Just How "broke" Are Thais?

[NoshowJones]

Not all thai's are hard up as one would imagine.

I know a thai lady who has one of those food trolley cards - she sells soup. She told me that her profit is thb30k a month. Ive talked to a few of my farang friends who agree that sometimes its a myth that all thais are poor. The main factor to remember is that its mostly a cash economy for them. Its rare that they pay much tax...

Thais have to earn upwards of 150.000 Baht per year before they pay tax, I don't see any street vendors earning or declaring more than that.

[Travel2003]

lets ask a follow up question here...just how broke is the average farang retiree/english teacher living in Thailand ?

or we could get more scientific...could the average retiree/english teacher survive in Thailand for a period of say 3 months without an income ?

Based on family bonds within Thailand one suspects the average "broken" Thai could survive 3 months without any money coming unlike their farang counterparts...

If that is the criteria (I do not know what is), then I believe millions and more millions in the west with jobs, houses, cars, etc, are basically poor people, since they will be personally bankrupt after 2-3 months without salary (pay backs to the banks).

Still very few back in the EU/US area who can sustain longer periods without salary.

bingo...but lets bring the question closer to home....how many of TV's finest could survive 3 months in Thailand without any money coming in ?

Anyone with a regular job should be able to live for a few months without a salary.

If not then one should think about the living standard one keeps here.

[thaicbr]

also don't forget that many Thai's have multiple bank accounts. It also does vary depending on where you are.. Aeon are not renowned as being a high end bank.

[Soutpeel]

lets ask a follow up question here...just how broke is the average farang retiree/english teacher living in Thailand ?

or we could get more scientific...could the average retiree/english teacher survive in Thailand for a period of say 3 months without an income ?

Based on family bonds within Thailand one suspects the average "broken" Thai could survive 3 months without any money coming unlike their farang counterparts...

If that is the criteria (I do not know what is), then I believe millions and more millions in the west with jobs, houses, cars, etc, are basically poor people, since they will be personally bankrupt after 2-3 months without salary (pay backs to the banks).

Still very few back in the EU/US area who can sustain longer periods without salary.

bingo...but lets bring the question closer to home....how many of TV's finest could survive 3 months in Thailand without any money coming in ?

Anyone with a regular job should be able to live for a few months without a salary.

If not then one should think about the living standard one keeps here.

OK that addresses the people who have jobs, but what about the other farang demographic in Thailand, the retiree, if the average retiree didnt receive their pension cheque for a period of 3 months..do they have enough in their piggy banks to survive..?

[Soutpeel]

also don't forget that many Thai's have multiple bank accounts. It also does vary depending on where you are.. Aeon are not renowned as being a high end bank.

Aeon is not a bank anyway ..its a Japanese credit card company, they dont fall under Thai banking regs and thats the reason you dont get hit for THB 150/time when you use a foreign ATM card... ....so high end or not I dont care I use them as it saves me THB 150/time and I can draw more money in one transaction than I can with a Thai bank..

Edited May 3, 2013 by Soutpeel

[Jingthing]

also don't forget that many Thai's have multiple bank accounts. It also does vary depending on where you are.. Aeon are not renowned as being a high end bank.

I also have multiple Thai bank accounts. That could explain the funny looks when I withdraw 100 baht from one of my puny ones.

[Travel2003]

OK that addresses the people who have jobs, but what about the other farang demographic in Thailand, the retiree, if the average retiree didnt receive their pension cheque for a period of 3 months..do they have enough in their piggy banks to survive..?

Very good question, and I think there is quite a few who would struggle if there was some snag with the payments for a few months.

Most of us "westerners" have learned that we should always think about the future, but as we grow older and get more comfortable lives, it is easy to forget that.

The locals seems sometimes to be more...............fatalistic maybe?

[doji]

^^ PM me

You shouldn’t judge people based on what you see on their bank balance, or their humble existence,… ‘cause you don’t know “how many bank account they actually have”, or what they actually do for a living” ects. And many rich thais do not use atm, they like to get their bucket full of cash from the teller directly.

My 2 aunties sell homemade thai desserts at the paksoi food stalls and make enough to just cover normal household expenses monthly. You should have seen their bank balance, eventhough they may be “cash poor” but are quite “hard assets rich”, well let’s say…their current net worth can make many farangs here want to be their gik. Anyone interested?

Yeah, PM me some photos mate, and also how much will they pay me each month and what type of condo will they put me up in?

Btw….my lovely aunties are also….never been married, graduated from tradeschool (1 beauty , 1 accounting), very nice, don’t like drinker or smoker, must be handy around the house to fix things,

and oh…quite BOSSY! (forgot to mention that, didn’t I )

You two seems like “a very well used good”. And judging by many of your posts, it seems like are also “hard to control”, and beyond the age of easy training? Naah …wouldn’t suit them at all. SORRY

[MrHammer]

The average bangkokian with a career job around 40-50 years probably make something like 30K-40K a month. People vastly underestimate the salaries of Thais, because there is a large visible underclass. If you were to go around to Thong Lor, say Tops supermarket, maybe you can take up the discussion of the poor Thais with the dude parking his Ducati.

