How Can I Teach My Thai Wife To Budget Her Money

[terrythesparky]

How can I teach my wife to budget her money, If I give my wife 7000 baht on a friday to buy food for the next week, by tuesday she will be telling she spend it and can I lend her some money to buy something she needs to get. I need to know how much money I am going to spend each month so as I know how long I can stay in thailand before I need to go back to work.

Edited March 25, 2007 by bronco
corrected typo

[jumnien]

Why don't you try giving your wife 7000 baht on a Friday to buy food for the week. End of story.

It's hard to train a kid not to drink a lot of Pepsi when you give him more Pepsi every time he begs for it.

Edited March 24, 2007 by mdeland

[Thai-Spy]

Break her allowance into smaller chunks and require her to clear with you in advance any "big ticket" items.

[Hex]

lol Its always funny how guys talk about their Thai wives like they are their babies.

[johnsurin]

hi terry i've been meaning to PM you but dont no how.

Anyway on your question, i try to do a similar thing with my wife about budgeting (and myself also), when i stay in thailand. However i'm sorry mate but i dont have an answer for you hear as i usually fail to stick to my own budget as 1 day i'l not spend much, then the next i blow money on stupid things i never use. However i never waste money on beer, (as its money well spent ).Although 1 tip is try looking in any little money jars the wife might have lying around as mine usually keeps a few baht there in case the electric,water or bin man turn up.

john.....

[Austhaied]

lol Its always funny how guys talk about their Thai wives like they are their babies.

Exactly. Would they say that to their western (farang) wives ?? Didn't think so. If you treat them like kids they will act like kids.

Edited March 24, 2007 by Austhaied

[SamuiJens]

lol Its always funny how guys talk about their Thai wives like they are their babies.

Exactly. Would they say that to their western (farang) wives ?? Didn't think so. If you treat them like kids they will act like kids.

Hey, I did when we were married, but after getting worse, I got a devoice(sic)

[bkkmadness]

lol Its always funny how guys talk about their Thai wives like they are their babies.

7000 Baht from Friday to Tuesday, sounds like she's having a rocking weekend without you Terry.

[kayo]

hi terry i've been meaning to PM you but dont no how.

However i never waste money on beer, (as its money well spent ).

john.....

money well spent

PM?

Single click on the person-s name (to the left of the post) and a pop up window pops up, with a variety of options, including "Send Message"

bada bing, bada boom... :D

alternative is to double click on the name, which takes you to that person's profile page. On the left hand side, underneath the personal pic and star rating, there's a button named "options", click this, and again, you can find the "send message" option.

Edited March 24, 2007 by kayo

[mogoso]

For me it's simple, my wife doesn't have a budget. She works and saves most everything she makes. I on the other hand pay all the bills. If she wants something thats in the perview of marriage, normal clothing expenditures, the odd piece of jewelry, the yearly diamond, thats mine to buy. Her work clothes, oils and such are hers to buy. Fortunately shes as frugal as humanly possible, while I'm just cheap.

[cdnvic]

It all comes down to the screening process. If, as an adult she couldn't handle money well before you married her, then you should expect a heavier workload in dealing with the finances afterwards. Having her get a job will help, as it may teach her the value of money and give her a measure of independence from having to ask you all the time.

[Ijustwannateach]

The way that most people learn to be careful is through pain. If you're not averse to letting your wife suffer some consequences of her poor judgement (and your relationship is strong enough to survive it), give her the fixed allowance which should be enough for her needs (for example, for one week). Then, never, ever, ever give her more for any reason (other than the obvious- medical emergencies, etc.). Of course, in this plan you don't rely on her to make payments for anything important to you both (like a house or car); as Cdnvic says you'll need to take over all the more serious financial stuff. But if your wife spends all of her weekly/monthly allowance the first day, she just gets to wait until the next disbursement period- no matter how much she begs, whines, or makes excuses. Don't give her a daily allowance as that simply keeps the discipline imposed from without- if she doesn't learn to do it on her own then you're just parenting. Over time, length the allowance time- from a week to two weeks, then to a month. If she makes it that far you can start discussing long-term saving with her. Good luck.

[bkkmadness]

jesus ######ing christ, just get a girlfriend with half a brain who knows how to use money.

[bkkmadness]

Break her allowance into smaller chunks and require her to clear with you in advance any "big ticket" items.

Do you date children? Allowances?

[cdnvic]

jesus ######ing christ, just get a girlfriend with half a brain who knows how to use money.

Unfortunately I think a lot of men choose these types of women simply for the fact that they want someone who is easy to control and they don't think of the trade-offs involved. A woman who is pliant and will "do as she's told" will also need to be told just about everything. Not saying this is the OP's case, but it certainly happens quite often.

[tracker]

My wife is and has been always smart, but couldn't handle money very well. She just needed to learn it AND she is not a child.....(that for your rude comment bkkmadness).

A nudge in the right direction, as already told on this topic, was enough to teach her....

[maccaroni man]

change the day you giver her money to monday.

[cdnvic]

My wife is and has been always smart, but couldn't handle money very well. She just needed to learn it AND she is not a child.....(that for your rude comment bkkmadness).

Well there's a ton of guys who treat their wives like children, then wonder why they act that way.

[bkkmadness]

My wife is and has been always smart, but couldn't handle money very well. She just needed to learn it AND she is not a child.....(that for your rude comment bkkmadness).

No worries, wait til the morning I will have another one.

Seriously, if you guys really need to advice your gfs how to budget their money....

