28 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Some good points here regarding eating out if you don't want to cook etc.

I have worked out in the budget I'm going to get sick of eating out 60 baht rice & pork Thai meals everyday

I have to include western food in my budget at least twice a week

Now as I said most of the food in the supermarket in Pattaya are the same prices as aldi in Australia, do your homework please !!!

What food would that be? Beef? Pork? Chicken?

6 minutes ago, IsmeUno said:

What food would that be? Beef? Pork? Chicken?

Coffee , cheese for one ,

57 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

I have to include western food in my budget at least twice a week

Why?

45 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Some good points here regarding eating out if you don't want to cook etc.

I have worked out in the budget I'm going to get sick of eating out 60 baht rice & pork Thai meals everyday

I have to include western food in my budget at least twice a week

Now as I said most of the food in the supermarket in Pattaya are the same prices as aldi in Australia, do your homework please !!!

Things I want are more expensive in Thailand at supermarkets. Nuts, cereal, chocolate, yoghurt, milk, ice cream, decent beer.

Jomtiem night market has fairly westernised food and you can eat healthily there. I have a shop that makes me rice and vegetables, with nothing added, as a base. Then you've got fairly healthy fish, chicken, pork etc. OK you have to be careful with pork. Add som tam once in a while. Pizza, sausages, pad thai for a change. The Pad Thai guy always busy. He seems to be a celebrity or something even though his pad thai seems normal but nice. The russian place as good options too for a change. Lots of salads available. Get a pierogi or spring rolls to go with a salad for lunch. Coconut shake fresh. Not bad for a bachelor who doesn't want to cook. Feel bad about the plastic though.

20 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Coffee , cheese for one ,

Eat half a much cheese as you do in Oz or try to be sensible and stop comparing prices with ALDI(a German company). Why not use your homegrown companies as a benchmark? Such as COLES, then you'll be paying exactly the same in Thailand.

3 minutes ago, IsmeUno said:

Eat half a much cheese as you do in Oz or try to be sensible and stop comparing prices with ALDI(a German company). Why not use your homegrown companies as a benchmark? Such as COLES, then you'll be paying exactly the same in Thailand.

Not really. Not for the items I mention. Coles can be expensive but they have a lot of specials. Wait for the Lindt 85 per cent to be half price and buy 30.

Decent health insurance alone is more than 15k a month.

Sure it is optional though just like many other expenses

18 minutes ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

Not really. Not for the items I mention. Coles can be expensive but they have a lot of specials. Wait for the Lindt 85 per cent to be half price and buy 30.

Do I need to remind you that supermarkets in Thailand have specials too? There are thread here every now and again. Some managed to grab 1kg of Mainland Edam for less than 250 baht at Friendship. Tasty for 270. Makro has 470g Tasty/Vintage/Colby cheese blocks for 149, which isn't bad.

17 minutes ago, IsmeUno said:

Do I need to remind you that supermarkets in Thailand have specials too? There are thread here every now and again. Some managed to grab 1kg of Mainland Edam for less than 250 baht at Friendship. Tasty for 270. Makro has 470g Tasty/Vintage/Colby cheese blocks for 149, which isn't bad.

Fair enough. I just noted that say the Lindt specials and for other items I see on my list aren't real flash based on what I have seen. I am retiring shortly and need to get away from price watching but one gets used to such habits.

1 hour ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

Fair enough. I just noted that say the Lindt specials and for other items I see on my list aren't real flash based on what I have seen. I am retiring shortly and need to get away from price watching but one gets used to such habits.

Nothing wrong with price watching and then doing something useful for someone with what you save. A hobby, if you like 😊

3 minutes ago, IsmeUno said:

Nothing wrong with price watching and then doing something useful for someone with what you save. A hobby, if you like 😊

Saving money in various ways during retirement can be a wise decision.

On 4/5/2026 at 5:53 PM, scottiejohn said:

Why?

Just seems a treat now and again. When I eat out I especially look for some western food. Sick to death of rice, also chicken and shrimp so often.

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

Just seems a treat now and again. When I eat out I especially look for some western food. Sick to death of rice, also chicken and shrimp so often.

Lol...very true and time again I see posts by farang saying when they will retire they will live on Thai food to make their budget last .

It's easy to say but difficult to achieve

Only so much pork n rice you can eat

4 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Only so much pork n rice you can eat

I am sorry but I would bet my bottom dollar you could not name 4 Thai dishes that are commonly served on the street. No googling now.

Having a tug is free.

On 4/1/2026 at 6:48 AM, blaze master said:

How dare you. I identify as a sex addict. I cannot control my disease.

This does not come within the OP's budget and if he is not addicted why is he in Pattaya?

14 minutes ago, DaRoadrunner said:

This does not come within the OP's budget and if he is not addicted why is he in Pattaya?

He is in OZ

On 3/31/2026 at 7:18 PM, georgegeorgia said:

Once I buy my condo in Pattaya I can easily survive on 15,000 baht a month

Please tell me why if your older than say pension age 67 , why you can't survive on the ( Australian,) pension income of 45,000 a month about $2000 AUD

I'm talking about owning your condo though whether that be a 21cm room in the flybird or a lavish condo overlooking the beach, yes it maybe harder for those paying rent

I just can't understand men who are 67 or older forced to ho back to the UK or Australia because they can't afford to live on their old age pension , especially if it's 45,000 baht or higher

Granted , I probably won't be eligible for the old age pension in Australia because I haven't touched my superannuation ( retirement funds) but I can still draw out $2000 AUD ( 45k) a month and live on it from my super fund

Unlike the UK, in Australia , if you worked hard all your life and saved you aren't eligible for the old age pension, so retire early they say and spend it before 67yo

But anyway the point I'm making is what the hell is going on when I see YouTube videos of 70yo Australian men crying because they can't live on their old age Australian pension ?

