Retirement At 30

[wana]

A young guy i spoke to is planning to come over permanently at the ripe old age of 29

he thinks 4 million thb should be enough to retire on in thailand

i told him i think its not enough unless he can make a business with it or generate revenue from it

and he could be bankrupt in about 4 years

what are the options realisticaly to live on 4 million thb ? could it be done ?is he 20 years too late etc

[Crossy]

Baht, Dollars, Pounds?

[wana]

Baht, Dollars, Pounds?

sorry ,he thinks 4 million thb wil be enough !

[TheWalkingMan]

He needs to stay busy with something.

[NewlyMintedThai]

He's got a rude awakening coming.

[apetley]

If you invested 4 million you may get 200 k per year at lowish risk to live on. Doable just depends what lifestyle he wants.

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[wana]

He needs to stay busy with something.

i suggested buying two cheap condos at 1.5 million each

rent one for 6k a month and live in another saving 6k a month in rent (12k a month return on 75% of the investment )

keep a million in the bank for emergencys etc

is there any better formula ?

[wana]

If you invested 4 million you may get 200 k per year at lowish risk to live on. Doable just depends what lifestyle he wants.

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what about inflation though ? prices ever rising and all that ...........

it might be ok at 60-65ish but at 29 ....

4 million might barely buy a coffee and a dough nut in 35 years from now

[notmyself]

He's got a rude awakening coming.

That is hitting the nail on the head. It can be done but to do so requires a huge awakening.

[farang000999]

no

[Orac]

I would say it was virtually impossible. Even on 10 times that amount he would struggle in the long run due to inflation.

[wana]

I would say it was virtually impossible. Even on 10 times that amount he would struggle in the long run due to inflation.

40 million would allow for a few mistakes along the way ,4 million basically allows for none........

of course , a man who didnt drink ,smoke or go with thai ladies would have a big advantage .....

[aussiebebe]

He needs to stay busy with something.

i suggested buying two cheap condos at 1.5 million each

rent one for 6k a month and live in another saving 6k a month in rent (12k a month return on 75% of the investment )

keep a million in the bank for emergencys etc

is there any better formula ?

Hi, I liked your advice but in my opinion it's a too low a sum to be retiring on at such a young age. I'd advise him to work part-time, and then with the advice you gave he would be quite happy.

[lopburi3]

Even without inflation this would only provide 8-10k per month at fixed saving rates and just keeping visa alive would likely cost 2-3k per month. No future.

[notmyself]

I would say it was virtually impossible. Even on 10 times that amount he would struggle in the long run due to inflation.

40 million would allow for a few mistakes along the way ,4 million basically allows for none........

of course , a man who didnt drink ,smoke or go with thai ladies would have a big advantage .....

It's also knowledge. I done it aged 39 with around 35 million but without the additional knowledge from the previous 10 years it would have been super high risk.

[YipYipYa123]

it is possible ,i know people who exist in thailand on less

if hes in his twenties and has a few million already he could survive here

the best thing would be to invest the 4 million and forget about it ( a return of 150-200k a year if done properly )

and teach english a couple of days a week for 40k a month as well

that will make all the differnce and he wil be as financially secure or even more so than most thais ever get to be

a neighbour of mine did the same thing ,retired in his twenties with a small sum . he sells t-shirts on ebay and hes living well ,hardly working at all

[notmyself]

Even without inflation this would only provide 8-10k per month at fixed saving rates and just keeping visa alive would likely cost 2-3k per month. No future.

It's the visa costs that have turned away or ruined so many people these last few years. Out of a group of 12 or so young affluent friends on Samui, only 2 of us are left in Thailand. 8 now live in Cambodia while the others have returned to their country of birth. 5 done the old 2 million investment but only 2 ever got the money back.

[topt]

I would say it was virtually impossible. Even on 10 times that amount he would struggle in the long run due to inflation.

I completely agree. The numbers do not stack up at all unless he was retiring from the world (IE living like a monk) and at 29 I would not have thought so.

He would have to live so frugally I cannot see anybody enjoying it and a net return of 5% these days is not easy to get without some risk.

[villagefarang]

I came here much younger and with much less. I say let him try. What he thinks he wants right now and what he might want in a couple of years is anyones guess.

You guys are thinking like old men. The guy is young enough to make a few more mistakes along the way and recover from them all. I don’t think we should stomp on his dream.

Granted it was a very different time but my dream came true. Perhaps his will as well.

[glbv]

If you can show me right now where i can get 200,000thb per year from a low risk 4mil baht investment ill take that low risk as well as many others i know . 4mil is only about 130k usd so that would end up being about a stable 5%, you get me a stable easy 5% and ill have alot more than 130k to invest in that...

I have a great feeling this $ came of inheritance/insurance/lump sum and along with the money he acquired a poor sense of how much that is. 130k would last you maybe 4-5 years in the states maybe 8 if you were really tight on your budget and lived in a cheap area. But to think your going to retire on 130k just shows this persons level of life experience and understanding of how much he actually has.

If were talking 4million USD i would still say that's not enough to retire on imo.

