Cost Of Living Question

[cajunpete]

Hello all,

A few quick opinions would be greatly appreciated. I asked this question yesterday on teaching forum...guess should have asked here.

I know that Phuket is much more expensive than the TL norm, please let me know quality of life/savings potential for the following:

Family of 2 or 3 (Probably coming as a single parent)

95,000 BHT/month

Housing provided (Must pay first $1,000 utilities for year).

Free health insurance

Free private school tuition for 13 year old

Would like to be able to travel SEA during breaks with child

Not interested in p4p, bar girls/drinking

Savings potential?

All opinions welcome!!!

CP

[farangme]

Since most everything is paid for, sounds like you'll have 95k/mo to spend on food, travel and savings. That's a pretty good deal if you can stay away from the booze and p4p. Good deal for teaching English.

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[Kimera]

You will live like a king, outstanding ........

[cajunpete]

It is an international school gig...probably teaching math/science.

Main recreation would probably be fishing. Hope to buy a boat suitable for my son and I. Would also like for us both to get diving certifications.

I really appreciate the input. I was a little concerned because there is alway talk of the expense of Phuket.

Thanks!!!

[stevenl]

Excellent money, you can live like a king.

[Hooters]

Excellent money, you can live like a king.

or a queen

[steelepulse]

Main expense will be a car,so either figure 20K/month to rent, or 400K for a decent 2nd hand care.Good news is that you can sell the car a year or two later and not suffer too much depreciation. You could theoritically save about 50K/mo if you aren't renting a car and not making monthly payments on a big ticket item ( boat, car etc).

[katabeachbum]

It is an international school gig...probably teaching math/science.

Main recreation would probably be fishing. Hope to buy a boat suitable for my son and I. Would also like for us both to get diving certifications.

I really appreciate the input. I was a little concerned because there is alway talk of the expense of Phuket.

Thanks!!!

fuel, electricity, food in grocery store, clothes and shoes, bikes and cars all cost the same in Phuket as the rest of TH

90k a month is approx what we use, 2 adults and one 4yo, one car and some bikes, owned house

and we dont live like kings or queens

[petercallen]

What you have heard about Phuket is wrong as long as you keep away from the bars

but especially the bar ladies and tourist restaurants.

Excluding holidays since everything else is supplied for you you should live well

on between 40K and 50K baht a month

[gosompoi]

you'll live like a rock star!

[insertcoins]

I cant think of a country where 95k (excluding rent/mortgage and insurance) for just sustaining yourself and your family of 2-3 isn't enough to live very comfortable.

[Jimi007]

What you have heard about Phuket is wrong as long as you keep away from the bars

but especially the bar ladies and tourist restaurants.

Excluding holidays since everything else is supplied for you you should live well

on between 40K and 50K baht a month

I'll agree that is a reasonable cost per month of moderate living per month here, if you don't have payments on anything. I think the OP mentioned a boat though. He should probably follow the 4 F rule on that...

Edited January 7, 2012 by Jimi007

[Kimera]

It is an international school gig...probably teaching math/science.

Main recreation would probably be fishing. Hope to buy a boat suitable for my son and I. Would also like for us both to get diving certifications.

I really appreciate the input. I was a little concerned because there is alway talk of the expense of Phuket.

Thanks!!!

fuel, electricity, food in grocery store, clothes and shoes, bikes and cars all cost the same in Phuket as the rest of TH

90k a month is approx what we use, 2 adults and one 4yo, one car and some bikes, owned house

and we dont live like kings or queens

I'm in the same position as you with one more child, I would really be interested in a break down of your expenses, I live very well on half that, and I eat out with the family, and drink.... you have school fees , maids, what?

[stevenl]

It is an international school gig...probably teaching math/science.

Main recreation would probably be fishing. Hope to buy a boat suitable for my son and I. Would also like for us both to get diving certifications.

I really appreciate the input. I was a little concerned because there is alway talk of the expense of Phuket.

Thanks!!!

fuel, electricity, food in grocery store, clothes and shoes, bikes and cars all cost the same in Phuket as the rest of TH

90k a month is approx what we use, 2 adults and one 4yo, one car and some bikes, owned house

and we dont live like kings or queens

I'm in the same position as you with one more child, I would really be interested in a break down of your expenses, I live very well on half that, and I eat out with the family, and drink.... you have school fees , maids, what?

Yes, I was thinking the same, but did not want to make it too personal.

[petercallen]

What you have heard about Phuket is wrong as long as you keep away from the bars

but especially the bar ladies and tourist restaurants.

Excluding holidays since everything else is supplied for you you should live well

on between 40K and 50K baht a month

I'll agree that is a reasonable cost per month of moderate living per month here, if you don't have payments on anything. I think the OP mentioned a boat though. He should probably follow the 4 F rule on that...

