41 per cent of Thais barely make ends meet: poll

By THE NATION

 

 

More than 41 per cent of Thais have no savings and are living pay cheque to pay cheque, a new poll shows.

 

Bangkok Poll by Bangkok University Research Centre on Saturday published a survey on “Thai people’s financial status in 2020”, saying that 41.1 per cent of respondents lived pay cheque to pay cheque and had no monthly savings, while 28.3 per cent said they had to borrow just to support their families. Some 17.6 per cent said they earned adequately, but their savings this year had been reduced.

 

The survey was conducted among 1,221 respondents from all regions of Thailand.

 

The majority of respondents (61.3 per cent) listed the reason for their reduced earning/savings as the soaring prices of consumer products, while 36.8 per cent said they had to pay mortgage for house or car, while 29.3 per cent said their businesses had seen fewer customers this year.

 

When asked how they coped with financial problems, 81.7 per cent said they had to become more thrifty and think before spending, while 55.7 per cent said they had to cut back on dining out and travelling, 22.7 per cent opted to seeking supplementary income, such as selling items online and becoming a delivery person.

 

When asked what expenses were still the top priority even in this economic situation, 80.8 per cent of respondents said utility bills (water, electricity, internet, telephone), followed by food (73.3 per cent) and educational expenses for their children (43.8 per cent).

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30397957?utm_source=category&utm_medium=internal_referral

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-11-15

 

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36 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

41 per cent of Thais barely make ends meet: poll

 

That's okay, they're just peasants. The elite top1% are making up for it...and living large.

 

 

Edited November 14, 20205 yr by Hayduke

37 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

become more thrifty and think before spending, while 55.7 per cent said they had to cut back on dining out and travelling, 22.7 per cent opted to seeking supplementary income, such as selling items online and becoming a delivery person.

And these are the people the Thai government expects to bail out domestic tourism.  You wonder if their schemes of paying half for things are just barely helping the economy or are the only reason the lower end are even getting by minimally.

So 41 per cent are struggling, you hear that Prayut?

Probably not, you dont care anyway, your masters are still making serious money, all that matters isnt it.

Unless you leave in the the boondocks of Thailand you wouldn't know that so many are financially strapped, living in the big cities of Thailand you don't see baggers, no raggedy people milling about, no one sleeps in the rough, i think that because to be poor and something to be ashamed of and Thais will do their utmost to hide it..

41 minutes ago, ezzra said:

Unless you leave in the the boondocks of Thailand you wouldn't know that so many are financially strapped, living in the big cities of Thailand you don't see baggers, no raggedy people milling about, no one sleeps in the rough, i think that because to be poor and something to be ashamed of and Thais will do their utmost to hide it..

I hope your being sarcastic.  I see beggars everyday on street corners on the Skywalk, homeless sleeping around lumpini park, in closed doorways and such here in Bangkok.  

according to tinder badoo and thaifriendly girls it is waaaaaay more than 41%

59 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

And these are the people the Thai government expects to bail out domestic tourism.  You wonder if their schemes of paying half for things are just barely helping the economy or are the only reason the lower end are even getting by minimally.

Agreed, it may barlely help the economy however from what I've seen and heard it  has put a smile on the faces of many Thai people.

And now lets compare Thailand to the rest of the world.

I am not pretending that in Thailand everything is fine. But living paycheck to paycheck is pretty normal for many people in many so called developed countries.

 

 

Another statistic from that so called leader of the world...

 

I bet there is a few cars getting handed back to the finance companies

This is worldwide – example in the UK a third of Brits have less than 24k Baht in savings!

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

When asked what expenses were still the top priority even in this economic situation

1. My Prestige car

2. My latest iphone

3. My shopping binges at Central

 

Because of the impact of Covid and the ripple effect, I suspect this is the story worldwide, not just in Thailand.

 

The other difference here is the strength of family and community, which is admirable in my opinion, and why you dont see so much "in your face" poverty. People here can also eat and sleep in Wats. In the west the Churches woukd be padlocked !  

Once again, I wonder what the photo is supposed to depict, an article about poverty, and it shows someone with a wad of 1000s.

1 hour ago, Hayduke said:

 

That's okay, they're just peasants. The elite top1% are making up for it...and living large.

 

 

That could be said of farangland as well, don't fool yourselves, I know enough falangs in Europe who would be out on the street but for their credit card or mum and dad helping out.

I bet there is a few cars getting handed back to the finance companies

59 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

I bet there is a few cars getting handed back to the finance companies

Not to mention all those "second homes" in Pattaya and Hua Hin. 

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

Unless you leave in the the boondocks of Thailand you wouldn't know that so many are financially strapped, living in the big cities of Thailand you don't see baggers, no raggedy people milling about, no one sleeps in the rough, i think that because to be poor and something to be ashamed of and Thais will do their utmost to hide it..

It's obvious in Pattaya. People sleeping in deserted bar complexes, wandering aimlessly along beach road, empty shops and businesses everywhere... it's grim.

The debt bubble is about to burst in Thailand, big time.

 

Will be a golden opportunity (and possibly life-changing) for those of us that are not over-leveraged.

1 hour ago, CharlieH said:

The other difference here is the strength of family and community, which is admirable in my opinion, and why you dont see so much "in your face" poverty. People here can also eat and sleep in Wats. In the west the Churches woukd be padlocked !  

I think that is largely a myth, based on the evidence of Thai family units I have seen and their behaviour, often criminal, that leads to the loss of family assets, imprisonment and destitution, often of elderly family members.

 

As usual in Thailand it is all about appearances and the reality is often very different.

An off topic post has been removed

Doing slightly better than Americans and Australians..

Global elimination of the poor seems to be under way.

 

1 hour ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

It's obvious in Pattaya. People sleeping in deserted bar complexes, wandering aimlessly along beach road, empty shops and businesses everywhere... it's grim.

In Bangkok there are plenty of rough sleepers, go to Hua Lampong at night

4 hours ago, Hayduke said:

 

That's okay, they're just peasants. The elite top1% are making up for it...and living large.

 

 

What you say is true, but the reality is that this is a world wide trend, the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer. We seem to be on a fast march back to feudalism, what surprises me is how few seem to complain about it, bread and circuses via social media I suppose. Reading the WEF comments about the Great Reset, also seems they are making no secret of it either.

3 hours ago, pokerface1 said:

Agreed, it may barlely help the economy however from what I've seen and heard it  has put a smile on the faces of many Thai people.

The smile is because they can now put a meal in their bellies.  Prayut has returned happiness to the Thai people and if you believe that then you must think Tourism is back in full swing like they want you to believe as well.  

Time to start printing a few notes   

3 minutes ago, Grumpy one said:

Time to start printing a few notes   

That will never happen, if they printed money it would be viewed as they are loosing the battle. Best not to save FACE.

2 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

That will never happen, if they printed money it would be viewed as they are loosing the battle. Best not to save FACE.

I was not referring to the government  ????