Decline On Sterling (The Pound)

[StreetCowboy]

I'm rather flattered that Fletch took the trouble to dig up posts I made back in 2007 - almost six full years ago.

But I'm at a loss as to why he has done so, I have not changed my opinion on the matters he's dug my quotes up on.

I see no reason to move my life savings outside of the UK and protection of the UK financial laws or importantly away from UK trust law. The quotes Fletch has spent the day searching put relate to tax free savings and UK legal protections.

My post of earlier today suggests repatriating money to the UK (sell high in Thailand / buy low in the UK) might have some merrit.

I take it we are allowed to save some of the Bht we make here and spend it where we like!

That saud, a bit of spare Bht in Thailand might come in handy for the occasional "Fire Sale".

What's your take on that Fletch?

Don't worry, it was no extra effort at all See the thread still runnning on: "What's Up With the Baht?". I came across the comments and others by (Dr.) Naam, Sonic, etc a couple of weeks ago (8 Feb), and commented it was funny how these topics go round in circles.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/615739-whats-up-with-the-thai-baht/page-9

Then today a couple of weeks later on this very similar thread the big surprise. Circles are one things. Half circles another: From GH the die hard advocate of keep your money in the UK and GBP "where it's safe" to saying "Thai Visa's" been telling you for years

Sorry I just couldn't resist that . Even you've got to see the funny side.

6 years for a complete U-Turn. Slow, but "safe"

In terms of your post of repatriating money now to the UK, that depends:

- If someone had followed your advice 6 years ago, and kept their money "safe" in the UK and in GBP, without building THB assets then there's a good chance they're just doomed to repeating the same mistake again...

- On the other hand, for someone who has been building THB assets to support their life in Thailand, and mitigate currency risk, then they probably find themselves in a situation where a little rebalancing might not be a bad thing, as the THB assets will have grown significantly due to the better exchange rate and better returns if say in equities.

If someone wants to take a trading. speculative punt that's their call. My view is still a long term one, that THB will continue it's longer term appreciation vs GBP, and if you live in Thailand it makes sense to have THB assets.

Let's see where we are 6 years from now... My currency call may be wrong.

Can't see me making a U-Turn on the strategy, and advocating all in for UK and Sterling though

You're assuming that people's money comes from the UK. I personally keep my money in the UK, and have no intention of expatriating any of it. On the other hand, I'm trying to build up a little float here, and any spare investing money that I have will go to Hong Kong, though where it will be invested, I don't know. It'll certainly not be hanging around in cash.

SC

[Neeranam]

I came here in October 1992. I got 37 baht to my GBP. Anything above that is a bonus.

Actually it isn't a bonus as now I travel with my family to the UK. The weaker the GBP the better.

4 UK pensions - wow, that's 4 more than I'll get.

[nontabury]

Oh to have such worries............

3 kids in private school.......

Renting out the second home......

Feel free to come back and tell the working man in the UK how difficult things are for you.

Why are people so jealous?. Perhaps he went without,to pay for his children's private education,maybe he worked 14hrs a day ,when he was working.

You mention the working man in the UK,yes,I also feel sorry for those who work hard,or have been put on the dole through no fault of their own, yet still want to work.unfortunately as we all know,there's a part of the British people who are not prepared to work,they seem to think it's their right to be able to draw and live on the many benefits that they have been bribed with by successive governments.

Theblether

nontabury......I'm not jealous of the OP, simply put......I'm far from skint.

However there are people all over the UK losing their homes, never mind having to " rent out the second home to make up the difference " as the OP put it.

Please forgive me if my heart fails to bleed at having to suffer the depredation of having to " rent out the second home to make up the difference ".

Also I'm fed up with British expats moaning about the UK, the Baby Boomers raped the country for every penny going and pulled the bridge up as they sailed off to their early retirements.

Now us younger guys are paying the bill. Thanks for that.

Well this is one Baby Boomer who certainly did not rape the country. But I did work every day 14-16 hrs a day,sometimes 7days a week, at one stage having 3 jobs.Never claimed dole or went on the sick,just worked,worked and worked,created my own business and then got sick of job applicants.Some of whom were sent to me by the job centre, many would tell me quite bluntly that they had no intension of working,to happy to live off benefits,and spend their days in the pub.Finally I came to my senses and decided to retire,came to Thailand and liked it.Unfortunately I have not been able to pull up the bridge,as I'm STILL paying taxes in the UK to support the same system.

Yes you can blame SOME Baby Boomers for accepting the bribes dished out by the political parties,but what about your age

Group theblether, your the people who voted in the likes of Blair and Brown,and will probably return the same political party to power at the next general election.It's not just one age group to blame for the present day shambles,it's the whole country.

