What % Of Farang Do You Think Live Here On <40k A Month?

[cdnvic]

Many legends in this topic..

in bkk if you not have 50,000-60,000 thb/month better return in your origin country..

You need to shop around then. There's plenty of decent areas in Bangkok where living isn't very expensive once you take off the Sukhumvit blinders.

[IanForbes]

I can directly contrast what I spend in Thailand as compared to my home in Canada, where I own my home with no payment other than taxes, heating, electricity, water and insurance.

Per month...

Taxes = 4000 baht ... same as I pay for my hotel room in Chiang Mai

Electricity = 3000 baht

house insurance = 1250 baht

TV, internet and telephone package = 4500 baht

Truck insurance = 3500 baht

Vehicle gas per month = 36,000 baht

House heating IF I STAYED IN CANADA FOR THE WINTER = 30,000 baht per month

Food = 6000 baht a month, but only if I do ALL the cooking myself.

I actually save 45,000 baht a month by staying in Thailand, because I'm not paying for heating or a full year of truck insurance. I still have to pay for taxes, electricity and house insurance whether I'm there or not. But, I shut off the internet, TV and telephone package while I'm in Thailand for 5 months. And, because I'm not driving around in my big truck, I save a lot in fuel costs. That is balanced against flights and bus rides around Thailand.

All in all I save money by staying in Thailand, but spend it on other things... such as the ladies. If I had to I could live on less than 20,000 baht per month in Thailand. But, I would miss out on a lot of fun.

[needforspeed]

To actually answer your question OP, I have no clue! It would be interesting to find out, though.

Me the same have not clue what i spend on a monthly base,

Schools for my children is about 28 k a month (3 children)

Insurance for children and GF about 8 k a month

Savings for my children with AIA is 9 k a month

And then we start with traveling, food, drinking , o my God better i don't know.

[Kadafi]

For the last 5 years i have spent 40,000 baht month or lower. My rent, internet and electricity comes to 15,000 baht a month and then i spend another 20,000 baht on living costs for me, my girlfriend and our 1 year old son so 35,000 baht is about average. My day to day living i would really struggle to start spending alot more than i do, the only way i could exceed spending 40,000 baht month would be by simply upgrading my house accomadation (which there is no reason to as there more than enough space and it was a new build when we moved in).

I will return with my gf and son to the UK within next couple years as i want my son to have a proper education and will not pay silly money to Thai private schools as im in my 20's and cannot afford to....

[Bizz]

it took me just 2 min to find this information.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Live-Thai-Vi...ime-t81918.html

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Cost-Living-t249366.html

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Bangkok-Chea...es-t202185.html

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Cost-Live-Th...nd-t228011.html

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Cost-Live-There-t264218.html

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Realistic-Co...an-t262156.html

[TheJoker12]

cut them coupons kids.

[ericB]

my reply will show long after, but anyway ...

I know (I did it) there is way to have normal life (as in western europe) in Bkk for less than 20 000 bht a month (it include a condo rent, food, pool, restaurant sometimes ...) Well it imply you are not an alcoolic, not a 'customers' from the whore house, it imply you check prices and compare when you buy something .... Well it imply infact if you live as you were living in western europe , or if the heat hit your brain.

Right now, having the huge chance to have land a decent job , with a decent salary (not huge but trully decent when compare with jobless people back in France); I do confess money flew (flow in past tense ?) quite easily those last month (february being the last of the lavish life).

But still, living in PHUKET, I can assure you can have decent life with far less than 40 000. With 25 000 I can handle the house rent (yes house and not condo), elec, water, food, clothes (working in office I do consider my duty to dress as I was dressing back in France, so silk/cotton shirt, corporate suit and tutti quanti), have fun every week end (maybe not the lind of fun you want as I do not whore... but woo the ladies), I eat in restaurant more than I did in France ... 25 000 bhts. So shall be a lot to save starting 27 february this year.

Now, the hard thing is the extra expenses : bought furnitures, bought a decent bike (Phantom), treated my self for the 3 month visa run (used then to visit neibor countries) ... Last year so far wasthe best I had since I arrived here (2002).

The real killer is the old friends whom I knew from thetime I was with less money. They became 'cold blood suckers bic***es'; and that is the real ,real ,real problem. Unless you find yourself a decent ring of friends, you will be aprime target for all the social scams : lady drinks, lady meal (why on God earth my friends always order the most expensive food and never finish to eat it?) und so weiter.

