do Thais and young expats save for their old age ?

[jmccarty]

I never saved until in my 40's. Is that old or young?

[robblok]

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.

Yes in all the countries the babyboomers made sure they got the money and made the debts the younger generation is now going to have to pay. Id be filty rich if i were one of that generation was not hard to do either just get a house wait for the inflation. Governments loaning money instead of raising taxes.

[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.

I think you use too much whitening powder.

I'm not as skilled as young Thai women, but I'm learning fast.

[Neeeko]

I'm 22, I earn enough money to live here and have a good time. I have had no thought on saving for my old age yet, maybe in 10 years I will have thought about it but at the moment I am just enjoying my life here and not worrying about the future.

[johnthompson]

I am just living the life. I ain't got no time to save money now. Besides the system has worked extremely well for me so far. I come to Thailand to spend all my money. If I need money I will just ask my parents, teach english (although not much luck lately) or go back and apply for a welfare/job. I do this 3-9 months before I return to Thailand again to spend it all.

Working 1 month in farangland allows me to sleep with 60 girls in Thailand. Do the math if I work multiple months and save it up.

[Soutpeel]

I am just living the life. I ain't got no time to save money now. Besides the system has worked extremely well for me so far. I come to Thailand to spend all my money. If I need money I will just ask my parents, teach english (although not much luck lately) or go back and apply for a welfare/job. I do this 3-9 months before I return to Thailand again to spend it all.

Working 1 month in farangland allows me to sleep with 60 girls in Thailand. Do the math if I work multiple months and save it up.

If your under 25..maybe all well and good, if your older than 35...boy you have got problems coming...but lets assumes your under 25, its seems there has been a myth proven wrong all the young guys on here say they dont need to pay for company, and all the thai girls cant keep their hands on them and they dont pay for anything....

but here you are admitting to P2P...

[Soutpeel]

I'm 22, I earn enough money to live here and have a good time. I have had no thought on saving for my old age yet, maybe in 10 years I will have thought about it but at the moment I am just enjoying my life here and not worrying about the future.

22 now..before you know it 32 and even quicker your 42 and wonder where has the time gone...

[JLCrab]

Just a note that Peter Townshend, who wrote, and Roger Daltrey, who sang, "'I hope I die before I get old" in The Who's 1965 My Generation are now 68 and 69 respectively.

(BTW 'My Generation' is ranked 11th on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list)

[NoshowJones]

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

Depends on which country they come from, but that would be the case in the UK

[NoshowJones]

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.

It looks more like a mask. Why cover up that beautiful face Rene?

[NoshowJones]

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.

[NoshowJones]

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.

Yes, I am a fan of Stickman myself.

[NoshowJones]

If you had not mentioned the bit about giving money to the poor, I would have assumed you meant the UK. They take money from everybody and give it away to countries overseas and MPs expenses.

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.

[geriatrickid]

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.

what about your status as a star in Japan? Surely, you get residuals?

[Lancelot]

Good thread.

I too see the trend of younger expats in Thailand and many do not save for the future. Most are single and that makes a huge difference.

I've always been a saver, its in my DNA, 555+. Personally speaking, no new car, notorcycl, etc. is worth my freedom. I retired early at age 49 and walked away from a good income- but now I'm rich in time

Works for me

Rock on!

[Loptr]

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.

The simple fact is that most people live beyond their means, regardless of income. Most will not be able to retire as they have no savings and nothing but debt as far as the eye can see.

Here's a chart for the US that spells it out.

[ghworker2010]

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

the above statement needs a few words added...

thais save for old age by having children with a farang (with whom they eventually send broke) and hope they can support them. The same expats eventually go home and live off the tax payer.

[Neeranam]

I don't save for my old age. I live 'one day at a time" or 'wan dto wan" as the Thais say.

I'm just happy to be alive and healthy with a roof over my head and food in the fridge.

Maybe by paying for my childrens' private schooling one could look at that as a pension plan.

God will provide.

