The THB - When does it end?!?

[saengd]

56 minutes ago, Curt1591 said:

This is where we have been able to notice a definite effect of inflation. I may be and expat, but I don't shop at Villa ...
 

 

Sure there have been price increases but there has been corresponding price falls also, to the point where the average remains very low, too low in fact. Here's the Ministry of Commerce inflation report for November 2019:

 

http://www.price.moc.go.th/price/fileuploader/file_cpi/Cpig112562_TG_e.pdf

 

From here:

 

http://www.price.moc.go.th/price/cpi/index_new_e.asp

Edited December 26, 2019 by saengd

[tomauasia]

On 12/23/2019 at 10:15 PM, SteveK said:

Thailand is a country governed by very rich and very greedy people. Why would they ever sanction any actions to reduce their personal wealth? If you had billions of baht in the bank then a 5% drop in the baht would seriously hurt your ability to go abroad and buy Rolexes and Bentleys. It's just pure personal greed, they couldn't give a rat's ass about the Thai people who are eking out a living.

 

They are essentially ma3nipulating the country to keep themselves rich. Screw tourism, exports, GDP or any of that stuff. They don't care about that. They just care about how rich they are.

 

It's laughable to think that the baht is worth so much. It's just pure corruption and manipulation.

Sadly it's true 5 years has been same same. The proofs in the pudding 

[topt]

3 hours ago, tomauasia said:

Sadly it's true 5 years has been same same. The proofs in the pudding 

Really - what pudding is that?

To be clear what exchange rate/currency are you saying it has been the same for 5 years.....

Because for sure the $US hasn't been

[mshs]

21 hours ago, Ron jeremy said:

One thing I really noticed is how the portion sizes of most Thai meals has gotten much smaller 

In  most cases one dish isn’t enough anymore 

Olde Stickman Bangkok was right, when he claimed it was like throwing the le sausage down the hallway. 

[thrilled]

It goes up and down. As far as inflation things tend to go up not down.If the dollar gets to low you can always move back home.

[Chivas]

On 12/25/2019 at 6:19 AM, HHTel said:

Aren't you lucky you're not a Brit.  Use to get 73 to the pound, now less than 40. Think positive, there's always someone worse off!

For many of us you can change 73 for 90....

[Dexxter]

On 12/23/2019 at 9:44 PM, SteveK said:

The Thai government is manipulating the value of the baht to make sure that certain people will end up with billions of baht by buying foreign investments when the baht is high then letting it fall, so that they can sell their investments at a huge profit. When the entire government is basically a bunch of good friends patting each others backs, what do you expect? Pure corruption. The country will never move forward but only backwards.

I wish they would hurry up and decide to cash in their ill-gotten gains so the Baht can go back to what it was 5-6 years ago.

[mike787]

Stevek is right...Basically there is NO end...if there was it would end...it will get worse. why?  because of greed and power + richest survive at our expense.  Thailand is NOT Elysium anymore....those days are only a dream.

[mike787]

On 12/26/2019 at 5:54 AM, saengd said:

You quote costs of goods and services on Samui and say they have doubled and want us to believe they are representative of all of Thailand.....get real!

thailand is not a discount anymore...

[emptypockets]

People seem to overlook the trebling in the minimum wage a few years ago from 100 to 300baht.

It may sound like peanuts to us but has had a profound effect on many things we buy. Imagine an egg producer employing three people for 300 baht a day now paying 900 baht a day with no increase in egg production. Of course prices will rise. Exactly the same principle with any farmed or labour intensive produce which then flows on to market pricing etc etc etc.

I recall many posters cheering the pay rise on as a win for human rights blah blah blah. Probably many of the same now complaining about increases in prices.

You don't get something for nothing.

[sanemax]

2 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

People seem to overlook the trebling in the minimum wage a few years ago from 100 to 300baht.

No, the minimum wage hasnt gone from 100-300 Baht in the last few years

[emptypockets]

19 minutes ago, sanemax said:

No, the minimum wage hasnt gone from 100-300 Baht in the last few years

I beg to differ.

