How Much Money Are You Spending In Thailand?

[zziffle]

One of the things that catches my attention on these lists of monthly expenses is that I don't think I have ever seen medical insurance costs included. Why is that? Is it just overlooked, do people have such cheap plans that it's not worth listing, or do the majority of expats here not get med insurance?

[hehehoho]

Am I the only person here whose wife has her own money and I don't have to give her a monthly salary for 'whatever'?

[Kananga]

One of the things that catches my attention on these lists of monthly expenses is that I don't think I have ever seen medical insurance costs included. Why is that? Is it just overlooked, do people have such cheap plans that it's not worth listing, or do the majority of expats here not get med insurance?

I pay mine annually out of bonus. Same as life insurance. Annual premium for family of 4 is 240k so 20,000 a month.

[Kananga]

Am I the only person here whose wife has her own money and I don't have to give her a monthly salary for 'whatever'?

I don't know. I can afford to support my family so my wife can bring up our two children without having to work a 9 to 5 on a Thai salary. I'm sure other people's wives work and they just supplement their income.

[kurnell]

In 1994 I lived off 12,000 baht per month. 500 baht for bus, 4,000 for accommodation, 3,000 for food, 3,000 for beers and such. It was fun for a few months.

Now my home loan repayment alone is 80k per month + 2 kids, + 2 cars +++++

I think I were happier when I were poor

[janverbeem]

In 1994 I lived off 12,000 baht per month. 500 baht for bus, 4,000 for accommodation, 3,000 for food, 3,000 for beers and such. It was fun for a few months.

Now my home loan repayment alone is 80k per month + 2 kids, + 2 cars +++++

I think I were happier when I were poor

A rich man who had to borrow through the ceiling to build a house

[DP25]

Far from it, some of the posters are probably in the top 10-20% of earners back home, where ever that may be.

I'm sure there are plenty in the top 1% here. Those only at say the top 10% in the US couldn't afford the kind of minimum living costs some say are needed here, they simply don't have enough income after taxes

Actually it's even less than 10% that could afford what some say is needed to live in Thailand. The top 5% of earners in the US start at $100,000 per year (93.76 percentile according to census), roughly 250,000 baht per month before taxes. About 5% of Americans could afford the kind of monthly expenditure some people say is a minimum amount even if they didn't pay taxes and spent everything

[letitbe]

This comes up all time and same answer how long is a piece of string what are your expectations what standard of living do you have or are used to. As a single person here living in a very small apartment with poor furniture fan or noisy air con eating mostly poor food and generally living like most poor Thais they can get by on 20,000 baht a month but I for one done call that a decent standard of living. 60,000 or so gives a reasonable standard but not much more . If you have a family and live a western type of life with 2 children going to a decent school youll need at least 100,000 baht a month assuming you have no rent to pay and have 1 car no holidays abroad and your children go to a reasonable Thai school. That is if your really careful. Ill be shot down by lots here but we spend around 150,000 baht a month or 210,000 a month if you include holidays. Our budget is below Now well have those saying nonsense I live on 10 baht a day and do all that meaning of course 10 baht of gold bar

family of 4 per month Per year food house consumables cleaning materials etc 35000 420000 electricity house with 8 air cons cooking a lot 6000 72000 True sat TV & Internet 2500 30000 Petrol 2 cars 7000 84000 School fees extra school activities 40000 480000 Maid 7000 84000 Gardener 2cdays aweek 3000 36000 House repairs maintenance 8000 96000 Car insurance servicing 4000 48000 medical dentist fmaily 4 3 pets 10000 120000 Eating out 4000 48000 Household goods occassionaly new Tv etc 5000 60000 eprsonal expenses childrens pocket money self wife 2 kids 20000 240000 others bits 3000 36000 Sun Total 154500 1854000 plus 1 Trip per year europe USA or UK 50000 600000 Holidays trips in Thailand 10000 120000 total 214500 2574000

[letitbe]

There have literally been 100's of threads like this before, why start another?

Your girlfriend sounds like she has a right catch with you. 20 pounds for a lunch for 3? My goodness! I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I spent that.