So yes cost of life in Thailand even in expensive places such as Phuket can be less than 40K (I believe less than 25 K in fact); but as long you have the same life than in Western Europe (read no cheap whores that are no cheap; no drinking party every day with all the village, no suckers around you ...). Behave and you will be rewarded with an healthy bank account (that will be anyway not in Thailand); Behave not and you will also be rewarded by powerty, fleeces and other skin diseases. Anyway, if we think a bit, even an 100 K salary is not that much in Euro or US $ or GBP; I still earn less that I was earning in France back 10 years ago. SO even if I do earn 10 times what my Thai coworkers earn, it does not make me Hi So , or a rich man or Elite; because 100 000 bht a month would not make me so in my country (but just a low management position obtained because experience).

[ExpatJ]

Ive lived in Thailand twice

First a few years ago and i was on about 20,000 baht per month.

Currently as an expat sent from home country- outlays are high every month- but salary also v good.

I was equally happy both times, but life is more convenient/comfortable as an expat for sure.

Edited February 8, 2010 by ExpatJ

[lovelomsak]

Seems like about a 70-30 split with more being around that income level than above it, but I probably run into more lower income people in general: both locals and foreigners than most people.

I thought they were talking about living on 40k not my income. My income is a lot higher then the 40k i just save the rest.

Me too I was discussing spending not income my income has nothing to do with my spending.

[Loz]

The thread is about what you spend. Not what you earn, right?

[a2396]

I live in Pattaya on 12 000 baht a month. 6300 for Niran condo (including water, electo etc), 350 for GPRS internet, the rest for food, mobile phone and 2 times massage. No beer, no whisky , no bar girls. I lost 10 kilos and feel myself excellent. now I am going to relocate to Auytthaya for massage school. I hope i will spend there the same because I have found 2 floors downtown with smallest garden for 5000 bath a month.

Great post. What do you do?

If no beer/women/ why Pattaya? How do you socialise?

12,000 baht a month? I spend that on food alone in a month.

12,000 bht for food a month? No street food for you, obviously. A steak & lobster man, no doubt.

[robblok]

I live in Pattaya on 12 000 baht a month. 6300 for Niran condo (including water, electo etc), 350 for GPRS internet, the rest for food, mobile phone and 2 times massage. No beer, no whisky , no bar girls. I lost 10 kilos and feel myself excellent. now I am going to relocate to Auytthaya for massage school. I hope i will spend there the same because I have found 2 floors downtown with smallest garden for 5000 bath a month.

Great post. What do you do?

If no beer/women/ why Pattaya? How do you socialise?

12,000 baht a month? I spend that on food alone in a month.

Its possible to socialize without beer and woman. It might come as a shock to you but there are normal people here too in steady relationships. If your a wore monger then of course your living expenses will be a lot higher.

Most of my friends are in a normal relationship so they don't have the need to go to the whores and spend loads of money. You can go fishing with friends or working out in a gym together. You don't need to be in a bar to have fun.

[simon43]

Agree with Robblock about Pattaya. We are not all here for the women and beer (honest!).

Although me and the mrs cannot personally stand Pattaya (sorry!), we have been living here due to my work commitments. But for leisure we visit the parks, hills, beach, temples, go walking, jogging, cycling. I enjoy amateur radio and computers - she enjoys music and computers etc.

Lots of things to do for little money

Simon

[robblok]

Agree with Robblock about Pattaya. We are not all here for the women and beer (honest!).

Although me and the mrs cannot personally stand Pattaya (sorry!), we have been living here due to my work commitments. But for leisure we visit the parks, hills, beach, temples, go walking, jogging, cycling. I enjoy amateur radio and computers - she enjoys music and computers etc.

Lots of things to do for little money

Simon

Simon, i don't live in Pattaya but like any other place you can spend time there without the woman. I live in Nothaburi and i could go to the ladies in BKK but im in a relation and its not that close bye and i dont like to pay girls to be with me.

The people i meat away from those places are usually a lot more "normal". I dont say your crazy if you visit a bar but you might have to re evaluate yourself if you go there everyday.

[tonititan]

I am quite impressed by people who can live off of 20,000 baht! No way could I do that. I sure could save a lot more money if I did.

[sokal]

We have a great life on less than 12,500 baht a month, up here in Phetchabun. Me, the wife, four dogs, some rabbits, and some turtles. We have fresh food everyday, Sat. TV, Internet. Built our own home, so no rent. I'm a smoker, but don't drink, or chase women - I'm too old to catch them anyway . In all countries, life is what you make it.

Is that a typo ? 12,500 ? if not then you are my hero.

