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

[fiddlehead]

I am a bit shocked that you all know what you spend every month.

I have no idea.

I don't think I spend a lot but never really checked.

Obviously, I am the minority here.

I know one thing, about half of my money goes to my kid's education, clothes, toys, and savings.

Maybe if I figured out what i spend on him, and double it, I'd have a better idea on what i go through in a month.

You guys amaze me.

[samuibeachcomber]

have lived on 30,000 baht pm.but 50,000 is more fun.Is anyone including extra's here,like health cover,insurances,holidays away etc.................so looking at 600,000-700,000 per annum.Am sure it can be done for a lot less if living in a small town or village though.

[Kadafi]

If they were your kids Kadafi I am sure you would send them to public schooling and keep that money for yourself eh?

Schooling for my children would obviously be important but i would not fork out 7,000 baht a month on a maid to keep a 18,000/month apartment clean (thats what wives are for)....

[canuckamuck]

18.35%

[TheJoker12]

If they were your kids Kadafi I am sure you would send them to public schooling and keep that money for yourself eh?

Schooling for my children would obviously be important but i would not fork out 7,000 baht a month on a maid to keep a 18,000/month apartment clean (thats what wives are for)....

mortgage payment, he said.

[manjara]

If they were your kids Kadafi I am sure you would send them to public schooling and keep that money for yourself eh?

Schooling for my children would obviously be important but i would not fork out 7,000 baht a month on a maid to keep a 18,000/month apartment clean (thats what wives are for)....

16,000 is the mortgage payment/per month, plus 2,000 in service fees. Not sure what the market rent would be, but fair point , it's not a big apartment. Our maid was actually my wife's niece, so it wasn't a typical employer/employee relationship. It was also so my wife wasn't alone with the kids when I went away on contracts.

The schooling is ridiculously expensive, but there's not much choice and we really like the school they are in.

Btw, when we stay in the North of Thailand, in my wife's village, we spend about 40k a month in total (excluding school fees obviously), so it's definitely possible, even for us!

[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.

No, not a typo.

Does that mean I now have to wear my underpants outside of my shorts??

Where's the nearest telephone box??

I'll post a full list of our expenses later - have to pop to the village before dark, out of bread. (the sliced type!).

I am the cheapest guy around so if you can do, so can I. Looks like I will be retiring a couple years early.

[Loz]

If you have no debts and live a quiet village life with one partner, No reason why you shouldn't be happy under 20k a month. Working, meaning a commute and studying which adds further commuter miles is driving my expenditure up. If I moved nearer and downsized I could wipe 7-10k a month off my expenditure. But I like where I live and its worth the extra cost.

Speaking of which, excuse me while I go pay the rent.

[bendejo]

I live on app. 30,000/month.

Stay in hotels for a few reasons, mainly security (against being burgled when I'm out), and also if I have loud, inconsiderate neighbors I know they'll be gone in a day or two. In Thailand, even Malaysia, I can usually find a decent room for 600b/day or less, bargaining for long-term is usually possible. No backpacker s_hitholes, has to be fairly clean and have my own bathroom, and away from a scene where tourists are preyed upon with zeal. No whores, no booze, hardly ever spend as much as 100b on a meal. My biggest running luxury is having good coffee in the morning, in total comes out to app. 1,000b/month, which is about a dollar a day, and that includes fresh Meiji milk. In Bangkok my luxuries are fresh baguettes (one lasts 2 days) and Scandinavian smoked salmon.

Something I've developed living in SE Asia and South America is I want to see what food I'd be getting before I order it, I no longer trust food that magically emerges from another room. One of the things I like about Thailand is that the cooking is done out in the open.

[tonititan]

After reading more of these posts, I thought about my situation again. I said before that I could never live off of 20-30k/month. I guess the reality is that I COULD live off of that, but honestly, I just don't WANT to. I'm young-ish, single (and a woman so no extra "expenses" there), no kids, and not planning to stay in Thailand permanently. For the years that I'm here, I want to enjoy living in a nicer place than I could afford at home, having a maid, going on frequent vacations, eating good food, and staying at nice hotels. I enjoy having my time in Thailand be a break from the reality of home. And I don't see anything wrong with that! (And yes, I am still paying of debts at home, saving, and thinking about my future.)

[lioness]

I wouldn't call people who live on 20 - 40,000 a month, cheap charlies. it may be true in a few cases, but generally most of these people could live quite well.

