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Thais have very poor financial management skills


webfact

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If their financial skills are so poor, how do they live here on 9,000 baht per month when most of us would starve to death on less than 5-10x that amount?

Speak for yourself.

Financial management is all about how much you spend, not how much you make.

Try telling that to someone making $1 a day. No matter how frugal they are with that dollar, sooner or later they're going to find themselves in financial trouble as globalization drives up the cost of even the most basic foods and other necessaries- like schoolbooks, medicines, cooking oil, and on and on.

We get all full of ourselves if we can set aside 10-15% into savings each month, (spending only 85-90% of our western salaries). So, in effect- we spend about 10-20x what these folks spend- and they're the ones who can't manage their finances?

BTW, I live here on exactly 8.8% of my base salary. But I couldn't come close to living on a Thai laborer's salary- so I have tremendous respect for the Thais and a lot of disdain for the broken system that lures them into debt.

Yep...the broken system that pays you way too much money.

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Marry any Thai woman and you learn first hand how poorly they manage money. And family, who make less than 10,000 baht a month cannot figure out why you won't lend them 200,000 baht when they just promised to pay it back in 3 months. They were stupid with their own money so how can I believe they won't be more stupid with mine? The entire family has bad credit with me for not paying loans back and are upset when I say no to further requests. <deleted>?

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In all fairness the lending system here can be tricky to anybody not familiar with Finance 101 - 3% for a car loan sound good to you? Better check if it's APR or not otherwise at 60/72 months you're paying way more than you ever thought you were.

Actually flat yearly rate is MUCH easier to work out than APR.. If you pay early many finance companies will discount some remaining interest.

Sent from my XT1032 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

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Marry any Thai woman and you learn first hand how poorly they manage money. And family, who make less than 10,000 baht a month cannot figure out why you won't lend them 200,000 baht when they just promised to pay it back in 3 months. They were stupid with their own money so how can I believe they won't be more stupid with mine? The entire family has bad credit with me for not paying loans back and are upset when I say no to further requests. <deleted>?

complitly wrong. i now a lot thai women with a income from only about 10000 bath per month or even less managing the money very good. i´m sure your wife comes from the red light business if she is a you said. than you have to blame yourself :-D

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Marry any Thai woman and you learn first hand how poorly they manage money. And family, who make less than 10,000 baht a month cannot figure out why you won't lend them 200,000 baht when they just promised to pay it back in 3 months. They were stupid with their own money so how can I believe they won't be more stupid with mine? The entire family has bad credit with me for not paying loans back and are upset when I say no to further requests. <deleted>?

complitly wrong. i now a lot thai women with a income from only about 10000 bath per month or even less managing the money very good. i´m sure your wife comes from the red light business if she is a you said. than you have to blame yourself :-D

" i´m sure your wife comes from the red light business if she is a you said."

That's a bit saucy benny. There are politicians on both sides of the divide that handle national finances less ably than some BGs.

No need to cast aspersions. IMHO.

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my (ex) mates wife rang him from kalasin. apparently she had broken a filling or dental cap and needed it replacing, could he send £200? so he went out and sent her £200.

the very next day i was at his place when the phone rang, it was the wife from kalasin asking if she could have another £200?

"well what did you do with the last £200?" was my mates reply. me, i just wondered how many teeth does she have?

"i bought tv's", she answered.

"what do you mean, TV'S?", came his strained reply.

"oh, 1 for upstairs and 1 for downstairs. but my teeth still broken and have very big pain now".....

then theres the story of a new roof, the rainy season approaching and some handbags.........money management? errrrrrrr? nope.

Farang management.

He should tell the idiot that he's just sent 1000 pounds, but there's a 200 pound deposit fee to release it due to new international inhouse banking laws. As soon as she deposits the 200 pounds to your account the 1000 pounds will be released.

Consider it an easy way to break up with such a maggot.

