Quite Easy To Live On 30,000 B A Month !

[mickjn]

I didnt know whether to post this on the Pattaya forum or on here so i will post it on here under General, I have been going to Thailand twice a year for a few years now and recently stayed my longest of nearly 3 months.

I often read on various Thai forums on how hard it is to live on less than 60,000 baht a month and how you would live like a pauper etc.

I find far from it.In fact i met guys who live on there Australian Government Pension of $1080 aud per month,around 30,000 baht a month and lived quite well.

All this talk of having to have 60,000 baht etc to have a good life is rubbish.

Many old age Aussies live on the $1080 a month old age pensions in Australia so why cant they do it here?

Take a old aussie guy i met who rents a room for 5000 baht a month,A/cond ,on bus route and walk to Jomtien beach,and he buys his own food and makes it.

When he does go with bargirls,he doesnt pay the same rate as a tourist,in fact he says about 400/500 the most he pays.

He says he has a better life here than in Australia,and has his own computer,goes to the same coffee shop everyday and yes he didnt drink alcohol but i noticed he did smoke.

Im not sure if some of you guys who are the same as me and go once or twice a year think you live the same as a tourist when you live there but you dont.

In fact this guy who was 67yo told me he eats breakfast out about once or twice a week,goes to see his mates everyday at some bar,and takes a girl about once a week.

I told him he should of bought his studio room and he would be saving 5000 baht a month,then he tells me he would be paying Strata management fees plus council rates plus maitenance etc.if he owned it.

Im sure it would still be cheaper owning the studio,but up to him.

He has a small fridge,toaster,and a mini cooker and mostly cooks himself.

He didnt drink ,and i think he may have been a alcoholic in his earlier life as he was divorced and i think not rich, relying on the Australian govt pension.

But as i said i noticed he smoked.

He was paying the standard 20% of his old age pension for his Govt owned studio flat in Sydneys Redfern per fortnight.

He knows where the cheap buffets are ,and eats at them too about once a week .

He had good knowledge of where cheaper prices were .

He lives frugally and the same as in Australia.

I asked him if he gets bored,but he goes walking everyday,reads books,visits his friends at some coffee bar place etc.

No it wouldnt be the life for me,I would get bored,but im not 67yo,i suppose if your retired and 67yo then going out partying with bar girls everynight doesnt appeal to you as much.

Then again his other life would be sitting in a council/govt owned highrise room in the crime ridden Redfern,so that would be boring too i guess.

The point is if you live there you live different to being a tourist,you dont go out every night to GO GO BARS,yytou dont eat out at expensive restaurants etc everynight in your own country.

And he said his studio room in jomtien is far better to live than living in the Govt housing blocks of the Sydneys crime ridden Redfern area where he was living before.

He said he always mostly has about 10000 to 15000 left over a month.

Thats far more left than before when the Govt deducted 20% of his pension for rent for the government housing he lived in.

He says he feels safe here ,theres no young teenage gangs roaming around and he can go for walks at night,and he doesnt have pyshiatric patients and druggies living in his building.

Now this is in Pattaya,obviously living in Udon would be cheaper,obviously Bangkok would be more expensive.

If you can live on 1080 Australian per month in Aussi Land paying more rent than 5000 b a month then you can do it in Thailand.

Obviosly you would have to come back to Australia for the free medical care if something goes wrong with your health.

I am in the same situation as the old Aussie guy you met,I have pension,and a bit of monthly super and would like to having permanent move to LOS.Only think that stops me is that I believe that you have to tell Government you are going away and if you are away more than 13 weeks your pension will stop.Anyone know how one would over come this little problem.Thank you

[thefree]

30,000 a day is quite easy to live on if you dont go to mad...... Just make sure you dont take more than 10 girls back at once ........ Easy

[dcfc2007]

i go to thailand each july for a full month and i usually bring around 25,000bht with me.

my hotel works out at 13,000bht for the month but i pay for this seperate from my 25,000bht.

i dont drink that much, i dont smoke and i dont go to go-go or beer bars but i do go to molly malones or shennaigans the odd time maybe 1ce or 2ce a week. am not to keen on thai food so i would eat out quite alot at the likes of kfc, carrefour food court and the odd restraunt or local bar.

i would go to the cinema out there quite regurlarly maybe 10 times in the month and i go to pattaya park as well. so for me 25,000bht is more than enough to do all this including goin on day trips to koh larn and other places and bringing home souvenirs and not living like a pauper.

