do Thais and young expats save for their old age ?

[giggles]

i have never heard anyone even whisper anything on this topic ,its a great unsaid topic .so what do they actually think about saving for their old age ?

where do they put their money ? will Stickman being living in poverty like old Bernard Trink in his old age ?he cant leave his webpage as he would be broke and he cant sell it on as its not much good without him at the helm .

young expats are all having a ball but what when the money runs out ?

will the numbers of homeless farangs accelerate over the coming years ?

over to you for your pearls of wisdom................................

[whiteman]

All correct about Stickman he has wasted his good earning years here in Thailand and I get the inpression he is waiting for his folks to pass on and leave him the house back in New Zealand so that he can tell every body on his site how well he has done in his life in Thailand. But is is from his inhertance. I think many in Thailand are waiting to cash up there oldies cash and goods( eg house) to bale them out.

[tom21]

thais save for old age by having children and hope they can support them young expats go home and live off the tax payer

[StreetCowboy]

thais save for old age by having children and hope they can support them young expats go home and live off the tax payer

While the rest of us have to eke out our meager dotage with nothing to support us but our bile and prejudices

Edited September 3, 2013 by StreetCowboy

[razorramone]

I'm 26. Don't save anything*. By the time I can retire it'll be 2050... by which time with global warming, water shortages, food shortages, disease, etc, I doubt my country (uk) will even still have pensions.

And if I am still alive, well I live very healthy now.... I lift weights 5 times a week, do yoga, go swimming, eat my veggies, hopefully I'll be in a good state to keep on working.

*for old age. I still save for emergencies, home visits, etc.

Edited September 3, 2013 by razorramone

[GuestHouse]

What's with the focus on young expats?

Many an older expat rushes to turn a mid life crisis into a late life disaster by squandering what assets and capitsl they have in Thailand.

[ToddWeston]

I used to give the nieces and nephews one thousand baht to kick start their savings - it worked like a charm and luckily they are really good at it and proud to tell me what they've saved - sadly freaking Apple keeps coming out with new toys that eat away at their savings.

I do believe some Thais live in fear of being poor and guide themselves accordingly - it's the speculative investing I haven't caught onto.

[giggles]

well i presume older expats have lived thru the golden age and put aside some wealth ,and as you say blow it in LOS and exist in a potless state or go home potless .the golden era appears to be from the 60s to the oos .youngsters will find it hard to acquire wealth in this new lean era

Edited September 3, 2013 by giggles

[Slip]

When does a young expat become an old expat? Oh please God don't make it too young.

Edited September 3, 2013 by Slip

[HardenedSoul]

All correct about Stickman he has wasted his good earning years here in Thailand and I get the inpression he is waiting for his folks to pass on and leave him the house back in New Zealand so that he can tell every body on his site how well he has done in his life in Thailand. But is is from his inhertance. I think many in Thailand are waiting to cash up there oldies cash and goods( eg house) to bale them out.

Sorry, but what does "he has wasted his good earning years" mean?

Are you just assuming that running his rather popular website doesn't generate much of an income when compared to being a wage slave making average salary for 40 years in farangland?

young expats are all having a ball but what when the money runs out ?

There are plenty of old expats whose money is running out too. I remember many of my fellow Brits bitchin' about their pensions buckling at ฿45 to the pound and the rising cost of a coronary-on-a-plate full English breakfast.

A lot of those guys went home

At least the young expats who have jobs are earning rather than bringing readies over from home.

[rene123]

Us attractive women just sell our lovely bodies and get rich men to marry us. Then we divorce them and move on to the next sucker.

[MJP]

My Thai family do nothing but work hard, save and invest. Rather than the next five minutes or at best tomorrow, they now think thirty years ahead, especially about the children's future. This is in stark contrast to a five years ago. A remarkable change in attitude and behavior.

[Chittychangchang]

I'm too young to worry about pensions, life is for living

CCC

[Cheapcharly]

I save all I can and as a cheap charlie, I m not too bad.

I live well below my mean.

I met other guys Mid age who do the same. Just rent cheap room, eat Street food and still work in Thailand or Asia. One guy can live well with less 13000 bahts /per month.

