How many millions of baht does my friend need to retire in Thailand.

[Lacessit]

On 1/8/2021 at 9:15 AM, advancebooking said:

I think he likes the ladies

How much he needs depends on his lady spend. And how much they spend.

He's better off leaving 80% of his assets outside Thailand, to limit his spending options.

[OneMoreFarang]

47 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

How much he needs depends on his lady spend. And how much they spend.

He's better off leaving 80% of his assets outside Thailand, to limit his spending options.

And he shouldn't get that idea that making his favorite bar girl his girlfriend will reduce the cost. It won't!

[Leaver]

5 hours ago, The Man Who Sold the World said:

Not for me - As a happily married non-drinker I'm easily going through 75k/mo in Nonthaburi.

 

 

That's a lot of massages every month.  ????

 

Edited January 10, 2021 by Leaver

[CharlieH]

Off topic posts removed.

[Mike Teavee]

If your friend is relatively wealthy then he should have investments/pensions etc... to see him through his old age, so the question should be how much does he need to last him until these start paying enough passive income so he'll never need to worry about it again. 

 

I did the same calculation when I was 45 & worked out that I wanted (NB wanted Not needed) to have around B27Million to last me the 15 years (worked out at B150K pm but was allowing for inflation) until I turned 60 and then my pensions would cover my monthly spends...

 

  

That figure would have been far too high as inflation has been well below the (IIRC) 4.2%PA I penciled in BUT FX rate changes would have crucified me (was 55:1, now around 40:1 but has been below 37:1) so I wouldn't have had the non-THB currency to cover it. 

 

As it was I finally retired (after a 15 month trial run when I was 47) last December aged 53 & spent around 120K pm this year of which I would class approx 35K pm as "Extraordinary Spends" such as dual running costs (rent was already paid, but includes a 2 week holiday in Singapore for my Thai GF ) for my Condo in Singapore for Jan/Feb & around 85 nights travelling around Thailand (obviously still paying rent for my Condo in Bangkok) so I would say that your friend would be very comfortable on 100K pm as long as he can control his "Extraordinaries".

 

NB my Budget Pot "Only" went down by just under 956K (approx 80K pm) for the year due to favorable changes in exchange rates & an unexpected gain in the Stock Market, if these hadn't have happened then I wouldn't have taken the 24 night holiday in December or put 100K away (in cash so I consider it spent already) to upgrade my Laptop/Phone this year, if I hadn't have done this my actual spends (including the dual running costs & the > 60 days travelling I'd already done) would have come in right around the 95K pm mark & my budget pot would "Only" have gone down by around 750K pa (62.5K pm). 

 

Curious what your friend's reaction was when you said 30Million, was it a "No problem" or a "<deleted>, how much"... That should tell him/you whether he has enough ???? 

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TLDR: 100K pm should be more than enough, but your friend should focus on generating passive income rather than a pot of money so he has enough no matter how long he lives for... 

 

Edited January 11, 2021 by Mike Teavee

[CrunchWrapSupreme]

On 1/8/2021 at 2:29 AM, RichardColeman said:

I think most of us have blown out more than that in our early 'sweet-shop' days.

Haha, I had about three months of the "sweet shop" days after I had first arrived. Then it was time to work. Then I found the last GF I wound up with wanted to stick with me as I moved around, and with was wonderful to live with, in stark contrast to the previous psychos and gold diggers. Thus we ended up married.

 

Tell your friend not to retire in BKK. The hustle and bustle here is no place to kick back and enjoy one's twilight years. Visit BKK for a few days now and then, but live out in the country, in a quiet Issan town, like in Khon Kaen, Sisaket, Surin, or Ubon. In Ubon you could hop over to Laos, which can be wonderful to tour.

 

In my first teaching jobs I got by with less than 30k. Rent is cheap. Going out is cheap. Then it's really not that difficult to find companionship happy with your humble offerings. Remember, most Thais out there are getting by with much less. Say you have a small pension of like $1-2k USD a month, and small savings. If they balk at this, move on, they aren't worth it. It means they're after less of you and more of the money, which they can get from the next sucker. Thus, by all means, tell your friend NEVER to reveal the extent of his wealth, that he's got millions of baht put away. Doing so often results in dire consequences, mostly involving farangs somehow losing their balance on condo balconies.

[starky]

He will need 100 million precisely. Not one baht more nor less. He will die with 100 baht in his pocket.

[easydoor]

A question starting by "I ask for MY FRIEND...." better would be: I ask this for MYSELF. Who do you think can give a correct answer on a question as this one? All depends on the lifestyle of YOUR FRIEND. I case he has no income, he would need a hell a lot money to keep his trousers up for maybe more than 30 years.