[Maigo6]

30,000 a day is quite easy to live on if you dont go to mad...... Just make sure you dont take more than 10 girls back at once ........ Easy

He was on about 30,000 for a month, not a day !

If he really waants to know how to survive on 30,000 per month, maybe he should go to the Teaching forum, cos those guys are in a similar situation apparantly.

Although why the heck anybody would come to Thailand to work for 8-900 USD a month beats me, It's ok if you're 20 years old, and you're doing it in your Gap year, but to try to make a living, forget it, it's survival only.

Pensioner is OK, cos I assume one would have a nice little sum tucked away plus the pension, no problem.

[anonymouse]

i go to thailand each july for a full month and i usually bring around 25,000bht with me.

my hotel works out at 13,000bht for the month but i pay for this seperate from my 25,000bht.

i dont drink that much, i dont smoke and i dont go to go-go or beer bars but i do go to molly malones or shennaigans the odd time maybe 1ce or 2ce a week. am not to keen on thai food so i would eat out quite alot at the likes of kfc, carrefour food court and the odd restraunt or local bar.

i would go to the cinema out there quite regurlarly maybe 10 times in the month and i go to pattaya park as well. so for me 25,000bht is more than enough to do all this including goin on day trips to koh larn and other places and bringing home souvenirs and not living like a pauper.

Well this topic is about 2 years old, making it even harder to survive on.

Living on KFC and the western food at Carrefour food court wouldn't be my idea of a holiday

but each to there own and all that

[EASYDOGG]

.......then at the other end of the spectrum, we have the "I spend only 5000 Bt per month and I can still save money" brigade.

The truth is somewhere inbetween.

If you are a boom-boom lover of PATTAYA and/or an alcoholic 30, 000 no way, that's only 1000 a day! But if you care for your health, eat Thai food a lot and live north too 30, 000 is sweet!

[simonphuket]

Many people working in the diving business here in Phuket make between 30k - 45k/month, and Phuket ain't cheap. All seem to be able to live comfortably enough, whilst having to pay for their diving insurances, membership fees, equipment repairs, and yearly trip back home.

As I'm married to a Thai wife, I hardly ever visit the bars, less than once a week, and then even max 2 beers (I did not do that back home, so why do it here?). Do not feel the need, love my wife and like to spend my time with her. We pay 6k/month for a fairly big bungalow with big garden. Electric less than 500/month. She often cooks, or we buy from the market, or once/twice a week eat out. Drive a car, and never really calculated how much we spend, but surely not more than 40k/month, for the 2 of us! With her salary, plus whatever we save from mine (plus my income from back home), we manage to save quite some money. I do not feel the need to spend more. Happy with what I have. So 30K/month sounds perfectly do-able to me.

[JohnGotti]

We are spending 3k baht a month on Cranberry juice. When you add in all the other juices, it could be as high as 5-6k baht a month. Just goes to show you the huge range you can have in budgets depending on life style.

[Neeranam]

We are spending 3k baht a month on Cranberry juice. When you add in all the other juices, it could be as high as 5-6k baht a month. Just goes to show you the huge range you can have in budgets depending on life style.

That seems a lot but I just worked out I spend the same on orange and other fruit juices. Plus 2500 on those "nom preow" things and 1000 on baby milk.

I drink at least one bottle of Sprite a night. So with all the drinks including coffee and that un alcoholic wine stuff we get from the temple it's about 10,000 baht a month just on drinks, and that's no alcoholic beverages!

If you live like a monk, you can get by on about 1,000 baht a month - less if you do it in the temple.

[Avante]

How the hel_l does the majority of employed expats here on a salary of 300,000 baht ? Isit that bull shoot ? You guys think this is the United Kingdom ?

LOL

[thaimate]

30000 a month ,well thats the rent sorted i am sure many can live on that ,but when you have a car,a son at private school a large house ect ect ect we spend about 75000 a month upwards ,but then back in Britain i spent more than that ,its just horses for courses and what you can afford ,if i had to live on 30k i would cut my wrists,but then i wish i was rich enough to fly 1st class when we holiday in Britain ,some people would think my lifestyle sluming it and only owning 3 or 4 cars is hardship.

