're popular in the pub.

[Isaanbiker]

1 hour ago, HNWI said:

 

I do spend what I want and I do keep it private.

 

 

My house has over 200 internal lights, 30 external lights and normally 3-4 aircon running all day.

 

I love cars,  I have always loved them. I can invest that money of course, financially it was a bad decision buying it but we only live once. I only need a nice car, I don't have much else I spend money on.

 

You're a very lonely guy with 200 internal and 30 external lights, who's got to pay off a luxury car he doesn't want?

 

  "I only need a nice car" shows pretty low self-esteem and that you don't have "much else" you spend money on is roughly speaking, just sad. 

 

 Is it possible that your OP was just your own personal way to make you feel better, but it didn't work out well, methinks.

 

 

 

   

  

 

  

[HNWI]

3 minutes ago, Isaanbiker said:

You're a very lonely guy with 200 internal and 30 external lights, who's got to pay off a luxury car he doesn't want?

 

  "I only need a nice car" shows pretty low self-esteem and that you don't have "much else" you spend money on is roughly speaking, just sad. 

 

 Is it possible that your OP was just your own personal way to make you feel better, but it didn't work out well, methinks.

 

 

 

   

  

 

  

I do business consulting and help alot of people. That's where I get my kicks.  Also help charities.  I am happy.

[HNWI]

9 minutes ago, Saltire said:

Your post reminds me of many times back home with friends whose sole topic of conversation was comparing house values, salaries, bonuses and who had the latest 'expensive car etc. Bragging. No other reason. Bet you're popular in the pub.

The guys I hang around with are truly wealthy, I'm at the bottom of the ladder compared to them.

[55Jay]

24 minutes ago, buick said:

i see a post on expenses/cost of living on this forum nearly every week.  this particular post is different in terms of the amount of money.  but i often ask myself why others post their expenses which seems extraordinarily low.  some people live on 20,000thb/mo and others live on 500,000thb/mo.  and i'd say half the people that post about the 20,000/mo model are bragging !!!   'i can live on 20k a month and i'm loving it'.  it is refreshing to see the other side.

 

 

Suppose the low end models are bragging in a weird sort of way.  Perhaps it helps them to feel happy by convincing others they are.  I wager most would spend more if they had more.

 

That's not a judgement.  I do not spend all of my available (now passive) income here, but I do that by choice.  Always have.  I also maintain fiscal discipline as a consistent example to my  wife.  Just because we have it, doesn't mean we can spend carelessly ALL the time.  When we go on holidays abroad, the purse strings are way loose, but in Thailand, there's no real need for that.  We have the big ticket items, all paid for, life is cheap after that.

 

But I do get the minimalists- be it forced by circumstance, or by choice.   I rather like the notion of coming here with a suitcase and strive to not start accruing too many possessions.  Keep it simple.  No wife or kids, no mortgage, loan payments.  Living in a modest flat/condo/house, live and spend locally with a motorbike at the most.  And if you wake up one morning and decide the weather in PI or Cambo (or whatever) looks good, off you go.   I admire that idea. 

[Gecko123]

49 minutes ago, HNWI said:

I said payments and expenses in the title.

Yeah, I duly noted that before posting. But, again, any financial analyst would know that reporting things like mortgage expense in a vacuum where income and net worth isn't being disclosed, is providing almost no useful basis for comparison regarding a person's financial health.

 

You'd like us to believe that someone who has a hefty mortgage and car payment, is day trading $10K/month and has a marginal net worth enjoys better financial health than someone who doesn't have a mortgage or a car payment, has passively managed long-term investments and millions in net worth.

 

Your comment that "you're ready for the crash, I'm invested in good companies," made me chortle outloud. With the stock market swoon in Dec, FAANG stocks being subjected to regulatory scrutiny, chaotic trade policy managed by tweet, record high PE ratios, the bond yield curve inverting and signaling slower growth ahead, Huawei blacklisted, the May unemployment report, and record personal, corporate and sovereign debt, you're gonna need more than good stock picks to save your bacon. The only way you could really be ready for a crash would be by shorting the market (which if you were doing last week you would have lost your shirt), or buying gold on the assumption that hyper-inflation was right around the corner, (when many argue hyper-deflation is just as likely). LOL.

 

Edited June 9, 2019 by Gecko123

[Thaidream]

24 minutes ago, HNWI said:

ou are posting in this thread. So its generating some entertainment, thoughts or debate.

I suppose posting this to stir response or debate is fine.  Since you posted to get  an opinion- I shall weigh in-   I would never spend the money you spend on the things you do.  I live a much simpler life . I am not into cars; expensive clothes; or eating in expensive restaurants.  I could afford some of it but don't really care  what other people think and I have no need to impress them.   I am quite happy with my life style.

 

you said you are happy with yours and that is good and if you are investing and saving money that is a good thing.  All the other things are just material things- they can cease to exist in a flash.

