My Expenses in Pattaya for 2014

[oneday]

So another year comes to a close and this is the last year I will record my expenses. This exercise has given me a good handle on where my money goes and how much I’m spending.

These expenses represent a very sedate life. I only went out 3 times this year (girls); I do not drink, I do not smoke and I rarely socialize. So for anyone who likes to party you will need to add those girl, socializing and drink expenses to your costs.

These expenses also do not include money spent on a house we are building in Issan. That will end up being about 3M for the wall, well, dirt infill and home by the time we are done. We started building in late October and hope to finish by March. We have a good builder and they are making good progress. Anyone interested in more details or want information on this builder around the Kalasin area then PM me.

NOTE: I have had a live-in GF now for over 5 years. Much of this year she has spent in Issan supervising on our little project.

I set myself a budget goal of 65,000 baht a month since that is what immigration thinks falang should make to live here. However, this year I wanted to see how far under that I could go. My biggest month in expenses was 63,418 in May and my lowest was 34,797 in November. The average monthly expense was 44,460 or 533,522 for the year.

The life this sustains is living in a nice townhouse in a reasonably nice Moo Baan in Central Pattaya with rent of 15,500/mo, Sophon Cable TV, 3BB Internet, insurance and registrations on one car and two bikes and health insurance in America for me (4300/mo). Those are the built-in fixed expenses.

NOTE: In our Moo Baan rents are now a minimum of 20,000. We are kind of grandfathered in.

NOTE: I started dieting in the middle of the summer and that had a noticeable affect on what I spent on food. Normally, my monthly food and grocery bill would come to around 10,500-11,000/mo in prior years.

• Average electric bill 2671/mo -- Includes running the AC in the bedroom almost every night.
• Average water bill 176/mo -- Includes a small garden that needs to be watered.
• Average food/grocery 8,800/mo -- Includes anything you might buy at a store like Big “C”, restaurants bills and street food.
• Average drinking water was 62/mo. I use those ubiquitous water machines on the streets.
• Average computer expenses (new items or repairs) 370/mo
• Average Miscellaneous 4,226/mo – approx. 32% of this was for car service or repair.
• Average haircuts 80/mo. My haircuts costs me 100+20 tip. I sometimes go 1 ½ months.
• Average gas for the car and bike 1144/mo.
• Average phone 363/mo.
• I play tennis so that cost me 8180 for the year in court rental, balls and racket stringing.
• Odd gifts to the wife to augment her income averaged 3277/mo
• Dental, hospital and medication ended up being negative this year because of a reimbursement from my insurance company for a prior year procedure. Otherwise, it would have been 259/mo.

Given the self-imposed budget of 65,000/mo -- I saved 246,500 this year. That made a good dent in the cost of the wall we built around three sides of our property. Those 3 sides cost 330,000 baht. The front wall will be finished after the house is finished.

Edited January 1, 2015 by oneday

[krisb]

Jeez it must be a bloody big wall around the property?

[oneday]

Jeez it must be a bloody big wall around the property?

160 meters for 3 sides; about 200 linear meters when finished. It will ultimately enclose 1.5 rai or 2400 square meters. Yeah, that's a lot of money, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper than in the good ol' USA.

I built a split face block wall around the backyard of my house in America and that was 210 linear feet or 64 linear meters and that cost $19,000 or 621,000 baht...so our wall here in Thailand is cheap compared to the US.

[Rimmer]

A couple of troll posts have been removed

[Pattaya46]

Thanks. This kind of list is always interesting.

BTW, I don't understand your last point ??

For me a decent health insurance starts at about 3'000 baht/month here ...

[lou62]

Thanks for taking the time posting the info. I also find it interesting, especially as I have a similar monthly budget.

[whitemouse]

Jeez it must be a bloody big wall around the property?

160 meters for 3 sides; about 200 linear meters when finished. It will ultimately enclose 1.5 rai or 2400 square meters. Yeah, that's a lot of money, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper than in the good ol' USA.

I built a split face block wall around the backyard of my house in America and that was 210 linear feet or 64 linear meters and that cost $19,000 or 621,000 baht...so our wall here in Thailand is cheap compared to the US.

They say good walls make good neighbours, I firmly believe it.

In a village, or small town, it keeps your home YOUR home, not a club house, where anybody who feels like walks in.

If I had to live in Isaan, and I do not see that happening, ever, but if I had to, I'd invest more in walls, than actual house!

[yankee99]

What type of insurance is this? " health insurance in America for me (4300/mo)."