[Chaimai]

30000 a month ,well thats the rent sorted i am sure many can live on that ,but when you have a car,a son at private school a large house ect ect ect we spend about 75000 a month upwards ,but then back in Britain i spent more than that ,its just horses for courses and what you can afford ,if i had to live on 30k i would cut my wrists,but then i wish i was rich enough to fly 1st class when we holiday in Britain ,some people would think my lifestyle sluming it and only owning 3 or 4 cars is hardship.

No wonder you have to withdraw 150,000 Baht at a time from the bank

Phew ! 5 months money in one go !!

[chiang mai]

It all depends how you want to live.

This sums it up! Everyone is different.

................................................................................

..........................................................

Im from UK,retired on State pension and one private pension....so arround 50Kbaht/month.Retirement visa covered by Bank deposit and not touched.

I have a detached ,new rented 2 bed house in Chaing Mai and live with my 2 cats.

My fixed overheads ...rent...electric....Sat TV.....Sat Internet(expensive at 4800 bht) and site security come to just less than 20,000Bht a month

I live very well,do my own cooking...steaks,roast beef,when I want. Chang beer 2 cans a day and wine...admittedly the boxed ones.....I smoke...too much, but at 48bht for a pack so what.

I have motorbike for traveling localy.

I dont spend my pensions...each month some is left.

My life here is 100% better than if I was still in UK.where there is no way I could have the same standard of living.I would need double at least.

OK,if I gadded about in town it would be more expensive but for me...I dont want to. Everything I need and want I have here.I leave the prostitutes to those who want them...you can call them bargirls but its prostitutes as far as I am concerned...not for me.

If I had double my current income..I couldnt spend it....wouldnt need to.

If medical problems occur in the future I have money in UK bank which should cover reasonable expenses.

Im sure younger guys will call me a fuddy duddy and old fart.....water off a ducks back!

Each to his own.

Well done, a good story and appropriate.

[GuestHouse]

There's a world of difference between an old guy retired in Thailand, receiving a secure pension and enjoying the last of his days on Bht30K of Bht40K a month and a young man living in Thailand on the same income, but who has not yet got his pension/life savings soughted.

There are a lot of people treading water in Thailand on low incomes at a time in life when they need to be earning for when they can't work and need a pension/savings to support them.

So I think the OP is right - Old guy in his 60s or 70's Bht30K is do-able.

Young guy in mid life - I've nodoubt you can get by, but you are putting off the inevitable.

[GuestHouse]

It all depends how you want to live.

This sums it up! Everyone is different.

................................................................................

..........................................................

Im from UK,retired on State pension and one private pension....so arround 50Kbaht/month.Retirement visa covered by Bank deposit and not touched.

I have a detached ,new rented 2 bed house in Chaing Mai and live with my 2 cats.

My fixed overheads ...rent...electric....Sat TV.....Sat Internet(expensive at 4800 bht) and site security come to just less than 20,000Bht a month

I live very well,do my own cooking...steaks,roast beef,when I want. Chang beer 2 cans a day and wine...admittedly the boxed ones.....I smoke...too much, but at 48bht for a pack so what.

I have motorbike for traveling localy.

I dont spend my pensions...each month some is left.

My life here is 100% better than if I was still in UK.where there is no way I could have the same standard of living.I would need double at least.

OK,if I gadded about in town it would be more expensive but for me...I dont want to. Everything I need and want I have here.I leave the prostitutes to those who want them...you can call them bargirls but its prostitutes as far as I am concerned...not for me.

If I had double my current income..I couldnt spend it....wouldnt need to.

If medical problems occur in the future I have money in UK bank which should cover reasonable expenses.

Im sure younger guys will call me a fuddy duddy and old fart.....water off a ducks back!

Each to his own.

Well done, a good story and appropriate.

Agree, they guy's done his porridge and enjoying what sounds like sensible and happy living in Thailand.

[toptuan]

Come to Isaan, where you can live on 30K a month and save 60% of it. (That pays for a few nice international trips a year!).