I mean who can't manage their own money at 20 years old plus....?

Allowances are given to children aren't they? My allowance stopped at about 14 yrs old when I started to earn my own money.

Is it really so hard?

[Bisto]

Cant understand why he cant sit down with her and talk to her as two adults normally do.

[captcraig]

You're dealing with a Thai woman......I know everybody says that women are the same the world over and that me be true to an extent, Thai's beleive no matter what you tell them that you are rich, how else could you afford the lifestyle you do. My Thai wife was the same way, she's gotten a lot better since living in the States but she still has a bit of a problem...when I give her $100.00 to spend on herself $90.00 of it will go home to the family and then she bitches because she's broke......I can't let her handle the money because if I do we'll starve! so what I do is, when she's out of money...she's out of money! when we have extra....she gets a refill!

Not about being child like.....about making sure her mom and pop don't live better than me!

[peter991]

For the most part - if your wife has a job - she will be able to budget better and live within her income.

If you have a stay-at-home wife, she is 100% reliant on her husband to provide for her needs.

Having said that, many Thai people (males and females) seem to have a problem sticking to a budget.

For some of us farangs, no matter how much we send, it is never enough.

From past experience I have found allocating a certain amount each week works better than a monthly allowance. Once your partner knows there will be no more until the next week, they learn.

Just make sure they don't run up credit at the local shops.

I dread the day the banks start handing out credit cards willy-nilly to Thai people!

Peter

[duratanium]

TBH .... stop being a fool unto yourself.

Any woe of man will take what she can get. The more you give her, the more she will expect.

You have to be strong and not give in to her. Give her a set amount opf money and then say .... 'no more'

Simple, really. IMHO

[jumnien]

I think you guys are being a little harsh this guy. Sex and money issues are the two biggest marital issues in most cultures. It's not like he's the only one having this problem. My mom divorced her husband after 20 years because he just couldn't keep his finances straight. They are living together now, but financially and legally unlinked. He had a generous six figure income for the last 25 years but never could spend less than he made.

[swanks]

How can I teach my wife to budget her money, If I give my wife 7000 baht on a friday to buy food for the next week, by tuesday she will be telling she spend it and can I lend her some money to buy something she needs to get. I need to know how much money I am going to spend each month so as I know how long I can stay in thailand before I need to go back to work.

Are you serious?

7000 Bt for food for a week in Thailand.

Are you eating imported lamb and steak every night ?

Even then the rest of the shopping costs almost nothing here ! Even in the supermarkets.

She must be feeding all the family , gambling or has a 'gik' IMHO.

Either way , she,s leading you by the nose!

Sorry !

But you need someone to say it.

No offence meant , but Jees , 7000 could feed 7 or 8 people with ease here !

[DaffyDuck]

Cant understand why he cant sit down with her and talk to her as two adults normally do.

I think you just unwittingly gave yourself the answer.

I believe all these stories of guys complaining about their Thai girlfriends or Wives being unable to manage money (all the while giving them more), really come down to one simple saying - "Som nam naa".

If you lack the maturity to select a proper wife, and lack the maturity to sit down and discuss the situation of finances with her, well, what more needs to be said...?

[Lite Beer]

How can I teach my wife to budget her money, If I give my wife 7000 baht on a friday to buy food for the next week, by tuesday she will be telling she spend it and can I lend her some money to buy something she needs to get. I need to know how much money I am going to spend each month so as I know how long I can stay in thailand before I need to go back to work.

Are you serious?

7000 Bt for food for a week in Thailand.

Are you eating imported lamb and steak every night ?

Even then the rest of the shopping costs almost nothing here ! Even in the supermarkets.

She must be feeding all the family , gambling or has a 'gik' IMHO.

Either way , she,s leading you by the nose!

Sorry !

But you need someone to say it.

No offence meant , but Jees , 7000 could feed 7 or 8 people with ease here !

A little harsh but I have to agree with the main point.

7,000 a week does seem a lot.

[PhilHarries]

As I see it you have two choices.

1. Accept the situation and just let her carry on in her own sweet way.

or,

2. Bring things to a head, demand she itemises all her expenditure and show where the money has gone. Of course the risk is a major bust up resulting in separation/divorce. But that depends on the strength of the relationship.

So, the choice will depend on how much the money means to you plus how much do you WANT to know about her activities.

As has been said 7000THB per week for food, hel_l that's a 1000 per day! You both could eat out at a reasonable Thai restaurant for that. I would hazard a guess, and not knowing either party a guess is all it would be, she's either sending money to her family, got a Thai bf, gambling or boozing (not likely as you'd likely see the effects).

Of course she could be salting the money away in a savings account.

[astral]

How can I teach my wife to budget her money, If I give my wife 7000 baht on a friday to buy food for the next week, by tuesday she will be telling she spend it and can I lend her some money to buy something she needs to get. I need to know how much money I am going to spend each month so as I know how long I can stay in thailand before I need to go back to work.

I had a maid like that way back when............

She soon learned when I pointed out that the money was for the whole week's food.

My wife is very good.

After years of scrimping and saving she still applies the same procedure now we are married.

She looks around for 2nd hand clothes for herself and the boys and only occasionally

comes and asks for extra for a big item.

She also has a standing order for perfume, when I travel on business.

[Heng]

The best time to teach money management is when people are children. I'd focus on the next generation and hope that they don't pick up too much from their mom. For the mom, I'd suggest damage control (that means no property, too many fixed accounts in her name, etc.).

Edited March 25, 2007 by Heng