[colspeed]

I spend about 20k per month.

Rent 1,500

Electricity free

Water 26B

Fruit free

Petrol 2,000

Mother-in-law 5,000

I think the rest must go on beer (for me), sweets and toys (for the boy) and clothes & shoes (for the missus).

We have a great time.

I would rather spend the rest of my life in temple, than go back to th UK.

[CWMcMurray]

I used to spend a whole lot less when I first moved here... i.e one bedroom studio, taking the busses, 35 thb per meal...

but now I have a wife and two little ones, so we needed a bigger place (just got a mortgage), have a car (car payments), shoot just considering the cost of pampers and milk/formula for two kids we are already talking close to thb 7,500/mo.

Once you add in the mortgage, car payments, food, electric, cable, internet, medical, gas,water, etc... it doesnt cost a whole lot less than it would to live a similar life style in the US (especially if you add in the cost of tuition for 2 kids at adecent Bi-ligual school).

My wife works as well and we are still able to stay within our incomes and have a little bit to put away every month ... but it costs us many multiples of the thb 12,500 that Wee GB is living off of.

That being said, we do not have any plans to head back to the US, as it looks like we should be able to make enough here to live a nice lifestyle and have enough to put away for our retirement.

[CWMcMurray]

just want to add.... when looking to the future i.e. if the kids were grown up and out of the house "taking care of themselves" and the mortgage was paid and I already had a decent nest egg ...

I would agree with many of the above posters and say 25,000 - 40,000 (in today's THB) would be plenty to live comfortably.

[ballpoint]

No beer, no whisky , no bar girls. I lost 10 kilos and feel myself excellent.

But those who can't feel themselves excellent must pay a bargirl to do it for them.

The answer to the OP totally depends on the circumstances of each person. Do you rent an apartment / condo / house? If so, where? Do you have any vehicles? Any children? Any expensive / unusual hobbies? Our day to day living expenses are fairly low here in Buri Ram: around 10,000 baht a month at Big C or Tesco gets pretty much all the food, cleaning stuff and other household essentials; the power bill is 2,000 baht a month, including the electricity for the tractor workshop and small rice mill; the UBC, or whatever they call it now, bill is around 1,500 baht a month, and the CAT CDMA internet fee is 845 baht a month. The biggest expenses are the daughter's university bills and the running expenses for our cars and motorbikes, insurance being the largest of these. We can still have a very comfortable life on an average of 50,000 baht a month though, including trips within Thailand and the occasional one outside the country each year. Once the daughter finishes university that figure should drop to around 40,000 a month.

[sanook2me]

40 k is enough for a normal life mid week and a good weekend...

Anymore than that then other variables are coming into..kids/cars/hi so house/condo....

food / beer / taxis / rent etc..

My bachelor days were 40k per month i gave myself a budget of 20k per month for daily life and a 10k buffer for buying new gadgets etc and 10k rent ..above that was saved mostly...

It seems to me living in BKK runs about the same for daily living as the Uk but here utilities / rent are considerably cheaper...

[anonymouse]

I used to spend a whole lot less when I first moved here... i.e one bedroom studio, taking the busses, 35 thb per meal...

but now I have a wife and two little ones, so we needed a bigger place (just got a mortgage), have a car (car payments), shoot just considering the cost of pampers and milk/formula for two kids we are already talking close to thb 7,500/mo.

Once you add in the mortgage, car payments, food, electric, cable, internet, medical, gas,water, etc... it doesnt cost a whole lot less than it would to live a similar life style in the US (especially if you add in the cost of tuition for 2 kids at adecent Bi-ligual school).

My wife works as well and we are still able to stay within our incomes and have a little bit to put away every month ... but it costs us many multiples of the thb 12,500 that Wee GB is living off of.

That being said, we do not have any plans to head back to the US, as it looks like we should be able to make enough here to live a nice lifestyle and have enough to put away for our retirement.

That's what I found once you have kids the budget sky rockets, prices in general over the last 2 or 3 years have risen considerably as well.

While utility bills and food are less expensive than back home

In the Uk my kids would get free schooling and we would all get free healthcare

My internet connection would be less than half what I pay for it out here.

I've been keeping track of my spending over the last four months and it averages out Oct 2009 to end of Jan 2010 and it averages out around 48,000 baht a month. We own the house so there is no rent to pay.

That's for me the wife and two kids, I did spend a fair bit over Christmas though and I paid for my son's school fees for 6 months out of that.

[anonymouse]

Agree with Robblock about Pattaya. We are not all here for the women and beer (honest!).