[HidyHo]

At his age, he doesn't have much Visa option unless he gets married. In which case, 4 million just shrunk a lot more ...unless he gets a sugar mommy.

I stayed in BKK for 3 yrs without working .. partied and traveled a lot during fir 1.5 yrs, didn't do whole lot during last 1.5 yrs. Money wasn't too much issue and I just turned 40. In the end, I was bored out of my minds, left Thailand and returned to work back in USA.

It's not so easy waking up everyday without any purpose.

[danmarnj]

have to buy health insurance. I guess u never had an interest in a nicer car or living in a nice place. what happens when you turn 60 and don't want to work anymore. No pension or other benefits earned when u were of working age. Do you have an exit strategy? You need to factor in also the future exchange rates and inflation. Also the political situation when the king passes. you don't have enough money considering your young age to live a good life in Thailand......there is no one more lonely in Thailand than an old man with little money.

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[notmyself]

If you can show me right now where i can get 200,000thb per year from a low risk 4mil baht investment ill take that low risk as well as many others i know . 4mil is only about 130k usd so that would end up being about a stable 5%, you get me a stable easy 5% and ill have alot more than 130k to invest in that...

I have a great feeling this $ came of inheritance/insurance/lump sum and along with the money he acquired a poor sense of how much that is. 130k would last you maybe 4-5 years in the states maybe 8 if you were really tight on your budget and lived in a cheap area. But to think your going to retire on 130k just shows this persons level of life experience and understanding of how much he actually has.

If were talking 4million USD i would still say that's not enough to retire on imo.

Check out Westpac (Aus bank)

[brit1984]

Retire now? No*

Semi-retire soon? Yes

If he has half a brain he should be able to use that 4 million baht to set up a business or businesses (either back home, online or in Thailand) and get them up and running so he can take a back seat, and enjoy Thailand. I would recommend he concentrates on service industry businesses as they require less up-front investment.

I am 27 and semi-retired in Bangkok. I quit my regular job (hedge fund in London) about a year ago (after the birth of my first child) and spent that year setting up various businesses (as well as enjoying family life). I now "work" 1-2 hours/day (mostly replying to emails) and get paid the same as before when I working 12-18 hours/day.

Your friend should do the same. He (like me) is young enough to lose his 4 million baht and start from scratch anyway.

* If he really wants to fully retire in Thailand immediately it is possible. However, he will have to accept a pretty awful standard of living (which will only get worse over time).

[villagefarang]

I have gotten along just fine without health insurance, pension or other government handouts. For more than 35 years I have listened to Chicken Little saying the sky is falling. Thailand is still here, I am still here and life is good. Let the guy enjoy this phase of his life before he moves on to the next. I guarantee there will be a next phase.

[wamberal]

Nobody should retire early unless they have a secure and growing income stream. That could come from property rentals, in my case it has come from a portfolio of Australian shares and managed funds. There have been a few blips over the last five years, because of the GFC, but when I was planning for retirement I was planning for a yearly income of about AUD 50K, now, 15 years later, our joint income is over AUD 100K per annum. Anybody plonking their whole nest egg into term deposits needs to have their head read, either that or they need to have a very big egg, so that they can reinvest part of their interest so as to keep up with inflation. Also in a place like Thailand you need to have an emergency escape plan, just in case.

[soi41]

If you can show me right now where i can get 200,000thb per year from a low risk 4mil baht investment ill take that low risk as well as many others i know . 4mil is only about 130k usd so that would end up being about a stable 5%, you get me a stable easy 5% and ill have alot more than 130k to invest in that...

I have a great feeling this $ came of inheritance/insurance/lump sum and along with the money he acquired a poor sense of how much that is. 130k would last you maybe 4-5 years in the states maybe 8 if you were really tight on your budget and lived in a cheap area. But to think your going to retire on 130k just shows this persons level of life experience and understanding of how much he actually has.

If were talking 4million USD i would still say that's not enough to retire on imo.

Buy units in CPNRF, low risk annual return about 8%, quarterly paid !

[Eff1n2ret]

It's the visa costs that have turned away or ruined so many people these last few years. Out of a group of 12 or so young affluent friends on Samui, only 2 of us are left in Thailand. 8 now live in Cambodia while the others have returned to their country of birth. 5 done the old 2 million investment but only 2 ever got the money back.

I wouldn't class as "affluent" anybody to whom 2-3k per month as quoted by lopburi makes such a difference that they have to leave Thailand. If the implication was that their departure was a great loss to Thailand, it wasn't.

[KNJ]

130kUSD, annuity lifetime, probably 600+ USD a month, but no inflation, nearer to 400 a month with inflation adjusted.

Secondary Market annuity more

Berkshire Hathaway 8% for 30years, total payout close to a million dollars

http://www.totalreturnannuities.com/secondary-market-annuities/secondary-market-annuity-offerings.html

[notmyself]

Also in a place like Thailand you need to have an emergency escape plan, just in case.

And I would suggest the 4 million is somewhat short which would leave the OP nothing to speculate with. I've been doing gold and rubies but with Burma opening up I think I will reduce my ruby venture to nothing but large stones in 6 months or so, perhaps by the end of the year.