How much do u spend for a good life in Thailand.

[sweandfree]

I just came up with a fun topic when i sat at home thinking about my spendings.

I been living in Thailand for the last 3 years, 1 year in Pattaya, 1 year in Soi dao (Chantaburi Province) and the last year in Bangkok.
After looking at my wifes bankbook which i never updated for 3 years, i saw with my own eyes how much money we had spent during the 3 years.

I am 24 years old, my wife 26.
We spend about 100-120k baht/month.

What is your tips to keep down the costs?

Just a few days ago i got a little son, so im thinking about how i can spend and stretch every satang for a better life for my family now.

Best Regards.

// Chris.

[Canada]

Guess it depends on what you call a good life. Unlimited spending sounds good.

Our spending is limited, but we live a good life.

[breadbin]

Are you spending or is your wife? Are you 'taking care' of an extended family?

100k way too much for simple living even with a child.

Someone's spending cash? Is it you and if its your money why is it in your wife's bank account?

[gamini]

about 120k is about right. Servants run at about 25k and liquor (good wine)10-15K Wifes allowance 30k entertaining 15k

medical and medicine 15k. two cars upkeap food, electric it all mounts up. If you have to pay rent add another 50k

[Suradit69]

"After looking at my wifes bankbook which i never updated for 3 years, i saw with my own eyes how much money we had spent during the 3 years.

What is your tips to keep down the costs?"

Firstly, you might consider monitoring your expenses a bit more often than every three years.

I just came up with a fun topic ...

I find it difficult to believe that you're spending Baht 120,000 a month (and hopefully have an income in excess of that amount) and this is the first time you noticed it "with your own eyes" or came up with the "fun topic" of a budget.

[CHRISTIANa9]

I just came up with a fun topic when i sat at home thinking about my spendings.

I been living in Thailand for the last 3 years, 1 year in Pattaya, 1 year in Soi dao (Chantaburi Province) and the last year in Bangkok.

After looking at my wifes bankbook which i never updated for 3 years, i saw with my own eyes how much money we had spent during the 3 years.

I am 24 years old, my wife 26.

We spend about 100-120k baht/month.

What is your tips to keep down the costs?

Just a few days ago i got a little son, so im thinking about how i can spend and stretch every satang for a better life for my family now.

Best Regards.

// Chris.

And you can afford to spend B120k per mth at age 21? Well done.

[rwdrwdrwd]

We (Me, my wife and our 3 month old) spend half that on a monthly basis:

Rent 3 bed townhouse in a nice village 14k

Car Finance / insurance / tax disc thing 18k

Gas 1.5k

Electric and Water 2.5k

Internet (We exclusively use VPNs and Netflix/iPlayer for TV) 1.5k

All food and drink with a strong western influence from a weekly Tops and occasional Makro shop (including baby food) about 15k.

Occasional meals out, weekends away every few months, couple of longer holidays and a few shopping blowouts a year probably adds another 10 - 15k a month so I'd say a 60k - 65k average and we don't want for anything.

In terms of keeping down the costs, eat primarily at home especially with western stuff - I like coffee, bread, western foods so I bought a good bread machine, coffee machine, grinder, blender, slow cooker back when we moved over and it was a very good move financially (as well as leading to much better bread and coffee!). The other price conscious food option is to mostly eat Thai style.

In terms of being price conscious:

Buy stuff in bulk

Cook at home

Don't go caning 10k+ baht on blowout nights out on the town

Have a sensible car

Don't use True it's rubbish anyway.

Unless you're a high frequency trader, you probably don't need the top end internet package. We have a mid range 3bb one paid yearly.

Live somewhere reasonably priced, I know Bangkok is pricy so balance up the cost of living centrally or a bit further out, I'd anticipate further out may generally be more family friendly anyway, as well as cheaper - depends what you do, and whether you have to travel somewhere every day.