Our household expenses have increased with the family over the last couple of years, we now have 2 girls 6 & 11 years, an assortment of pets 22 in number of varying shapes and sizes and we now have a cleaner , the gardener is still here and if I take into acount all the expenses and yearly things like Tax and Insurance on the car and divide it into monthly, we still live just below 40,000 THB per month. We do however own our own home so don't pay rent. We definately don;t do without, live good lifestyle. We don't live on that amount because we have to, it just works out that way.

[thaimiller]

I spend on average 35-40,000 thb a month but that is just having a normal family life, nothing really excessive. I earn almost 100,000thb a month so its not like im spending for spending sake, but its good to know you can blow say 30k thb a month extra if you want. But mainly the extra just goes in to the bank.

[dttk0009]

I'm like most people here and don't see a need to spend more than 30-35k a month, unless there's special occasions or big purchases in there. You can live dam_n well with that allowance.

[mauGR1]

After reading more of these posts, I thought about my situation again. I said before that I could never live off of 20-30k/month. I guess the reality is that I COULD live off of that, but honestly, I just don't WANT to. I'm young-ish, single (and a woman so no extra "expenses" there), no kids, and not planning to stay in Thailand permanently. For the years that I'm here, I want to enjoy living in a nicer place than I could afford at home, having a maid, going on frequent vacations, eating good food, and staying at nice hotels. I enjoy having my time in Thailand be a break from the reality of home. And I don't see anything wrong with that! (And yes, I am still paying of debts at home, saving, and thinking about my future.)

Right on !

It has something to do with age anyway,it never crossed my mind to save money for the future until i was nearly forty.

Now at nearly fifty i see things differently,it's quite wise to spend only about half of whatever you earn,and save something for the rainy days.

[WeeGB]

Here's my list of monthly expenses, all taken from last months bills. The telephone bill is the most unpredictable, depends how many times I phone family and friends in UK/Canada, but is never less than 500 baht, or greater than 1000.

Electricity 981 baht

Drinking water 350 baht (10 dozen bottles at 35 baht for 12)

Water 87 baht

Telephone 802 baht

Internet 186 baht (I'm on dial up and use at card at the moment, changing to faster service soon)

Satellite TV 1413 baht (For the footy)

Gas 100 baht (a bottle is 300 baht and lasts 3-4 months)

Cigarettes 930 baht (10 a day)

Total so far 4849 baht

The rest goes on food, ( but we have a large garden, and grow most of our own fruit and vegetables), petrol for the motorcycle, bus fares, and feeding our animals. We don't have a car, we could easily afford one, but I hate driving.

Just noticed my third biggest expense is cigarettes, so I'll be cutting down to 5 a day from now on.

Someone asked what people do for a living who've posted on this topic. I'm retired, keep busy by exercising, gardening, looking after all our animals, I'm learning the piano, and can play guitar, usually watch a movie or football or Uk TV from my collecton at night time. I realise (before the snipers start ), that this lifestyle wouldn't suit everybody, but my wife and I enjoy everyday.

Sokal - hope you enjoy your retirement.

[WeeGB]

After reading more of these posts, I thought about my situation again. I said before that I could never live off of 20-30k/month. I guess the reality is that I COULD live off of that, but honestly, I just don't WANT to. I'm young-ish, single (and a woman so no extra "expenses" there), no kids, and not planning to stay in Thailand permanently. For the years that I'm here, I want to enjoy living in a nicer place than I could afford at home, having a maid, going on frequent vacations, eating good food, and staying at nice hotels. I enjoy having my time in Thailand be a break from the reality of home. And I don't see anything wrong with that! (And yes, I am still paying of debts at home, saving, and thinking about my future.)

A woman and no extra expenses eh?? Sounds like you've already made the decision to keep well away from the chaps who inhabit ThaiVisa. Sounds like you have a good life - long may it continue, there's enough moaners in the world.

[manjara]

After reading more of these posts, I thought about my situation again. I said before that I could never live off of 20-30k/month. I guess the reality is that I COULD live off of that, but honestly, I just don't WANT to. I'm young-ish, single (and a woman so no extra "expenses" there), no kids, and not planning to stay in Thailand permanently. For the years that I'm here, I want to enjoy living in a nicer place than I could afford at home, having a maid, going on frequent vacations, eating good food, and staying at nice hotels. I enjoy having my time in Thailand be a break from the reality of home. And I don't see anything wrong with that! (And yes, I am still paying of debts at home, saving, and thinking about my future.)

Right on !

It has something to do with age anyway,it never crossed my mind to save money for the future until i was nearly forty.