Edited February 26, 2013 by nontabury

[fletchsmile]

I'm rather flattered that Fletch took the trouble to dig up posts I made back in 2007 - almost six full years ago.

But I'm at a loss as to why he has done so, I have not changed my opinion on the matters he's dug my quotes up on.

I see no reason to move my life savings outside of the UK and protection of the UK financial laws or importantly away from UK trust law. The quotes Fletch has spent the day searching put relate to tax free savings and UK legal protections.

My post of earlier today suggests repatriating money to the UK (sell high in Thailand / buy low in the UK) might have some merrit.

I take it we are allowed to save some of the Bht we make here and spend it where we like!

That saud, a bit of spare Bht in Thailand might come in handy for the occasional "Fire Sale".

What's your take on that Fletch?

Don't worry, it was no extra effort at all See the thread still runnning on: "What's Up With the Baht?". I came across the comments and others by (Dr.) Naam, Sonic, etc a couple of weeks ago (8 Feb), and commented it was funny how these topics go round in circles.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/615739-whats-up-with-the-thai-baht/page-9

Then today a couple of weeks later on this very similar thread the big surprise. Circles are one things. Half circles another: From GH the die hard advocate of keep your money in the UK and GBP "where it's safe" to saying "Thai Visa's" been telling you for years

Sorry I just couldn't resist that . Even you've got to see the funny side.

6 years for a complete U-Turn. Slow, but "safe"

In terms of your post of repatriating money now to the UK, that depends:

- If someone had followed your advice 6 years ago, and kept their money "safe" in the UK and in GBP, without building THB assets then there's a good chance they're just doomed to repeating the same mistake again...

- On the other hand, for someone who has been building THB assets to support their life in Thailand, and mitigate currency risk, then they probably find themselves in a situation where a little rebalancing might not be a bad thing, as the THB assets will have grown significantly due to the better exchange rate and better returns if say in equities.

If someone wants to take a trading. speculative punt that's their call. My view is still a long term one, that THB will continue it's longer term appreciation vs GBP, and if you live in Thailand it makes sense to have THB assets.

Let's see where we are 6 years from now... My currency call may be wrong.

Can't see me making a U-Turn on the strategy, and advocating all in for UK and Sterling though

You're assuming that people's money comes from the UK. I personally keep my money in the UK, and have no intention of expatriating any of it. On the other hand, I'm trying to build up a little float here, and any spare investing money that I have will go to Hong Kong, though where it will be invested, I don't know. It'll certainly not be hanging around in cash.

SC

That wasn't really my point or assumption.

If your money comes from the UK then bring some over here and start building THB assets here. On the other hand if your income is from here in Thailand then moving some elsewhere, including back home is well worth considering. So I was more advocating spreading it around than choosing one of the diehard camps. You're doing similar though the %s vary, and may well suit you.

The mistake in my view is the die hards, either:

- all in UK and all in GBP, don't invest in Thailand blah blah blah; or

- the other extreme: burn all your bridges and go for broke in Thailand

My policy and longer term target used to be 1/3 where I came from. 1/3 where my new home was and 1/3 elsewhere. because of the THB strengthening and THB equity markets, I now have more than 50% in THB. I need to rebalance at some point, and the %s will differ, but I'm not in any rush to do in GBP or USD at the moment, and not too uncomfortable with THB even tho' more than target.

Life and circumstances have changed a bit for me too, but I'd still rather spread assets and income, and currently have a longer term target of min 35% - 50% max for THB. I'm a bit over that range but can live with it for now - particularly as things are.

BTW New Avatar?

Cheers

fletch

Edited February 26, 2013 by fletchsmile

[HardenedSoul]

I am in my 50's and have not really been single since I was 17. Doesn't mean that marston cannot have a rich and fulfilling life. Many at our age do - without children.

I am without at the moment - and, ironically, Thailand (with a Thai wife) is probably the only place I would consider spreading my seed.

I can't imagine any kind of life being 'rich and fulfilling' without being surrounded by my family.

But maybe you or Marstons could show me (or explain to me) how that works?

I admit

I do have some friends who are single and childless and claim to be happy, but looking at them from the outside, they just seem sad and lonely.

I can't say for certain whether a wife and kids makes for a richer, more fulfilling life as I have neither but a lot of guys swear by it so there must be something in it but what I can say with considerable certainty, however, is that trying to derive one's happiness or fulfilment from others without first locating it within is ultimately self-defeating.