I can assure you we live well not moderately, but we have no payments for rent, car etc

I drink beer not wine which is expensive here for poor quality, beer and spirits are cheap

40 to 50K covers all our usual expenses including car and house insurance and minor

purchases for the house

One of purchases like a car fridge, TV or holidays are not included they can be expensive

The OP did mention he would like a boat which is a one of expense but i am sure he can

afford it on the salary he will be getting

[katabeachbum]

I'm in the same position as you with one more child, I would really be interested in a break down of your expenses, I live very well on half that, and I eat out with the family, and drink.... you have school fees , maids, what?

Yes, I was thinking the same, but did not want to make it too personal.

No problem

electricity5k, cabel 500, adsl1100

food and beverage +30k, past 2 weeks "holiday" in Phuket with kids visiting so this month more like 60k

car cost, you can rent it, buy it on payments or cash, cost is similar, minmum 20k/month incl insurance and taxes and local use petrol

maid9k

schoolfees, scooltransport not included in above car budget as done by bike approx 660km a month, not sure how much,

bikes, 100k a year or 10k baht/month

house maintance, 10-20k baht, yep need a new poolpump this month, perhaps a new ac next month, a new fridge or washingmachine another month

travelling at least 5 times a year, usually domestic by car, lets say average of 15k baht/month

fact is, approx 1,2 million baht a year is a minimum, which is 1/3 of back home

as goes for most of my friends. we dont just ad up the regualr costs, we see how much it takes a year for a number of years

OP has a teenage kid needing schoolgear, sportsgear, I-phones you name it. They need transportation. They want to do something on their weekends

I d say 60-90k baht does it

Edit oops forgot medical, 2 new teeth just cost me 65k baht

[london]

Not to throw a wet towel on the OP, but have you seen the house you'll be living in ?

Does it have aircon ?

Is the area a family friendly area ?

Is it furnished ?

Sheets, towels etc you will need to purchase. Top quality here is around 30% of what you'd have spent in the UK.

If you are coming as a single parent, you'll most likely need a housekeeper or maid as your work hours will possibly leave your child unattended for some time during the day.

From my perspective, your 95,000 baht per month is, as has been said previously, going to be basically spending money.

I would have thought that you should be able to save a comfortable 40,000 baht per month on that salary.

[cgphuket]

If you can't live well on that your spoiled and spoon fed. People support families on half that. It is more than 95% of the farangs make in Thailand.

[petercallen]

If you can't live well on that your spoiled and spoon fed. People support families on half that. It is more than 95% of the farangs make in Thailand.

Of coarse you are right 95K baht is approx $3000 or $750 a week, unless you are

one of the big spenders there is not many places in the world you couldn't live

very comfortably on that type of money with what the OP is being supplied free

of charge, you can definitely live well on that type of money here

There seems to be quite a few big spenders on this forum, at least they claim to be

[katabeachbum]

If you can't live well on that your spoiled and spoon fed. People support families on half that. It is more than 95% of the farangs make in Thailand.

Of coarse you are right 95K baht is approx $3000 or $750 a week, unless you are

one of the big spenders there is not many places in the world you couldn't live

very comfortably on that type of money with what the OP is being supplied free

of charge, you can definitely live well on that type of money here

There seems to be quite a few big spenders on this forum, at least they claim to be

hehehe

you have claimed in this topic you spend 40-50k baht/month, so based on that I assume you never transfer more than 600k baht a year to TH, except on 2 occasions; paying your house and your car. Right?

Be real, ad up ALL living costs including your wifes fathers hospitalbills, and then tell us how much you have spendt past 5 years, we will be able to divide it on number of months

[petercallen]

If you can't live well on that your spoiled and spoon fed. People support families on half that. It is more than 95% of the farangs make in Thailand.

Of coarse you are right 95K baht is approx $3000 or $750 a week, unless you are

one of the big spenders there is not many places in the world you couldn't live

very comfortably on that type of money with what the OP is being supplied free

of charge, you can definitely live well on that type of money here

There seems to be quite a few big spenders on this forum, at least they claim to be

hehehe

you have claimed in this topic you spend 40-50k baht/month, so based on that I assume you never transfer more than 600k baht a year to TH, except on 2 occasions; paying your house and your car. Right?

Be real, ad up ALL living costs including your wifes fathers hospitalbills, and then tell us how much you have spendt past 5 years, we will be able to divide it on number of months

My average living costs per month are 40 to 50K baht, things like cars, houses, furniture are one of

purchases as i have already stated these are not included

My car is 5 years old and if i sold it by looking at prices i would get more than half the purchase price back

Its in perfect condition and i have no intention of selling it at present so i consider it a one of purchase

not something you buy every year, a decent fridge is a one of purchase should last 20 years

The house is a one of purchase and will not be sold, and since i did not pay to much for it will gain in value

I consider my average monthly pay outs to consist of every day expenses, we just had a holiday which cost

over 500K baht, but it was one of and my choice to do it and i do not include it in my average monthly costs

Some people go to night clubs and buy 2 bottles of Johnny Walker scotch and include that in there monthly

costs, not me

[KarenBravo]

Sounds like "creative accounting".

Obviously, 90,000 Bt a month is good money here in Thailand, even for a foreigner.

