Ways To Cut Down The Cost Of Living In Thailand

[thenervoussurgeon]

Live in a cardboard box , with no tv ,no internet, dont drink ,only eat foos that you beg for in the street ,or if things are really bad you could slit your wrists.or do the Pattaya high dive .saves loads.

[Jaybonnaza]

Well opposite of cutting costs ... But on iPhone and it does not allow new topics...

I'm in Bangkok Centara grand central world so if any bangers are about and can recommend the best night spots and if about for a drink I'm game .

[kennedy]

when you buy your caviar and champagne don't use your Honda Wave. walk and save on gasoline as well as on motorcycle wear and tear.

Caviar makes me sick to my stomach,and champagne gives me a headache.

I have everything I need delivered to the house.

I bought a treadmill to avoid the soi dogs.

Edited April 17, 2013 by kennedy

[pattayadingo]

If I really wanted to save money I would move to the g/f's village. She can sell noodles there and make 20 Baht per portion, or in town make 25 Baht per portion. She could contribute to my expensive living.

While she does that I could stay at home all day and have rubbish internet, rubbish tv too as there is no decent internet and no cable tv. No torrents. No people to talk to.

The highlight of the week would be off down to the Thai barbecue.

I could sit outside with a few beers and be bitten to death by mozzies.

There are no nearby banks or 7/11, Tesco Lotus or other such fine things in life. The town itself has no BigC or Makro. No bars either.

But why would I put myself through such torture? I'd rather pay a little extra and be where I am.

Here, I could easily live beyond my means but I use common sense and do not splash out. I refuse to buy lady drinks, pay 100+ Baht a beer, live in a mansion and go to expensive shops but I do not.

I am happy with my lot as it is and apart from rent I pay out maybe 35k a month. That gets us good home cooked food, nights out, good music, internet, run the car and the m/c. I can have sex whenever I want it.

Air con and hot showers. GMM tv for her in 2 rooms. Football for me down in town with a few beers and chat to friends.

Life is pretty good as it is and a whole lot better than a lot of people I know back in the U.K. who are paying things like bedroom tax and for other austerity measures.

[burgerking]

Rub pine needles under your arms instead of buying deodorant.

Or take extra napkins from fast food restaurants to save on toilet paper?

Or maybe share your partner’s toothbrush instead of buying your own?

“After eating avocado, rub the inside of the skin against your face,
it makes a great face pack. You can also use it to buff your shoes.”

“I buy whole milk and when nobody is looking the milk gets a good glug of water from the tap to eek it out a little further.”

“When we have toast and jam, I spread the butter on the outside edges
of the toast and spread the jam in the middle to fool my other half.

Train your dog to beg for food from strangers, so you won't have to buy dog food.

And finally , brew your own beer and wines. Not

only will you save money, but will also

save on housing costs when you spend 6 months

in rehab

Edited April 17, 2013 by burgerking

[barmatt]

Dont pay the ladies

[FunFon]

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

-

Aha I just figured it out - you were joking huh?

[NoshowJones]

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

and people well under sixty years old.

[poanoi]

Insurance companies aren't charity clubs, they are there to make money on you,

so on average you will lose on taking an insurance,

you have to be lucky to win here

[mca]

Use your own spunk as a salty and nutritional alternative to nam pla.

[kiniyow]

Eat at KFC with a drink for 95 Baht..Thai food is expensive~~

[MaxYakov]

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

Replace 'Drive a scooter' with 'Ride a bicycle'. It might save on hospital bills in the long run (then again it may not if one is situational-awareness-challenged and/or can barely walk, much less deal with a dynamic situation on Thai roads on a bicycle).

Replace 'Avoid women' with 'Avoid high-maintenance women'. This may be impossible, but you'll save a lot of money trying to find one ... maybe.

Replace 'Don't use air-con' with 'Use air-con wisely'. One might ask oneself just how broke is one to suffer the heat and risk a heat stroke? This applies to 'Rent in a Thai area at Thai prices' as well.

Edited April 17, 2013 by MaxYakov

[watcharacters]

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

.

OK, And why did you say you like living in Thailand?

[watcharacters]

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

.

ya gotta admit it is apropos. 555

[yourauntbob]

Step 1) Find a Thai women who knows how to manage the family finances.

Step 2) Listen to what she says

There are many women like this out there, I know countless farangs making less than 40k per month who are doing great thanks to their wife's ability to stretch their checks to the fullest and invest whats left.

[tinom]

Come to Cambodia...

Booze, smoke and girls are cheaper...

[Neeranam]

We just talked about putting a fish pond in the back garden to save money. Not only can we eat the fish but also all the plants/veggies round about it.
Might buy a chicken - did you know that fish eat chicken xxxx?

Edited April 17, 2013 by metisdead

[Neeranam]

Come to Cambodia...

Booze, smoke and girls are cheaper...

No thanks, it's also the last stop for people addicted to all of these three things.