As a single man in my 40s, I have a freedom that many here may consider daft. I come and go as I please, I earn decent coin, I answer to no one, have the (admittedly puzzling) devotion of a few giks, have a handful of great friends (with kids) I love going out to party and feel safe in the knowledge that my folks are happily retired in a big house that looks out over the Caribbean Sea. I derive some comfort from knowing that I don't have to bust my arse to educate children in a world that, more each day, seems to be going down the shitter. I don't have to worry about what they're exposed to on television and the internet, nor do I need to counter the brainwashing that routinely turns real people into nothing more than cloned, gormless consumers.

What's not rich and fulfilling about that?

[MJP]

Hate to say it, but I reckon further downgrades are on the cards despite the 'stable' outlook.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21589128

Negative interest rates idea floated by Bank's Paul Tucker

-0.5% base rate and more QE.

Edited February 26, 2013 by MJP

[elliss]

a fact of life in the UK , is that many people can recieve more money from state handouts,

than those woking for a living , and on the minimum wage .

who can blame those people from going for the easy options

with the previous sociaistl goverments blessings .

the working class has been replaced, by the work shy .

now that britain has to borrow money to survive , there are going to be severe cuts,

and social reforms ,that will make the poor suffer the most .

re-electing a so called socialist party will make little or no difference.

one thing is sure, whoever is elected as the next prime minister, will be another of

RUPERT MURDOHS MUPPETS.

abandon all hope ye farangs,

Edited February 26, 2013 by elliss

[Naam]

But - and don't let anyone tell you any different - The internet, Thaivisa in particular, the banter down the bar, everywhere (if you cared to listen) was the warning 'These exchange rates are not going to last".

Some took heed of these warnings, some gloried in the cheap days and started a variable cost life style on a fixed income.

Now its time to blame the British Government for one's own folly. All is not lost.

Sell high in Thailand, buy cheap in the UK.

That's a bit cheeky GH. You've always been one of the diehard leave your money in the UK where it's safer brigade

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/615739-whats-up-with-the-thai-baht/page-9

or the originals where you used to denounce Dr.Naam and otthers as heretics for moving money outside "safe" jurisdictions

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/155648-gbp-sterling/page-3

ukjackthai, on 2007-12-10 16:19:45, said:

Idealism!

100% cash in GBP 6.51% AER offshore. Only transfer (spending money) to LOS when THB/GBP rates are high.

Practicle? or stupid?

GuestHouse, on 2007-12-10 16:38:07, said:

While I don't see the need to put money offshore - tax free and feeless accounts are available on the mainland with better interest rates.

But in all other respects this is a good policy.

The Thai Baht is up and down like a tarts draws over any 12 month period. Just buy when you are happy with the rate....

GuestHouse, on 2007-12-09 00:01:00, said:

Its not some inbuilt ability JK. As part of my overseas assignment package I receive free (company paid) access to one of the world's leading tax and investment advisory firms.

Their advice has been consistent - I don't need to put savings off shore to protect myself against tax. I should maintain my savings in my home currency (home being where I'll head if life goes to rat sh1t) and I should take advantage of the trust laws to ensure my family's future is protected.

Of course individual circumstances are different but my bet is that the fundamentals of the advice I have been given is good for everyone except for those with no savings and the super rich.

quite interesting to read our old discussions Fletch! especially where the participants agree to vehemently disagree

ironically the heavy sabres duel Guesthouse vs. Naam on "home currency" took place a couple of weeks after GBP 1 fetched THB 71

[topchilla]

The first post says it all "tossers running this country" UK. In other threads I have seen well qualified disgust at Thai corruption well hello everyone it's not just Thailand!

If you only pick up your info from the papers and online then you may buy into the spin that is spouted out by the leaders. The facts are clear to me. UK is going rapidly down the pan, all it's showcase projects will be moved abroad in another decade eg. large parts of JLR and there is an underlying reliance on the city and guess who?

The good old bankers who revel on our impotent attempts to succeed by printing more currency for them to manipulate.

We are well and truly screwed. If you think it's bad in Thailand then don't come back the cities and towns of old blighty are turning into urban ghettos for either the underclass or super elite suckling on the fat of the land. The divide is opening between rich and poor. Forget middle class, you lot are in the same category now as the other lot "poor". I guess that's me too then.

There is no stimulus so no real jobs out there. The rest of the world is rapidly expanding beyond our hopes. UK even exports its finest technicians, scientists and academics now effectively as the knowledge and advance is closely studied and take on by other nations getting themselves organised and studying in the uk and bringing the best abroad. Uk universities are feeding of this short term decade or so hit that will not last too.

