Ways To Cut Down The Cost Of Living In Thailand

[GuestHouse]

We get a lot of discussion on 'is it possible to live on x Bht per month' but not much practical advice on ways to cut down on the cost of living in Thailand, those money saving ideas guys have that they might want to share.

Humorous or otherwise any suggestions from the board?

[BookMan]

Cut the booze. Save a fortune there for many guys

[Mosha]

Move to the sticks.

[poanoi]

Plenty of <6000 baht rooms around,

eat thai food at mom & pop shop, or buy take away

skip ladydrinks & paid female companionship,

skip being white knight as well,

yes, go-go was my biggest expense, by far !

Edited April 17, 2013 by poanoi

[hullupullo]

When I have to pay my truevisions bill, 1568,12baht, I go to bank (20km one way) by bicycle. If I pay that bill on bankcounter and cash, they give discount 12 satang. Internet banking takes full 1568,12 baht. WOHOOO!! Next?

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Watch Thai Tv (no True subs)

Eat Thai food (forget The Dukes)

Don't drink in foreigner bars.

Avoid women (if you are a man)

Drive a scooter.

Rent in a Thai area at Thai prices.

Don't use air-con

Edited April 17, 2013 by AnotherOneAmerican

[Pomthai]

Stop spending so much money.

/thread

[robblok]

Find a gf that will share in the cost of living instead of paying one a salary. This might require a step down for some guys as their charm wont allow them the company the want but their wallet did.

Move to a cheaper accommodation (by far the best way to save money) as a plus your also further away from the P2P venue's

Don't cook food yourself eat at street stalls (cheaper by far i can know i cook my own food)

Put the aircon on a higher setting (changes a lot)

Get a motorbike (saves a lot on transport)

[FunFon]

Rent a 4-5 storey shophouse for the same rent as a medium apartment (20% of a farang-standard serviced one, and yes do pay the rent on time)

Get 2-3 others in to share the cost of a maid, send her down to the wet market for fruit veg and a bit of your favorite protein sources and have her cook.

Street food suddenly looks very expensive, less tasty and a lot less healthy.

Makro/Tesco/Big C for bulk essentials.

No need to set foot in any supermarket unless you're really craving an occasional western luxury brand-item.

Edited April 17, 2013 by FunFon

[FunFon]

Bangkok-specific:

Live on the river and orient your life around the ferry services

Get to know the bus system - GoogleMaps

Use BTS/MRT/BMT as a last resort only, relatively expensive

Don't even consider taxis

[aussiebebe]

Although it's illegal and shameful, Thailand's lax attitude to illegal downloading enables anyone living here to save heaps on movies, software and books compared with buying online and paying shipping and import duties. Home internet is good value. In seven years I don't think I've once seen a genuine version of Windows.
Never advisable to borrow money on credit cards, but getting a credit card gets you discounts when you make purchases for meals or fuel, plus you'll earn points which can be redeemed against purchases and every month you'll get a lot of discount vouchers.
There's a cool site bangkok4free - mostly places tourists might be interested in but some info about discounts.
another site, gemetobangkok has 1000's of discount coupons. I can see how some people might snigger at the thought of printing a voucher for a free beer when they go to a pub, but if you're living here long-term, some vouchers might come in handy, like free frames when you buy glasses etc.

[FunFon]

No rot-your-brain broadcast TV, no cable bill.

Download your favorite films, work your way through historical Oscars and "best-of" lists.

[JLCrab]

Rent a place and then don't pay your rent.

[FunFon]

Learn to speak Thai, make friends with regular families and never have to go looking for love in all the wrong places.

I recognise in advance that the below target profile doesn't match that of many here, but do contend it's the only way to get good value for money in this area for an old fat guy without a lot of money. I also concede that some will assume this is an "exploitative pig" approach to some that assume the worst, fire away. . .

