40K In Thailand

[poanoi]

The only times money goes fast here was

1] when drinking and giving half the gogo bar money

2] when lending out money

Skip these two and you'll be hard pressed to spend over 30-40.000 per month,

even when taking into account a house rental in central pattaya,

never mind the typical condo that cost half

Edited November 27, 2012 by poanoi

[cbrer]

The only times money goes fast here was

1] when drinking and giving half the gogo bar money

2] when lending out money

Skip these two and you'll be hard pressed to spend over 30-40.000 per month,

even when taking into account a house rental in central pattaya,

never mind the typical condo that cost half

Want a nice weekend at the beach in Krabi?

Diving in Koh Tao?

Fly to Sukhothai for Loi Krathong?

Rent a nice motorcycle and spend a week touring the Golden Triangle?

etc. etc.

Sure, not leaving your condo or area all day every day will keep the budget down.

Is that fun?

[mogandave]

I have a nice place, but live out in the county and my:

Rent is: 19,500 ($630)

Electric is: 6,300 ($200)

Television is: 3,200 ($100)

Internet is: 1,200 ($38)

Car expenses are: 13,742 ($443) (I drive a bit)

Cost of car is: 8,944 ($288) (Based on buying a new pick-up (992K) and selling it for 500K after three years)

So that’s 52K ($1,705) a month and does not include food, entertainment, air travel, hotels, visas, heath care etc…..

I think it entirely possible to live on $1,000 a month, but it’s not going to be all that.

The moral of that story is to own your house and car !

To own a house and car in Thailand, you need to spend the full amount upfront, so why is that better then paying for it monthly?

It's not, he's arithmetically challenged.

[mogandave]

I have a nice place, but live out in the county and my:

Rent is: 19,500 ($630)

Electric is: 6,300 ($200)

Television is: 3,200 ($100)

Internet is: 1,200 ($38)

Car expenses are: 13,742 ($443) (I drive a bit)

Cost of car is: 8,944 ($288) (Based on buying a new pick-up (992K) and selling it for 500K after three years)

So that’s 52K ($1,705) a month and does not include food, entertainment, air travel, hotels, visas, heath care etc…..

I think it entirely possible to live on $1,000 a month, but it’s not going to be all that.

how do you manage to get over 6000 baht in bills? 50% depreciate value over 3 years is very unlikely over here

The electric is high, because it's house, not a room, and I like it cool.

50% is high, so figure it at $200 a month.

[MrRealDeal]

I have a nice place, but live out in the county and my:

Rent is: 19,500 ($630)

Electric is: 6,300 ($200)

Television is: 3,200 ($100)

Internet is: 1,200 ($38)

Car expenses are: 13,742 ($443) (I drive a bit)

Cost of car is: 8,944 ($288) (Based on buying a new pick-up (992K) and selling it for 500K after three years)

So that’s 52K ($1,705) a month and does not include food, entertainment, air travel, hotels, visas, heath care etc…..

I think it entirely possible to live on $1,000 a month, but it’s not going to be all that.

The moral of that story is to own your house and car !

To own a house and car in Thailand, you need to spend the full amount upfront, so why is that better then paying for it monthly?

It's not, he's arithmetically challenged.

I was making a joke ......

[MrRealDeal]

He is referring to the decline in dollar,

the cost in baht follow standard 5% inflation

No he said notwithstanding the decline in the dollar ..... even so it still has not tripled either way, otherwise taxis would start at 90 bhat , beer at 7-11 would be 120 bht , the 99 bht buffet would be 300 ... it's NOT even close to that

[hotandhumid]

The only times money goes fast here was

1] when drinking and giving half the gogo bar money

2] when lending out money

Skip these two and you'll be hard pressed to spend over 30-40.000 per month,

even when taking into account a house rental in central pattaya,

never mind the typical condo that cost half

Want a nice weekend at the beach in Krabi?

Diving in Koh Tao?

Fly to Sukhothai for Loi Krathong?

Rent a nice motorcycle and spend a week touring the Golden Triangle?

etc. etc.

Sure, not leaving your condo or area all day every day will keep the budget down.

Is that fun?

Most posters here never go anywhere and never spent any money on anything other than daily expenses, rent and bills. They exist, they do not live. Probably been wearing the same clothes for 10 years and never travelled further than their local noodle stall..

[MrRealDeal]

As far as why it's better to own anything the answer is you are not paying intrest on what you have , not to mention rented things can't apprechiate for you.

I understand the argument that you can rent and use the principle for investing however contrairy to what most people think thats doesn't work out as well as often as people think.

Once again monthly payments include intrest paying for things does not.

[MrRealDeal]

The only times money goes fast here was

1] when drinking and giving half the gogo bar money

2] when lending out money

Skip these two and you'll be hard pressed to spend over 30-40.000 per month,

even when taking into account a house rental in central pattaya,

never mind the typical condo that cost half

Want a nice weekend at the beach in Krabi?