I don't think it's that good compared to the Western world. If you intend to go back to your own country at sometime, it isn't enough to save money for retirement, child's eventual university education, maybe a house etc.

I think the old saying earn your money outside of Thailand and spend it here has a ring of truth about it.

If you just want to tread water here in Thailand for a few years, 90,000 Bt is fine.

Edited January 9, 2012 by KarenBravo

[katabeachbum]

If you can't live well on that your spoiled and spoon fed. People support families on half that. It is more than 95% of the farangs make in Thailand.

Of coarse you are right 95K baht is approx $3000 or $750 a week, unless you are

one of the big spenders there is not many places in the world you couldn't live

very comfortably on that type of money with what the OP is being supplied free

of charge, you can definitely live well on that type of money here

There seems to be quite a few big spenders on this forum, at least they claim to be

hehehe

you have claimed in this topic you spend 40-50k baht/month, so based on that I assume you never transfer more than 600k baht a year to TH, except on 2 occasions; paying your house and your car. Right?

Be real, ad up ALL living costs including your wifes fathers hospitalbills, and then tell us how much you have spendt past 5 years, we will be able to divide it on number of months

My average living costs per month are 40 to 50K baht, things like cars, houses, furniture are one of

purchases as i have already stated these are not included

My car is 5 years old and if i sold it by looking at prices i would get more than half the purchase price back

Its in perfect condition and i have no intention of selling it at present so i consider it a one of purchase

not something you buy every year, a decent fridge is a one of purchase should last 20 years

The house is a one of purchase and will not be sold, and since i did not pay to much for it will gain in value

I consider my average monthly pay outs to consist of every day expenses, we just had a holiday which cost

over 500K baht, but it was one of and my choice to do it and i do not include it in my average monthly costs

Some people go to night clubs and buy 2 bottles of Johnny Walker scotch and include that in there monthly

costs, not me

yes I go to nightclubs and 2 bottles of red label cost 1300 baht, last for 2-4 visits and of course its included in my accounting as in food and beverage, so is my 5 liter of red wine in box at 890 baht always in the fridge, where else would I get money to pay for them?

your accounting does not seem to cover your expenses, as you consider your major expenses one offs. my fridges/icemachines last perhaps 5 years (barely), so I divide its cost on 60 months, making my actual livingcosts approx 1,2 million baht/year.

adding up only the food and regular bills, I d end up at 50k baht to. but would be 600k baht short in an ordinary year

interesting is it also TH government expect us to need 800k baht/head a year, reflected in retirement visa need of 800k baht in account or 65k baht net earnings

anyway, I guess OP has recieved accurate advice, we differ 50k a month, so 40-90k baht a month actual livingcosts

[steelepulse]

What's the tax rate on the 95K/mo? That too needs to be figured in where as a lot of the above posts are made by those that have no income in Thailand. I wonder if those with no income in Thailand yet pay taxes back home have included taxes in monthly expenses ( whether living here or not as discussion has now changed to how much do you spend in an average month)?

[katabeachbum]

Sounds like "creative accounting".

Obviously, 90,000 Bt a month is good money here in Thailand, even for a foreigner.

I don't think it's that good compared to the Western world. If you intend to go back to your own country at sometime, it isn't enough to save money for retirement, child's eventual university education, maybe a house etc.

I think the old saying earn your money outside of Thailand and spend it here has a ring of truth about it.

If you just want to tread water here in Thailand for a few years, 90,000 Bt is fine.

agreed, its good to provide a good living standard, but its far from western earnings and thus does not allow savings for major future investments or spendings

in addition you stop creating credit scores back home, this unable you to get a home loan when you return. even difficult to get a invoiced phone card

[petercallen]

What's the tax rate on the 95K/mo? That too needs to be figured in where as a lot of the above posts are made by those that have no income in Thailand. I wonder if those with no income in Thailand yet pay taxes back home have included taxes in monthly expenses ( whether living here or not as discussion has now changed to how much do you spend in an average month)?

Most of the expats i have met working and living here pay no or very small amounts of tax

When we lived in Chalong the house we rented had a new fridge in it when we shifted in with

the warranty papers sitting on top of it

I asked the farang property manager if he was going to fill them out and send them in on behalf of the farang owner

His answer was no,he did not pay tax and therefore did not claim on warranties even on a car he had just purchased

This made no sense to me as the warranty is supplied by the manufacturer not the government

Do you include tax in your monthly living expenses if you pay any, thats a new one for me

[KarenBravo]

I believe income tax is roughly 10% after the first 15,000 Bt, or so.

Around that figure, anyway.

[petercallen]

I notice my post about people not paying taxes here has been deleted

[petercallen]

sorry my mistake its on page 2

[LivinginKata]

I believe income tax is roughly 10% after the first 15,000 Bt, or so.

Around that figure, anyway.

The first 12,000 baht (not sure might be 15,000) per month is tax free, then it's 10% on the next xx, 000 (not sure about the xx), then it's 20%. For sure the OP will be in the 20% bracket on quite a few thousand baht/month. i would guess the OP will be paying at least 8,000 baht/month personal income tax.