Retirement At 30

[brit1984]

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.

I think you are talking about coming to live and work in Thailand (which is obviously fine) but I think the OP's friend is planning to retire (which is very different). As you say, life has different phases and I would predict his retiring in Thailand with 4 million baht phase would not last very long.

[notmyself]

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.

You are quite correct. The 2-3k per month is on principle. When young people have retired and spend perhaps 4-5k a night plus renting a nice beach front house for 60-70-80k a month they don't expect to jump through hoops just to be able to spend this amount of money. We were blowing a million a year EACH and if this is small potatoes given they all lived within a 3km radius of Lamai then so be it. This group (closed group) now consists of 127 people and our eyes look toward Burma. If we open the group up it would go above 1000 in days which equates to a billion Baht a year. Now do you see?

[wannascuba]

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.totalretu...-offerings.html

Are these rates legit, are they fixed? Is the capital insured?

I am very interested in finding more about how these annuity's work, and which firms are best and reputable??? Does any ave more info this

Like the type of investing, in stepped and phases, so they mature a different time?

Thanks

[arthurwait]

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 ?

My wifes got 2 for sale in Udom Suk, Bangkok next to the BTS if he's interested.

Sorry if this is against TV rules.

[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.totalretu...-offerings.html

Are these rates legit, are they fixed? Is the capital insured?

I am very interested in finding more about how these annuity's work, and which firms are best and reputable??? Does any ave more info this

Like the type of investing, in stepped and phases, so they mature a different time?

Thanks

Annuities can be fixed term, a few years, many years or lifetime

Can cover one or two people,

can be paid monthly, every two month, quarter or yearly

Lifetime can include inflation payments,

deffered payments

Better payouts if you are a smoker, or have a recognised illness.

There are many variables and many options, you need to research and find the best and most suitable, the payments vary considerably.

Plenty of information on the web, but RESEARCH is the key. I am sure there are more experts here that post than I .

But are they legal YES 100%, Berkshire Hathaway is run by the smartest financial brains on the planet bar none IMHO

[strollling]

Whatever he should do he should keep his money out of Thailand.

It's going to be a pretty poor retirement no matter where he puts it. Retirement to me is Thai condo fully set-up, pick-up, motorbike and scooter all paid for, with an income of 100k thb per month through my overseas property or other investment.

I would suggest investing that money in rental property back home, coming here and working for his Thai baht, and using the property income and asset as collateral for further property.

Then by his mid 40s he might have enough investment income to retire in some place like Isaan.

[strollling]

I'd wager though that he'll come to Thailand and within five years his money will be gone and he'll be TEFLing while living in a 5000b p/m shoebox.

[villagefarang]

We really don’t know what “retirement” means to this guy. Maybe he just doesn’t want to work for a while. Retirement to a 60 year old probably means something very different. I still say go for it.

I never really worked after 40 but I never called it retirement as such. Some words carry too much baggage.

[ShopBoy]

200k return on 4 mill

what can i find that deal.. please tell meee

[wamberal]

200k return on 4 mill

what can i find that deal.. please tell meee

Shares in the leading Australian banks are yielding 6% per annum plus, they are fully tax paid if you are an overseas investor, which means you would get the dividend in full, no deductions at source.

[theblether]

I'm with villagefarang on this one, the guy is going to have a go at life in Thailand with 4 million baht behind him, realistically we all know that is not enough to fund a lifetime of not working, but the guy is only 29.

He will go through the experiences that many of us have had, and eventually run out of money, but hey at his age he could easily start again in his own country and rebuild his funds. Next time though he would be a lot wiser about the real costs of living.

The bigger problem is for older people that come here and lose their nest egg, most of them don't have the time, ability or inclination to go back to work and rebuild their funds. They must protect their assets a lot more carefully and that is where the real tragedy lies in Thailand when so many older gents in particular lose their life savings.

So I say retirement can't be done with 4 million baht, but this guy should just go ahead with his plans as he has the time to start again.

[strollling]

So there ya go, he can live on 16,000thb a month.

That should be fun.

As a farang in his 20s that should barely cover his condom expenditure.

[Beetlejuice]

Total nonsense

Lets say this fool is almost 30 years old and lives till 80. That’s about 6700 baht per month to live on for the rest of his life.