Now at nearly fifty i see things differently,it's quite wise to spend only about half of whatever you earn,and save something for the rainy days.

My house in UK is my savings/pension. Once it is paid off it will give me about 60k a month and still gives me a 'foothold' in the UK (I could probably get more rent from similar property in Thailand!). Basically, I have about 10 years of work left until I'm sorted, maybe a couple more years depending on the kids education needs! I'm 44 at the moment, so I'm 4-5 years behind schedule...

[tonititan]

After reading more of these posts, I thought about my situation again. I said before that I could never live off of 20-30k/month. I guess the reality is that I COULD live off of that, but honestly, I just don't WANT to. I'm young-ish, single (and a woman so no extra "expenses" there), no kids, and not planning to stay in Thailand permanently. For the years that I'm here, I want to enjoy living in a nicer place than I could afford at home, having a maid, going on frequent vacations, eating good food, and staying at nice hotels. I enjoy having my time in Thailand be a break from the reality of home. And I don't see anything wrong with that! (And yes, I am still paying of debts at home, saving, and thinking about my future.)

A woman and no extra expenses eh?? Sounds like you've already made the decision to keep well away from the chaps who inhabit ThaiVisa. Sounds like you have a good life - long may it continue, there's enough moaners in the world.

Yeah, well I mainly said that because of the guys who talk about their "girl" allowance each month. That definitely doesn't run up my monthly budget. Boyfriends can be quite expensive too, though - it's not just women! For now I quite enjoy spending all of my hard-earned money on myself.

[Naam]

except for 500 baht a month (haircut and pedicure) i don't spend any money.

[robblok]

except for 500 baht a month (haircut and pedicure) i don't spend any money.

Your wife spends its for you mr Naam

[spacemand]

Here's my list of monthly expenses, all taken from last months bills. The telephone bill is the most unpredictable, depends how many times I phone family and friends in UK/Canada, but is never less than 500 baht, or greater than 1000.

Electricity 981 baht

Drinking water 350 baht (10 dozen bottles at 35 baht for 12)

Water 87 baht

Telephone 802 baht

Internet 186 baht (I'm on dial up and use at card at the moment, changing to faster service soon)

Satellite TV 1413 baht (For the footy)

Gas 100 baht (a bottle is 300 baht and lasts 3-4 months)

Cigarettes 930 baht (10 a day)

Total so far 4849 baht

The rest goes on food, ( but we have a large garden, and grow most of our own fruit and vegetables), petrol for the motorcycle, bus fares, and feeding our animals. We don't have a car, we could easily afford one, but I hate driving.

Just noticed my third biggest expense is cigarettes, so I'll be cutting down to 5 a day from now on.

Someone asked what people do for a living who've posted on this topic. I'm retired, keep busy by exercising, gardening, looking after all our animals, I'm learning the piano, and can play guitar, usually watch a movie or football or Uk TV from my collecton at night time. I realise (before the snipers start ), that this lifestyle wouldn't suit everybody, but my wife and I enjoy everyday.

Sokal - hope you enjoy your retirement.

If you can get a good internet connection for 500-1000 a month you will actually save money in the end.

Calling to UK/Canada can be done cheap using Skype.

I have a 1.5 megabits which is OK but the best I can get and I have no more problems calling home using Skype than a cell phone.

[canincm]

I'm quite comfortable in CM on 20 000 per month.

[WeeGB]

Here's my list of monthly expenses, all taken from last months bills. The telephone bill is the most unpredictable, depends how many times I phone family and friends in UK/Canada, but is never less than 500 baht, or greater than 1000.

Electricity 981 baht

Drinking water 350 baht (10 dozen bottles at 35 baht for 12)

Water 87 baht

Telephone 802 baht

Internet 186 baht (I'm on dial up and use at card at the moment, changing to faster service soon)

Satellite TV 1413 baht (For the footy)

Gas 100 baht (a bottle is 300 baht and lasts 3-4 months)

Cigarettes 930 baht (10 a day)

Total so far 4849 baht

The rest goes on food, ( but we have a large garden, and grow most of our own fruit and vegetables), petrol for the motorcycle, bus fares, and feeding our animals. We don't have a car, we could easily afford one, but I hate driving.

Just noticed my third biggest expense is cigarettes, so I'll be cutting down to 5 a day from now on.

Someone asked what people do for a living who've posted on this topic. I'm retired, keep busy by exercising, gardening, looking after all our animals, I'm learning the piano, and can play guitar, usually watch a movie or football or Uk TV from my collecton at night time. I realise (before the snipers start ), that this lifestyle wouldn't suit everybody, but my wife and I enjoy everyday.