Loved it ;-$

"Sometimes, 'fuggedabowdit' just means fuggedabowdit. . . . "

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We are all slaves of debit! Whatever they say, Thai people or not we all have financial problems. It is not about your "managment skills", for instance Asia culture know much better how live their lives in a budget. I'm just another westerner and I can assure you, this is true! wai2.gif

Rubbish, people fall into the same trap everywhere, Asian culture is no different.

People all over Asia are increasing their personal debt even though a lot of salaries have risen significantly over the past 10 years,, why? If you are correct why has this increase in wealth not resulted in huge amounts of savings and why is the debt increasing so fast?

Simple, they get more money, get a taste of a bette life (or what they are told is a better life), they then watch the media, accept the credit cards and spend on stuff they never had before but now think they need.

I have worked in Asia for many years and seen this happening very rapidly,, China is supposed to be a communist country but the major cities are full of greed (and iPhones)

Nothing to do with cost of living skyrocketing i suppose.

I don't think so. If you are suggesting that people are building personal debt in Thailand to buy food and necessities then the country is in very serious trouble and is heading for a hunger crisis and total economic collapse. I think it is more likely the car buying scheme, iPhones, flat tv's and other luxuries that they have never owned before.

It is the materialistic trap created by the west spreading all over the world.

So you're easy prey, then.

"Sometimes, 'fuggedabowdit' just means fuggedabowdit. . . . "

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So,just for the record,what are they good at ?

Being polite. Not questioning others ways of living. Smiling. Keeping their judgements to themselves.

Spot on and precisely why the wiser among us are here. These are qualities that money (evidence this thread) cannot buy. I'm liking you more each day, 'vader.

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We are all slaves of debit! Whatever they say, Thai people or not we all have financial problems. It is not about your "managment skills", for instance Asia culture know much better how live their lives in a budget. I'm just another westerner and I can assure you, this is true! wai2.gif

Rubbish, people fall into the same trap everywhere, Asian culture is no different.

People all over Asia are increasing their personal debt even though a lot of salaries have risen significantly over the past 10 years,, why? If you are correct why has this increase in wealth not resulted in huge amounts of savings and why is the debt increasing so fast?

Simple, they get more money, get a taste of a bette life (or what they are told is a better life), they then watch the media, accept the credit cards and spend on stuff they never had before but now think they need.

I have worked in Asia for many years and seen this happening very rapidly,, China is supposed to be a communist country but the major cities are full of greed (and iPhones)

Nothing to do with cost of living skyrocketing i suppose.

I don't think so. If you are suggesting that people are building personal debt in Thailand to buy food and necessities then the country is in very serious trouble and is heading for a hunger crisis and total economic collapse. I think it is more likely the car buying scheme, iPhones, flat tv's and other luxuries that they have never owned before.

It is the materialistic trap created by the west spreading all over the world.

The sight of middle class housewives in Supermarkets and grocery stores using Visa, MasterCard, Aeon to pay for food flashes the warning light for me. The doofus or doofette holding up a BTS ticket line as she uses her Visa Card to add 100 THB to her BTS card is another barometer.

I have had Western gringo acquaintances snidely remark that I should upgrade my gawddamned TV to a flat screen model. . . . . THAT's a sign that it's no restricted to Thais. Loads of fiscal idiots just scape by here but "reward" their jail-cell lives with the depreciating asset baubles you mention.

They finesse the illusion by congratulating themselves that they they are not locked up because they hold the keys to their cell doors. . . . . . And of course by gargling catastrophic amounts of beer and ersatz western spirits and, of course, "loving Thai food" . They chow down mindlessly on the large plastic bags of over-spiced slop we see delivered to "restaurants" in which they stifle their hunger pangs.

Salad? Ocean caught fish? Fresh fruit ? . . . . Priced that stuff lately ? Less expensive to hop a plane back to the Old Country to restore one's vital signs.

"Sometimes, 'fuggedabowdit' just means fuggedabowdit. . . . "

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When you spend more then you are either given or earn you tend to be considered having poor financial management skills.

Then again the temptations have increased ever since credit cards and installment payments with 0% interest became accessible to many, all gimmicks conceived to to lure us into biting off more then we can chew and resulting in debt so that they can charge us +20% interest rates.