You are wrong.

In the context of this thread people are comparing from year 2005 to the present time. Agreed that not all provinces and work areas received the full 300 baht initially, some were a little lower but for all intents and purposes the daily rate increased significantly across the board and has affected a wide range of everyday commodity prices.

Pointless nit picking will not change that fact.

 

However feel free to argue your point. I don't have time to discuss further - me and the wife are packing our bags to return to Thailand for the New Year after Christmas in Australia, bit hot and very dry at the moment where we are. Looking forward to some cooler weather.

 

How was Christmas in the UK? 

Edited December 27, 2019 by emptypockets

[emptypockets]

12 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

I beg to differ.

You are wrong.

In the context of this thread people are comparing from year 2005 to the present time. Agreed that not all provinces and work areas received the full 300 baht initially, some were a little lower but for all intents and purposes the daily rate increased significantly across the board and has affected a wide range of everyday commodity prices.

Pointless nit picking will not change that fact.

 

However feel free to argue your point. I don't have time to discuss further - me and the wife are packing our bags to return to Thailand for the New Year after Christmas in Australia, bit hot and very dry at the moment where we are. Looking forward to some cooler weather.

 

How was Christmas in the UK? 

We'll be flying business class. Just thought I'd throw that in there. 555

[PingRoundTheWorld]

On 12/26/2019 at 9:27 AM, saengd said:

Sure there have been price increases but there has been corresponding price falls also, to the point where the average remains very low, too low in fact.

Always the Thai defenders here. Do you get your cape now or later? Fact is prices have risen considerably since I moved here (2016), and USD-THB has fallen at least 20% which makes it even worse. Literally every country in the region is much much cheaper - I can buy a bottle of Belvedere in a club in Philippines for $87, in Bangkok it would be double.

 

I've had enough of this <deleted> and literally ending my lease next month and moving. Enough is enough. Nothing will change until this government collapses the economy.

[Chivas]

5 hours ago, Dexxter said:

I wish they would hurry up and decide to cash in their ill-gotten gains so the Baht can go back to what it was 5-6 years ago.

5 years ago it was Average exchange rate in 2014: 32.4792 THB.

Hardly that much weaker than todays 30.15 live price

[saengd]

14 hours ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

Always the Thai defenders here. Do you get your cape now or later? Fact is prices have risen considerably since I moved here (2016), and USD-THB has fallen at least 20% which makes it even worse. Literally every country in the region is much much cheaper - I can buy a bottle of Belvedere in a club in Philippines for $87, in Bangkok it would be double.

 

I've had enough of this <deleted> and literally ending my lease next month and moving. Enough is enough. Nothing will change until this government collapses the economy.

Have a great trip.

[saengd]

16 hours ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

Always the Thai defenders here. Do you get your cape now or later? Fact is prices have risen considerably since I moved here (2016), and USD-THB has fallen at least 20% which makes it even worse. Literally every country in the region is much much cheaper - I can buy a bottle of Belvedere in a club in Philippines for $87, in Bangkok it would be double.

 

I've had enough of this <deleted> and literally ending my lease next month and moving. Enough is enough. Nothing will change until this government collapses the economy.

I hope you don't have any visa problems:

 

"President Rodrigo Duterte has warned that Americans who want to enter the Philippines will be required to obtain a visa if the U.S. refuses entry to officials involved in the detention of one of his main critics".

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-27/duterte-threatens-to-tighten-visa-requirements-for-u-s-citizens

Edited December 28, 2019 by saengd

[tropo]

On 12/26/2019 at 7:29 AM, Lacessit said:

Rents are going down in CM and CR. Landlords are desperate for tenants. Oversupply.

This is the case in Pattaya too. If you're in the market for higher priced accommodation, you can get unbelievable bargains. I'm paying 30k for a condo that should cost about 45 - 50k (considering the original purchase price of the condo). Rent savings can more than offset the price of other items inflated items on the monthly budget. If I moved back to Australia, a similar level of accommodation would cost more than double. The cost of living in Australia is 30 - 40% higher than in Bangkok depending on which Australian city you're comparing with. Pattaya is cheaper still. 

