gk10002000 Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 great post thanks. probably live about as you would. My needs are modest. I am "on the fence" about retiring. My cash and investment cash flow will easily support 3k USD a month, and that is not even counting social security which I get in just a few more years. I currently carry my own US health insurance with Florida Bllue Cross blue shield. That has risen 25% a year and now costs me $265 a month. Darn Obamacare is worse and the cheapest plan through those sites would cost me $388! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DepDavid Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 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 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DepDavid Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 I was quoted 60000baht a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post oneday Posted January 3, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 3, 2015 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! Yes, this is true and I'm well aware of this having been a faithful reader of "CoolTahiHouse" for several years. I walked my wife through all it takes to do our wall. That came first and we learned a few lessons there, but in the end the wall was saved by the second group who did a super quality job of plastering. I received numerous daily pictures and she received more than enough advice from me. On her own she decided to kick the boss of the wall contractors off site because he wasn't listening to her. His workers stayed and they follow directions. Anyway, we are now about 40% through the construction of the house and I can say with confidence, I've never read a building story anywhere in Thailand that has been more successful than ours. At every step of the way, up to this point, they haven't missed a beat in doing all the right things and a few things I wasn't aware of that were all good. The roof will be finished in about another week or so, the walls are up, the door frames are in and the plastering begins today. The electrical and plumbing has been laid out and I'm super happy with how it has all gone. As each step of the construction approaches I prepare or educate my wife on what to look for. She is as keen as I am to have the best quality home as we can get and so far we have that. I cannot emphasize enough how fortuitous one piece of advice was I gave my wife that led to finding this builder. I told my wife to go to all the building material places in town and ask them who they know that they would want to build their house. After a while a clear winner emerged...our builder "Chang B". What a professional operation he has built. He only uses the best skilled workers wherever he can find them locally or in adjoining provinces. He keeps tight control over his operation and doesn't stand for any unprofessional behavior. I am very satisfied now that I WILL NOT have to go up to the house, aside from a couple more times just to evaluate things in person prior to a couple of critical points in the construction. My wife never wanted me up there, for so many reasons, so she is the ONLY one who interfaces with all the players and it has worked out very well. She takes my rough edges and turns them into smooth, polite discussion and negotiation paving the way to good relations. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneday Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 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. ...and that is the situation I would be in if I EVER canceled my insurance in the US under my retirement plan. I would no longer be allowed back into the discounted group plans at OPM. As I said before, the only way I could drop this insurance is if I knew with 100% certainty I'd never return to the US, then I'd be free to get insurance here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post oneday Posted January 3, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 3, 2015 You didn't include the cost of building the house? This is supposed to be an "expense" thread, but, heck, it's my thread so... House is 123sm, with a 26sm front porch, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom with double Q-Con walls on the exterior wall and a two level roof for aesthetic purposes. Those last two added 150,000 to the price and the extra 30,000 is for a rock facade on the front of the house. The house is upraised by 1.2M off the ground to provide a crawlspace under the house. By the time we are done with the house, land, dirt infill, wall and well we had drilled, the project will run about 3M. The house was bid at 1.93M with some decent allowances for all that goes into a finished house such as the tile which was a fantastic allowance of 700 baht a square meter and if we get a cheaper tile, which we did, the difference goes into the bank for other items. The only thing this price did not include was: Water heaters AC Driveway Sandwash of 1 meter sidewalk around house Gas stove top Stove vent Kitzcho cabinets Laundry room sink Two concrete poles for electrical Water purifying system Curtains Mosquito screens Everything else you can think of (within reason) that goes into a house is included in the 1.93M. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneday Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 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. Yes, prices have gone up. About 10 baht for simple dishes at my favorite Thai restaurant. The biggest increase I saw was for my favorite cheese at Friendship Market -- Bega Mild. It went from 155 to 180+. I know it's now 180 something, maybe 183. Nevertheless, because of how I live my life it has affected me very little. I cook or make all my food at home (mostly) and I know how to make cheap foods go a long way. I also wonder how Thais manage to make ends meet. I would definitely hate to have a job making what the average Thai makes. Seeing how little money skilled Thai workers make, compared to my country, is sad. However, that is certainly what makes Thailand cheap for us Expats...cheap labor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneday Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 what about your'e laundry expenses? Good question. We have a washing machine in the townhouse. The soap and detergent are included in the food and "grocery" average costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneday Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) great post thanks. probably live about as you would. My needs are modest. I am "on the fence" about retiring. My cash and investment cash flow will easily support 3k USD a month, and that is not even counting social security which I get in just a few more years. I currently carry my own US health insurance with Florida Bllue Cross blue shield. That has risen 25% a year and now costs me $265 a month. Darn Obamacare is worse and the cheapest plan through those sites would cost me $388! Yes, with my SS, which I just applied for and it should be adjudicated within the next month, and my federal