I like to live and not exist like a Thai,so I cannot get by on less than 120k a month.

at last an honest answer 30,000 from previous posting for a family ok if you live like a poor Thai possible but honestly that would not even cover school fees in a reasonable Thai not international school for 2 grade 6 kids

[letitbe]

Family of 4

Rent - 75k

Money for wife for housekeeping etc - 40k

Beer money - 30k

One child school 28k (345,000/12)

Local holiday weekend break fund - 10k

The rest goes into retirement funds etc

May I assume that you are an expat working for a foreign company?

im impressed with beer money and assume he has no electricity petrol car medical or rest we spend 150k a month and I only budget 5,000 baht a month for wine and pay no rent hes taking the piss

[Kananga]

Family of 4

Rent - 75k

Money for wife for housekeeping etc - 40k

Beer money - 30k

One child school 28k (345,000/12)

Local holiday weekend break fund - 10k

The rest goes into retirement funds etc

May I assume that you are an expat working for a foreign company?

im impressed with beer money and assume he has no electricity petrol car medical or rest we spend 150k a month and I only budget 5,000 baht a month for wine and pay no rent hes taking the piss

You can ask 'him' directly, I don't bite. Electricity is included in the 40k I give the wife for housekeeping. I have no car and I already covered medical (I pay it annually, not monthly) in reply #93 (works out at 20k a month).

Beer money is just what I can my monthly allowance, which I can spend on what I want. It doesnt have to be beer, or alcohol for that matter.

[chops]

I'm happy with my very modest monthly living budget in Thailand

Room - 4k

Utilities - 2k

Food for me and Thai wife - 12k

Transport - 0k(I walk)

Other - 10k

I occasionally go out for a few beers.

I wish I had more money but america is crap. I need nothing more to be happy.

[letitbe]

Based on my personal experience and what I've read in previous similar threads, if you're middle aged expat living in Bangkok who want to socialize with other middle aged expat, eat where other middle aged expat eat, send your kids to the same school and allow your wife to have a social life with other middled age expat wives, 150-200K monthly is a minimum .

Only for housing, I don't think you can find a nice place for a family, conveniently located, for less than 50K / month. I'm talking about Bangkok of course.

Now if you're younger, single or live in the sticks, you can survive comfortably with much less.

For this group, frankly, I think your minimum amount would be before school, especially if it is more than one child. Its dam_n expensive now.

Exactly. How some of these chumps here expect you to house a family comfortably and provide a comparable standard of living to what you would have back home, put the kids through a decent school that promotes thinking and creativity, feed and clothe four people, have comprehensive medical cover and the occasional vacation for less than 80k a month is beyond me.

For some reason Thailand seems to attract a large amount of these types who seem to think living here has to be a pissing contest of spending as little as possible and heaven forbid those of us actually want our families to live in comfort relative to what we can afford or are accustomed to.

wow im impressed so many posts telling true story In these sort of threads I used to get totally flamed for saying we needed around 150,000 baht a month to live confortably for a family of 4 with 2 kids. People totally forget for most western countries medical is free schools are free and theirs a lot of benefits such as child allowance in UK. Theirs none of that here. We live well but no better than I lived in USA or UK apart from here we have a maid. On 150,000 baht a month with house paid we have to carefully watch our spending and can only afford to eat out same as in Uk about once every month if that at a nice restaurant. Ok we also eat noodles or whatever at 40 baht but I used to get a great breakfast for 100 baht with as much coffee as I wanted at weatherspoons and last time we were in UK 4 meals for us and kids at a pub for around 500 baht but beer was pricy.

[letitbe]

One of the things that catches my attention on these lists of monthly expenses is that I don't think I have ever seen medical insurance costs included. Why is that? Is it just overlooked, do people have such cheap plans that it's not worth listing, or do the majority of expats here not get med insurance?

I pay mine annually out of bonus. Same as life insurance. Annual premium for family of 4 is 240k so 20,000 a month.

what a pathetic coment you pay your wife I and my wife share our lives and any income or money we have is family money. do you have a wife or a paid wife I simply fail to understand people like you thats if you have a wife and not just calling her your wife when what you have is a rent a wife which is ok as long as thats what she knows it is. I have been called stupid naive and told over last 15 years my wife will take all my money 15 years later she actually owns most of family assets and has done for a long time since she is much younger than me and its easier if no when I go and no we dont support her family and even though herm other is really poor she has never asked for 1 baht although some of her extended family have asked and been given cold shoulder. We agreed over 15 years ago if her mother was hungry wed buy food if she needed urgent medical care wed help but apart form that she has to fend for herself as she has always done.