[kevvy]

we all say how rude the Thai people are , but in this case who is the rude person .

[Soutpeel]

The average bangkokian with a career job around 40-50 years probably make something like 30K-40K a month. People vastly underestimate the salaries of Thais, because there is a large visible underclass. If you were to go around to Thong Lor, say Tops supermarket, maybe you can take up the discussion of the poor Thais with the dude parking his Ducati.

but... but...The TV resident experts say Thai's only earn THB 6000/m (and they are very well paid on this amount) live in a THB 2000/m condo and eat leaves from the side of the road and all they are good at is sleeping all day and when they are not sleeping all they are doing is drinking Thai whisky and beating up their wives..

you must be mistaken..the dude parking the Duc cant be Thai, Thai's can only afford a Honda wave on credit..

[balloon chaser]

They're not broke. They're loaded these days. Seen any poor Thais lately? I haven't. They always seem like they are flush with cash. Makes sense as there is very little poverty in Thailand. I think there are more poor people in my former country(US) than in Thailand. Can you believe that? It's true.

[transam]

They're not broke. They're loaded these days. Seen any poor Thais lately? I haven't. They always seem like they are flush with cash. Makes sense as there is very little poverty in Thailand. I think there are more poor people in my former country(US) than in Thailand. Can you believe that? It's true.

You obviously don't know how easy it is to borrow cash in LOS. Legal or not.

[balloon chaser]

Not all thai's are hard up as one would imagine.

I know a thai lady who has one of those food trolley cards - she sells soup. She told me that her profit is thb30k a month. Ive talked to a few of my farang friends who agree that sometimes its a myth that all thais are poor. The main factor to remember is that its mostly a cash economy for them. Its rare that they pay much tax...

Thais have to earn upwards of 150.000 Baht per year before they pay tax, I don't see any street vendors earning or declaring more than that.

Not all thai's are hard up as one would imagine.

I know a thai lady who has one of those food trolley cards - she sells soup. She told me that her profit is thb30k a month. Ive talked to a few of my farang friends who agree that sometimes its a myth that all thais are poor. The main factor to remember is that its mostly a cash economy for them. Its rare that they pay much tax...

Thais have to earn upwards of 150.000 Baht per year before they pay tax, I don't see any street vendors earning or declaring more than that.

One of the major reasons there is so little poverty here. People KEEP what they earn. Whereas the governments in the west steal at least a third from even the poorest workers paychecks. No wonder they're hurting.

[arthurwait]

You shouldn’t judge people based on what you see on their bank balance, or their humble existence,… ‘cause you don’t know “how many bank account they actually have”, or what they actually do for a living” ects. And many rich thais do not use atm, they like to get their bucket full of cash from the teller directly.

My 2 aunties sell homemade thai desserts at the paksoi food stalls and make enough to just cover normal household expenses monthly. You should have seen their bank balance, eventhough they may be “cash poor” but are quite “hard assets rich”, well let’s say…their current net worth can make many farangs here want to be their gik. Anyone interested?

Yeah, PM me some photos mate, and also how much will they pay me each month and what type of condo will they put me up in?

But if you're not a household expense they have no money to cover you.

Can you do a good impression of washing up liquid ?

[Soutpeel]

They're not broke. They're loaded these days. Seen any poor Thais lately? I haven't. They always seem like they are flush with cash. Makes sense as there is very little poverty in Thailand. I think there are more poor people in my former country(US) than in Thailand. Can you believe that? It's true.

You obviously don't know how easy it is to borrow cash in LOS. Legal or not.

Not for Farangs its not "Trans"....

Edited May 3, 2013 by Soutpeel

[NoshowJones]

You are so right Balloon Chaser, particularly where the UK is concerned.

[robblok]

lets ask a follow up question here...just how broke is the average farang retiree/english teacher living in Thailand ?

or we could get more scientific...could the average retiree/english teacher survive in Thailand for a period of say 3 months without an income ?

Based on family bonds within Thailand one suspects the average "broken" Thai could survive 3 months without any money coming unlike their farang counterparts...

3 months.. are you crazy.. you should have much more as that as a buffer.. i know I do.

[arthurwait]

Not all thai's are hard up as one would imagine.

I know a thai lady who has one of those food trolley cards - she sells soup. She told me that her profit is thb30k a month. Ive talked to a few of my farang friends who agree that sometimes its a myth that all thais are poor. The main factor to remember is that its mostly a cash economy for them. Its rare that they pay much tax...

Thais have to earn upwards of 150.000 Baht per year before they pay tax, I don't see any street vendors earning or declaring more than that.

I think it's 20 or 25k a month so 240k or 330k per year for paying tax.

Supposedly only 17% pay tax. I doubt many food vendors or pretty much any small business volunteers to pay tax or even declares their true earnings once caught - if they ever are.

I wonder how many people driving round in new cars or large fortuners etc would be if they had to pay income tax.