 

I'll never forget the Economic crash in Thailand in the late 90's when I saw dollar millionaires literally implode and go broke almost overnight.  One of the wealthiest real estate brokers in Bangkok ended up selling sandwiches on the street  and the Benz Dealership on Thonglor became a pawn shop for the former rich.

 

Enjoy; don't flaunt it and have a back up plan because when it starts to go- it goes quick.

[bkk6060]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

I've made a graphical display of my monthly expenses for you ......

 

For me the beer stack would be golf.

But, my highest would be prosties which looks same same for you.

Edited June 9, 2019 by bkk6060

[Isaanbiker]

2 hours ago, HNWI said:

The guys I hang around with are truly wealthy, I'm at the bottom of the ladder compared to them.

Is that why you've got to pay so much money in monthly installments for your nice car?

 

 

 

[Isaanbiker]

1 hour ago, Thaidream said:

I suppose posting this to stir response or debate is fine.  Since you posted to get  an opinion- I shall weigh in-   I would never spend the money you spend on the things you do.  I live a much simpler life . I am not into cars; expensive clothes; or eating in expensive restaurants.  I could afford some of it but don't really care  what other people think and I have no need to impress them.   I am quite happy with my life style.

 

you said you are happy with yours and that is good and if you are investing and saving money that is a good thing.  All the other things are just material things- they can cease to exist in a flash.

 

I'll never forget the Economic crash in Thailand in the late 90's when I saw dollar millionaires literally implode and go broke almost overnight.  One of the wealthiest real estate brokers in Bangkok ended up selling sandwiches on the street  and the Benz Dealership on Thonglor became a pawn shop for the former rich.

 

Enjoy; don't flaunt it and have a back up plan because when it starts to go- it goes quick.

If the shi_e hits the fan, it will also affect the nice car. 

[HNWI]

2 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

Yeah, I duly noted that before posting. But, again, any financial analyst would know that reporting things like mortgage expense in a vacuum where income and net worth isn't being disclosed, is providing almost no useful basis for comparison regarding a person's financial health.

 

You'd like us to believe that someone who has a hefty mortgage and car payment, is day trading $10K/month and has a marginal net worth enjoys better financial health than someone who doesn't have a mortgage or a car payment, has passively managed long-term investments and millions in net worth.

 

Your comment that "you're ready for the crash, I'm invested in good companies," made me chortle outloud. With the stock market swoon in Dec, FAANG stocks being subjected to regulatory scrutiny, chaotic trade policy managed by tweet, record high PE ratios, the bond yield curve inverting and signaling slower growth ahead, Huawei blacklisted, the May unemployment report, and record personal, corporate and sovereign debt, you're gonna need more than good stock picks to save your bacon. The only way you could really be ready for a crash would be by shorting the market (which if you were doing last week you would have lost your shirt), or buying gold on the assumption that hyper-inflation was right around the corner, (when many argue hyper-deflation is just as likely). LOL.

 

I havent spoken about my trading accounts, income, setups or risk management.  

 

I am only talking about investing in stocks and shares. I find great companies that are undervalued.  With the trade wars and the uncertainty right now there are lots of great opportunities.  I am investing more in the companies with great fundamentals but are affected by the trade wars for little or no reason. I am adding more to my positions as they go down.  I am using money from my business and trading account. I am not taking profits, these investments are long term strategies. This is a safe long term strategy. 

 

There are plenty of books how to beat the market, but whatever strategy or company that I pick, there is always reasons why it's not a good idea, we could argue all day.

 

I buy growth stocks, value stocks with a margin of safety and I have a few dividend stocks. I also buy stocks that are cyclical by looking at sector rotation. I have some spec positions also.  I've got into some banking stocks while they were down early decent. 

 

 

[HNWI]

28 minutes ago, Isaanbiker said:

Is that why you've got to pay so much money in monthly installments for your nice car?

 

 

 

My car is my choice. I didnt buy it to impress wealthy friends.

[HNWI]

2 hours ago, 55Jay said:

Suppose the low end models are bragging in a weird sort of way.  Perhaps it helps them to feel happy by convincing others they are.  I wager most would spend more if they had more.

 

That's not a judgement.  I do not spend all of my available (now passive) income here, but I do that by choice.  Always have.  I also maintain fiscal discipline as a consistent example to my  wife.  Just because we have it, doesn't mean we can spend carelessly ALL the time.  When we go on holidays abroad, the purse strings are way loose, but in Thailand, there's no real need for that.  We have the big ticket items, all paid for, life is cheap after that.

 

But I do get the minimalists- be it forced by circumstance, or by choice.   I rather like the notion of coming here with a suitcase and strive to not start accruing too many possessions.  Keep it simple.  No wife or kids, no mortgage, loan payments.  Living in a modest flat/condo/house, live and spend locally with a motorbike at the most.  And if you wake up one morning and decide the weather in PI or Cambo (or whatever) looks good, off you go.   I admire that idea. 

My costs of living will no longer increase. In around 5 years I will sell my cars and travel. I am always trying not to spend money but I am enjoying life. There is a balance which pulls from either end.