Pay the wifeI must suggest that to mine or maybe because she now owns and holds most of our stuff she should pay me.

I guess family is not yours or are you kind of person whos happy to see their kids live like paupers. I hope your really proud of yourself.

[Kananga]

One of the things that catches my attention on these lists of monthly expenses is that I don't think I have ever seen medical insurance costs included. Why is that? Is it just overlooked, do people have such cheap plans that it's not worth listing, or do the majority of expats here not get med insurance?

I pay mine annually out of bonus. Same as life insurance. Annual premium for family of 4 is 240k so 20,000 a month.

what a pathetic coment you pay your wife I and my wife share our lives and any income or money we have is family money. do you have a wife or a paid wife I simply fail to understand people like you thats if you have a wife and not just calling her your wife when what you have is a rent a wife which is ok as long as thats what she knows it is. I have been called stupid naive and told over last 15 years my wife will take all my money 15 years later she actually owns most of family assets and has done for a long time since she is much younger than me and its easier if no when I go and no we dont support her family and even though herm other is really poor she has never asked for 1 baht although some of her extended family have asked and been given cold shoulder. We agreed over 15 years ago if her mother was hungry wed buy food if she needed urgent medical care wed help but apart form that she has to fend for herself as she has always done.

Pay the wifeI must suggest that to mine or maybe because she now owns and holds most of our stuff she should pay me.

I guess family is not yours or are you kind of person whos happy to see their kids live like paupers. I hope your really proud of yourself.

What the fuc_k are you going on about? I was discussing health insurance.

[zziffle]

what a pathetic coment you pay your wife I and my wife share our lives and any income or money we have is family money. do you have a wife or a paid wife I simply fail to understand people like you thats if you have a wife and not just calling her your wife when what you have is a rent a wife which is ok as long as thats what she knows it is. I have been called stupid naive and told over last 15 years my wife will take all my money 15 years later she actually owns most of family assets and has done for a long time since she is much younger than me and its easier if no when I go and no we dont support her family and even though herm other is really poor she has never asked for 1 baht although some of her extended family have asked and been given cold shoulder. We agreed over 15 years ago if her mother was hungry wed buy food if she needed urgent medical care wed help but apart form that she has to fend for herself as she has always done.

Pay the wifeI must suggest that to mine or maybe because she now owns and holds most of our stuff she should pay me.

I guess family is not yours or are you kind of person whos happy to see their kids live like paupers. I hope your really proud of yourself.

What the fuc_k are you going on about? I was discussing health insurance.

I'm a fairly new arrival on this board, but I'm certainly beginning to see what some folks mean when they refer to the challenge of conducting a civil exchange of information and perspectives. If this sort of vitriolic attack is what we get when discussing lifestyle choices, I can't wait to see what happens on a topic that really matters.

[Kananga]

what a pathetic coment you pay your wife I and my wife share our lives and any income or money we have is family money. do you have a wife or a paid wife I simply fail to understand people like you thats if you have a wife and not just calling her your wife when what you have is a rent a wife which is ok as long as thats what she knows it is. I have been called stupid naive and told over last 15 years my wife will take all my money 15 years later she actually owns most of family assets and has done for a long time since she is much younger than me and its easier if no when I go and no we dont support her family and even though herm other is really poor she has never asked for 1 baht although some of her extended family have asked and been given cold shoulder. We agreed over 15 years ago if her mother was hungry wed buy food if she needed urgent medical care wed help but apart form that she has to fend for herself as she has always done.

Pay the wifeI must suggest that to mine or maybe because she now owns and holds most of our stuff she should pay me.

I guess family is not yours or are you kind of person whos happy to see their kids live like paupers. I hope your really proud of yourself.

What the fuc_k are you going on about? I was discussing health insurance.

I'm a fairly new arrival on this board, but I'm certainly beginning to see what some folks mean when they refer to the challenge of conducting a civil exchange of information and perspectives. If this sort of vitriolic attack is what we get when discussing lifestyle choices, I can't wait to see what happens on a topic that really matters.

