1,000 Baht A Day...

[kurnell]

I spend about 2,000 baht a day after paying the mortgage, school fees, family health insurance and maid. My company pays for the car, fuel and expenses. There is nothing extravagant in that 2,000 baht. Holidays are additional. Even my wife spends more than 1,500 a day. No way can you describe 1,000 baht a day as living well.

I'm not having a dig as it your money and you can do what you want with it, but what do you and your wife spend 3,500 a day on? I must profess I can be good at spending money, but as a daily allowance I would struggle to spend that every day.

Have you ever had lunch for 4 in an average restaurant, bought a pair of shoes for a 6 year old, an ipad, half a dozen Kilkennys, 3 bottles of wine, a new phone, TV, PC, clothes, glasses....etc.

Ok, misunderstanding then. I thought the 3,500 daily allowance was just for a daily expenditure. I didn't realise you were including the above.

That is daily expenditure

[kurnell]

I spend about 2,000 baht a day after paying the mortgage, school fees, family health insurance and maid. My company pays for the car, fuel and expenses. There is nothing extravagant in that 2,000 baht. Holidays are additional. Even my wife spends more than 1,500 a day. No way can you describe 1,000 baht a day as living well.

You should move to Thailand then. It's much cheaper here.

Are there other countries that accept Thai baht as currency?

Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

No they don't. You can't walk into a shop in any city in those 3 countries and spend Thai baht. I have been to all 3 several times, do business with all 3 also, so I know what I am talking about.

[mjj]

Kurnell, those things you listed aren't really daily expenses are they? Unless you have a mountain of iPads at home and a shoe collection to shame Imelda Marcos.

Plus where would you buy an ipad for 2,000b??

[cbrer]

Kurnell, those things you listed aren't really daily expenses are they? Unless you have a mountain of iPads at home and a shoe collection to shame Imelda Marcos.

Plus where would you buy an ipad for 2,000b??

averages...

One 14,000b toy a week = 2k a day average.

What I spend on Saturdays and Sundays are typically 5 times what I spend on a Monday and Tuesday.

At the end of the month I divide my monthly expenditure by 30 or 31 to get the daily average.

[cbrer]

You should move to Thailand then. It's much cheaper here.

Are there other countries that accept Thai baht as currency?

Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

No they don't. You can't walk into a shop in any city in those 3 countries and spend Thai baht.

Pretty much can. In fact, in most shops in any city in these three neighbours it is preferred.

Try not to take the loss of face like an Asian.... Good lad.

Edited January 27, 2013 by cbrer

[watcharacters]

One of my maids couldn't live on that.

What about the others?

[cbrer]

We pay them in chicken innards and bugs.

[kurnell]

Kurnell, those things you listed aren't really daily expenses are they? Unless you have a mountain of iPads at home and a shoe collection to shame Imelda Marcos.

Plus where would you buy an ipad for 2,000b??

averages...

One 14,000b toy a week = 2k a day average.

What I spend on Saturdays and Sundays are typically 5 times what I spend on a Monday and Tuesday.

At the end of the month I divide my monthly expenditure by 30 or 31 to get the daily average.

OK then, I'll try to get back to facts, rather than wild claims that the Thai baht is some kind of internationally accepted currency.

My last 6 credit card statements contained purchases such as a TV (paid over 10 months), many restaurant bills, xmas gifts for staff, xmas gifts for my kids school mates, groceries, life insurance, hotel reservations, air tickets, ebay purchases, kid's entertainment, kid's birthday gifts/party...and so on. It adds up. This is day to day stuff.

[MrWorldwide]

Hi All,

At the risk of upsetting someone, I'm going to restrict my numbers to food, drink and entertainment only, with the proviso that the longest I have spent in Thailand is a 3-month stretch : normally its the usual 2-4 week holiday. Feel free to dismiss this as another weekend warrior post - its all good.

Short stay - 6k baht a day (worst was 20k baht, but that was a one-off thankfully) - the vast majority on alcohol

Long stay - 200-300 baht a day with 2 or 3 blowouts each week pushing the average to ~2k baht a day. Amazing what you can do when you dont feel the need to get hammered every night

IME, that is still a bargain compared to KL, Jakarta and Sillypore, but everyone has a different baseline. I consider paying ~300 USD in one of those cities for bottle of vodka to be sheer lunacy, but clearly some of the locals in those clubs have money to burn. C'est La Vie.

Could I exist on 7K a week for food and drink ? Sure, but it would mean leaving the bar the instant Happy Hour finished. Even in Vientiane, those tall bottles of Beer Lao seem to add up, but that's where I'd be headed on that budget.

MrWorldwide

[cbrer]

Try not to take the loss of face like an Asian.... Good lad.

OK then, I'll try to get back to facts, rather than wild claims that the Thai baht is some kind of internationally accepted currency.

[Ajaan]

Are there other countries that accept Thai baht as currency?

Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

No they don't. You can't walk into a shop in any city in those 3 countries and spend Thai baht.

Pretty much can. In fact, in most shops in any city in these three neighbours it is preferred.

Try not to take the loss of face like an Asian.... Good lad.

No, you are quite wrong. Laos? Yes, you can spend baht anywhere. Don't know about Myanmar. Cambodia? Most definitely NOT "anywhere"...only in border towns like Poipet.

[cbrer]

only in border towns like Poipet.

Incorrect. Edited January 28, 2013 by cbrer

[MrWorldwide]

Its a couple of years since I last visited Vientiane, but the shopkeepers I encountered gleefully took my baht and gave me change in Kip. My Thai GFE had no problems communicating with the locals, but her feeble attempts at bargaining were nothing short of pathetic, leaving the Walking ATM to do most of the talking. It's amazing how many people speak English when there is money to be made

Cant say I had the same experience with the baht anywhere else - the Cambodians wanted my USD and usually gave me a fistful of their Riel in change, but I didn't try to use baht except for a single border run and that little casino seems to be run by Thais anyway. Only other place I've been able to use baht has been on Air Asia flights - their FAs have to deal with THB, MYR and AUD. Fantastic flying out of KLCC and being able to get rid of the last of your Ringgit.

MrWorldwide

[cbrer]

It's amazing how many people speak English when there is money to be made

Actually it's amazing to go to Cambodia and realize the average waiter, waitress, street-kid has far better English skills than most Thai English majors in University.

They also appear to be fully conscious, again, quite different from the average Thai with a menthol stick stuck up their hooter.

Edited January 28, 2013 by cbrer

[MrWorldwide]

Agreed, but Cambo gave me a whole new perspective on 'poverty', and I felt ashamed that I was part of a world that did nothing while the Khmer Rouge murdered entire families. I appreciate that we aren't here to talk politics, so I'll leave it there.