We don't trust our western countries, government are already broke and now print their own money to make you Belive it s ok. Alleluia !

They simply wait for a Santa Klaus who will create millions of jobs all over western countries. This story is ongoing since 2008 and now we are just in a non ending stagnation period with over 100 millions chap in usa who just gave up looking. God bless usa! They need it...

Yes some expats are saving. It's not very hard, instead to buy a house, keep your $, invest in funds/obligation/stocks... , and live with interest. You can even save.

You can work aside or get free money by playing lottery.

[IsaanUSA]

I'm young but not an expat. I save as much as I can. There's the emergency fund, for when you get laid off, and the rest goes into mutual funds.

I believe I'm better off than my friends at this stage in my life, although DINKs should do very well over the long run.

[giggles]

stickmans website is like a ball a

and chain to the poor chap ,will he still be slaving away at his website when he is 70 ?

[arthurwait]

Us attractive women just sell our lovely bodies and get rich men to marry us. Then we divorce them and move on to the next sucker.

I think you use too much whitening powder.

[arthurwait]

Yes all Thais are the same.

Oh except all those that are saving your money in their accounts.

[malcyx]

obviously that all depends on there country,job,cost of living..

If people are in a position to save then they will, but some like to indulge n have the finer things

in life.. and others struggle as the cost of living increases n wages stay stagnant..

[tingtong]

i am young, and i try to save hard...

so, one day, maybe 35 yrs from now, i walk down in a pattaya soi searching for discount beer and make believe that i am THE handsum man!

[yourauntbob]

i have plenty of friends back home that haven't saved a dime. most people that make good money save some of it, most people that dont make much dont save much. their are exceptions, but that pattern holds across many countries.

[robblok]

What's with the focus on young expats?

Many an older expat rushes to turn a mid life crisis into a late life disaster by squandering what assets and capitsl they have in Thailand.

Young expats love dishing it out to old expats, so now these same old ones try to dish some to the younger ones.

I for one save half my income for later and have some other things coming to me at later age. Will it be enough.. no one knows as I now read that even pension funds are cutting back on payments so for the old ones it might get worse too.

I believe in working hard and long and working from Thailand. Nothing wrong with doing work that you like. But i guess loads of people have jobs they hated and could not wait to retire. The smarter and better educated ones usually don't live for retirement. My dad actually did not like it one bit and tried to work as long as possible. We all know about the stories of those who retire who go dumb fast, when you don't use your brain just like muscles it will wither and fade away.

[robblok]

i have plenty of friends back home that haven't saved a dime. most people that make good money save some of it, most people that dont make much dont save much. their are exceptions, but that pattern holds across many countries.

Problem is where i come from if you made good money the government would do its hardest to take it away from you and give it to the poor. Even when dying you pay tax over money that has been taxed before. Crazy.. and its just outright stealing. While the idiots who spend it all get helped when they are in trouble.

My parents are slowly giving away their money to me and my brother so we don't have to pay tax on it when the time comes. Making sure they stay under the legal limit so it won't get taxed.. I really hate this that they have to do it this way just because government squander their money by helping the stupid and lazy.

I do believe in welfare.. but I also know there is loads of misuse of the system.

[seajae]

3 words, old age pension.

[Soutpeel]

I for one save half my income for later and have some other things coming to me at later age. Will it be enough.. no one knows as I now read that even pension funds are cutting back on payments so for the old ones it might get worse too.

Yeap..I have managed to put around 2/3+ of my salary away every month over the last 12 years in Thailand away for a rainy day, although on occassion I do dip into it.

I have no problem working long and hard in job, provided I am getting a fair scr*w on the money front and provided I enjoy the job, I have been in jobs on very good money in other places but really hated the job and typically after a year or two, you start questioning <deleted> am I you doing this for

The other lesson I learned was keep your nest egg well away from the wives/GF etc..preferably in a account they no nothing about or cant get access to and not in country where your living if possible

And before I get the howls of this is what happens when you marry a BG, this wasnt Thailand and my "darling" EX was not Thai but a western woman, and after her divorce lawyer got finished...I literally ended up with a suit case full of clothes and about US $ 5000 in my pocket...which was all I had to show for 15 years hard graft and the decision was made there and then ..never again will I play lets all play joint accounts stuff with all my assets/savings

and Yes i know the reponses are going to be "but mines different"

[Soutpeel]

i have plenty of friends back home that haven't saved a dime. most people that make good money save some of it, most people that dont make much dont save much. their are exceptions, but that pattern holds across many countries.

which brings me neatly to question I posed once before on TV....how many farangs in Thailand are holding or have access to a "slush fund" of say 3 months money cash in case of a rainy day while living here ?