Do go looking in remote rural areas, ideally ones not densely populated by ex-BGs and mia farang (IOW no western-standard houses scattered around the villages)

Don't consider a GF that

has greedy parents

has ever left home or worked outside the family farm fields or in construction

has learned any English

has been with a foreigner

ever touched a computer

(and thus obviously)

uses makeup, dyes her hair, or has gotten a tattoo

has ever had a baby

Do bargain hard for most of the sin sot to come back, get banked as a "severance package" for their daughter if things don't work out

Do state her allowance up-front and that any money to be sent home to come from this

- but do budget for a secret additional 30% set-aside for contingencies

- do not otherwise go above this except at your discretion and random intervals occasional bonuses for extra effort, gifts for clothes & electronics

- do take a very hard line on "rescuing" family emergencies, anything life-threatening you choose the hospital and doctor and pay yourself directly (if you can afford it)

- find ways to encourage her to learn how to save money in order to fund her large purchases

Do make it clear that "love" (however you define it) may well come in time, but don't pretend nor encourage her to lie, in fact make it clear any dishonesty in either direction is an immediate deal-breaker.

Do make it clear that you're the boss, your way or the highway on matters large and small and be 100% consistent about that from the beginning

- do not compromise on her performance levels in her duties, do not accept any tendency to laziness or frequently making excuses

- but be generous on the flip side about anticipating and taking care of her needs, devoting yourself to her growth and education - help her learn english, computers and send her back to school!

- act as any responsible guardian would with a strong interest in her being able to function in the globalised modern world as a responsible adult to the extent she's able

Don't expect it to last forever, realise if you get a few good years together you're ahead of the game, let her go if/when the time comes, plenty more fish in the sea

[FunFon]

Rent a place and then don't pay your rent.

-

Obviously knew that would come up eh? http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633404-ways-to-cut-down-the-cost-of-living-in-thailand/?p=6310359

Edited April 17, 2013 by FunFon

[Langsuan Man]

Rent a 4-5 storey shophouse for the same rent as a medium apartment (20% of a farang-standard serviced one, and yes do pay the rent on time)

Get 2-3 others in to share the cost of a maid, send her down to the wet market for fruit veg and a bit of your favorite protein sources and have her cook.

Street food suddenly looks very expensive, less tasty and a lot less healthy.

Makro/Tesco/Big C for bulk essentials.

No need to set foot in any supermarket unless you're really craving an occasional western luxury brand-item.

Bangkok-specific:

Live on the river and orient your life around the ferry services

Get to know the bus system - GoogleMaps

Use BTS/MRT/BMT as a last resort only, relatively expensive

Don't even consider taxis

No rot-your-brain broadcast TV, no cable bill.

Download your favorite films, work your way through historical Oscars and "best-of" lists.

Of all people to give advice on how to save money in Thailand, FunFon I find it incredulous that you have not recommended not paying your landlady for a year as a way to save money

[FunFon]

Crabby beat you to it http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633404-ways-to-cut-down-the-cost-of-living-in-thailand/?p=6310421

[NeverSure]

Rent a place and then don't pay your rent.

Your new financial adviser is FunFon?

[FunFon]

Find out which street markets sell what sort of goods and buy there - avoid shopping in any places with aircon.

[FunFon]

You don't really need a washing machine if you've got a maid.

You don't need aircon, your body gets used to fan-only cooling over time - make sure your house has good cross-ventilation and sleep in the upper storeys.

You don't even really need a fridge, but that's a bit extreme for some I know.

Build yourself a desktop rather than buying a notebook.

[JLCrab]

Yes -- because he puts his idealism above practical matters. ( he actually said so).

However the real JL Crabb doesn't really need a financial advisor as he is an astute investor in his own right. From the screenplay for Chinatown -- Gittes - Jack Nicholson / Evelyn - Faye Dunaway:

GITTES

There was a memorial service at the Mar Vista Inn today for Jasper Lamar Crabb. He died three weeks ago.

EVELYN

Is that unusual?