This is Thailand, you have to accept a certain number of posters are boondock porch dwellers who stumble online after 3 bottles of Leo and have an inebriated pop at strangers on web forums because they're too scared/weak/pissed to raise their hand to their poor wives.

[Bkkorupcountry]

what a pathetic coment you pay your wife I and my wife share our lives and any income or money we have is family money. do you have a wife or a paid wife I simply fail to understand people like you thats if you have a wife and not just calling her your wife when what you have is a rent a wife which is ok as long as thats what she knows it is. I have been called stupid naive and told over last 15 years my wife will take all my money 15 years later she actually owns most of family assets and has done for a long time since she is much younger than me and its easier if no when I go and no we dont support her family and even though herm other is really poor she has never asked for 1 baht although some of her extended family have asked and been given cold shoulder. We agreed over 15 years ago if her mother was hungry wed buy food if she needed urgent medical care wed help but apart form that she has to fend for herself as she has always done.

Pay the wifeI must suggest that to mine or maybe because she now owns and holds most of our stuff she should pay me.

I guess family is not yours or are you kind of person whos happy to see their kids live like paupers. I hope your really proud of yourself.

What the fuc_k are you going on about? I was discussing health insurance.

I'm a fairly new arrival on this board, but I'm certainly beginning to see what some folks mean when they refer to the challenge of conducting a civil exchange of information and perspectives. If this sort of vitriolic attack is what we get when discussing lifestyle choices, I can't wait to see what happens on a topic that really matters.

Sad welcome to TV forum. Here, you will lots of bullshitters, narrow minded pr**ks and lots of losers. Listen to only 10% of what you read (and that may already be too much).

At one end of the spectrum, you will find guys claiming to be multimillionaires, who have been spending the last year trying to get their money out of the country and at the other end, you will find the down to earth, honest decent pensioners, getting by on 20-30 k per month. If I were a multi millionaire, do you think I would waste any time reading and responding to posts here?

[paulian]

what a pathetic coment you pay your wife I and my wife share our lives and any income or money we have is family money. do you have a wife or a paid wife I simply fail to understand people like you thats if you have a wife and not just calling her your wife when what you have is a rent a wife which is ok as long as thats what she knows it is. I have been called stupid naive and told over last 15 years my wife will take all my money 15 years later she actually owns most of family assets and has done for a long time since she is much younger than me and its easier if no when I go and no we dont support her family and even though herm other is really poor she has never asked for 1 baht although some of her extended family have asked and been given cold shoulder. We agreed over 15 years ago if her mother was hungry wed buy food if she needed urgent medical care wed help but apart form that she has to fend for herself as she has always done.

Pay the wifeI must suggest that to mine or maybe because she now owns and holds most of our stuff she should pay me.

I guess family is not yours or are you kind of person whos happy to see their kids live like paupers. I hope your really proud of yourself.

What the fuc_k are you going on about? I was discussing health insurance.

I'm a fairly new arrival on this board, but I'm certainly beginning to see what some folks mean when they refer to the challenge of conducting a civil exchange of information and perspectives. If this sort of vitriolic attack is what we get when discussing lifestyle choices, I can't wait to see what happens on a topic that really matters.

Sad welcome to TV forum. Here, you will lots of bullshitters, narrow minded pr**ks and lots of losers. Listen to only 10% of what you read (and that may already be too much).

At one end of the spectrum, you will find guys claiming to be multimillionaires, who have been spending the last year trying to get their money out of the country and at the other end, you will find the down to earth, honest decent pensioners, getting by on 20-30 k per month. If I were a multi millionaire, do you think I would waste any time reading and responding to posts here?

Well put. I held off joining this forum for about 5 years now, however, have recently joined. I lived my entire career in conflict (high stress City job) and just did not want any in my retirement. But, if you sift through the posts and are an average judge of character you will find there is much good and helpful information in the forums. It appears to be the only one of it's kind worth anything in the country for ex-pats.

[ikis]

20 000 per month including everything.

thailand is actually getting too expensive.

[zziffle]

Sad welcome to TV forum. Here, you will lots of bullshitters, narrow minded pr**ks and lots of losers. Listen to only 10% of what you read (and that may already be too much).

.....

Well, at least there's no wife-beaters.