Diving in Koh Tao?

Fly to Sukhothai for Loi Krathong?

Rent a nice motorcycle and spend a week touring the Golden Triangle?

etc. etc.

Sure, not leaving your condo or area all day every day will keep the budget down.

Is that fun?

Most posters here never go anywhere and never spent any money on anything other than daily expenses, rent and bills. They exist, they do not live. Probably been wearing the same clothes for 10 years and never travelled further than their local noodle stall..

They might not be as active as when 20 but I see a lot of posters who travell and do things other than just sit around waiting to die.

[notmyself]

As far as why it's better to own anything the answer is you are not paying intrest on what you have , not to mention rented things can't apprechiate for you.

I understand the argument that you can rent and use the principle for investing however contrairy to what most people think thats doesn't work out as well as often as people think.

Once again monthly payments include intrest paying for things does not.

The problem is that you cannot own the land.

[MrRealDeal]

Yeah that pretty much blows for sure ...... I guess being married I'm lucky in that reguard but if I wanted to live here single I guess it would be condoland or just a lease. I sure wouldn't get involved in the shady company to own land foolishness. To be honest if my mother in law wasn't alive neither me or my wife would be living here. The someplace else might be somplace else in Thailand but I kind of doubt it. This place is on my list of fun places to visit but not exactly on my list of great places to live. It's not really on my list of places that offer great value for the money either.

Edited November 27, 2012 by MrRealDeal

[notmyself]

So no chance I would buy or build a house. Being single does have some disadvantages though I wouldn't buy land under a future wife's name either. It's the same thing, I don't own it.

[pattayadingo]

Pattaya, a bungalow with 2 beds, bathroom and kitchen, 2 air cons and a living room. 7k a month

Car - nothing except LPG and petrol. Bought the car with cash.

M/c cost 35k initially and a few hundred Baht a month for petrol.

Food bill 12K a month and that is for 2 of us. She cooks 75% of the time and tasty food too. We buy cheese, chicken breast, pork, bacon and loads of veggies. No different from back home really.

Internet with TOT 650 a month for 8 meg connection.

Electric is 1200 or so a month.

= About 22K per month in total and that is in Pattaya. Cheaper out in the wilderness or further north.

Visas, depends on your age etc.

I've left out the beer bill as you do not drink.

Without visas or the price of sex included you can easily do 4 years

Seems to me that with planning you could be here a long time on 40K dollars.

[Wat dee]

It might depend on which person selling the water you like the most , which place delivered it the quickest , it could depend on a lot of factors which is prettty much my point that a life of cost only is no life for me, I don't mind paying more for a number of different reasons. I also don't mind paying less either ! lol It's just not something I care to spend much time worrying about because I have better things to do than worry if I pay 12 or 20 bht for my water. I could walk maybe 15 steps more and save about 15 or so bht on my pack of cigs and 2 bottles of beer but I don't bother because I don't need 15 bht that bad.

I'm not saying it's bad to save money because it's not , i'm just saying I prefer to spend my money in a way that makes my life easier rather than spend it some other way. If I wan't a cup of cofee and starbucks is close by fine if some other place is theire fine but i'm not going out of my way to find a bottle of water or much of anything else just to save a little money ..... I make money specificly to aviod the need for that.

To a large extent I think we are very much the same. Can't be bothered if the price is higher to a large extent but with regard to water it would be insane to pay more for no reason. It's the same water and comes from the same source so only urgency would matter but urgency is never an issue. 15 minutes, tomorrow or next week is meaningless so why pay more?

I am financially pretty solid.Facilities in order,bit of local income and steady income from overseas.

I drilled a well,needed it for business anyway, and bought a water purifier.No need to carry and pay for it anymore.

Depending on your housing situation,access to well or rainwater,you can better your life a lot and save a lot of money.

Do some math and you will realize lot of us spend more on water than food.

[MrRealDeal]

So no chance I would buy or build a house. Being single does have some disadvantages though I wouldn't buy land under a future wife's name either. It's the same thing, I don't own it.

I married a wife that already owned a house and land , and i'm not sure if I would buy it if she didnt, not because I wouldn't trust her just because I don't like the program and it seems unfair to me.

I don't want to open a can of worms but it seems to me that anyone who marries a poor thai girl and buys a house and land and all that must really like Asian women because the financial deck is stacked so far against you it's unbelievable. In virtually every reguard not just houses. I met a guy complaing at the airport last time who inherited the house and was pretty close to the 1 year time limit and said he was going to bulldoze it to the ground because of course no one would buy it for market value and he was going to lose it anyhow. That's just not a system I want to get involved with.

Even in my case even though the house wasn't mine to begin with in a normal world now that we are married it would be half mine and nothing to worry about it she died , so it's just a write off if she does here , in the rest of the world would be no problem at all. I told her to not even bother to try and leave it to me because it would be a waste of effort in the end. So I guess their is some expected "loss" even if your wife already owns it before you get married.