[Soutpeel]

lets ask a follow up question here...just how broke is the average farang retiree/english teacher living in Thailand ?

or we could get more scientific...could the average retiree/english teacher survive in Thailand for a period of say 3 months without an income ?

Based on family bonds within Thailand one suspects the average "broken" Thai could survive 3 months without any money coming unlike their farang counterparts...

3 months.. are you crazy.. you should have much more as that as a buffer.. i know I do.

I used 3 months as if you listen to the farangland "financial experts" they say you should have at least 3 months cash reserve stashed away in your piggy bank for a rainy day.. like you I have a lot more than 3 months stashed away as a buffer...

[Jayroo]

When Thais see my balance (yes many do look; it's a healthy retirement extension based account) some make goo goo eyes at me in response. To the number.

I am sure that those who accidently happens to see your balance, are handpicked??

Funny, but I find the majority are trying to look. Human nature I guess.

my "Human Nature" tells me NOT to look because it's down right rude!

[robblok]

lets ask a follow up question here...just how broke is the average farang retiree/english teacher living in Thailand ?

or we could get more scientific...could the average retiree/english teacher survive in Thailand for a period of say 3 months without an income ?

Based on family bonds within Thailand one suspects the average "broken" Thai could survive 3 months without any money coming unlike their farang counterparts...

3 months.. are you crazy.. you should have much more as that as a buffer.. i know I do.

I used 3 months as if you listen to the farangland "financial experts" they say you should have at least 3 months cash reserve stashed away in your piggy bank for a rainy day.. like you I have a lot more than 3 months stashed away as a buffer...

I think the 3 months is more for when you live in your home country here its harder to find and get money. Anyway I just don't think Thais are poor and I also don think they all blow their money away. I know quite a few girls with good savings. My own wife suprises me sometimes with what she saves (separate income streams and banks)

Some of her friends save a lot.. some blow it all like the others say one of her gay friends got a bag complex and buys 40k luis viton bags (real deal) and later complains he cant pay his rent. So just like farangs Thais differ a lot too.

[Bangkokhatter]

So much generalisation in the OP, I think many people on here have no real idea what the general workers here are earning in the thousands of factories around the country. Was gonna start a thread once detailing a cross section of trades in our company and their salaries but then thought why bother, most on here would carry on with "the Thai people are so poor " and " just how stupid are Thai people " etc.

As for the OP saying their are no job prospects for school leavers, we are crying out for more people and I know other companies that are having the same recruiting problems as we are having.

[swissie]

also don't forget that many Thai's have multiple bank accounts. It also does vary depending on where you are.. Aeon are not renowned as being a high end bank.

Aeon is not a bank anyway ..its a Japanese credit card company, they dont fall under Thai banking regs and thats the reason you dont get hit for THB 150/time when you use a foreign ATM card... ....so high end or not I dont care I use them as it saves me THB 150/time and I can draw more money in one transaction than I can with a Thai bank..

If there is a foreign currency involved, It may well be that their Bid/Ask-spread is higher than with a "regular-bank." With a less favorable exchange-rate, they may get more out of you than 150 Bht.

Easy to find out: next time look at the exchange-rate you are getting and compare it immediately to the rate of a "regular-bank" nearby. Then you do your figuring. Remember: It's about the Bid/Ask-spread.

Cheers.

[swissie]

It's true not all thais are broke ,my wife went out yesterday with the family and when she came home she told me how much my sister in law made on the "other" lottery this month ,i must admit it made my eyes water and that was on top of her salary working for a hotel group in Bkk .

I am sure you will be around, when she claims to have lost 3 months salary on the "other lottery", asking you to fill the gap.

Cheers.

[muythai2013]

broke enough to marry very old men who disgust them.

[kannot]

I would love to believe you but the Thai economy is much better as the Western ones at this moment. It could change of course but for now its has much more growth. I too would love it if it was different and the exchange rate would change but realistic its just hoping and dreaming at this point in time.

So they paid back all that money they owe from the last crash?

[JaiLai]

All of them (Thais) must have more money then me.Every Thai that I know drives a newer model car than me.

Yip and they ALL have the latest iPhones / smartphones which is equivalent to a month if 2's salary BUT they still live in some flea pit with a mattress in a corner on the floor and 6 other people, wots all that about??

[muythai2013]

All of them (Thais) must have more money then me.Every Thai that I know drives a newer model car than me.

Yip and they ALL have the latest iPhones / smartphones which is equivalent to a month if 2's salary BUT they still live in some flea pit with a mattress in a corner on the floor and 6 other people, wots all that about??

the mattress in the corner is were they make the money for the iphone, that's what thats about.

[Soutpeel]

All of them (Thais) must have more money then me.Every Thai that I know drives a newer model car than me.

Yip and they ALL have the latest iPhones / smartphones which is equivalent to a month if 2's salary BUT they still live in some flea pit with a mattress in a corner on the floor and 6 other people, wots all that about??

Yes... how dare they...Thai's are suppose to be poor peasants farming rice and eating leaves, and be glad about their lot... just so the resident farangs can feel superior about themselves ....