But to the topic at hand...

My background: I'm not there yet, but have the multi O-A visa and a one-way ticket for November. I'm familiar with prices - and price increases - in Thailand from numerous visits, and yes, I understand completely the different costs involved between travelling and residing.

My take is that the retirement permission-to-stay amounts of 65k/mth, 800k/yr are pretty much bang on. A single man can easily get by on about half that with a tolerable 8k/mth studio, local food and public transportation and have a decent life with occasional treats. But to live a little, have some true freedom, fun and adventures, some toys and some creature comforts, the 65k strikes me as a sweet spot. Unless of course you want to live a western lifestyle in Bangkok. Why the hell anyone would want to do that is beyond me, but, different strokes for different folks.

That's my target for living there, and I'll be fortunate enough to have more than that available. Some of the extra is for flying away once or twice a year, and some is for adding to the savings. For other fixed-income folks, don't underestimate the importance of this last bit. I have no crystal ball, but I'm pretty sure that 100k today is a lot more money than it will be 15 years from now. And that's the big problem with the marginal 25k lifestyle - it stands little chance of being sustainable.

[boogie]

Based on my personal experience and what I've read in previous similar threads, if you're middle aged expat living in Bangkok who want to socialize with other middle aged expat, eat where other middle aged expat eat, send your kids to the same school and allow your wife to have a social life with other middled age expat wives, 150-200K monthly is a minimum .

Only for housing, I don't think you can find a nice place for a family, conveniently located, for less than 50K / month. I'm talking about Bangkok of course.

Now if you're younger, single or live in the sticks, you can survive comfortably with much less.

For this group, frankly, I think your minimum amount would be before school, especially if it is more than one child. Its dam_n expensive now.

Exactly. How some of these chumps here expect you to house a family comfortably and provide a comparable standard of living to what you would have back home, put the kids through a decent school that promotes thinking and creativity, feed and clothe four people, have comprehensive medical cover and the occasional vacation for less than 80k a month is beyond me.

For some reason Thailand seems to attract a large amount of these types who seem to think living here has to be a pissing contest of spending as little as possible and heaven forbid those of us actually want our families to live in comfort relative to what we can afford or are accustomed to.

wow im impressed so many posts telling true story In these sort of threads I used to get totally flamed for saying we needed around 150,000 baht a month to live confortably for a family of 4 with 2 kids. People totally forget for most western countries medical is free schools are free and theirs a lot of benefits such as child allowance in UK. Theirs none of that here. We live well but no better than I lived in USA or UK apart from here we have a maid. On 150,000 baht a month with house paid we have to carefully watch our spending and can only afford to eat out same as in Uk about once every month if that at a nice restaurant. Ok we also eat noodles or whatever at 40 baht but I used to get a great breakfast for 100 baht with as much coffee as I wanted at weatherspoons and last time we were in UK 4 meals for us and kids at a pub for around 500 baht but beer was pricy.

As a matter of interest are you including school fees in that 150,000 baht a month letitbe ?

[Ulysses G.]

If I were a multi millionaire, do you think I would waste any time reading and responding to posts here?

Would you spend all your tiume sitting beside the swimming pool in your million dollar house getting stock tips from your multi-lingual gardner?

[mca]

I can't believe the proles and dole scum who manage to exist on 200000 baht a month.

Here's a breakdown of some of my monthly expenses

Jim Thompson's silk scarves in lieu of bog roll - 250000 baht

Employing AV Idol Yua Takashima to wipe my arse post-dump because I'm too lazy to do it myself - 1000000 baht

Large Hadron Collider - 100000000 USD

Employing Steven Hawkin to home school my daughter - 10000000 baht

Batteries for his wheelchair - 50000 baht

Personal dodo farm in basement for brekkie time boiled eggs - 5000000 baht

Sticky Rice - 1000 baht

Donating 10 baht to charity every time the Nation uses the phrase " Fugitive ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra" - 100000 baht

Personal tribe of midgets in lieu of pets - 1000000 baht

Lion - 1000000 baht

Circus cannon to fire midgets from into the mouth of lion for my own amusement - 30000 baht

Snack account and delivery service from Villa supermarket - gazillion baht

[lovelomsak]

I quess for anyone living outside their own country and wanting to live the same as in their home country it is more expensive.