Although me and the mrs cannot personally stand Pattaya (sorry!), we have been living here due to my work commitments. But for leisure we visit the parks, hills, beach, temples, go walking, jogging, cycling. I enjoy amateur radio and computers - she enjoys music and computers etc.

Lots of things to do for little money

Simon

Your right plenty of cheap things to do if you want, I take my daughter to school everyday then climb the 300 steps at the local temple half a dozen times and then go up to the top and enjoy the fresh air and scenery costs me nothing and gives me a great workout first thing in the morning.

[Gary A]

I give my wife 25,000 baht per month. After ALL the household expenses, including our clothes, she still has about 5,000 per month for her savings account.

I frequently buy expensive toys that I don't need but I enjoy them and can afford them. We also have a car, truck and a motorbike. We certainly don't need the car.

[syd barrett]

I live in Pattaya on 12 000 baht a month. 6300 for Niran condo (including water, electo etc), 350 for GPRS internet, the rest for food, mobile phone and 2 times massage. No beer, no whisky , no bar girls. I lost 10 kilos and feel myself excellent. now I am going to relocate to Auytthaya for massage school. I hope i will spend there the same because I have found 2 floors downtown with smallest garden for 5000 bath a month.

Great post. What do you do?

If no beer/women/ why Pattaya? How do you socialise?

12,000 baht a month? I spend that on food alone in a month.

12,000 bht for food a month? No street food for you, obviously. A steak & lobster man, no doubt.

I don't think 400 baht a day (on average) is excessive because that includes a few restaurant trips per month.

[robblok]

I live in Pattaya on 12 000 baht a month. 6300 for Niran condo (including water, electo etc), 350 for GPRS internet, the rest for food, mobile phone and 2 times massage. No beer, no whisky , no bar girls. I lost 10 kilos and feel myself excellent. now I am going to relocate to Auytthaya for massage school. I hope i will spend there the same because I have found 2 floors downtown with smallest garden for 5000 bath a month.

Great post. What do you do?

If no beer/women/ why Pattaya? How do you socialise?

12,000 baht a month? I spend that on food alone in a month.

12,000 bht for food a month? No street food for you, obviously. A steak & lobster man, no doubt.

I don't think 400 baht a day (on average) is excessive because that includes a few restaurant trips per month.

I have to agree i pay around 300bt a day for food. I cook everything myself but i just find good cuts of pork or chicken and an ample supply of fresh fruits. I try to eat high protein so i consume a lot of meat.

I have found that street food makes me fat easy with all its sugars.

[syd barrett]

Its possible to socialize without beer and woman.

I agree. I know lots of people who socialise who are teetotal and have given up the women.

But my point is; why would people choose to live in Pattaya if they intend to live on 20,000 per month? Surely far better to move north and 'go native'?

[robblok]

Its possible to socialize without beer and woman.

I agree. I know lots of people who socialise who are teetotal and have given up the women.

But my point is; why would people choose to live in Pattaya if they intend to live on 20,000 per month? Surely far better to move north and 'go native'?

I have no idea why people live in Pattaya.. i live near Bangkok in Nothaburi. But it is a bit odd to live in Pattaya if you dont like the scene. Though before i liked beaches but Pattaya is not really my kind of beach.

[cdnvic]

No beer, no whisky , no bar girls. I lost 10 kilos and feel myself excellent.

But those who can't feel themselves excellent must pay a bargirl to do it for them.

[manjara]

My expenses in Thailand :

- Apartment in BKK, 18,000/m

- Travel (car, taxis, etc) 8,000/m

- Food & Drink (supermkt) 20,000/m (weekly supermkt trip usually 5k)

- Dining out/ready food 9,000/m (we probably eat at a restaurant once a month)

- Telephone/Internet/TV 3,000/m

- Clothes 8,000/m

- Bars/Ladies 0/m

- Kids School fees 65,000/m (International school, aged 4 & 6)

- MiL/family 12,000/m

- Maid 7,000/m

- Electric/other bills 4,000/m

Total : 154,000

I notice a bit of an imbalance in how much I pay for food and how much I pay for bars & girls!

Unfortunately I also have a mortgage to pay in the UK and I have a company in Thailand (I didn't count the cost of visas and WPs) which has employees and office rent, accounting etc to pay. The wife has a pension scheme here in Thailand, that I pay 5k a month into, but that's not a lot!

4years from now the Thai mortgage will be paid off, then the apartment will be about 2k/month, other than that, I don't see much room for economy until the kids go!

Still, it's less than 40k/person...