Take your holidays within Thailand, or close by, and avoid the tourist traps. Drive if you can since it will give you cheap transport when you get there.

Don't have a taste for designer stuff.

Edited July 28, 2013 by rwdrwdrwd

[Chicken George]

Wheres the OP gone?

[meatboy]

Wheres the OP gone?

as the op said a fun topic,ha ha ha and where has he gone [he's waiting outside the bank]

and where is the wife playing cards,funny that as there's a joker in every pack.

[scubachild]

Rent a simple 2 bed Thai house 10,000 per month

Eat Thai food at local Thai resturants 10,000 per month

Tesco shopping and other misc expenses 10,000 per month

I live a comfortable good life for 30,000 per month

NB Don't smoke or drink and have professional Thai partner who contributes

I didn't come to Thailand to try to mimik my lifestyle in the old country

[khunano]

Wheres the OP gone?

he'll check back in about 3 years time...

[Bengt]

My budget is 40.000 THB and I have a good life.

[villagefarang]

He is probably changing dirty diapers and lamenting all that disposable income will now be disposed of by the creature in the diaper. His sleep, independence, fun and money are all a thing of the past.

Edited July 29, 2013 by villagefarang

[ehs818]

It always amazes me to come across an exPat living here that spends s if he's still in his own country. My rule of thumb here is that it is about 75% LESS to live here than in the USA (where I am from). AmI the only one that thinks it looks like this kid is being taken advantage of (what?! In Thailand)!!

I am single, like the ladies, but do not drink or go to bars. I rarely exceed 40,000 bahta month living in Pattaya. I rent a nice quiet townhouse, have a nice large motorbike (200cc), never deny myself anything, and never think about how much any meals cost, etc. Cut back by more than 50%....

[StrandedBusinessPerson]

Wheres the OP gone?

He must be out shopping to spend that kinda money each month. I'm with all that live simply, and would find it hard to spend that kinda money, even if I still was living in America. But at his age, eons ago, I had a wife and child and made $28K per year in 1980 dollars. We did alright.

[rikkie]

aw 120 K a month, i spend with my thai gf about 20 k each month and we live in bangkok to, so with a baby you could do easy with 30K

[keeniau96]

Own house and two cars, no payments. Own water well. Electric about 4k/month, internet 600, 2 phones 400. Diesel and benzine about 3k/month. Mostly cook our own food and eat very well; shop at Makro for quality also price. About 40k baht per month and living very well on Phuket which is supposedly most expensive province in TH (I believe it).

[Docno]

OK, you just convinced me not to put off the move to Thailand any longer. Your monthly expenditure of 100K is alone what I pay for one month's rent in Singapore. I wouldn't want to shock you with the cost of living beyond that... [hint: I ended up paying the equivalent of bt600 for a pint of ale last week].

[oneday]

For fun and nothing better to do, I've been keeping a detailed account of all my costs by categories. This year I thought I'd see if I could keep my expenses to 65k a month which is what immigration wants to see you have for a retirement visa.

Last year I spent 937,000. This year I'm 61,000 over my budget of 65,000/mo. However, given three large purchases equaling 124,000 this year I figure that's pretty good. Barring extraordinary expenses, 65,000/mo is a comfortable range and I'm in a 15,000/mo townhouse, have a car and two PCX150's. There are two of us, but the GF does make 21,000/mo and buys much of her own stuff.

120-124k/mo is excessive for a nice living here.

[kiniyow]

To keep cost down I avoid a Wife or Live In for that Matter..

[villagefarang]

I just don’t get all the judgement and condemnation over what people spend to live here. Spend what you want and how you will, for it is no one’s concern but your own.

I don’t see anything wrong with the OPs budget or lack there of. It is his choice after all.

[bushwacker]

Been here 5 years and have seen the monthly/annual spending increase but for us .... a family of 3 including a teenage daughter in central province, renting a 3 story shop house .... all in .... it costs on average 45,000B. We run 2 scooters no car or truck. Eat out regularly ... actually the wife and kid eat out several times a day. We live a good life ... not a stupid life.