[churchill]

It all depends on how you want to live Yes 30,000 Baht is possible but for a normal family life with school fees , car etc i think 100,000 is nearer the mark

[Chaimai]

OK,if I gadded about in town it would be more expensive but for me...I dont want to. Everything I need and want I have here.I leave the prostitutes to those who want them...you can call them bargirls but its prostitutes as far as I am concerned...not for me.

Well done, a good story and appropriate.

Unnecessary dig at the girls though - man cannot live by chak waao alone

By any measure, add a female partner and the monthly overheads will rise (Thailand or home country).

[timinchina]

its very easy to spend 600k baht in a month.

tell me about it! my Learjet needs an oil change and new tires and one of the two 4000HP turbo diesels of my yacht needs to be replaced.

Might cover the fuel bill for my Sunseeker Predator 68 for the month!

[bravingbangkok]

30g for one person that is piss. Try it with two kids, health insurance, life insurance, 3 nagging girls (wife and two daughters) and school fees. I am still wearing the same clothes as last year.

I do not know if anyone else is the same but my electricity bill is a joke, the aircons and TV's cost so much, my electric bill is around 9000 a month ! however this is decreased dramatically during the winter months.

[livinthailandos]

the cost to produce things eventually all keep going up, so if you pension stays the same after a while your losing out.

food prices

gas prices

electric prices

all keep going up over time,

on the other point though I think its a matter of what kind of person you and what you feel you need to have to survive in thailand

1. I can eat lots of local thai food, not because its cheap but because I like it.

2. I dont drink and I dont smoke so that helps me

3. Have cable, internet

Maybe that guy finds he can get by in life at that, other people can't

[anonymouse]

We are spending 3k baht a month on Cranberry juice. When you add in all the other juices, it could be as high as 5-6k baht a month. Just goes to show you the huge range you can have in budgets depending on life style.

Have you got a really bad case of cystitis or something

[JohnGotti]

Well i met another Aussie Expat,51yo,very overweight,has diabetes and a back problem,so he says anyway,even though i did notice at times him lifting things.

Anyway this guy is on the Australian Govt Disability Pension,because he cant work because of his back and other illnesses.

Anyway i dont know how he gets away with it,but he draws the 30,000 baht or so from the government every month PLUS has a small beer bar income,PLUS rents out a small studio he bought about 10 years ago..

He actually lives on top of his beer bar.

Now I know that there are a lot of people in Australia who genuinelly cannot work due to illness,heart probs,disabled etc etc but is this legal that you can live overseas on a Government Disabilty pension?

No obviuosly he doesnt tell the Government Centrelink/Social Security Dept or whatever they call themselves that he runs a beer bar and lets out a flat but think of how many do that.

I want you all to try to think of some guy you think is lucky and is under 60yo and runs a beer bar and he s probaly on some disabled pension and not telling you.

I wonder how many are??????????

One day there will be a big flood and all these rodents will be washed away.

55555

[bravingbangkok]

We are spending 3k baht a month on Cranberry juice. When you add in all the other juices, it could be as high as 5-6k baht a month. Just goes to show you the huge range you can have in budgets depending on life style.

Have you got a really bad case of cystitis or something

Helps when the river of fire is upon them.

[bravingbangkok]

Well i met another Aussie Expat,51yo,very overweight,has diabetes and a back problem,so he says anyway,even though i did notice at times him lifting things.

Anyway this guy is on the Australian Govt Disability Pension,because he cant work because of his back and other illnesses.

Anyway i dont know how he gets away with it,but he draws the 30,000 baht or so from the government every month PLUS has a small beer bar income,PLUS rents out a small studio he bought about 10 years ago..

He actually lives on top of his beer bar.

Now I know that there are a lot of people in Australia who genuinelly cannot work due to illness,heart probs,disabled etc etc but is this legal that you can live overseas on a Government Disabilty pension?

No obviuosly he doesnt tell the Government Centrelink/Social Security Dept or whatever they call themselves that he runs a beer bar and lets out a flat but think of how many do that.

I want you all to try to think of some guy you think is lucky and is under 60yo and runs a beer bar and he s probaly on some disabled pension and not telling you.

I wonder how many are??????????

One day there will be a big flood and all these rodents will be washed away.

55555

Like I do not claim child benefit from the UK......honest I don't

Every little helps when you have two screaming brats !