Sokal - hope you enjoy your retirement.

If you can get a good internet connection for 500-1000 a month you will actually save money in the end.

Calling to UK/Canada can be done cheap using Skype.

I have a 1.5 megabits which is OK but the best I can get and I have no more problems calling home using Skype than a cell phone.

Hi, Thanks for the tip. I've been advised to get a CAT dongle thingy. I'm currently waiting for one of my neices to come back to the village, she has one on her laptop, so I'm going to try it and see. She's coming back for Valentines' Day, so not too long to wait. Supposedly you can get about 2mbps with these, anything has to be better than the 33.6kbps I have now. One of the few disadvantages of living "out in the sticks".

[WeeGB]

we don't have air condition, we fan ourselves with banana leafs **claps**

Thats nothing....I used to live in shoe box and eat gravel three times a day

Agreed with you nothing noble about it, but then think about the general demographic of Farangs in Thailand, "English teachers" on 25k to 40k/month and OAP's on goverment pensions on about the same...

A WHOLE shoe box ? So you had a roof ?

You ate gravel - someone actually cut your food up ready for you to eat - how soft is that ?

Love the Python-esque humour...now if you want an argument...............

[torrenova]

Despite living for a couple of years without my own transport, I could never imagine a time when I would be prepared to live again without a car or truck. I also think decent insurance is important. Then you need money put away for occasional expenses. What about travelling and when you are there, not dossing in flea pits to save a few baht here or there ? I would also rather live in something decent and not a studio shoe box. I want to eat what I want, without thinking about how much it costs. When you add up those things and some decent walking around money then I come to the conclusion that many people must be existing and not living.

I could live in Nirun condo in Pattaya or even a simple fan room, never go out and walk everywhere. I would rather kill myself first though.

Once the kid's education fees start up in earnest (including that put away for later schooling and university), then that will be Bt80,000 a month alone. Add in another Bt70,000 a month for essentials and Bt150,000 a month will be a baseline figure. Round it up to Bt200,000 a month for a realistic figure. That includes vehicle depreciation, housing, a very decent life and there will still be some left over. Maybe 2m a year is a figure to aim for with half of that for education and investing.

[anonymouse]

Despite living for a couple of years without my own transport, I could never imagine a time when I would be prepared to live again without a car or truck. I also think decent insurance is important. Then you need money put away for occasional expenses. What about travelling and when you are there, not dossing in flea pits to save a few baht here or there ? I would also rather live in something decent and not a studio shoe box. I want to eat what I want, without thinking about how much it costs. When you add up those things and some decent walking around money then I come to the conclusion that many people must be existing and not living.

I could live in Nirun condo in Pattaya or even a simple fan room, never go out and walk everywhere. I would rather kill myself first though.

Once the kid's education fees start up in earnest (including that put away for later schooling and university), then that will be Bt80,000 a month alone. Add in another Bt70,000 a month for essentials and Bt150,000 a month will be a baseline figure. Round it up to Bt200,000 a month for a realistic figure. That includes vehicle depreciation, housing, a very decent life and there will still be some left over. Maybe 2m a year is a figure to aim for with half of that for education and investing.

Good luck to you if you are earning this sort of money looking at the average median earnings for an employee in the UK the average converted into Thai baht would be around 26,000 baht per week, 10% earn more than 52,000 baht per week. This is before tax and National Insurance. Myself and family can live on around half what it would cost us in the UK also our house is paid for. You are certainly in the minority and will be living an enviable life in Thailand on that sort of money.

[vrsushi]

People who need so much will never understand people who need so little.

I loved my student days in the UK where we all lived on basically benefit levels. If you have great friends, a great girlfriend, varied interests, and a curious mind you can live life and not just exist for very little.

[cdnvic]

A stack of posts that either slagged off a member's spouse or other family deleted. This will never be tolerated here. Grow up. (when/if you return)

[Naam]

except for 500 baht a month (haircut and pedicure) i don't spend any money.

Your wife spends its for you mr Naam

you talked to my wife behind my back Khun Robblok?

[WeeGB]

People who need so much will never understand people who need so little.

I loved my student days in the UK where we all lived on basically benefit levels. If you have great friends, a great girlfriend, varied interests, and a curious mind you can live life and not just exist for very little.

Beans on toast for breakfast, dinner and tea, and when the electricity runs out, cold beans on bread! All preferably eaten with the windows open!

Been there, done that, agree with you vrsushi, great times.