Yep ... TH or USA, world inflation is totally irrelevant. My income has increasd with 76.6% COLA since retirement 2000, along with 100%+ ROIs (RE) which has made monthly expenses, about the same as when I arrive, if like for like expenses & lifestyle considered. We're O&A more, so that actually is the added increase in yearly living expense, averaged over the months. In 2000 I lived easily, very basic, comfy lifestyle on ~15k THB a month. That same basic monthly expense now, would be ~15k THB a month, wouthout the extras we now enjoy. Medical cost due to age, maintanence of this life form, has raised that a bit, but has nothing to do with TH or inflation. All one off expenditures, and out of pocket money expenditures. Oops & retirement funds, still full up. No mortages/rent, and every house/location move has been in part or wholly paid by sale of previous house. Basically rent free for 25+ yrs. Utilities, electric, water lowered due to solar & rain collection, with ROI almost completely realizes. Petrol eliminated with BEVs. Use of PEA/PWA, is voluntary and unecessay, but convenient at times, obviously. Usually just mismanagement when at home, and O&A is voluntary. Have more pocket money & savings than I ever had, since retiring. That's with putting the kid through private school & Uni (out of province), and return on that is immessureable, as now she's earning 97k+ a month, with normal work hrs / 2 days off. She even has RE investments, and all of 27 years old. Little Bi-atch brings in more than me a month. Without the wife & RE investing, monthly cost would probably take most of, my SS income. But oops/medical funds would still be the same, and financially, not much would be different. I don't think. As when playing single parent living in 1st house, before meeting wife, not much changed over those 5-6 yrs. I could possibly have simply stayed there (no thanks), and since paid for, next 20 yrs would have also been rent free. That was a very comfy house, and not much has really changed in the village. Couple new neighbors, (according to Gmap) but that's about it. Can't really say it was a well planned retirement, considering Thai wife #1, (total ignorant noob), and raising village orphan, didn't see that one coming when I thought about retiring. But honestly wouldn't change a thing. Don't know how so many, have so many problems, and so few smiles, in retirement. And if I would have continued to work & invest for 20 more years ... Holy Buddha. Never considered myself well off, or extremely intelligent, along with ... making every kind of working, inversting and relationship screw up one could think of, and still, manage to smile in retirement. Go figure.