[topt]

Also interesting for me to see a comparison. You are fortunate you don't play golf as that is my single largest expense by a long way.

My all in road travel costs (petrol, taxes etc)are also a lot higher - petrol alone twice as much.

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

Thank you oneday for the real expenditure analysis.

I did a cost estimate of living in Bangkok versus Pattaya around the beginning of 2013. Pattaya came out to an average of 41,000/month, with motorcycle, ciggie habit and small drinking habit, plus first class motorcycle insurance, personal accident insurance and occasional travel insurance. My night life expenses plunged since then since I am a non-participant. I really should do a current expenses analysis since things have changed, including having a long-time GF now.

[Jimmyd]

Thanks, very informative.

[oneday]

Thanks. This kind of list is always interesting.

BTW, I don't understand your last point ??

For me a decent health insurance starts at about 3'000 baht/month here ...

Not quite sure what you are asking, but it it is about my health care then...

I am forced to maintain health care in the US under my retirement system with the federal government or I will FOREVER lose the right to discounted health care. I have several plans to choose from, but the long and short of it is only one company is EXPAT friendly and that is the one I pay for -- Blue Cross/Blue Shield. If I had anything major happen to me here then it would be a great benefit, but you really have to spend money to be reimbursed for anything. If I KNEW without a doubt I would never return to the US then I WOULD drop that insurance and purchase health care here.

As soon as I get back to the US in early 2016 I'm dumping BCBS like a hot potato and going back to my old health care provider which was a 100 times better.

[oneday]

Jeez it must be a bloody big wall around the property?

160 meters for 3 sides; about 200 linear meters when finished. It will ultimately enclose 1.5 rai or 2400 square meters. Yeah, that's a lot of money, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper than in the good ol' USA.

I built a split face block wall around the backyard of my house in America and that was 210 linear feet or 64 linear meters and that cost $19,000 or 621,000 baht...so our wall here in Thailand is cheap compared to the US.

They say good walls make good neighbours, I firmly believe it.

In a village, or small town, it keeps your home YOUR home, not a club house, where anybody who feels like walks in.

If I had to live in Isaan, and I do not see that happening, ever, but if I had to, I'd invest more in walls, than actual house!

Oh yeah, the wall was expensive for Thailand IMO, but it will be a very good investment when finished. While the house is under construction the front of our land becomes a gathering place for all the neighborhood children, their parents, the local dogs and livestock. This can sometimes be nice when you feel like company, but all the time gets to be too much. I can not wait for the front wall the be put up.

[i claudius]

Just thank God you do not have a son in university

[Anthony5]

Jeez it must be a bloody big wall around the property?

My perimeter wall is about 150 linear meter and 2 meter high and cost over 500.000 Baht, and that is also how much it was valued by a bank for a mortgage recently.

[Suradit69]

I set myself a budget goal of 65,000 baht a month since that is what immigration thinks falang should make to live here. However, this year I wanted to see how far under that I could go. My biggest month in expenses was 63,418 in May and my lowest was 34,797 in November. The average monthly expense was 44,460 or 533,522 for the year.

Thanks for reminding me to make a New Year's resolution to set up and stick to similar goals. I do have an Excel worksheet set up for each year broken down by month with a planned budget and on which I track actual expenditures fairly accurately. Monitoring that acts as something of a curb to cash flow, but too often the budgeted amount evaporates well before each month ends. Unfortunately neither Excel nor Quicken have a self-control function.

[zierf1]

I must say.. You've got me on being cheap with your lady(3200 monthly). My lady insists on 15k a month minimum. I don't pay much rent. I'll usually book a glorious room in the 4k/month range. Lady seems to be okay with that as long as the 15k keeps coming in. She doesn't even care if I drink a bit at one of the seedier bars about town. Once got caught red handed with another lady. Thank goodness my member is still intact!

Edited January 1, 2015 by zierf1

[Anthony5]

I must say.. You've got me on being cheap with your lady(3200 monthly). My lady insists on 15k a month minimum. I don't pay much rent. I'll usually book a glorious room in the 4k/month range. Lady seems to be okay with that as long as the 15k keeps coming in. She doesn't even care if I drink a bit at one of the seedier bars about town. Once got caught red handed with another lady. Thank goodness my member is still intact!

15K a month?

She probably want to maintain the same salary as at the office she worked before she hookered up with you.

[anto]

>>You've got me on being cheap with your lady(3200 monthly).<<..Well she will have a B3M house and lands in her own name shortly .

[balo]

Interesting to read about other peoples budget, I live on around 30-40K per month but I pay less for rent and utilities. And I do not hang around in bars even if I live in Pattaya.

