I only had 20% of my net worth in GBP so i didn't have to reshape anything...its called diversity

Yes, diversify and always spend less than you make, which means you save and invest, wisely I hope. That is why I still have money after all these years. So, when the recessions hit--in the early seventies, late eighties, and 2007-8--only my net worth took a dive; my lifestyle stayed the same. It may be too late for you old farts, but is good advice for the younger ones.

Quite wrong of course. For a significant number of old farts assets have appreciated and lifestyle has inevitably taken a definitive dive. The younger ones, b'stards, are younger and are advised to stay the same.

Good advice for all ages

Cut down to 1 bar fine a month.

Coming from a Mennonite background I have been a penny pincher since watching my old Grandmother use the living room rug for a bank. I have saved my money all my life believing all that government crap over the years to save for my retirement. Now they have reduced my interest earned on savings to almost 0 to give almost free money to the people who are drunk on cheap money including the government of course. The banksters have ruined the world (modern day carpetbaggers) and the government has taken taxpayer money to bail them out. They the government has told us the next time the banksters break the bank they the government will take the money they need directly from our savings account to bail them out as they no longer can afford to. They are using the Cyprus model. My pension although indexed barely budges every January. I have a g/f now and have a comfortable not lavish condo unit here in Chiang Mai 38 sq. metres for 4,000 bahts a month with a pool and good security. I quit drinking beer except for 2 on the weekend. We salad bar it 3 times a week and Tops restaurant 2 days a week and cook on the weekend. We occasionally go out to eat. I have no desire to travel. We download movies for entertainment but 90% of the new ones are crap so I have gone back in time to download the oldie moldies as they were real movies not that junk put out today. They were real actors not these pay day flunkies who you read about in the news everyday throwing sh*tballs at each other. All this junk is thrown at the masses to divert their minds from the real world problems. We bike a bit for excersize and my g/f does her thing off of the tv (excersize videos) and I put on my joggers and walk all the floors in our 16 floor building plus doing the stairs. I have no car or motorbike just a pair of push bikes. I am now 77. I haggle with the taxi drivers, I fill up my own water jugs from a machine I trust. I am in a savings mode as I want to leave my g/f something after I snuff it. She is much younger than me but a good person who deserves something for all the kindness she has shown me plus she will be entering a really tough time as I cannot see the world getting any better only worse. I try to make friends here in the condo as friends are worth their weight in gold at times and at times can be a pain in the ar*e but then no one is perfect. At 77 I have taken to heart what one doctor stated on the news. He stated that if he reaches 75 and has a catastrophic illness he will not seek expensive treatment to buy a couple more painful years and I heartily agree. Why tie up valuable hospital space you've had your fun and death is only a natural progression in life.

That's the spirit.

Respect.

(......... had to look up 'Mennonite' though.)

I only had 20% of my net worth in GBP so i didn't have to reshape anything...its called diversity

Yes, diversify and always spend less than you make, which means you save and invest, wisely I hope. That is why I still have money after all these years. So, when the recessions hit--in the early seventies, late eighties, and 2007-8--only my net worth took a dive; my lifestyle stayed the same. It may be too late for you old farts, but is good advice for the younger ones.

Quite wrong of course. For a significant number of old farts assets have appreciated and lifestyle has inevitably taken a definitive dive. The younger ones, b'stards, are younger and are advised to stay the same.

With increased assets and decreased lifestyle, barring health issues, you, my friend, have a problem.

After explaining the new financial situation to my young lady friend she dissapeared,,

then turned up a year later .. said she has a new girlfriend but needs to pay off the 'fino' monthly payment as the lesbian lifestyle is not as luctrative

for her as when for she was with me previously ..

after a few more knocks on the door over the next 2 years she's finally out of my life..

she is young tall slim and light skinned and can attract the newly affluent Thai men or women to bankroll her now

While some of the Expats have had to tighten their purse strings the Thais are loaded now and only the 'left overs' abandoned single mothers or 'undesirable' dark skinned issan types still seem interested in a relationship with a Western male

On my 2004 arrival I was treated to 41 Baht to my US dollar, lived well, partied often, dined on cuisine at 3.8 star restaurants. Now at 30 Baht to the dollar my US investments in the tank, we eat only 3 days a week, generate our own, ( via pedaling a bike ), electric, eat Thai table scraps and you're complaining ?

Things really are tough. I bought a condo for 6M THB @ 40 THB/USD, and then sold it for 9M THB @ 32THB/USD. I'm not complaining. Too, I sold my condo after August 29th, when all of the TV real estate seers claimed that the condo market would collapse. Poor me.