 

Perhaps other countries have more favourable comparisons, but Australians are still much better off in Thailand.

[MeePeeMai]

THB to USD is 29.85 today.  ????

Edited December 31, 2019 by MeePeeMai

[tabarin]

I hope us to see some action next year, I guess starting in Q2 or Q3. Same time the guys in power could easily delay it for another year...

Personally I do not think Thailand is cheap at all, groceries are generally more (if including snacks etc too) compared to Europe.

Rent is only cheap because of poor sound isolated / low quality, if wanting a decent place with 3-4 bedrooms you pay as much as in Europe too. 

It is more than doable for me and I am not complaining about it too much but it is certainly not cheaper than most of Europe.
Not even starting about alcohol, proper meat etc. Good news is that Makro finally lowered the cheese prices from 150B per pack to 130B hehehe.

Thailand is only cheap if you drink local whiskey, eat rice with egg  and other unhealthy fried foods with pesticides
+ live in a shoebox apartment / drive around a motorbike. I call that survival, not a living (but that is great if you wanna save up money).

Edited December 31, 2019 by tabarin

[mshs]

_

Edited December 31, 2019 by mshs

[ThaiBrian]

Wow... just dipped SHARPLY under 30 (USD)... that is nuts. 

[sanemax]

12 hours ago, tabarin said:

Good news is that Makro finally lowered the cheese prices from 150B per pack to 130B hehehe.

ASDA in the UK has 400 grams of mature cheese for 50 Baht 

[cranki]

On 12/23/2019 at 11:53 PM, Kwasaki said:

Depends what you call risen, don't just post say what has risen then out of proportion with a emerging country. !!!

My bills water, electric, gas are not a lot more.

If it's cheaper where you come from you you know what to do then. 

Now you're back peddling, first you reckon NOTHING has risen in 15 years...then change your tune to "it's not a lot more"......make ya mind up..

[kingdong]

On 12/25/2019 at 9:51 PM, bkk6060 said:

Maybe you need to stop eating western meals.

Recent stats: A persons overall purchasing power is 50% better then Spain. 150% compared to UK.

Overall Thailand is still much much cheaper.

15 years ago I would take a spare empty bag with me to thailand and full it up with things to take home.now i,m bringing a bag of foodstuffs over for friends who live here and taking it back empty.

[kingdong]

On 12/27/2019 at 10:29 AM, Chivas said:

For many of us you can change 73 for 90....

Those were the days my friend,we thought they,d never end..............

Edited December 31, 2019 by kingdong

[kingdong]

On 12/27/2019 at 11:03 AM, mike787 said:

Stevek is right...Basically there is NO end...if there was it would end...it will get worse. why?  because of greed and power + richest survive at our expense.  Thailand is NOT Elysium anymore....those days are only a dream.

Ah,the joys of sponsorship.

[Dan747]

"NEVER!!"      ????

 

[RabCNesbitt]

On 12/23/2019 at 10:05 PM, Ron jeremy said:

I find it rather funny, borderline hysterical that people still say that prices here have not risen in 15 years.

I too find it hysterical that people still don't see that - unless all they do is eat at the cheapest food stalls / buy food from market stalls that have remained cheap simply because the poorer people would starve if they put up their prices!

Just recently I was checking out purchasing a house in Chiang Mai - 4 years ago the house I looked at was 2.2 Million Baht.... now they want 6.5 Million for THE SAME HOUSE!!! Who says that prices haven't gone up? Open your eyes... look at land prices and condo prices too....

Last year I had a holiday in the UK, it used to be very expensive to go there - it was WAY cheaper than the cost of living here - supermarket goods, car rentals, AirBnB, pub drinks, second-hand cars, new cars - all cheaper than Thailand. The only thing that was more expensive was eating out in restaurants. Inflation is actually out of control here because it is unregulated and being fuelled by money from China.