[cpofc]

There was an article in the Australian Papers just a couple of weeks ago. Only 50% of Baby Boomers in Australia have Superannuation, or retirement savings of any kind. Not to mention we are living alot longer.

I am in receipt of my fortnightly military 'pension', which I bought and paid for, every payday for 21 years, compulsorily deducted from my salary, from the age of 15. I have been getting that since I was 35 but have paid huge amounts of tax on it in that time. I have been running around South and Far East Asia since I was 16 and it has always been my intention to live here 'some day'. Which I now do.

I have been accused of 'running away', 'hiding out', in Thailand and not meeting my obligations as an Aust Cit and ripping off the taxpayer etc. What a load of BS. I am not reliant on the Oz Government and take nothing from the Australian Taxpayer nor do I use any of my country's resources. But, I still pay Tax on my 'Pension' every fortnight, it is deducted automatically.. Even though I already paid tax on it, twice during its lifetime. However, this is not my sole source of income as I do have a moderate sum in an interest bearing account in an Australian Bank. Which I also worked and saved for. I pay my own way, always have, and I don't have alot of time for welfare rorters and cheats.

I gave up paid work, in respect for, and as per the conditions of my retirement visa. Before that, I reinvented and educated myself in web design and internet management, I had been web designing, since 1997, with no shortage of work. Even here in the LOS. Was webmaster for a very large Government Department in Australia for a few years before pulling the pin at 50. I still run my own website and members forum area which keeps me busy enough and my brain cells active. I also have a couple of other hobbies, which do not include being a beer sodden expat bar fly

I read the insults and stereotyping from todays youth here, as if they are never going to get old themselves. Perhaps it's jealousy and envy. Usually the basis of most whinges.

So get off my back!

if you want to live fast, die young, and have a goodlooking corpse, go for it, don't let me stop you.

It is a shame that youth is wasted on the young.

[Berkshire]

stickmans website is like a ball a

and chain to the poor chap ,will he still be slaving away at his website when he is 70 ?

Not sure why some of you have a hard-on for the Stickman. The guy's doing much better than most foreigners in Thailand, and doing something he appears to enjoy. Some good articles on that site.

[CWMcMurray]

i have plenty of friends back home that haven't saved a dime. most people that make good money save some of it, most people that dont make much dont save much. their are exceptions, but that pattern holds across many countries.

which brings me neatly to question I posed once before on TV....how many farangs in Thailand are holding or have access to a "slush fund" of say 3 months money cash in case of a rainy day while living here ?

Yep... That's what my parents taught me as well...

Should have 3 months Salary liquid (just in case) and then anything over that invest

Still have About 25 more years ahead of me until its time to start thinking about retirement, but putting away for retirement every year while working here in Thailand

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[GuestHouse]

I read the insults and stereotyping from todays youth here, as if they are never going to get old themselves. Perhaps it's jealousy and envy. Usually the basis of most whinges.

So get off my back!

To be fair, young people are far too often on the receiving end of negative stereotyping by their elders.

In a discussion about savings for the future we need to remember when discussing savings/future and western young people that they, unlike most anyone over the age of 45 have not had access to the main drivers of economic prosperity.

Inflation in the housing markets

Access to company/government pension schemes

Years of economic growth

They are however left to pay the bills for these benefits.

The house prices that are funding many an expat's life in Thailand need to be met by young people trying to get a home for themselves. Meanwhile other expats have bought-to-let - bought their letting properties from the same pool of housing stock that would normally be the first time buyer market - hence inflating prices.

Extending retirement for older people, removes the natural cycle out of, and therefore into, the job market - and in doing so prevents young people moving into and up the work ladder.

Young people are aware of these issues - its not an unfounded whinge that causes them to complain.