Its easy to blame the 3 lowest income bracket earners of poor financial management skills when in fact equal blame should be placed on the society we have created that worships and glorifies everything trendy, brand-named, and expensive.

Thailand is clearly a materialistic society and will continue to be one unless we teach our kids that "The only time they should look into their neighbors bowl is to make sure they have enough. You don't look in your neighbor's bowl to see if you have... as much as them."

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Marry any Thai woman and you learn first hand how poorly they manage money. And family, who make less than 10,000 baht a month cannot figure out why you won't lend them 200,000 baht when they just promised to pay it back in 3 months. They were stupid with their own money so how can I believe they won't be more stupid with mine? The entire family has bad credit with me for not paying loans back and are upset when I say no to further requests. <deleted>?

complitly wrong. i now a lot thai women with a income from only about 10000 bath per month or even less managing the money very good. i´m sure your wife comes from the red light business if she is a you said. than you have to blame yourself :-D

Actually she did not come from the red light district but from a beauty shop owned by her mother..but thanks for the comment anyway. I knew the risks and compared to my excessive income, the loans were quite small in actuality. Regardless of the amount I think a time comes when each person needs to figure their own stuff out and not rely on the farang to cover their mistakes. My loans were to family and I knew the chances were almost 100% I would never see any of it again but doing so helped each family member out do a tough spot like losing a home or paying for school for their children and put me in a place to say I did not refuse to help even if it was just once. Regardless of the reason, when they plea for money and I see new motorbikes and big screen tv's it is hard for me to generate sympathy. When they ask for money to pay back loans they took from others in the village when they lacked the income to pay those loans when they took them out in the first place, I think this shows stupidity with money and such stupidity will continue endlessly. This I do not support.

I wonder why you were quick to cast my wife as a bar girl! There are many good people that lack the education and the experience to stay fiscally responsible that come from all walks of life everywhere including Thailand that have jobs outside of the sex industry. Such narrow mindedness...really!

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i went into a local car tent recently, to see if they would excahnge my car for a newer second hand car, i was told ( or rather the missus was) that there are so many second hand cars on the market now, becuase people who bought on the Government 100,000 bht scheme are finding they cannot repay the loans, so the banks / loan companies are selling them off through the car tents in order to recoup their losses.

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Marry any Thai woman and you learn first hand how poorly they manage money. And family, who make less than 10,000 baht a month cannot figure out why you won't lend them 200,000 baht when they just promised to pay it back in 3 months. They were stupid with their own money so how can I believe they won't be more stupid with mine? The entire family has bad credit with me for not paying loans back and are upset when I say no to further requests. <deleted>?

complitly wrong. i now a lot thai women with a income from only about 10000 bath per month or even less managing the money very good. i´m sure your wife comes from the red light business if she is a you said. than you have to blame yourself :-D

Actually she did not come from the red light district but from a beauty shop owned by her mother..but thanks for the comment anyway. I knew the risks and compared to my excessive income, the loans were quite small in actuality. Regardless of the amount I think a time comes when each person needs to figure their own stuff out and not rely on the farang to cover their mistakes. My loans were to family and I knew the chances were almost 100% I would never see any of it again but doing so helped each family member out do a tough spot like losing a home or paying for school for their children and put me in a place to say I did not refuse to help even if it was just once. Regardless of the reason, when they plea for money and I see new motorbikes and big screen tv's it is hard for me to generate sympathy. When they ask for money to pay back loans they took from others in the village when they lacked the income to pay those loans when they took them out in the first place, I think this shows stupidity with money and such stupidity will continue endlessly. This I do not support.

I wonder why you were quick to cast my wife as a bar girl! There are many good people that lack the education and the experience to stay fiscally responsible that come from all walks of life everywhere including Thailand that have jobs outside of the sex industry. Such narrow mindedness...really!

What would be wrong with the red light district? reminds me of my childhood.