[rayongchelsea]

Thailand only became a country of old retired men over the last 10 years, before it was a country mostly populated by the younger generation having a good time. It is country much more suited to the young.

Just because there is a different demographic here now more concerned with living cheaply, hospitals, pensions xchange rates doesn't mean that this agenda or this question is particular relevant as it has always been the case the young came here for different reasons...good luck to them..some people just don't live heir lives as conservatively as others..

Just don't live here too long in your youth....

[giggles]

I'm 22, I earn enough money to live here and have a good time. I have had no thought on saving for my old age yet, maybe in 10 years I will have thought about it but at the moment I am just enjoying my life here and not worrying about the future.

just a small amount over 40-50 years will accrue a lot.

a price of a few beers is all it takes every month .

[HardenedSoul]

Saving for old age is prudent of course but graft your whole life so you can retire and piss money up the wall for 10-20 years (if your prostate will let you) ??

Bollooooooocks!

Best to find a nice balance between actually enjoying life while your body is capable of doing it and putting some readies away so you can still have fun later on when it's not.

[Slip]

When I was younger I earned good money in England, but I was a bit wild and I wasted a lot of money. Now I live in Thailand, I earn a lot less, but I've been able to put some cash away every year for a lot of years. Being in my mid 40's (early mid?-NO! mid early) I don't expect to see a penny from my UK pension.

People in my situation do need to come up with some serious plans. Every last coin I paid into a private pension company was stolen by that company years ago, and that's not a tiny amount. I have another good 20-30 years work in me I guess. Maybe by then money will have been abolished?

Edited September 4, 2013 by Slip

[kevvy]

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.

If a man wants to have s*x with a woman, he will do whatever is necessary to make that happen, as long as she doesn’t make it easy to get. This could mean taking her out to eat, buying her gifts, or simply putting in effort to show his affection for her. Even if a woman has had s*x with a man only once, he will keep working to win her affection so he can continue to have s*x with her. However, it depends on the circumstances of the woman giving it up the first time.There are women who give away their product not realizing that they can put a price tag on it , and If you don’t know the price or set a price onto your product it’s worthless.

[IsaanUSA]

I never saved until in my 40's. Is that old or young?

Late. Teens would be early, 20's would be the sweet spot, and 30's would be average (in my opinion)

[TheSpade]

Best to find a nice balance between actually enjoying life while your body is capable of doing it and putting some readies away so you can still have fun later on when it's not.

Spot on.

The best way to live. This holding out for retirement nonsense is something I've never understood.

How old is Stickman? Didn't think he would be considered 'young' but then I've no idea what age he is.

[farang000999]

I am in my mid twenties and worked hard at a few things and better off than probably 99% of the people my age. I don't know what the future is going to bring but it is scary the way technology is making so many jobs and people obsolete. A computer can do so much more than you can do and whatever it is that you can do - you can now do it for less since there are so many other people not doing anything who would love to do what you do. Wages in the West are stagnating. The common theme amongst silly senior pensioners is that the youth is lazy. These guys are taking out/have taken out multiples of what they put into their pensions and benefits (pyramid scheme) and lived through the most prosperous golden era - it can be quite obnoxious at times for them to tell you about how lazy everyone is.

[farang000999]

Why is the OP and everyone else having a go at Stickman. <deleted> did he do to you?

[CWMcMurray]

Saving for old age is prudent of course but graft your whole life so you can retire and piss money up the wall for 10-20 years (if your prostate will let you) ??

Bollooooooocks!

Best to find a nice balance between actually enjoying life while your body is capable of doing it and putting some readies away so you can still have fun later on when it's not.

Agree with this, saving for retirement doesn't mean having to live like a pauper for 30yrs saving always every cent and not every spending on anything.

If you start early enough, then the amount per year invested does not need to be a painfully large amount.

Still possible to buy a home, new cars every 5 yrs or so, reasonable vacations a couple times a year with the family, etc...

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[PattayaPhom]

Money is for spending

[A1Str8]

Most people do not save. They don't even know what that means.

They just spend, borrow, end up in depts and moan.

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