3 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Of course, someone who has good cover from outside Thailand or their home country must not have this forced upon them. But isn't that the case with Visas like the O-A, O-X these days....is that insurance all Thailand sourced?

I have outside insurance but still had to buy Thai insurance for my O-A.

6 minutes ago, newnative said:

I have outside insurance but still had to buy Thai insurance for my O-A.

Use an agent for OA and insurance incuded x 1500bht

1 hour ago, newnative said:

I have outside insurance but still had to buy Thai insurance for my O-A.

I have an OA, last year used an agent and for 3,000 tbh I got a BS policy. I have blue cross/blue shield from home. This year I'll leave Thailand come back visa exempt and get a Non O.

 

If you want to keep the OA, using an agent is way cheaper than buying an Ins policy you don't need.

1 hour ago, Olmate said:

Use an agent for OA and insurance incuded x 1500bht

Good price, last year cost me 17,000 and this year it's 18,000 tbh.

Not sure with the Topic Starter but have to disagree with him on many ends for Pattaya in this example:

If you have like 1K baht daily left to spend, your life is not limited at all. Prior covid you could easily find both farang and western foods under or up to a 100 baht and when combining that with some street food for 40B average as well perhaps sometimes doing breakfast at home, this barely touches your budget. 

 

Then in terms of entertainment, there is loads of things you can do without spending a lot. You can travel with the baht bus within the city, you can get minivans from 100B to most places or to BKK and with another minivan from BKK to places like Kanchanaburi with 100B. 

Movies can be seen from 100B too on the wednesdays or with the various promotions that are around. You could do a luxury hotel buffet from time to time when they have the 200 baht promotions (you can eat breakfast, lunch at once + do various coffees and deserts). 

If you have all the time, you can sure find a girl who is kind of in between and might give you long time for 1K baht too. You have to be creative and learn the local ways, then there is plenty options. Time is on your side too so no need to take the fast and easy results.

 

Last but not least, I guess i recommend single too but in case you just find a normal lady of not too far of his age, who has a simple office job, they make 15K themselves too, so you wouldn't have costs of girls at all neither having to support that lady. She might even cook.

 

-----
 

I personally live within that average budget of 1K daily, as all the other K's go to my family / child, fixed rental costs or savings. Certainly not boring or too little, maybe 1.5K sometimes.

I eat foreign food daily, i drink 3 coffees daily, go out for some drinks a few times a week etc. But yes, if you want to do party hardcore life like I also did before, even 5K a day is not a lot.

I guess just when you are new, you need a few hundred K to first do the crazy stuff once, to learn the lessons and having been there / done that. And not live next to A spot tourist area might help too.

On 10/2/2021 at 1:19 PM, RafPinto said:

Rent a room at:

4k a month

Electricity and water: 500 (no aircon)

Food (Thai) 3x50Baht a day= 4,500

Phone package incl internet: 300

Cheap motorbike: fuel 500

A few beer from 7/11

 

You could live with 10k a month

Wow…I’ve seen 4000 bt rooms and you can’t stay in them long if you’re not sleeping and with no AC???

3- 50 bt meals a day

Ive seen you guys wandering the street like the walking dead…nothing to look forward to when you get up in the morning and going to bed at night knowing you didn’t accomplish anything?! Only women you can buy short term but most of all praying you don’t have an emergency like a sickness or an accident!m

 

Sorry but that is not retirement my friend…it’s not much of anything really????

11 minutes ago, Kanada said:

Ive seen you guys wandering the street like the walking dead…nothing to look forward to when you get up in the morning and going to bed at night knowing you didn’t accomplish anything?! Only women you can buy short term but most of all praying you don’t have an emergency like a sickness or an accident!m

 

Sorry but that is not retirement my friend…it’s not much of anything really

I would say that's exactly retirement for most of the middle class white guys in the world.

As a retired guy back in the UK my idea of excitement was this ..............

 

As a retired guy in Thailand my idea of excitement is this ......

7 minutes ago, Kanada said:

Wow…I’ve seen 4000 bt rooms and you can’t stay in them long if you’re not sleeping and with no AC???

3- 50 bt meals a day

Ive seen you guys wandering the street like the walking dead…nothing to look forward to when you get up in the morning and going to bed at night knowing you didn’t accomplish anything?! Only women you can buy short term but most of all praying you don’t have an emergency like a sickness or an accident!m

 

Sorry but that is not retirement my friend…it’s not much of anything really????