I am all for global trade etc but we have sold the family silver in more ways than one and all that the powers that be are doing is getting what they can while they can.

Big Society anyone?

I feel for people living in Thailand on fixed UK pensions but not as much as I do for some of the old folks back here who worked all their lives and paid in but were not lucky enough to have had four pensions or middle income jobs, second homes etc etc. Many are living a life of shit that you could never really appreciate think on! Is this the country they worked hard to build and their fathers and mothers laid down their lives for?

Some of you guys were loving it living off state funds and your pensions a few years ago abroad and to be honest good on you. Just don't whine now. Some of us did warn you about the risks at the time. I remember the smiles I got when sharing a beer with a few people in similar situations when I warned of this. Get on with it, that's life, we can't change it.

I will see jack all from the massive contributions I have worked damn hard to pay by the time I retire. I have never claimed a penny despite being eligible sometimes but even these days despite people's hardest efforts there is literally not enough economic activity to get the population to work.

Yet we see more casinos being built, every high street having a string of betting shops, pawnbrokers and loan companies popping up whilst household names dive and disappear.

On the ground this is crisis point! UK will fail it is just a matter of when. Europe is on the brink do not be fooled otherwise.

The worst case scenario is for the public at large to believe this so at all costs everyone must be meant to feel all will be ok. This is a European consensus amongst its leaders, they have to keep order otherwise there would be chaos and nobody wants that.

Keep on believing that everything will be ok in a few years time just like everyone who was an "expert" said the recession would be over in 18months first time around. I know where I would rather be right now and it's not UK. There are some big hurdles for the US to overcome too but that said personally I have more confidence in them keeping their house in order when the crap hits the fan than the UK.

Too many people making excuses.

There are too many looking down at their feet when it's time to step up to the mark of all classes and backgrounds.

Too few people that actually do step up for the greater good and their community.

Too much greed, bitterness and resent amongst the ruling classes and right through many local Councils.

People in my opinion have forgot why they are public sector officers and elected representatives. They are there to serve the interests of the nation and not their personal agendas either on the side or blatantly! This makes me very sad.

It goes against everything I believed was good about what we were about as a nation, positive endeavour, enterprise, acceptance diplomacy and leadership. A country where anyone should be proud to be part of is at its knees!

I do not make assumptions about you so respect the same in me. I am merely sharing my personal opinion for others information to give a personal perspective at this point in time. Everyone is an individual and I can crack a smile once in a while. Life goes on right!

[wellred]

Very worrying this. Wish there was a way to stimulate some growth over here, no pun intended.

[ajarnpot]

I guess if you are clever enough to have 4 pensions 3 kids in private schools and more than 1 house your income is not so bad.

Decline of the GBP is bad, we should return UK to offshore banking haven, for yanks etc be picky about who can live and stay by having a minimum contribution to the economy.

also would like to see any remaining german gold siezed on the basis that ww2 was expensive, in fact any froggy gold as well for that matter. Italian gold too, and greeks

[StreetCowboy]

My experience of education was that the people who benefited least from it went out of their way to avoid it, rendering themselves unfit to work in an economy that did not have 300 baht / day jobs. If you read the posts of our fellow small businessmen based in Thailand, many of them bemoan the minimum wage, and the effect that it will have of them, and the economy.

I put it to you that the fault lies with the underclass who have failed to take advantage of the education on offer and failed to make themselves fit to work in the economy into which they have been forced by socialist welfare policies. If labour in our coal mines was as cheap as that in Colombian mines, how many would still be open? If we price ourselves out of one market, we have to make ourselves fit for another, or we find ourselves on the scrap heap.

SC

EDIT: Quotes deleted; one great wall of text, and another by mistake

Edited February 27, 2013 by StreetCowboy

[homeownership]

If anyone thinks the Uk economy is going bounce back then their absolutly right. We dont make anything, sell anything, lend or borrow anything, but the magic continues. Invest in the UK George Osbourne says, but invest in what, fresh air and rain. The UK is finished, those that cant see it and wont see, please dont blame them, dont disturb their illusions, it affects their mental health ad a drink... TBC

[pipchatel]

Hi . I had promised that yesterday would be my last post. But one comment got under my skin about "old guys having 3 kids at 70" Well I really felt that the guys who treat us OAP as stereotypes, should be put right, put in their place.
My "Kids are 17 and 18 (Twins) I met my Thai wife in Paris where she worked in the Thai Embassy. I was doing some contract work for The Thai royal air force. So its not quite as it seemed is it. She gets her own pension from The Thai Foreign office. I would also mention that one of my Pensions is a disability pension from the MOD, I was blown up in Da Nang, Vietnam in 1971 where I was a civilian avionics contractor, I was made permanently deaf!
So All is not as the Financial adviser guy thinks, milking the UK system is it? Another pension is From Air bus industries, FRANCE so maybe I'm milking the French too? My main Pensions are from the M.O.D and British Aerospace.