Bank interest rates can fluctuate immensely and cannot be added into the equation and of course taking into consideration that the more he uses his reserve capital, the less interest he will receive each month.

Then there are the strong possibilities that sometime in the future Immigration will change it`s policies and foreigners may be required to bring more money into the country to obtain visas.

People have to work hard in order to archive a secure future, which sometimes means having to endure many years of work and toil in environments and conditions we don’t always like. But that’s the same for all of us. There is no way that I would chance my well being on luck and in a hope that my gamble will pay off.

Many of these people are just those seeking a fast track way of escaping they’re ruts and routine lives. But this takes money and lots of it, otherwise the only alternative is to stick it out like the rest of us peasants.

Welcome back into the real world.

[xthAi76s]

How ridiculous. 4 million baht is 'chump change'. He'd spend it in a year of living irresponsibly (as many do). What's the rest of the plan? How will he earn income? If he thinks he can retire on that pocket change without earning additional income, he's probably not too bright.

[SlyAnimal]

He can do it, if he is happy to live Thai style in the provinces

As he could probably get a return of around 5% less tax just from a decent term deposit in his home country. Could probably get 7% less tax from renting a place in his home country if he's property savvy maybe a bit more.

Gives him 200k - 280k a year (16k - 23k a month) which is living but not Living.

With a gf who's earning 10k+ a month he could get by ok, probably not too tricky for him to find a girl like that either.

However he'd fare significantly better if he was working as a teacher or similar. Particularly as he'd get bored to death otherwise. Inflation wouldn't be such an issue if he invests his money in "something" (with low maintenance costs) rather than just in the bank, especially of he's a savvy investor.

Visas might be a problem though, he'd definitely want to live near the border

[Berkshire]

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.

You are quite correct. The 2-3k per month is on principle. When young people have retired and spend perhaps 4-5k a night plus renting a nice beach front house for 60-70-80k a month they don't expect to jump through hoops just to be able to spend this amount of money. We were blowing a million a year EACH and if this is small potatoes given they all lived within a 3km radius of Lamai then so be it. This group (closed group) now consists of 127 people and our eyes look toward Burma. If we open the group up it would go above 1000 in days which equates to a billion Baht a year. Now do you see?

Sour grapes. There are loads of ways to stay in Thailand legally, and with not much inconveniece. And no one takes seriously the amount of money you say you and your buddies are throwing around. Not believable. But do take it to Burma or Cambodia--they need it much more than Thailand.

[notmyself]

There are loads of ways to stay in Thailand legally, and with not much inconveniece.

Please do tell. Additional information is... all are well under 50, single (or married to non Thai), not working and not in education.

[Berkshire]

There are loads of ways to stay in Thailand legally, and with not much inconveniece.

Please do tell. Additional information is... all are well under 50, single (or married to non Thai), not working and not in education.

Well, it's simple really. Perhaps you don't belong in Thailand? Not trying to be a smartass, but if you truly cannot find a legal way to stay, then you really shouldn't be here. And it's not always about the money. Any time someone brings up the neighboring countries, e.g., Cambodia, Myanmar, I say, by all means, go for it. Thailand is not for everybody. I'm not sure why people feel that Thailand has to open its doors to every swinging Dick and Jane. But truthfully, for every disgruntled expat that leaves, two or three comes to take his place. No one is indispensable.

[soi41]

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.

You are quite correct. The 2-3k per month is on principle. When young people have retired and spend perhaps 4-5k a night plus renting a nice beach front house for 60-70-80k a month they don't expect to jump through hoops just to be able to spend this amount of money. We were blowing a million a year EACH and if this is small potatoes given they all lived within a 3km radius of Lamai then so be it. This group (closed group) now consists of 127 people and our eyes look toward Burma. If we open the group up it would go above 1000 in days which equates to a billion Baht a year. Now do you see?

I thought that Thaksin had only one clone. You aren't by any change the architect behind the 1 million cow scheme or the Thailand Elite Card ??

[GuestHouse]

Bht4 million at 30 years old will get him two good years.... if he's lucky.

If he's really lucky he'll get to the end of the 2 years without having acquired burdens and responsibilities that prevent him from getting his life back on track once all the money is gone... and it will go.

[Jingthing]

Bht4 million at 30 years old will get him two good years.... if he's lucky.