I am not living in a place like that:

 

I have a nice condo with gym, pool, shuttle bus, my own car, a few minutes to BTS etc.

 

I said: it would be possible.

19 minutes ago, Kanada said:

Wow…I’ve seen 4000 bt rooms and you can’t stay in them long if you’re not sleeping and with no AC???

3- 50 bt meals a day

Ive seen you guys wandering the street like the walking dead…nothing to look forward to when you get up in the morning and going to bed at night knowing you didn’t accomplish anything?! Only women you can buy short term but most of all praying you don’t have an emergency like a sickness or an accident!m

 

Sorry but that is not retirement my friend…it’s not much of anything really????

funny you should say that......i was sitting up at canterbury tales cafe in pattaya a few years ago to see that "type" of farang always there but quite interesting to speak to.

I remember one guy lived in a 4k room ,i forget the name of the building now but it was on the other side of third rd pass that NY pizza place.

he lived on fruit frm the cart ,25b coffee from the cafe and seemed to be happy with his life

20 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I would say that's exactly retirement for most of the middle class white guys in the world.

As a retired guy back in the UK my idea of excitement was this ..............

 

As a retired guy in Thailand my idea of excitement is this ......

Why've you photo shopped a mask on her, is there a moustache under there?

20 minutes ago, RafPinto said:

I am not living in a place like that:

 

I have a nice condo with gym, pool, shuttle bus, my own car, a few minutes to BTS etc.

 

I said: it would be possible.

Sorry…sorry!

I guess it would be possible????

 

 

????

8 minutes ago, HashBrownHarry said:

Why've you photo shopped a mask on her, is there a moustache under there?

My wife prefers me not to post identifiable photos of her on forums.

I thought the mask looked better than a smiley face.

6 hours ago, Kanada said:

My wife and I don’t have any debt and spend about 40,000 bt a month!

We live on four rai close to Samoeng with 2 dogs and three cats which are an expense with monthly medicine and food (about 3000 bt) but they all have a job to do and work well for us!

We don’t have rent or vehicle payments….just electric, water and two phones and Netflix!

Shes an excellent cook so “groceries” are an expense for us but she’s not big on restaurants and we do grow a lot of fruits and some veggies! We are both gardeners so have to admit we love to buy new flowers and trees…

The biggest difference between us and our friends is we don’t drink or smoke or etc…..

We have a great place to live….2 newer vehicles with gas and insurance etc. and a normal life for us and we do it nicely on 40,000 bt a month….we don’t lack anything at all!

That’s just us….people’s habits and wants and needs are different…toss in a night a week on the town and a car payment and our monthly expense would work at all!

sounds nice we are in process of moving to a 6 rai plot
i plan to eliminate spending as much as possible,
main house will be off grid, will have a pond and use the land to grow allsorts of food and raise a few animals

the 6 hens we have now gave us 99 eggs last month,
which we would pay about 9 baht each for from supermarket
 

On 10/1/2021 at 12:17 PM, newnative said:

    How much will rent, water, electricity, phone, etc. run you monthly in Oz?  I'm not Australian so I have no idea but usually keeping a roof over your head is your biggest monthly expense and it is very cheap to do that in Pattaya, especially with the low rents these days.  What would 10,000 baht get you in Oz for a rental at a beach city?   I imagine some of the other things on your list--smoking, travel, cinema, boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. would also cost as much or more in Oz--and probably also things like eating out.   I know, as an American, that if I were on a very tight budget in Thailand and having to live frugally due to only a small pension I would be in even worse shape trying to do that in the US.   

Some of the things you mention are much much cheaper in Thailand.  Rent would be from 45000 away from but not too from the sea for a half decent apartment and much more on the sea. Smokes are 700 baht for a pack of 25, cinemas are 600 baht a ticket, accommodation for holidays is minimum 4000 baht per night for something pretty normal, restaurants double the price of Thailand. 

My water bills, electric, and gas are 24000 a year each. 

Food and wine and beer pretty good though. 

Australia has fairly good pay. Sometimes shocked when I see US wages for some jobs. Don't smoke, don't rent, and mainly holiday overseas so not too bad.  