Some of us have had a successful and interesting life. Some of us have worked hard and chosen a better place to retire.Mostly because we had been there before,we have travelled and therefore could choose an alternative to a cold,soggy,foggy Island run by Tony Blaire and his cronies. Some of us didn't get of the plane at Bangkok, fall in love with the first Bar girl they saw!

I could save close on a million baht a year by putting my "Kids" in a Thai school. But that's a real no brainer, 50 in a class, filling their heads with nothing really. My investment will be returned when one day when they will get good jobs and take care of us? well just their mother would be enough for me. "My KIDS" have UK/Thai nationality.
So do please when you see these OAP in your local Immigration, do take time to say something as mostly they probably could be rather interesting! Yet again, they might make you feel inferior!
Good luck you all

Edited February 27, 2013 by pipchatel

[meatballs]

Ouch. 45 baht to the pound. Nice. I wonder if Thaivisa will become less British soon..

[StreetCowboy]

Ouch. 45 baht to the pound. Nice. I wonder if Thaivisa will become less British soon..

Doubt it. We'll stay over here, earning the big money.

SC

[apetley]

Ouch. 45 baht to the pound. Nice. I wonder if Thaivisa will become less British soon..

If sterling continues it's swan dive expect TV to be nothing but a place dominated by Brits crying into their Changs.

[billd766]

Oh to have such worries............

3 kids in private school.......

Renting out the second home......

Feel free to come back and tell the working man in the UK how difficult things are for you.

Why are people so jealous?. Perhaps he went without,to pay for his children's private education,maybe he worked 14hrs a day ,when he was working.

You mention the working man in the UK,yes,I also feel sorry for those who work hard,or have been put on the dole through no fault of their own, yet still want to work.unfortunately as we all know,there's a part of the British people who are not prepared to work,they seem to think it's their right to be able to draw and live on the many benefits that they have been bribed with by successive governments.

Theblether

nontabury......I'm not jealous of the OP, simply put......I'm far from skint.

However there are people all over the UK losing their homes, never mind having to " rent out the second home to make up the difference " as the OP put it.

Please forgive me if my heart fails to bleed at having to suffer the depredation of having to " rent out the second home to make up the difference ".

Also I'm fed up with British expats moaning about the UK, the Baby Boomers raped the country for every penny going and pulled the bridge up as they sailed off to their early retirements.

Now us younger guys are paying the bill. Thanks for that.

Well this is one Baby Boomer who certainly did not rape the country. But I did work every day 14-16 hrs a day,sometimes 7days a week, at one stage having 3 jobs.Never claimed dole or went on the sick,just worked,worked and worked,created my own business and then got sick of job applicants.Some of whom were sent to me by the job centre, many would tell me quite bluntly that they had no intension of working,to happy to live off benefits,and spend their days in the pub.Finally I came to my senses and decided to retire,came to Thailand and liked it.Unfortunately I have not been able to pull up the bridge,as I'm STILL paying taxes in the UK to support the same system.

Yes you can blame SOME Baby Boomers for accepting the bribes dished out by the political parties,but what about your age

Group theblether, your the people who voted in the likes of Blair and Brown,and will probably return the same political party to power at the next general election.It's not just one age group to blame for the present day shambles,it's the whole country.

Some of us young Mr Blether predate the baby boomers by a long way.

Like Nontabury I certainly didn't rape the country, in fact for 25 years I was one of many who defended it.

After a few years working for the government I worked for a private copnay build mobile phone systems in the UK for people like you and then built them in other countries so that my compay in the UK could pay even more tax.

There is nothing like a 60 or 70 hour, 6 or 7 day working week to increase the fortunes of the UK and to pay even more of my hard earned cash into the tax system to help pay to support the generations that went before me and I didn't complain about it at all.

Now I see it all pissed away on fruitless wars by the New Labour Party to show people how "Great" Britain is.

What politicians fail to realise is how easy it is to start a war and how hard it is stop stop one. When they start it they have no real idea of what they are doing, nor do they realise the financial burden they are passing on to other generations let alone the cost in killed and injured servicemen and women.

And the worst thing it is YOUR money they are pissing away that would be much better spent on the people of the UK long before ANY money goes in foreign "aid".

So remember the next time you complain about older people "taking pensions out of the country" that a lot of them including some of your family bled, got injured and died so people can whine.