[canerandagio]

On 1/7/2021 at 11:48 PM, Golden Triangle said:

OP, do you live here ?

 

If you do, where do you live.

 

Did you buy land, build house or rent ?

 

How much do you spend every month ?

 

Do you have pensions ? Or do you spend your savings ?

 

If you can answer any of the above you should be qualified to answer your "Friends" questions.

 

Why didn't your friend join and ask himself ?

 

And lastly, this has been asked so many times it's unreal.

 

And why would you reccomend 100,000 baht a month, outrageous, I and many others have a great time on half that, just need to know where to go ????????

 

????

 

 

So unhelpful.

[PGSan]

On 1/8/2021 at 5:51 AM, luckyluke said:

cost of live is different in Thonglor than in Bang Na. 

Please can you quantify this?  A few example figures attached to each area will do fine.

[PGSan]

On 1/8/2021 at 6:20 AM, bkk6060 said:

I know a guy in Pattaya who blew thru $500,000 US in about 7 years

Classy blows?  Or just quantity rather than quality? 

[PGSan]

2 hours ago, easydoor said:

to keep his trousers up

But is that where he wants them?

[PGSan]

On 1/11/2021 at 10:52 AM, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

but live out in the country, in a quiet Issan town,

Or maybe somewhere relatively quiet on the Ao Thai coast?  For the more clement weather and excellent views.

[PGSan]

On 1/11/2021 at 10:52 AM, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

a small pension of like $1-2k USD

That is a small pension???

[PGSan]

On 1/11/2021 at 7:09 AM, Mike Teavee said:

a 2 week holiday in Singapore for my Thai GF

You sent her off on holiday? To Singapore! 

[PGSan]

On 1/8/2021 at 9:25 AM, quake said:

ladies all round the world, especially if loaded.

You been there?

[LivinLOS]

On 1/7/2021 at 4:48 PM, Golden Triangle said:

And why would you reccomend 100,000 baht a month, outrageous, I and many others have a great time on half that, just need to know where to go ????????

 

????

 

 

 

In bangkok ?? 

 

Lifestyles are hard to predict.. Now I am closer to 60 or 80, there was a time on Phuket when it was multi 100 a month.. No one can give a exact answer without knowing what kind of life this guy expects.. If hes 'well off' in the west, and expects a modern well off lifestyle in bangkok, it can run more than it would in many western countries. 

[PGSan]

On 1/10/2021 at 2:39 PM, The Man Who Sold the World said:

and lives to 80

Why 80?  Many of us are still spending freely at well over that age! 

[PGSan]

On 1/10/2021 at 2:47 PM, Pilotman said:

hundreds of millions of Baht

Really???  !! 

[Pilotman]

3 minutes ago, PGSan said:

Really???  !! 

What's circa US150 million in Baht? That's what he sold his company for. 

[quake]

1 hour ago, PGSan said:

You been there?

yes, in the past, have  shagged all over the world on company time. 

[khunPer]

On 1/7/2021 at 5:32 PM, advancebooking said:

Any thoughts on this. I expect this is the first time this kind of thread has ever been raised

There are about a million or so threads like this in Thaivisa forum – maybe a hundred in the more realistic world – and the common first answer normally is: "How long is a piece of rubber band"...????

 

It really depends on one's life-style, how long the rubber band string shall be, or how much savings are needed. Some can live in Thailand for what I spent for heating in my Scandinavian home before I moved to an all-year-summer and barefoot-Xmas place – and that was included in my decision to move – others can easily spend a lot more than 100,000 baht a month, especially if you are a single gentleman and fancy pay-and-play company, or if you end up with a gold digger-spouse (I talk from personal experience in both cases...????).

 

I use to say that the Thai government's 65,000 baht a month suggestion for retirement is a good starting point to calculate from, as you you can live an Okay normal life-style in that monthly budget-level; however knowing that "normal" is a quite relative concept.

 

Your 100,000 baht a month is not way out, but you can live comfortable for both less, and much more. It also depends of where you wish to settle, and if you rent or "invest" in a home. Where I live the recommended 65,000 baht cannot even pay a monthly rent, a C19-bargain is about 70,000 baht a month, and 1000,000 to 125,000 baht a month more like going rate for a newer 2-bed villa. Then comes all the other spending on top.

 

Expectations of the otium dream are quite important to have in mind – and a worst-case-scenario as backup – Land-of-Smiles don't offer that many smiles when you find yourself running dry of funds; i.e. "no money, no honey"...????

 

However, if you can find a relative safe long term investment, which will pay between 2 percent and 3 percent in annual dividends or outcome, plus keep the base capital in level with the consumer inflation index – and that is possible to find – you would need a capital equivalent to 40 million baht if the outcome is 3 percent, 36 million might even be enough, and keep an income flow of consumer index regulated 100,000 baht a month for life.