Edited May 29, 2009 by bravingbangkok

[simonphuket]

30g for one person that is piss. Try it with two kids, health insurance, life insurance, 3 nagging girls (wife and two daughters) and school fees. I am still wearing the same clothes as last year.

I do not know if anyone else is the same but my electricity bill is a joke, the aircons and TV's cost so much, my electric bill is around 9000 a month ! however this is decreased dramatically during the winter months.

Wow, are you serious? We're planning to have kids, but doing some financial math, we come close to what 'Churchill' said in a previous post that 100k is closer to the mark. We were looking at 80k, if you include cost for better-than-standard schools for 2 kids. You got my respect. How you manage? any tips?

[thithi]

i spend at least 12k a month and 15k max including accommodation, el and water. Uni fees are excluded [around 30k baht a term]

i yam a student, no car, eat good food which are sometimes pricey, shop, hang out and get pissed up often.

Still I think it's expensive. In my hometown up north, I would spend 12k in 3 months

Edited May 29, 2009 by thithi

[toptuan]

30g for one person that is piss. Try it with two kids, health insurance, life insurance, 3 nagging girls (wife and two daughters) and school fees. I am still wearing the same clothes as last year.

I do not know if anyone else is the same but my electricity bill is a joke, the aircons and TV's cost so much, my electric bill is around 9000 a month ! however this is decreased dramatically during the winter months.

Yes, 30K was for one person in the example mentioned above.

If you have more than one person to support, do the math. It's not hard.

In the middle of April, my electric bill is 1,500B/month, running 24 hours a day.

You choose your lifestyle and you pay for it accordingly. 'nuf said?

Edited June 5, 2009 by toptuan

[Gary A]

What kind of income you need depends entirely on how you want to live. If you want to live in a HUGE house and pay 10,000 baht a month for electricity, it's entirely up to that person. The same with driving a 5 million baht vehicle. Some people enjoy drinking with their friends in VERY expensive watering holes.

On the other hand, some people are happy drinking 55 baht big bottles of Leo. As for myself, I absolutely refuse to pay 140 baht for a small bottle of beer. My electric bill has never been more than 1,250 per month for my wife's two bedroom house. I do have a fairly new (2007) car but I prefer to drive my old Nissan pickup truck. I despise five star restaurants and refuse to eat anywhere that I have to dress up to go in. I live precisely as I wish and have no financial worries. I can easily live well on 30,000 baht per month. I don't live on that amount because I like expensive useless toys. I waste quite a lot of money because I can afford to. I DON'T throw away money on overpriced expensive beer, restaurants, hotels and travel because I don't enjoy those things and I refuse to OVERPAY for anything. I shop for my useless unneeded toys and bargain for the best price.

Being a wannabe HiSo and associating with genuine HiSo people has to be frustrating and must be a miserable existence trying to afford it. I no longer own a suit and if wearing fancy clothes is a requirement for going somewhere, you can be VERY sure that I wouldn't go.

[bravingbangkok]

30g for one person that is piss. Try it with two kids, health insurance, life insurance, 3 nagging girls (wife and two daughters) and school fees. I am still wearing the same clothes as last year.

I do not know if anyone else is the same but my electricity bill is a joke, the aircons and TV's cost so much, my electric bill is around 9000 a month ! however this is decreased dramatically during the winter months.

Wow, are you serious? We're planning to have kids, but doing some financial math, we come close to what 'Churchill' said in a previous post that 100k is closer to the mark. We were looking at 80k, if you include cost for better-than-standard schools for 2 kids. You got my respect. How you manage? any tips?

Simon I meant that 30g for 1 person easy, but for me with my 3 other members of my club it is a hel_l of a lot more.

80k should be fine, I think the most important aspect is the rent because food bills, electric bills and luxuries can all be saved on but the rent cannot and who wants to live in a hel_l hole and work hard for it....thats just is not living. If you own your own place or have a mortgage then you are doing well. At 80k a month I would plan to have 1 kid for now and then see where you are in a few years.

Good international schools can run anywhere from 100 000 a year - 400 000 a year so it is entirely up to you. A good Thai school can be anywhere from 50 000 - 150 000 a year but do not quote me on that as I have no really looked into higher tier Thai education.

Edited June 5, 2009 by bravingbangkok