Edited February 27, 2013 by billd766

[theblether]

Predictable reactions to my post.

So who brought in all of these cushy jobs for life packages and the like? The tooth fairy?

It's well known by many here that I'm a SNP supporter, it's also known by many my undiluted hatred for Blair and Brown, both fellow Scot's, both deluded nutters, I actually hold Brown more responsible for the financial meltdown than Blair, as Brown dedicated his life to undermining Blair. Though I hold Blair responsible for the deliberate mass immigration policy, a policy that they thought would do in the Tory chances of being re-elected forever as the grateful immigrants would forever be beholden to the Labour Party.

I'm not anti-immigration, I'm anti-unfair immigration.

However there is no doubt whatsoever that the baby boom generation have bolted with the treasure, and left us with the bailiffs at the door, thanks for that.

[Morakot]

I'm anti-unfair immigration.

Why not being for something?

Edited February 27, 2013 by Morakot

[Naam]

I guess if you are clever enough to have 4 pensions 3 kids in private schools and more than 1 house your income is not so bad.

Decline of the GBP is bad, we should return UK to offshore banking haven, for yanks etc be picky about who can live and stay by having a minimum contribution to the economy.

also would like to see any remaining german gold siezed on the basis that ww2 was expensive, in fact any froggy gold as well for that matter. Italian gold too, and greeks

pot = nomen est omen!

[Naam]

Like you, I'm a Brit and have lived in Thailand for quite some time (seventeen and a half years) and the current situation regarding the pound is not good. Just a matter of tightening one's belt and hoping for better days......wishful thinking??

The UKP is now worth 30-40% more than it was when you moved here, what exactly is your problem?

I don't have the exact figures, but as I remember it, the pound was worth about 70 baht 15 years ago. That was down from a high of over 91 to the pound in 97.

Even if the pound was numerically higher in baht now, inflation has significantly lowered it's value.

the pound was also 70 Baht ~6½ years ago

[thaibeachlovers]

The first post says it all "tossers running this country" UK. In other threads I have seen well qualified disgust at Thai corruption well hello everyone it's not just Thailand! If you only pick up your info from the papers and online then you may buy into the spin that is spouted out by the leaders. The facts are clear to me. UK is going rapidly down the pan, all it's showcase projects will be moved abroad in another decade eg. large parts of JLR and there is an underlying reliance on the city and guess who? The good old bankers who revel on our impotent attempts to succeed by printing more currency for them to manipulate. We are well and truly screwed. If you think it's bad in Thailand then don't come back the cities and towns of old blighty are turning into urban ghettos for either the underclass or super elite suckling on the fat of the land. The divide is opening between rich and poor. Forget middle class, you lot are in the same category now as the other lot "poor". I guess that's me too then. There is no stimulus so no real jobs out there. The rest of the world is rapidly expanding beyond our hopes. UK even exports its finest technicians, scientists and academics now effectively as the knowledge and advance is closely studied and take on by other nations getting themselves organised and studying in the uk and bringing the best abroad. Uk universities are feeding of this short term decade or so hit that will not last too. I am all for global trade etc but we have sold the family silver in more ways than one and all that the powers that be are doing is getting what they can while they can. Big Society anyone? I feel for people living in Thailand on fixed UK pensions but not as much as I do for some of the old folks back here who worked all their lives and paid in but were not lucky enough to have had four pensions or middle income jobs, second homes etc etc. Many are living a life of shit that you could never really appreciate think on! Is this the country they worked hard to build and their fathers and mothers laid down their lives for? Some of you guys were loving it living off state funds and your pensions a few years ago abroad and to be honest good on you. Just don't whine now. Some of us did warn you about the risks at the time. I remember the smiles I got when sharing a beer with a few people in similar situations when I warned of this. Get on with it, that's life, we can't change it. I will see jack all from the massive contributions I have worked damn hard to pay by the time I retire. I have never claimed a penny despite being eligible sometimes but even these days despite people's hardest efforts there is literally not enough economic activity to get the population to work. Yet we see more casinos being built, every high street having a string of betting shops, pawnbrokers and loan companies popping up whilst household names dive and disappear. On the ground this is crisis point! UK will fail it is just a matter of when. Europe is on the brink do not be fooled otherwise. The worst case scenario is for the public at large to believe this so at all costs everyone must be meant to feel all will be ok. This is a European consensus amongst its leaders, they have to keep order otherwise there would be chaos and nobody wants that. Keep on believing that everything will be ok in a few years time just like everyone who was an "expert" said the recession would be over in 18months first time around. I know where I would rather be right now and it's not UK. There are some big hurdles for the US to overcome too but that said personally I have more confidence in them keeping their house in order when the crap hits the fan than the UK. Too many people making excuses. There are too many looking down at their feet when it's time to step up to the mark of all classes and backgrounds. Too few people that actually do step up for the greater good and their community. Too much greed, bitterness and resent amongst the ruling classes and right through many local Councils. People in my opinion have forgot why they are public sector officers and elected representatives. They are there to serve the interests of the nation and not their personal agendas either on the side or blatantly! This makes me very sad. It goes against everything I believed was good about what we were about as a nation, positive endeavour, enterprise, acceptance diplomacy and leadership. A country where anyone should be proud to be part of is at its knees! I do not make assumptions about you so respect the same in me. I am merely sharing my personal opinion for others information to give a personal perspective at this point in time. Everyone is an individual and I can crack a smile once in a while. Life goes on right!

