And here I thought that I was the only one tracking monthly expenses. Actually, I have been doing it for over 15 years and find it a great way to have fun and stay on track.

My expenses were quite similar to yours. This year I spent B639/k and my 6 year average in Thailand is B648k. One of my New Years resolutions for 2015 is to spend more money and have more fun!

Cool!

Just for the record viewers " My annual expenses for 2104 ( " all in " ) were 80,000 Baht Absolute Total

( rent 2000 baht per month inc free wifi and sat TV )

Greetings to you all viewers!!

from your lovable T.V " Canary " ...

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!

That 3200 just augmented her income from her job which was a pretty decent salary, over 15K. Now I'm paying her salary completely. We had to have her quit work to supervise the building of the house. Plus she was always complaining about her boss so it was time for her to quit. She was with that employer for about 4 1/2 years as a graphic designer.

When the house is done she will find another job.

Just for the record viewers " My annual expenses for 2104 ( " all in " ) were 80,000 Baht Absolute Total

( rent 2000 baht per month inc free wifi and sat TV )

Greetings to you all viewers!!

from your lovable T.V " Canary " ...

Congratulations. That's 220baht a day.

Living cheaper than a Cambodian dishwasher.

good thread.

walls seem to be expensive. is this a wall price boasting thread as well

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.

Easily done.

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.

I like to see this too as it gives me a ball park what I used to spend. That much for food? Wow.

16k for sex. If that's not hiso then that's what I call busy.

And here I thought that I was the only one tracking monthly expenses. Actually, I have been doing it for over 15 years and find it a great way to have fun and stay on track.

My expenses were quite similar to yours. This year I spent B639/k and my 6 year average in Thailand is B648k. One of my New Years resolutions for 2015 is to spend more money and have more fun!

Cool!

Someone who gets use to saving money does have to remind themselves from time to time it is OK to spend.

Good resolution.

oneday,

You didnt say how familiar you are with Issan, but those of us here know its a good idea to keep an eye on the builders EVERY day. Alot of bad construction work here. Might be worth at least afew trips up to inspect.

Issan is a great place to live. Takes a bit of adjusting, but you will love it.

My first 15 years, we lived very well on 12,000 bt a month. Now, SS sends me 35,000bt a month and Im trying but cant spend it all!

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.

I like to see this too as it gives me a ball park what I used to spend. That much for food? Wow.

16k for sex. If that's not hiso then that's what I call busy.

Assume long time at best that's a F/L only every other day or less if you get into bar fines and go gos.

Charity more than drugs and booze or is booze also included in the Food?

i wonder sometimes , how many of you pensionners would go back home

after let's say, the UK economy collapses and the first thing to scrap is pensions for oversea's oldies

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!

If your member was not still intact, your lady would stop getting 15K a month, and would then have to find a job.

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

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.

Easily done.

Our 3 bed, 2 bath cost 1.4m (in Isaan). Roughly about 120 sqr meters (bungalow) Just finished a few months ago. 1.8m if you include furnature, landscaping, car port, and fence for 1.5 rai land. Another 100k for small shop/restaurant at the bottom of garden for wifey. So all in, less than 2m.

I spend about 20k a month. That includes 7k for the car and 3k pocket money for wifey (she has her own income).

Not sure about the breakdown, but maybe:

car =7k

wifey = 3k

petrol = 2k

food = 5k

booze = 1k

junk food and 7/11 =2k

(wife pays bills)

(no rent expense)

I earn about 32k. Wifey earns about 10k. All in, we probably save 15-17k. Haven't calculated it properly yet as we have just moved up here and are settling in to new work and lifestyle.

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?

Yes, everyone has different ways, my wife works full time, she has her money and I have mine, the only output I have is sharing the electric and internet every month, and now we have Solar panels, after I pay her 2000 Baht per month, the rest is mine, and as I am a non smoker and drinker, I can save quite a bit every month.

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

I envy you both. You must have group policies in America. Since I have had a triple bypass, I feel that means my heart is now in good working order. Plus, any insurance would not cover a "pre-existing" condition. But since I am an individual, (not in a group policy), Blue Cross/Blue Shield wants $2500 (US) a month for coverage. I declined, and became self-insured.

Excellent post !!!!

Interesting indeed

Off topic post removed

i spend less living in the south of france

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!

So you're still paying her for full time, just without the bar fine now. She doesn't seem to care about you, only about the 14 K monthly.

Once got caught with another lady....what a though guy you are.

You didn't include the cost of building the house?

Great thread, thanks for sharing.

Did you also notice the price increases over the past year? To me they are the highest I've seen in over 10 years.

Fried rice with fried egg from 40 to 50 baht

Cold Cappuccino from 35 to 45 Baht

Beer Chang big bottle from 40 to 50 Baht

Small bag of Pineapple from 20 to 25 Baht

Many times on the market also increased, fruit, meat, vegetables.

Al this is at local shops and markets where we come for years.

Many restaurants that have not increased prices have reduced the servings, but it's the same effect.

School fees up with 5% every year.

I wonder how Thais on lower incomes cope with this, apart from the schools, they eat and drink too. I see many struggling with money again.

Did you also notice the price increases over the past year? To me they are the highest I've seen in over 10 years.

Fried rice with fried egg from 40 to 50 baht

Cold Cappuccino from 35 to 45 Baht

Beer Chang big bottle from 40 to 50 Baht

Small bag of Pineapple from 20 to 25 Baht

Many times on the market also increased, fruit, meat, vegetables.

Al this is at local shops and markets where we come for years.

Many restaurants that have not increased prices have reduced the servings, but it's the same effect.

School fees up with 5% every year.

I wonder how Thais on lower incomes cope with this, apart from the schools, they eat and drink too. I see many struggling with money again.

Between 2006 and 2008 average world prices for rice rose by 217%,

This is also the time Thai farmers put more land to work growing rice. Then we have a surplus...

I recently joined this forum however did pose a question about retiring in thailand on another forum I dont know which area, i wanted to stay, here and there for 2 or 3 years a piece before having to stay in Kalasin due to the wife coming from there. on the other forum i said i had £200k and i broke that down to trying to live off £10k a year (being 54), people said it wasnt enough, so i am always happy to read other peoples expenses that have done the big move already. thanks for starting the thread. BTW what are the contact details of the builder in Kalasin

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

I envy you both. You must have group policies in America. Since I have had a triple bypass, I feel that means my heart is now in good working order. Plus, any insurance would not cover a "pre-existing" condition. But since I am an individual, (not in a group policy), Blue Cross/Blue Shield wants $2500 (US) a month for coverage. I declined, and became self-insured.

Or alternatively in words we can all understand...you don't have any insurance.

I presume "self insured" means you pay it out your own pocket with cash, I have heard this phrase before, i agree with Mudcrab, that means no insurance

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!

As long as the 15k keeps coming.

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

Misterphil!

I trust you ask the one and only George Best for permission to use this line!!

what about your'e laundry expenses?