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okay...I am usually very fair in my responses and I argue on behalf of the Thais as much as against them. Facts are facts and this is one of them. the only think i would change is remove the word "financial" and you have it pegged. I am a PMP ( certified project manager) and have a lot of success and experience in management. I can tell you I have never encountered such a frustrating place to work in these regards.

I am also a project manager and will be PMP certified by the end of the year. I have farms in Issan and plan to live in Udon but would love to get a PM job here too. Any suggestions?

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Marry any Thai woman and you learn first hand how poorly they manage money. And family, who make less than 10,000 baht a month cannot figure out why you won't lend them 200,000 baht when they just promised to pay it back in 3 months. They were stupid with their own money so how can I believe they won't be more stupid with mine? The entire family has bad credit with me for not paying loans back and are upset when I say no to further requests. <deleted>?

complitly wrong. i now a lot thai women with a income from only about 10000 bath per month or even less managing the money very good. i´m sure your wife comes from the red light business if she is a you said. than you have to blame yourself :-D
Actually she did not come from the red light district but from a beauty shop owned by her mother..but thanks for the comment anyway. I knew the risks and compared to my excessive income, the loans were quite small in actuality. Regardless of the amount I think a time comes when each person needs to figure their own stuff out and not rely on the farang to cover their mistakes. My loans were to family and I knew the chances were almost 100% I would never see any of it again but doing so helped each family member out do a tough spot like losing a home or paying for school for their children and put me in a place to say I did not refuse to help even if it was just once. Regardless of the reason, when they plea for money and I see new motorbikes and big screen tv's it is hard for me to generate sympathy. When they ask for money to pay back loans they took from others in the village when they lacked the income to pay those loans when they took them out in the first place, I think this shows stupidity with money and such stupidity will continue endlessly. This I do not support.

I wonder why you were quick to cast my wife as a bar girl! There are many good people that lack the education and the experience to stay fiscally responsible that come from all walks of life everywhere including Thailand that have jobs outside of the sex industry. Such narrow mindedness...really!

What would be wrong with the red light district? reminds me of my childhood.

Actually many of my American friends with Thai wives met them in some of the usual ways and they are deer friends and caring wives. How they meet doesn't define them, it is how they treat and respect each other and others that defines them as human beings. I don't care what they did before it doesn't matter. I would have married a bar girl if the love connection was there..that is all that matters. Heck , I am not a virgin either and have had way more partners than my wife has. Fair is fair. I was just wondering about the comment and although this too doesn't really matter, it seems narrow and down- looking to me. There is a wider meaning to life, love, and happiness than how many men a girl slept with before she got married. Just saying.

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When you spend more then you are either given or earn you tend to be considered having poor financial management skills.

Then again the temptations have increased ever since credit cards and installment payments with 0% interest became accessible to many, all gimmicks conceived to to lure us into biting off more then we can chew and resulting in debt so that they can charge us +20% interest rates.

Its easy to blame the 3 lowest income bracket earners of poor financial management skills when in fact equal blame should be placed on the society we have created that worships and glorifies everything trendy, brand-named, and expensive.

Thailand is clearly a materialistic society and will continue to be one unless we teach our kids that "The only time they should look into their neighbors bowl is to make sure they have enough. You don't look in your neighbor's bowl to see if you have... as much as them."

Capitalism is more to blame for the financial situation of the working class than anything. That applies to any country.

Sent from my GT-S5360 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

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Abolish the concept of "face" and you would be half way there to financial responsibility.

People go broke trying to look rich.

Everywhere.

It's the major flaw in wealth-building plans gone sideways.

J

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

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  • 1 month later...

All that education will do is tell the ones who haven't yet heard of the bliss of being in debt up to your eyeballs to go to the bank and try their luck. Gotta keep up with the Joneses.

Anyone who lives within their means show a lack off imagination, Oscar Wilde.

Money is like manure,it only does any good if its spread around. Unknown

Money is like manure,it only does any good if its spread around. Unknown Barrack Obama

Well it sounds like something he would saycheesy.gif

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