When I arrived in the UK in 98 and constantly received mail begging me to take unsecured loans of large amounts, while housing was unaffordable, it was obvious to me that it was all going to turn to poo ( as it has ). When Gordon threw 6 billion into the NHS black hole, I knew that I was right.

If I, not a trained economist, could work that out, why couldn't all the government economists?

Looking back, I should have borrowed as much as I could and fled to LOS, where the pound was still worth something. I'd still be living the high life here on the proceeds.

[thaibeachlovers]

Hi . I had promised that yesterday would be my last post. But one comment got under my skin about "old guys having 3 kids at 70" Well I really felt that the guys who treat us OAP as stereotypes, should be put right, put in their place.

My "Kids are 17 and 18 (Twins) I met my Thai wife in Paris where she worked in the Thai Embassy. I was doing some contract work for The Thai royal air force. So its not quite as it seemed is it. She gets her own pension from The Thai Foreign office. I would also mention that one of my Pensions is a disability pension from the MOD, I was blown up in Da Nang, Vietnam in 1971 where I was a civilian avionics contractor, I was made permanently deaf!

So All is not as the Financial adviser guy thinks, milking the UK system is it? Another pension is From Air bus industries, FRANCE so maybe I'm milking the French too? My main Pensions are from the M.O.D and British Aerospace.

Some of us have had a successful and interesting life. Some of us have worked hard and chosen a better place to retire.Mostly because we had been there before,we have travelled and therefore could choose an alternative to a cold,soggy,foggy Island run by Tony Blaire and his cronies. Some of us didn't get of the plane at Bangkok, fall in love with the first Bar girl they saw!

I could save close on a million baht a year by putting my "Kids" in a Thai school. But that's a real no brainer, 50 in a class, filling their heads with nothing really. My investment will be returned when one day when they will get good jobs and take care of us? well just their mother would be enough for me. "My KIDS" have UK/Thai nationality.

So do please when you see these OAP in your local Immigration, do take time to say something as mostly they probably could be rather interesting! Yet again, they might make you feel inferior!

Good luck you all

I hope no one is saying that those that worked and paid tax don't deserve pensions etc. However, there are far too many Brits that never worked and still get benefits.

However, what got me when I worked in the NHS, is the number of immigrants that bring their aged parents over ( that never paid tax in the UK ) to get free ops on the British taxpayer. Nothing short of corruption, and the UK government should be ashamed of themselves for allowing it.

[Eff1n2ret]

Turning for a moment from the emotive stuff about "Baby boomers" and derision of the OP because he has four pensions (so what? - if you changed jobs a few times in your career, that's not unusual), I wonder what calculations other retirees are making as to their future plans. We all have our own reference point about the exchange rate, my own is that when I first visited Thailand in 1996, the pound bought 40 Baht. In the 3.1/2 years since I finally retired out here, when the rate was 55, I have thought several times that there now seems to be little reason why it should not descend again to 40, but I've really no idea any more.

The point is, there could come a stage when one's pension income no longer translates into the 65000 Baht monthly figure required for a Retirement Extension. I have so far shrunk from calculating that point in my own case, and will put off the moment of truth a little longer as last week I just extended for another year without a problem. But I have always religiously followed the nostrum frequently expressed on this forum, "Never bring in to Thailand more than you can afford to walk away from." So all my pensions, which are paid (and taxed) in the UK are banked there, all my savings are still there, and I want to keep it that way for as long as I can. However, I now find myself wondering whether it would be a good idea to transfer 800k-worth into one of my accounts here, or a proportion of that figure so as to ensure meeting the Thai immigration requirements.