3 hours ago, Kanada said:

Wow…I’ve seen 4000 bt rooms and you can’t stay in them long if you’re not sleeping and with no AC???

3- 50 bt meals a day

Ive seen you guys wandering the street like the walking dead…nothing to look forward to when you get up in the morning and going to bed at night knowing you didn’t accomplish anything?! Only women you can buy short term but most of all praying you don’t have an emergency like a sickness or an accident!m

 

Sorry but that is not retirement my friend…it’s not much of anything really????

What you saw were 4,000 baht rooms in which you would not stay. Always easy to find a cr@ppy room for 4,000 baht.

Find a nicer one; 

instead of writing silly things about 4,000 baht rooms and other people's lifestyles.

 

A 4,000 baht apartment in a popular tourist city.

 

 

 

 

Better to live comfortably within your means, than trying to impress anonymous forum members.

Try to not be quite so judgemental. Some people don't need lots of money to be able to feel good about themselves.

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, Kanada said:

Well Bruno….we both know those pictures aren’t of a 4000 bt a month room now dont we!

I have no reason to impress anyone and “by the looks of it certainly not you”!

If you had bothered to read….I’ve already said we live a very simple life here with no debts or expensive habits but you didn’t read did you!

I’ve had my time in the sun as have most (perhaps you haven’t) but this is retirement and while you have to change a few things you don’t have to live like one of the guys described  or maybe you didn’t bother to read that part either.

28 sq meters with no AC….for 4000 bt….no one can’t stay in there for long periods so you wander around the same streets every day and eat bad food….sounds like you might be a candidate but I’m not….and that certainly isn’t trying to impress anyone????

Now it must be time for your third 30 baht meal of the day….isn’t retirement grand!?

Why you bothered how other people live or what they eat....retirement must be grand pontificating on here everyday !?

As they keep printing money exponentially less less affordable every year. I would say to increase your monthly income at least by 10% per year to have the equal standards overtime.

1 hour ago, Kanada said:

Well Bruno….we both know those pictures aren’t of a 4000 bt a month room now dont we!

 

Now it must be time for your third 50 baht meal of the day….isn’t retirement grand!?

My moobaan has better rooms than that for 2,000bht, and there's a village green with trees and tables to sit at if you like. It's an extra 500bht if you want one with air-con. 

(4k if you want the ground floor shop)

 

It's very rare for me to sspend more than 50bht on a meal, but I do most of my own cooking.

Baked potato and chilli = 25bht, Mince pork and onion pasty and chips =25bht, pork steak and chips = 35bht. I sometimes get chicken kebabs for the entire family from my local food market = 70bht.

18 minutes ago, adexgh said:

As they keep printing money exponentially less less affordable every year. I would say to increase your monthly income at least by 10% per year to have the equal standards overtime.

I've not found that to be true in Thailand.

In 2009 I was spending 60k/month as a single guy in a single room.

In 2021 I'm spending 35k/month as a family of four in a 3 bedroom house.

And I've been living very comfortably the whole time.

On 10/1/2021 at 1:42 AM, georgegeorgia said:

 

Not sure how much the other countries pay their aged pensioners but ...who here lives on their solely aged pension and any difference from before in terms of living in Pattaya

If you are not living well and in your fifties then you've got appalling financial planning, post 2016 there has been the biggest financial opportunity for those that had a few rubbles sat around depreciating in value (GBP has lost 99.9% approx since inception, same applies to most currencies), and that's aside from inflation.

 

But first came Trump, then Brexit, then Covid, then the Crypto bull market. 

 

Have a look at the % gains overall in all those market's then ask yourself why you didn't plan (if you didn't) or see an opportunity (if you didn't) then you'd see that actually, metaphor: if you wait on others to pour your beer all you will do is go home everyday with a empty pocket, if you pour your beer, you take some risks, but reap the rewards.

 

So in a nutshell, life has improved IMO.

10 minutes ago, Jenkins9039 said:

If you are not living well and in your fifties then you've got appalling financial planning, post 2016 there has been the biggest financial opportunity for those that had a few rubbles sat around depreciating in value (GBP has lost 99.9% approx since inception, same applies to most currencies), and that's aside from inflation.

 

But first came Trump, then Brexit, then Covid, then the Crypto bull market. 