annuity and my house rental income, I'll be pulling in about $4500 a month net so I'm spending considerably less than my actual income. However, I need to spend this little given what I'm spending on our ongoing construction project. I'm also lucky in that my BCBS costs are only $134/mo as a single person under OPM. Yes, I've been calling my GF my wife (it's a Thai thing), but in essence she is and will be my wife in about 1 year when we move to America. We've already been together 5 1/2 years full-time. Edited January 3, 2015 by oneday 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttthailand Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I use to spend 80 to 100k and sometimes even more a month. Made one major change in my life and my expenses were cut in half... dropped the money hungry part time hooker that I called a girlfriend and got a real girlfriend. Now I pay nothing and she is more lovely and sexy than the bar tramps that I was with before. Life is so good... And cheap too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expatdreamer Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 You mentioned you are planning to move to America with your wife. Can I ask why? It seems you have a good relationship with your wife, is there no risk that this could change if you move? Good job with the house, 3M in my country (Aus) will be lucky to get you a 2 car garage only (no house). And good job with the budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watcharacters Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 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. . The bank valued your fence separately while you applied for a home mortgage? What next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianj1964 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Why do you need a mortgage, i thought you were laying cash out for this project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awohalitsiktoli Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 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. Very interesting/informative thread. I can see from what others are spending that I am spending way too much on food (Western food) and a Thai woman whose name translates into Thai as "Givahme Allyahmohnee." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianj1964 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 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. Very interesting/informative thread. I can see from what others are spending that I am spending way too much on food (Western food) and a Thai woman whose name translates into Thai as "Givahme Allyahmohnee." If you stick to the coconut bar you could half the 16k or get double the amount of girls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneday Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 You mentioned you are planning to move to America with your wife. Can I ask why? It seems you have a good relationship with your wife, is there no risk that this could change if you move? Good job with the house, 3M in my country (Aus) will be lucky to get you a 2 car garage only (no house). And good job with the budget. She really wants to go and I want to show her America and I'm getting a bit tired of Thailand with a lot of stupid things I see and have to deal with. There will be absolutely no doubt that I will miss certain things here and if it's really bad then I'll return. She also has dreams of getting a job and making lots of money. On that she may be disappointed unless she really digs into improving and expanding her skills. I want to get her to a point where she can program websites, beyond HTML/CSS and Dreamweaver. I want her to learn PHP, MySQL and JavaScript. I have a computer science degree and know programming, so I spent a significant portion of 2014 learning all that and building her website. It was quite fun and kept my mind busy at the ripe old age of 61, now 62. Heck, she has a live-in teacher...me. As far as her being changed by America. Maybe, but at this point there isn't much we don't know about each other having lived together for 5.5 years. She already acts like a privileged, entitled, independent American anyway. Nah, we'll be OK...as OK as we are here. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneday Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) Why do you need a mortgage, i thought you were laying cash out for this project. If you are directing that comment at me. It's not me that made the comment about a mortgage. Edited January 3, 2015 by oneday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zierf1 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 You mentioned you are planning to move to America with your wife. Can I ask why? It seems you have a good relationship with your wife, is there no risk that this could change if you move? Good job with the house, 3M in my country (Aus) will be lucky to get you a 2 car garage only (no house). And good job with the budget. Sheesh. A garage? Can get a brand new house for that in some states in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneday Posted January 4, 2015 Author Share Posted January 4, 2015 You mentioned you are planning to move to America with your wife. Can I ask why? It seems you have a good relationship with your wife, is there no risk that this could change if you move? Good job with the house, 3M in my country (Aus) will be lucky to get you a 2 car garage only (no house). And good job with the budget. Sheesh. A garage? Can get a brand new house for that in some states in the US. Prices vary widely all over America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlodnick Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Oneday, I always tell farangs, the best thing you can do is take your wife to the US and put her to work. They learn real quick that they dont hand out money for free there! My wife got rich, but it took her 20 years. Also, it was a great learning experience for the wife. Now we have been back here for 20 years and have incorporated the best of both worlds into our lives. I see the difference in wives who have lived abroad and those who havent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoneRanger Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I've seen a few Thai ladies move to the USA and become very successful. Keep them away from the local Thais is my advice. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expatdreamer Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 (edited) You mentioned you are planning to move to America with your wife. Can I ask why? It seems you have a good relationship with your wife, is there no risk that this could change if you move? Good job with the house, 3M in my country (Aus) will be lucky to get you a 2 car garage only (no house). And good job with the budget. Sheesh. A garage? Can get a brand new house for that in some states in the US. Basically you need half a million dollars (15M Baht) to buy a house in any of the capital cities in Australia. If you want to live in a really disadvantaged area in one of those cities (think high crime rate, theft, vandalism, being locked up in your house at night too afraid to go out) an hour or more from the CBD, or buy a cheap fibro (made of just sheets of asbestos) house in a very rural area far away (many hours) from a capital city and all of its amenities (and with no jobs in those rural areas), you might be able to get away with half that, ie 7.5M Baht. It aint cheap living in Oz, hence why I am considering making the move to LOS permanently once I am 50 in a few short years. http://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/what-can-you-buy-for-the-median-house-price-in-each-australian-capital-city/story-fndban6l-1226994360137 Edited January 4, 2015 by expatdreamer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgdanson Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 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. I think he got F&D and Drugs&Booze the wrong way round. And I never met a Thai girl called Charity before! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneday Posted January 4, 2015 Author Share Posted January 4, 2015 Oneday, I always tell farangs, the best thing you can do is take your wife to the US and put her to work. They learn real quick that they dont hand out money for free there! My wife got rich, but it took her 20 years. Also, it was a great learning experience for the wife. Now we have been back here for 20 years and have incorporated the best of both worlds into our lives. I see the difference in wives who have lived abroad and those who havent. Yes, I do believe it will be one heck of a learning experience for her. I know she thinks she knows what she will find, but I know her eyes will be opened by all the good things and bad things she never dreamt of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnycthedog Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Good thread. @ oneday - if you plan to relocate to the USA on a permanent basis why are you building a house in Isaan and not just continuing to rent? Sorry if I am being nosey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gk10002000 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Oneday, I always tell farangs, the best thing you can do is take your wife to the US and put her to work. They learn real quick that they dont hand out money for free there! My wife got rich, but it took her 20 years. Also, it was a great learning experience for the wife. Now we have been back here for 20 years and have incorporated the best of both worlds into our lives. I see the difference in wives who have lived abroad and those who havent. Yes, I do believe it will be one heck of a learning experience for her. I know she thinks she knows what she will find, but I know her eyes will be opened by all the good things and bad things she never dreamt of. On my very first trip to Thailand I was lucky enough to meet up with a very nice lady that had spent 2 years in the USA Los Angeles area. She worked in a Thai restaurant with her farang boyfriend/husband (not exactly sure of the whole story). But she clearly understood how hard she worked there but made little money. America Expensive! I said yep. Most Thais only see the vacationers or retirees and think every body has money. They don't see the average middle and lower economic classes with kids and car payments and insurance bills etc. I kept in contact with another Thai Lady that moved to the USA, married a guy in Ohio (brrrrr) and went to work in one of the auto plants there on the assembly line. She said the boss was so mean. Yep. Not a lot of sanook in jobs like that. No talking, no walking around, no communal relaxed lunches etc. She eventually had two kids last time I checked and was no longer on the job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneday Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 (edited) Oneday, I always tell farangs, the best thing you can do is take your wife to the US and put her to work. They learn real quick that they dont hand out money for free there! My wife got rich, but it took her 20 years. Also, it was a great learning experience for the wife. Now we have been back here for 20 years and have incorporated the best of both worlds into our lives. I see the difference in wives who have lived abroad and those who havent. Yes, I do believe it will be one heck of a learning experience for her. I know she thinks she knows what she will find, but I know her eyes will be opened by all the good things and bad things she never dreamt of. On my very first trip to Thailand I was lucky enough to meet up with a very nice lady that had spent 2 years in the USA Los Angeles area. She worked in a Thai restaurant with her farang boyfriend/husband (not exactly sure of the whole story). But she clearly understood how hard she worked there but made little money. America Expensive! I said yep. Most Thais only see the vacationers or retirees and think every body has money. They don't see the average middle and lower economic classes with kids and car payments and insurance bills etc. I kept in contact with another Thai Lady that moved to the USA, married a guy in Ohio (brrrrr) and went to work in one of the auto plants there on the assembly line. She said the boss was so mean. Yep. Not a lot of sanook in jobs like that. No talking, no walking around, no communal relaxed lunches etc. She eventually had two kids last time I checked and was no longer on the job. Yep, those are the things I think will shock my lady (America is expensive), but I also hope she will have many good experiences, especially when I take her on a tour of the National Parks. I also hope she will get a decent job doing what she knows best; graphic design. Edited January 8, 2015 by oneday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67 CHEVELLE SUPER SPORT Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Oneday, thanks for posting BoneRanger, same thanks for the information Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rimmer Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 A troll post and two replies to it have been removed. Many people find this topic most informative and are enjoying it, I suggest if you have nothing constructive to say better you move onto a topic that interests you more. Thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canarysun Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 To live in Pattaya is amazingly cheap! I have been living on 5,500 Baht " all in " for a long time now! But if you wanted a very nice quality condo with pool then i think 10,000 to 12,000 Baht a month " all in " would be easily done.(Inc rent,food,bills the lot! ) The only thing that would " rock your budget " are " Booze,Farang Food & Ladies ".i don't drink so i am lucky and your ladies of course should be " free " that's if you play your cards right ! ( the average one bedroom condo of nice quality here in Pattaya will cost you no more than 5,000 baht a month and gives you plenty of extra to enjoy yourself! F.J At your service........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now