Edited November 27, 2012 by MrRealDeal

[Wat dee]

As far as why it's better to own anything the answer is you are not paying intrest on what you have , not to mention rented things can't apprechiate for you.

I understand the argument that you can rent and use the principle for investing however contrairy to what most people think thats doesn't work out as well as often as people think.

Once again monthly payments include intrest paying for things does not.

The problem is that you cannot own the land.

Why worry about buying land?

Lease the land.Lot less money and you have the control for the rest of yourlife.

Just use real lawyers for the lease agreement.

[notmyself]

Do some math and you will realize lot of us spend more on water than food.

I am also served by a well so it's only drinking water. 36 Baht a month on water is under 432 Baht a year, 4320 in 10 years.

[notmyself]

Why worry about buying land?

Lease the land.Lot less money and you have the control for the rest of yourlife.

Just use real lawyers for the lease agreement.

A lease means nothing if you are a farang. Been here too long to just 'think' it does.

[MrRealDeal]

Don't be paranoid dude

[Wat dee]

Married to a same thai for 19 years.Been here when gasoline was 7 baht per liter.Had few more and less succesful businesses in Thailand.

Trust me,chanse of getting ripped off with proper lease is next to nothing.

Unless you are leasing your rai in entertainment zone in BKK or beachfrontnext toa hiso's resort.

[notmyself]

Don't be paranoid dude

lol

Not paranoia, realism through the eyes of knowledge and experience. Anyway, this is getting off topic.

OP has US$40k in his or her pocket which is roughly 1.2 mil. 4 years at 300,000 per year should be a cinch with a bit of knowledge, and a good life to boot. Visas are going to be an issue as time progresses so the 40k is going to slowly but surely get hit harder and harder unless the aim is for a 'b' or 'ed' visa. I would suggest going for an 'ed' and learn Thai with a view of moving to a 'b' in a year or so. Seems a shame just to blow 40k.

[MrRealDeal]

A shame ? Sounds like fun to me !

[Wat dee]

IT IS FUN

[notmyself]

Married to a same thai for 19 years.

That is nice to hear.

Trust me,chanse of getting ripped off with proper lease is next to nothing.

Would you also say the same thing about the 10 mil (formally 2 mil) investment visa?

[notmyself]

IT IS FUN

A shame ? Sounds like fun to me !

40k is enough to set yourself up in Thailand and still have fun.

[MrRealDeal]

Their are tens of thousands of overseas individuals and companys that manage things just fine , if it was really that much of a problem their would be far less overseas companys investing in Thailand. The sheer number of sucsessfull overseas companys here would tend to disprove your idea that it's all corrupt and doomed to failure.

[Wat dee]

As a former major share holder in a BOI company,my understanding was you needed a plot for your man cave???

No need for millions...

[notmyself]

TV done something odd

Edited November 27, 2012 by notmyself

[notmyself]

The phrase 'I have lost count' is often used to signify simply a large amount without due regard to actual numbers. I will use this same phrase because I really don't remember how many people I know or have known who have been stitched up on a land lease even after going through all the legal channels beforehand. Somewhere between the 20-30 mark I guess. I done well in my life (IMO) and managed to retire when I was 39. Had I been a person who was willing to lease land in Thailand I have no doubt whatsoever that I would not have been able to retire when I did. At the very best it is a coin flip and I don't do those odds.

[Dancealot]

Without 10 years of experience in "living the Thai life on less than $10 a day", the money will last you about as long as it would last you back home.

Wherever you go, there you be. Including your spending habits...

Wise words, the faster you learn the faster you spend less money getting exactly the same thing. There was a noob on the Samui section quite some months back asking something similar to the OP but his was just for a 6 month stay. The consesus was that yes he could live well on 'x' per month but it would take 6 months to learn how to do so.

It is all about habits. Indeed!

The Dude came to BKK 10 years ago and can say that the 1st years are the most expensive. The Dude is a cheap charlie extraordinaire and has been called a miser by those who know him. Nevertheless The Dude easily spent 40K USD his 1st year in BKK with nothing to show for it after that year other than an 18 y/o hot gf. 40K USD is afterall only 109/day. Back then the exchange rate was 42/a buck and hotels were 1/3 the price of now not even accounting for the exchange. After a year The Dude did get an Apt but cost cutting measures like this go slow even for this miser. The condo was actually 50% more than The Dude's 1st year hotel room soo costs increased. Between simple entertainment, room, food and visa runs The Dude spent 40K his 1st year in central BKK being a miser. That same 40K today buys 1/3 of what it did then even ignoring unfavorable exchange. The Dude will allow other posters to comment on cheapo places to live as I am only talking about central BKK where most newcomers get started.

The Dude has generated a clear vision. But i wonder if he still wears his bathrobe and his shades.

I think it is most important we realize 40K month is trivial. For everyone' s persona it is a different approach. Let you life be controlled by a number or get the power and let your life control the numbers(40K). It is frankly... Just a number.