GITTES

Two weeks ago he bought those 25,000 acres. That's unusual.

Edited April 17, 2013 by JLCrab

[chiang mai]

I finally got rid of my sixteen year old Mitsubishi Lancer in favour of a new deisel pickup truck and as a result my fuel bill has dropped from around THB 7k a month to THB 2k a month plus my repair bills have gone from an average couple of thousand per month to zero, all of that more than outweighed the 3% interest I was getting on those funds plus I now have piece of mind and reliability, I can highly recommend it.

[mogandave]

While this will sound lame, put together a budget, and make note of everything you spend money on. Look at it each month, and determine where the dough goes. You have to understand what you’re spending money on before you can determine what to cut. Usually a fair amount of low hanging fruit to cut in any budget that needs trimming.

It’s easy to tell guys to quit smoking, drinking and womanizing, the trick it to make smoking, drinking and womanizing more affordable.

[robblok]

While this will sound lame, put together a budget, and make note of everything you spend money on. Look at it each month, and determine where the dough goes. You have to understand what you’re spending money on before you can determine what to cut. Usually a fair amount of low hanging fruit to cut in any budget that needs trimming.

It’s easy to tell guys to quit smoking, drinking and womanizing, the trick it to make smoking, drinking and womanizing more affordable.

Yes because those are good habits and essential to living... food.. why spend money on it.. rent... i know guys who skip town owing rent.... insurance.. what is that ? .. no sir booze and woman..

Just pulling your leg here but those things are luxuries and usually the thing you cut out first instead of the more important things.

[harryfrompattaya]

Go back to your country and go on welfare you will live better than you lived in Thailand if you are worried about money

I am lucky to be 84 years old and me and misses stole a lot before moving to Thailand

Most of you were to lazy and stupid to steal in your home country now are short funds too bad

[JLCrab]

But if you make womanizing affordable then all you will ever get is affordable women.

[chiang mai]

Find a more cost effective health care provider, change from say Bumrungrad to a provincial teaching hospital.

Travel more by coach and rail rather than just showing up at the airport and buying a ticket for the next plane.

Stay in new and more cost effective hotels when travelling, get over the Marriot and the Four Seasons!

Switch from shopping at Rimping/Tops/Villa and start shopping at Tesco/Big C - start to pay more attention to what you buy there.

If you're renting and you've been there a while and are on good terms with the landlord, negotiate your rent down in exchange for a fixed period.

Experiment with new and less expensive eateries, you'd be amazed at how few people ever do this in favour of staying with the places they already know.

Find an inexpensive but nice gym and take out a membership, the time you spend at the gym means you're not spending money elsewhere and it'll also do you good.

Make sure you buy health insurance

Edited April 17, 2013 by chiang mai

[JLCrab]

Don't buy any health insurance -- it's only for suckers.

[FunFon]

Find a more cost effective health care provider, change from say Bumrungrad to a provincial teaching hospital.

-

Don't even consider a hospital where anyone speaks English other than the doctor

-

Stay in new and more cost effective hotels when travelling, get over the Marriot and the Four Seasons!

-

Make friends among poor Thais and you'll always be offered a corner to crash in, just contributed toward food.

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If you're renting and you've been there a while and are on good terms with the landlord, negotiate your rent down in exchange for a fixed period.

-

Good luck with that.

Just move every few years as your local language and knowledge grows you realise just how much over-market rent you've been paying (or not paying to anticipate my fan club)

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[FunFon]

Experiment with new and less expensive eateries, you'd be amazed at how few people ever do this in favour of staying with the places they already know.

-

No need to eat out ever unless you've got extra money to burn.

-

Find an inexpensive but nice gym and take out a membership, the time you spend at the gym means you're not spending money elsewhere and it'll also do you good.

-

Total waste of money, exercise is free, if you really need infrastructure, public free-weights and PAYG (20baht) aerobics all over the place.

-

But all that's me, obviously much lower down the scale than many here, just sayin'. . .