If he's really lucky he'll get to the end of the 2 years without having acquired burdens and responsibilities that prevent him from getting his life back on track once all the money is gone... and it will go.

Funny, I could easily make it 10 years on that (renting not buying housing) and aggressively investing the dwindling principle. So if he plans to die at 40, it's a plan!

[BigJohnnyBKK]

He has enough to come to Thailand and not worry about working for a while.

If he invests wisely (outside of Thailand) he would in theory be able to survive without working much for a long time, but it wouldn't be a comfortable life.

The wisest course IMO would be to invest it wisely outside of Thailand, do his best to live on the after-inflation income thereby generated, and when he finds he doesn't like it, to start working again - without touching his capital.

If he decides he really loves it here, his primary focus should be to become fluent in Thai, including reading and writing, building up connections among as many influential Thais and knowledgable expats as possible, and work on a solid business plan. He should develop that plan to the point where he can convince these locals to put in working capital and help him get things off the ground legally. He should only put his own capital into the venture as a sign of good faith to his partners, and certainly no more than say a third of his total next egg.

If things are successful, he can then start increasing his shares, cashing out his investors according to the pre-determined formula, or cash out himself.

Only at that point should he feel confident enough in his situation to engage in business locally risking his own nest egg, but ideally his operations should be spinning off cash that can add to it rather than reducing it.

[wana]

walk into a casino and put it all on red or black .........no guts ,no glory !

[BigJohnnyBKK]

There are loads of ways to stay in Thailand legally, and with not much inconveniece.

Please do tell. Additional information is... all are well under 50, single (or married to non Thai), not working and not in education.

Well, it's simple really.

Sincere request for details and examples please.

And I understand that the meaning of "legally" is somewhat flexible here, I imagine notmyself is being rather more strict in his interpretation.

[pastitche]

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.

You are quite correct. The 2-3k per month is on principle. When young people have retired and spend perhaps 4-5k a night plus renting a nice beach front house for 60-70-80k a month they don't expect to jump through hoops just to be able to spend this amount of money. We were blowing a million a year EACH and if this is small potatoes given they all lived within a 3km radius of Lamai then so be it. This group (closed group) now consists of 127 people and our eyes look toward Burma. If we open the group up it would go above 1000 in days which equates to a billion Baht a year. Now do you see?

Sour grapes. There are loads of ways to stay in Thailand legally, and with not much inconveniece. And no one takes seriously the amount of money you say you and your buddies are throwing around. Not believable. But do take it to Burma or Cambodia--they need it much more than Thailand.

If you were paying 80k a month on rent and only blowing a million a year, how were you also spending 4 - 5k a night? Doesn't seem to add up.

Maybe that's the total for all 127 of you?

Edited April 16, 2012 by pastitche

[TommoPhysicist]

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 ?

Cheap condo would cost 250k in CM (big tourist centre), buy twelve and rent at 2k each, live in one and take 22k a month in rental from the other 11. Is that a better formula?

Edited April 16, 2012 by TommoPhysicist

[TommoPhysicist]

There are loads of ways to stay in Thailand legally, and with not much inconveniece.

Please do tell. Additional information is... all are well under 50, single (or married to non Thai), not working and not in education.

Marry a Thai lady, Visa problems solved.

[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 ?

Cheap condo would cost 250k in CM (big tourist centre), buy twelve and rent at 2k each, live in one and take 22k a month in rental from the other 11. Is that a better formula?

possibly ,but would a farang be allowed to buy/own/rent 12 condos as a job without paying tax + having a work permit ?

[TommoPhysicist]

possibly ,but would a farang be allowed to buy/own/rent 12 condos as a job without paying tax + having a work permit ?

Yes, ROI is not considered working, no work permit required, tax maybe at 15%, but nobody (much) admits to renting out condos.

I did look into doing this myself, but CM is 350km from the farm where I live, so not worth the effort, and I can't move the farm.

Edited April 16, 2012 by TommoPhysicist

[wana]

possibly ,but would a farang be allowed to buy/own/rent 12 condos as a job without paying tax + having a work permit ?

Yes, ROI is not considered working, no work permit required, tax maybe at 15%, but nobody (much) admits to renting out condos.

1-2 condos might slip under the radar or be counted as personal habitat but i doubt you could have 12 or so without anyone asking questions

sounds good income from investement though ,If you can get them all rented out 12 months per year ..........