[zeichen]

In my rough estimates of living in the US if someone Earns 30k USD a year they can have a comparable lifestyle for 30k Baht a month. Going up to about to 100k. If you are spending 100k+ a month you are definitely living frivolously. I tend to think this is a little bit of a wind up. I just don't see how a couple just starting out at 20-24 will be earning 100k+ a month.

Expect to spend at least 20k more a month for the first 2 years of the child and then 50k a month once he/she starts school.

Personally, my family of three live off of about 40k a month but we have no debts and access to free produce. Personally I like to save at least 1/2 of my income. But others don't mind living paycheck to paycheck. The one thing that saves me a lot is I never buy anything the first time I want it. I always tell myself next time, then when I come back if I am still enthusiastic about buying it I do. Impulse shopping isn't something I do.

I also get a lot of enjoyment out of life just eating a 10 baht ice cream, so I don't need designer clothes and latest techno gadgets and a closet full of things that I have used just once.

but as another poster said, spend what you want do what you want. I don't envy or condemn anyone for the lifestyle that they want to live. I have a sister who spends twice that a month just on shoes, I don't relate to her very well but love her just the same.

[abrahamzvi]

We, my wife and I, have been living in Thailand for over 10 years and our experience is that if one owns one's accommodation, no repayments on a car (or cars) and without expensive holidays (within or outside Thailand) around 60 t0 75K can suffice for a very comfortable life. What is expensive in Thailand is private education (particularly so international schooling), which can cost up to Baht 50k monthly (non boarding). Further, if one lives in a luxurious, central area in Bangkok ( the same, but to a lesser degree applies to Chiang Mai, or Phuket) in rented accommodation than even 120k monthly won't be enough.

Having said that, to maintain that one can comfortably live here 75% cheaper than in the US, is, in my view totally unrealistic, unless one lives in one's own house, in a cheap area and eats only Thai food (which can be very tasty at times). Obviously life is cheaper here than in Europe or US ( not even mentioning Singapore and HK), but it all depends on the life style one wishes to lead. If we compare our cost of living here to the US or Europe, where we used to live before we came here, I would say that apart from the luxurious house we have here and the housemaid, which we could most certainly not afford overseas, we could live in most parts of the US or continental Europe, for the same income. Again, we spent much, much more when we had two daughters attending international schools!

[surfinglife]

Probably too much with just one wife:-) I have several disposable "wives" every week, play golf 2-3 times, no car but a thirsty Harley, own condo, and it works out about 100-120 a month, most of it "entertainment" which I guess is what good life in LOS means.

[SSSlongtime]

try south of France you find it cheaper

[Antathome]

My Australian wife and I are looking at moving to Thailand when we retire, although that might be sooner if I can't get a job soon :-(. We are budgeting on living near Chiang Mail for about $A1,500-2000 and plan to use that as a base to explore the region. Whilst we like our luxury, are also happy with budget quality lifestyle if where we are is interesting.

[jmccarty]

Depends on what you consider a good life? I lived in Singapore for 25 years before coming to live in Thailand and my standard of living increased dramatically for a lot less money. My company pays my rent and provides a car, but that is only about Bht100k/month. Then my wife and I spend another Bht150k-Bht200k/month on food, drink and the nippers school fees. All together, about 1/3 of what I spent in Singapore monthly. But to be expected.

[Bkungbank]

Buy an apatment it's good saving and investment when you need some cash you can re-finance, not house because house have to use local name to buy, big trouble later.

Do some investment to fill back your bank account without it I am sure a day will be empty but must be very safe investment many poeple scam nowdays.

[hellstens]

I wished I had that money each month!

But ! I live well on 55K.Thb I rent a big house, have a new car, and pay for my wife's mother also, on that money

Edited July 29, 2013 by hellstens