[Neeranam]

Eat at KFC with a drink for 95 Baht..Thai food is expensive~~

Buy your coke in 7/11 and take it into KFC - they don't mind.

[StreetCowboy]

Most of people's financial problems in LOS can be tracked back to simple naivete.

There's not many pensioners in the UK saying to themselves yippee, now I'm retired I can go get a new young family.

On top of that, most people have never been great earners in the first place. To me the expectation / reality equation is all wrong, and the fault behind that lies with the individual. You need to have realistic expectations as to what you can afford in Thailand, and have a deep think about the commitments you're taking on.

If I was staying here long term I would be in one of those modern condos that are dotted about CM at 4-5000 baht a month, driving a motorbike, and basing my life on the Thai economy. I could live so cheap here it's unbelievable, use CM as a base to explore Asia, and have the occasional fancy blow out.

That's how I live my life now and I don't see why it should change greatly after retirement.

if ( big if ) I got captured by some Thai enchantress, she'd be working for a living. One of the best ways to ruin a relationship is to encourage unsustainable expectations. I haven't worked all my life to blow all my money on some Thai lazy *rse, and you can guarantee that there is no way that I would drop a coin of my family wealth into an unrecoverable position.

Could you imagine me telling my parents, " after all the effort you put in to build the family fortune, I blew it on a scally "?.

Be realistic about your expectations and defend your assets with your life and you're in with a chance, do the opposite and it will be all over before you know it.

Did you read about that in the Telegraph?

[StreetCowboy]

when you buy your caviar and champagne don't use your Honda Wave. walk and save on gasoline as well as on motorcycle wear and tear.

Caviar makes me sick to my stomach,and champagne gives me a headache.

I have everything I need delivered to the house.

I bought a treadmill to avoid the soi dogs.

Does the treadmill confuse them? Do you step off, then turn it up to full welly?

I can just imagine a soi dog on the treadmill chasing you on your exercise bike...

[FunFon]

Insurance companies aren't charity clubs, they are there to make money on you,

so on average you will lose on taking an insurance,

you have to be lucky to win here

-

Yes but it takes a long time to average, if I've only got a few thousand in the bank at any given time, but my little girl falls down the stairs and splits her head open on the concrete and needs brain scans at a place with qualified neurosurgeons that speak English, I think at that time I might consider the extra monthly expense worthwhile. . .

All spoken from real experience and thanks to God no she didn't have any damage to her brain.

Not an area to cut corners on if at all possible

Edited April 17, 2013 by FunFon

[theblether]

Personally speaking, I think insurance should be a mandatory requirement for all foreigners that live in the country. No insurance, no visa.

I think it's scandalous that foreigners clog up the public hospitals, where the poor have to wait for hours as it is.

[Morakot]

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

Definitely! Plus saving ten years of rent, as one will be not need a dwelling when the arteries have packed up from the coconut oil and the likes of malnutrition.

Edited April 17, 2013 by Morakot

[yoslim]

Eat at KFC with a drink for 95 Baht..Thai food is expensive~~

Buy your coke in 7/11 and take it into KFC - they don't mind.

I'm guilty of doing that at McDonalds, I don't go much anymore as the prices in Pattaya just got stupid for a hamburger

[notmyself]

Learn how to do things yourself.

[GuestHouse]

Fly economy rather than business class but truthfully who could be bothered with that.

Right I'm only kidding.......the sister question to the OP is, how do you earn more in Thailand or overseas? Surely maximising your income is as important as cutting your expenses?

I'm not going to get into that bucket of crabs.

I don't understand that.......when do you intend to live in Thailand full time? Surely maximising you're income would be important to you?

I live in Thailand full time, I have maximised my income, it was and is important to me, but many do not have the opportunities I have so I have no desire to get into a broader discussion on the subject.

[FunFon]

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

Definitely! Plus saving ten years of rent, as one will be not need a dwelling when the arteries have packed up from the coconut oil and the likes of malnutrition.

-

I used to think like Rob that it was cheaper to eat out, and for 1-2 people that may seem true if you shop at supermarkets and want relatively fancy food.

However eating truly wholesome food is actually much cheaper as long as you shop where the street vendors do - the biggest local market.

You might have to get up at 4am to do so, but fruit and veg prices are often 50-70% lower than the same stuff at the local street market, 80-90% lower than supermarkets, also fish chicken etc much cheaper and fresher.

The price difference will actually pay the labor cost on someone to cook it for you, get a daily house-cleaning and the health benefits for free as a side benefit. Or just do it all yourself and keep the money.

Note that many SO's are too lazy or concerned about face, takes a strong man to overcome those powerful forces. . .

[FunFon]

Eat at KFC with a drink for 95 Baht..Thai food is expensive~~

Buy your coke in 7/11 and take it into KFC - they don't mind.

-

Really, we should be paid to put those poisons in our body, nothing like this should be mentioned in a topic about saving money, that's two meals for seven people in my house and much healthier food too. . .

[GuestHouse]

Come to Cambodia...

Booze, smoke and girls are cheaper...

So are the expats...