Ok understood the UK pensioners are different , apparently they don't get pension risen if they leave the country but you aussie guys ,if you can live in Australia on 45,000 baht a month you can live in Pattaya surely!!

We need a charity service with volunteer financial counsellors to help these men like we do in the UK and Australia

This could be one of my pet projects when I move there to start a financial counselling volunteer service to help pensioners

What the hell is happening to your money especially if you already own your own condo so there's no rent ?

Do you really need to go to sports bars everyday ?

Which mall do you prefer in Pattaya: Central or Terminal 21?

On 4/1/2026 at 6:18 AM, georgegeorgia said:

What the hell is happening to your money

Women wine and weed.... The rest I waste

15,000 a month is surviving, not living.

1 minute ago, MarkT63 said:

15,000 a month is surviving, not living.

You breathe the same filthy 3rd world shole polluted air as he does because you can't afford Dubai. You are surviving too.

On 4/10/2026 at 8:09 AM, jacko45k said:

Just seems a treat now and again. When I eat out I especially look for some western food. Sick to death of rice, also chicken and shrimp so often.

Truffle Tartar at The Bull goes pretty damn good as well as the Tomahawk Wagyu's.

1 hour ago, Celsius said:

You breathe the same filthy 3rd world shole polluted air as he does because you can't afford Dubai. You are surviving too.

You say that as if it's a negative. If I could afford it, I'd live on my own island somewhere the weather is nice and the fishing is great year 'round.

But that's not in the cards for most of us...

1 hour ago, MarkT63 said:

15,000 a month is surviving, not living.

1 hour ago, MarkT63 said:

15,000 a month is surviving, not living.

It depends on your lifestyle

If I owned my own condo , don't drink ,don't smoke ,

I don't need to go to bars everyday and sit there staring at people walking past .that's not my idea of fun

I would rather be in the condo on my balcony with a glass of wine doing my statistics or or putting my toothpastes in alphabetical order

4 hours ago, Celsius said:

You breathe the same filthy 3rd world shole polluted air as he does because you can't afford Dubai. You are surviving too.

Dubai is a sand pit toilet that now gets bombed, no thanks

On 4/1/2026 at 6:18 AM, georgegeorgia said:

Once I buy my condo in Pattaya I can easily survive on 15,000 baht a month

Please tell me why if your older than say pension age 67 , why you can't survive on the ( Australian,) pension income of 45,000 a month about $2000 AUD

I'm talking about owning your condo though whether that be a 21cm room in the flybird or a lavish condo overlooking the beach, yes it maybe harder for those paying rent

I just can't understand men who are 67 or older forced to ho back to the UK or Australia because they can't afford to live on their old age pension , especially if it's 45,000 baht or higher

Granted , I probably won't be eligible for the old age pension in Australia because I haven't touched my superannuation ( retirement funds) but I can still draw out $2000 AUD ( 45k) a month and live on it from my super fund

Unlike the UK, in Australia , if you worked hard all your life and saved you aren't eligible for the old age pension, so retire early they say and spend it before 67yo

But anyway the point I'm making is what the hell is going on when I see YouTube videos of 70yo Australian men crying because they can't live on their old age Australian pension ?

Ok understood the UK pensioners are different , apparently they don't get pension risen if they leave the country but you aussie guys ,if you can live in Australia on 45,000 baht a month you can live in Pattaya surely!!

We need a charity service with volunteer financial counsellors to help these men like we do in the UK and Australia

This could be one of my pet projects when I move there to start a financial counselling volunteer service to help pensioners

What the hell is happening to your money especially if you already own your own condo so there's no rent ?

Do you really need to go to sports bars everyday ?

You know it's strange. You look at England the mother country. The one that created the cast off country (Canada) and the penal colony.

Both of these countries have health care that works better and a pension plan that's indexed for all pensioners.

5 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

It depends on your lifestyle

If I owned my own condo , don't drink ,don't smoke ,

I don't need to go to bars everyday and sit there staring at people walking past .that's not my idea of fun

I would rather be in the condo on my balcony with a glass of wine doing my statistics or or putting my toothpastes in alphabetical order

May as well stay in Sydney.

12 hours ago, Celsius said:

You breathe the same filthy 3rd world shole polluted air as he does because you can't afford Dubai. You are surviving too.

Nope, lived and worked in Dubai for 5 years and made more money than I will ever need. Live in a luxury pool villa in the south of Phuket and look out on the sea from my roof terrace every evening without a regret in my bones. Anything else to add smart ass?

On 4/5/2026 at 7:19 PM, mran66 said:

Decent health insurance alone is more than 15k a month.

Sure it is optional though just like many other expenses

Not available if you are 80 years old

11 minutes ago, MarkT63 said:

Nope, lived and worked in Dubai for 5 years and made more money than I will ever need. Live in a luxury pool villa in the south of Phuket and look out on the sea from my roof terrace every evening without a regret in my bones. Anything else to add smart ass?

Yes. Sounds made up just like georgegeorgia stories