[thaibeachlovers]

Turning for a moment from the emotive stuff about "Baby boomers" and derision of the OP because he has four pensions (so what? - if you changed jobs a few times in your career, that's not unusual), I wonder what calculations other retirees are making as to their future plans. We all have our own reference point about the exchange rate, my own is that when I first visited Thailand in 1996, the pound bought 40 Baht. In the 3.1/2 years since I finally retired out here, when the rate was 55, I have thought several times that there now seems to be little reason why it should not descend again to 40, but I've really no idea any more.

The point is, there could come a stage when one's pension income no longer translates into the 65000 Baht monthly figure required for a Retirement Extension. I have so far shrunk from calculating that point in my own case, and will put off the moment of truth a little longer as last week I just extended for another year without a problem. But I have always religiously followed the nostrum frequently expressed on this forum, "Never bring in to Thailand more than you can afford to walk away from." So all my pensions, which are paid (and taxed) in the UK are banked there, all my savings are still there, and I want to keep it that way for as long as I can. However, I now find myself wondering whether it would be a good idea to transfer 800k-worth into one of my accounts here, or a proportion of that figure so as to ensure meeting the Thai immigration requirements.

Good idea if you wish to continue living here. However, don't forget to do at least one transaction just before applying for the extension.

However, depending on your age, you may no longer be able to afford the medical insurance, so might have to go back to live in the UK anyway.

[Eff1n2ret]

Good idea if you wish to continue living here. However, don't forget to do at least one transaction just before applying for the extension.

However, depending on your age, you may no longer be able to afford the medical insurance, so might have to go back to live in the UK anyway.

- or given the reported state of the NHS these days, perhaps that should read, "go back to die in the UK"

[thaibeachlovers]

Predictable reactions to my post.

So who brought in all of these cushy jobs for life packages and the like? The tooth fairy?

It's well known by many here that I'm a SNP supporter, it's also known by many my undiluted hatred for Blair and Brown, both fellow Scot's, both deluded nutters, I actually hold Brown more responsible for the financial meltdown than Blair, as Brown dedicated his life to undermining Blair. Though I hold Blair responsible for the deliberate mass immigration policy, a policy that they thought would do in the Tory chances of being re-elected forever as the grateful immigrants would forever be beholden to the Labour Party.

I'm not anti-immigration, I'm anti-unfair immigration.

However there is no doubt whatsoever that the baby boom generation have bolted with the treasure, and left us with the bailiffs at the door, thanks for that.

I doubt you dislike Blair/ Brown less than I.

I lived in the UK during their reign and it was obvious that they were stuffing it up. Although Brown was incompetent, IMO Blair was worse because he had 2 huge majorities in parliament that he could have done immense good for the country with, and he threw it all away with his sucking up to Bush in Iraq. I knew he was lying when he was talking about WMDs, so why didn't his advisors? I doubt that we'll ever know the real story.

[TommoPhysicist]

Turning for a moment from the emotive stuff about "Baby boomers" and derision of the OP because he has four pensions (so what? - if you changed jobs a few times in your career, that's not unusual), I wonder what calculations other retirees are making as to their future plans. We all have our own reference point about the exchange rate, my own is that when I first visited Thailand in 1996, the pound bought 40 Baht. In the 3.1/2 years since I finally retired out here, when the rate was 55, I have thought several times that there now seems to be little reason why it should not descend again to 40, but I've really no idea any more.

The point is, there could come a stage when one's pension income no longer translates into the 65000 Baht monthly figure required for a Retirement Extension. I have so far shrunk from calculating that point in my own case, and will put off the moment of truth a little longer as last week I just extended for another year without a problem. But I have always religiously followed the nostrum frequently expressed on this forum, "Never bring in to Thailand more than you can afford to walk away from." So all my pensions, which are paid (and taxed) in the UK are banked there, all my savings are still there, and I want to keep it that way for as long as I can. However, I now find myself wondering whether it would be a good idea to transfer 800k-worth into one of my accounts here, or a proportion of that figure so as to ensure meeting the Thai immigration requirements.

I've always kept 400k in the bank here, to ensure my visa extension.

Seems sensible to me. The exchange rate only affects my day to day spending power.

[thaibeachlovers]

Good idea if you wish to continue living here. However, don't forget to do at least one transaction just before applying for the extension.

However, depending on your age, you may no longer be able to afford the medical insurance, so might have to go back to live in the UK anyway.

- or given the reported state of the NHS these days, perhaps that should read, "go back to die in the UK"

Hmmmm. Die in a hospital bed in the UK, or in the street in LOS? It's a conundrum.

I worked in the UK NHS and I was less than impressed with the care on offer, but at least the morphine is free while you die.