 

You should also count realistic on an expected worst-case lifetime – i.e. what if I reach 100+ years, and only financially calculated that I would live for no longer than 91 years... – where you base the calculation on partly dividends, which will be high in the beginning, and partly use the capital, so dividend become minor and of almost no value later. Budgeting like that could reduce the start capital.

 

Furthermore you need to include the "unexpected" in a budget. How padded is the "rainy day"-account going to be; what happens if a child, or several, suddenly turns up and need international School – add average 5 million baht per child, (much) more if you use better range of IS and lavish life-style – and what happens if your friend falls in love with a gorgeous smiling Thai lady, yes, it has happened, for some even more than once during the 50+ year otium-period...????

 

Living the dream in paradise is really possible, but don't forget that there are also snakes in paradise; the old saying that "money don't make you happy, but it's a little more comfortable to be unhappy on the backseat in a Rolls Royce" jumps to my mind...????

 

 

Edited January 14, 2021 by khunPer
typo

[Jeffr2]

As has been said here many, many, many times.  It depends on your lifestyle.  Your age.  And your health. 

 

I have friends who live on 18k Baht/month.  Others barely scrape by on 300k. 

 

Don't forget to keep a few million baht in the bank for health emergencies.  Bills can easily go over 2MM Baht.  And many policies here drop you around age 70.  Just when you need it the most.

[Mike Teavee]

2 hours ago, PGSan said:

You sent her off on holiday? To Singapore! 

No I was living in Singapore at the time, so brought her over for 2 weeks (technically 11 days) while I went on a tour to say "Goodbye" after 12 years working there.... 

 

Oh & to also help me pack my <deleted> & take some of it back to my condo in Bangkok with her.

 

Edit: Should add that I was in Bangkok & flew back with her on 4th Feb at which time Changi airport was like a ghost town, she came back to Bangkok on the 15th Feb (How romantic am I ???? ) & I had everything boxed off & left SG on the 19th Feb...

 

Never thought that almost 1 year later I wouldn't have been back there to visit friends Or (re)visit Philippines (Had a house in Davao), Malaysia (Lived in KL for 1 year), Indonesia (Worked in Jakarta for 6 months) etc... My plan for retirement was (is) to travel, travel, TRAVEL ???? 

Edited January 14, 2021 by Mike Teavee

[ronaldo0]

Whatever figure you think then double it ! ????

[madmen]

After rent it wouldn't be worth coming to Thailand for under 80 k per month if he had a high standard of living in the west 

Sure people can survive on 40k or 1300 baht a day but it would barely cover one descent meal and a few beers in an aircodioned pub. 

 

[sharksy]

On 1/7/2021 at 11:20 PM, bkk6060 said:

Does he have an active diversified investment portfolio?

100,000 would be good and very comfortable now.

But, you need to calculate inflation into those 30 years.

The people I know who have come here with a load of cash thinking it will last, it never does.

I know a guy in Pattaya who blew thru $500,000 US in about 7 years. 

 

I'm kind of jealous.  What an amazing 7 years he must of had.

I could do the same, I just can't bring myself to blow that amount of money in a relatively short time, that I spent so long working for.

[Albert Zweistein]

On 1/7/2021 at 5:32 PM, advancebooking said:

My friend is intending to move to Thailand and not work. He is well off but asked me how much money to live here long term. ie how many millions of baht to retire here permanently. He has visited a few times as short term tourist but never long term

 

I told him he should have budget of 100k a month minimum. If he is aged around 50 and lives to 80 then he might need 36 million

 

Essentially I said to him he could easily spend a 100,000 a month in Bangkok living quite well. 

 

Any thoughts on this. I expect this is the first time this kind of thread has ever been raised

 

 

Depends on his future girlfriend

[Mavrix]

On 1/14/2021 at 3:12 PM, LivinLOS said:

 

In bangkok ?? 

 

Lifestyles are hard to predict.. Now I am closer to 60 or 80, there was a time on Phuket when it was multi 100 a month.. No one can give a exact answer without knowing what kind of life this guy expects.. If hes 'well off' in the west, and expects a modern well off lifestyle in bangkok, it can run more than it would in many western countries. 

 

..............& still wouldn't buy me a beer ????

[daveAustin]

Yes, done a thousand times. Depends if he's a hopeless alcoholic mongering mommy's boy that needs the wife/house, obligatory vehicles and stipends for family etc thing, or is switched on, independent and adept at living normally - rent on normal house/condo, out for beer couple nights a week, etc. Anywhere from 30k.