[BoneRanger]

This prompted me to examine my monthly costs. Obviously I could cut back quite a bit if necessary.

Rent 10,000

Cable TV 2,100

Phone 900

Electric 2,600

Water 150

Motorbike 1,200

Drugs & Booze 3,000

Sex 16,000

Food & Grocery 19,000

Medical 2,000

Misc 4,000

Charity 4,000

=64,950/Month

Almost exactly the amount Immigration requires for farang retirement.

Edited January 2, 2015 by BoneRanger

[oneday]

Just thank God you do not have a son in university

No children and that was a very calculated decision. There are people who are meant to be parents and should be parents. I'm not one.

[Topdeck]

Spending way to much on food for one BoneRanger

[oneday]

Jeez it must be a bloody big wall around the property?

My perimeter wall is about 150 linear meter and 2 meter high and cost over 500.000 Baht, and that is also how much it was valued by a bank for a mortgage recently.

There is a big difference in the cost of a perimeter wall if all or part of it is a retaining wall. Forty meters of my wall was a retaining wall.

[misterphil]

I spend most of my money on beer and women, the rest I waste.

[samsensam]

I must say.. You've got me on being cheap with your lady(3200 monthly). My lady insists on 15k a month minimum. I don't pay much rent. I'll usually book a glorious room in the 4k/month range. Lady seems to be okay with that as long as the 15k keeps coming in. She doesn't even care if I drink a bit at one of the seedier bars about town. Once got caught red handed with another lady. Thank goodness my member is still intact!

15K a month?

She probably want to maintain the same salary as at the office she worked before she hookered up with you.

it puzzles me why people have to pay someone to be their wife or g/f - and begs the question if for whatever reason you stop paying then does this person stop being your wife/gf ?

in all my time here i've dated plenty of fantastic ladies and not one has ever asked or expected me to pay her to be with me. they have things called jobs.

everyone to their own.

[chicowoodduck]

Thanks for taking the time posting the info. I also find it interesting, especially as I have a similar monthly budget.

Same, same for me, only my monthly budget is much lower....some months I'm lucky to fork out 40,000 baht.

That fact that I don't have a coin operated gf to put a drain on my bank acount might help....rather spend my money on travel.....last year touched down in Viet Nam, Laos, China, Australia, Philippines and the USA. Plan on the same type of travel agenda this year. Since I'm closer to 70 than 60 want to enjoy the ride while health is still my best buddy....

[wgdanson]

Jeez it must be a bloody big wall around the property?

I built a whole f'''kin 4 bedroomed, 3 bath house up t'North for Bht3M.

[Dannyboy666]

I must say.. You've got me on being cheap with your lady(3200 monthly). My lady insists on 15k a month minimum. I don't pay much rent. I'll usually book a glorious room in the 4k/month range. Lady seems to be okay with that as long as the 15k keeps coming in. She doesn't even care if I drink a bit at one of the seedier bars about town. Once got caught red handed with another lady. Thank goodness my member is still intact!

15K a month?

She probably want to maintain the same salary as at the office she worked before she hookered up with you.

. Excellent Response, Z1

[bushdoctor]

I must say.. You've got me on being cheap with your lady(3200 monthly). My lady insists on 15k a month minimum. I don't pay much rent. I'll usually book a glorious room in the 4k/month range. Lady seems to be okay with that as long as the 15k keeps coming in. She doesn't even care if I drink a bit at one of the seedier bars about town. Once got caught red handed with another lady. Thank goodness my member is still intact!

15K a month?

She probably want to maintain the same salary as at the office she worked before she hookered up with you.

it puzzles me why people have to pay someone to be their wife or g/f - and begs the question if for whatever reason you stop paying then does this person stop being your wife/gf ?

in all my time here i've dated plenty of fantastic ladies and not one has ever asked or expected me to pay her to be with me. they have things called jobs.

everyone to their own.

I would say the reason to give your wife money is to help out with her family obligations. As you know, there is no social security or retirement benefits in Thailand, so family counts on each other to help out, that's the culture. If she is a good Thai girl she will want to help. That's why grandparents sometime raise their daughters children, so she can continue to work etc. The misunderstanding with this often comes from looking at the situation through western eyes instead of Thai eyes IMO. Nothing wrong with giving a little help to the wife as long as you can afford to do it easily. She will be happy, you will help her out to live up to her family obligations, especially if she doesn't work. Some westerners don't want their wife working, then what is she supposed to do to help the family?

Edited January 2, 2015 by bushdoctor