 

Have a look at the % gains overall in all those market's then ask yourself why you didn't plan (if you didn't) or see an opportunity (if you didn't) then you'd see that actually, metaphor: if you wait on others to pour your beer all you will do is go home everyday with a empty pocket, if you pour your beer, you take some risks, but reap the rewards.

 

So in a nutshell, life has improved IMO.

 

If you have reached your fifties and haven't quite got the hang of 'tact', then I'd say you had an appalling education. 

If everyone was a financial whiz then we'd all be millionaires. Try thinking before you hit that Submit Reply button.

 For me, I am living a "Great Life." I am blessed that I worked hard early in life and saved as much as I could and now do not have to worry. Money to me is "Disposable Income" that gives you freedom. My expiration date in life is approaching and I plan on having as much fun traveling and giving some back. That's my personal meaning of "Comfortably." 

 

5 minutes ago, Dan747 said:

 For me, I am living a "Great Life." I am blessed that I worked hard early in life and saved as much as I could and now do not have to worry. Money to me is "Disposable Income" that gives you freedom. My expiration date in life is approaching and I plan on having as much fun traveling and giving some back. That's my personal meaning of "Comfortably." 

 

Great post ...luv the bit about the expiration date ...many never think it's going to end and keep working and working.  Making their kids rich I guess 

3 hours ago, Bruno123 said:

 

If you have reached your fifties and haven't quite got the hang of 'tact', then I'd say you had an appalling education. 

If everyone was a financial whiz then we'd all be millionaires. Try thinking before you hit that Submit Reply button.

No offence, but if you are living in your fifties (+) and still need to be informed what financial planning, and spotting an opportunity is, then you need to be told bluntly, there's barely any time for 'tact' left at that junction.

 

10 minutes ago, Jenkins9039 said:

No offence, but if you are living in your fifties (+) and still need to be informed what financial planning, and spotting an opportunity is, then you need to be told bluntly, there's barely any time for 'tact' left at that junction.

 

To late for your "no offence" when you have already been offensive.

 

There is a big difference between someone trying to be genuinely helpful and someone acting like a smug know-it-all.

I live in the real world where even fairly intelligent people haven't the slightest idea about digital currencies and what is behind them.

Furthermore there are many who live month to month on their salary and haven't the time nor the inclination to think about gambling. Many people are struggling to survive. Then in comes Mr Smug to tell them that they are all idiots.

With regard to that; the word is juncture; not junction.

You see? Not everyone knows everything; nor are they expected to do so.

That why we have friends, family, community. To pool knowledge, as opposed to rubbing people's faces in it.

 

So if you have advice that can help someone, try telling it in a way that might actually get them to listen to you. Being a Richard isn't an effective method.

 

On 10/3/2021 at 10:34 AM, Mike Teavee said:

I can only imagine how depressing it's been to be stuck in a shoebox sized condo staring at the same 4 walls day after day

That's why they invented cable tv and internet.

15 hours ago, patman30 said:

sounds nice we are in process of moving to a 6 rai plot
i plan to eliminate spending as much as possible,
main house will be off grid, will have a pond and use the land to grow allsorts of food and raise a few animals

the 6 hens we have now gave us 99 eggs last month,
which we would pay about 9 baht each for from supermarket
 

You’re going a little further off grid than we are but I get it…it’s nice to have some animals and be able to plant what you want where you want! Always something to do and some money to be spent somehow!

I think I mentioned we are at 4 rai here and it’s a lot of work to look after but here’s a couple photos showing us at our best (new brush cutter)….even in the rain which never stops it seems!

Just a small two bedroom bungalow coming up 25 years old now but we side onto a deep ravine on three sides so no neighbors possible today or tomorrow.

We’re up high in the mountains a km from town so alone but close enough if we need to be….an hours drive on mountain roads to ChiangMai where they have everything!

 

You will enjoy your country life…let me know how you’re making out a few months in????

Some posts and replies with uncivil comments toward other members have been removed:

 

7) You will respect fellow members and post in a civil manner. No personal attacks, hateful or insulting towards other members, (flaming) Stalking of members on either the forum or via PM will not be allowed.

11 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Baked potato and chilli = 25bht, Mince pork and onion pasty and chips =25bht

Ever thought of salad or vegetables, they are not expensive here?