If a Thai moved to Canada and wanted to live same lifestyle it would be very expensive. Here they eat out all the time, because many say it is cheaper than to cook. So if a Thai in Canada went out to restaurants and ate all their meals and ate Thai food it would costs them thousands of dollars a month just for food. A plate of fried rice in Canada is close to 300 baht, noodles are around 450 baht and curries well getting close to 600 baht.. So a Thai in Canada couldnot live the lifestyle he lives here he would need to adapt.

The same goes for expats living here in Thailand. If expats want same lifestyle as home country expect to pay through the roof. If you adapt life is cheaper.

As the old saying goes, "when in Rome,be a Roman".

Edited September 27, 2011 by lovelomsak

[ExpatJ]

To put some perspective on thing- this is a typical expat package expense list that i see for a family of four: (i know of one condo for sure that is full of expat families with these types of expenses)

- Rent 120,000 baht per month (nice 3-4 br condo in great complex with pool,gym, prime Sukhumvit location)

- School - 50,000 baht per month per child minimum at one of the top international schools

- Nanny, driver, maid- total 40,000 baht per month

- Entertainment- eating out 1-2 per week at nice restaurants plus drinks- 30,000 baht per month

- Food (Gourmet martet and Villa market) 12,000 baht per month

300,000+++ baht per month (haven't even included car, fuel, utility costs)

Edited September 27, 2011 by ExpatJ

[David006]

agree that this type of thread should/could be revived/updated every now and again..inflation don't ya know..

one thing I have noticed over the years here is that I tended to compare to what we used to spend in Australia..trouble is "worked for a living" then with kids holidays and buying all that stuff we deemed we could not live without.. we were the quintessential "consumers". Budget was never even thunk about..

Comparison always revealed that I was spending at near enough the same rate but on consumables for my own edification and reward in celebration of my freedom from the rat race.

Now established in Thailand, even with an all new consumer partner, the rate of cash hemorrhage has dropped considerably. If you want numbers ..a hard one..too many fixed and variable expenses....anywhere between 20k and 100k if not traveling/holidaying or major acquisitions/projects/repairs

best I can do..

..probably spend 5-10k on food ..biggest expense is western basics..butter,cheese and the like ..this tends to feed a family of anywhere between 2 and 10 methinks (I am thinking that our Aussie grocery bill was usually around A$250 a week for a family of four adults)

..utilities 1k

..wine,beer,scotch... ouch..??

An American friend and I were discussing this subject some years back ( sitting on the beach in front of a Ko Lanta resort)and we decided that we had no idea..just open the wallet give her a handful of bills ...empty? go to the ATM....better not to think about it....no idea what our tab was that night!....

there ya go .....a rambling non answer..lol

[phutoie2]

Strewth, just realized I may be in the boondock porch dwelling Leo swilling, living in constant fear of my 5' 2", 45 kg TW, just about making ends meet on the index linked UK gov service pen catergory.

Must pop round to the neighbours later to inquire how they are handling all the recent inflation and still bringing up a family of 5 etc on 6k Baht a month.

In my uniformed days those with money never openly discussed it, usually measured by how many polo ponies in the regimental stables.

Plus most became bored and went off to do "something in the city".

[nocturn]

i really dont understand how you clowns living out in the back of beyond or even a smaller city cant wrap your heads around the fact that it is NOT CHEAP to live in Bangkok.

It simply isnt.

rent 15k

maid/nanny 12k

internet/seedbox/vpn 3.5k

groceries 15k

electricity 4k

taxis/motorcycles 5k pm

school 12k

i have reached 66.5 thousand baht ber month basic living expenses.

This does not include nights out, weekend shopping, clothing or luxuries of any type. nor do i have a car.

I also live in a 2 bedroom house that is the bargain of the century at 15k, the rent has not gone up since 1999, and everything around it is going for 45k. Sould i have to move, if i want to live in the same area, i will be looking at another 30k in living expenses putting me over the 100k mark.

there was a time in thailand when after the rent was paid, everything else seemed almost free. I di once live here for about 30k per month with ease, but those days are long gone unless you move well out of any urban center

[hehehoho]

It looks like some wives need love, some need a set salary for being with their foreign husbands.