Few Thais can make ends meet: Survey
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Most Thais say their income cannot cover expenses, according to a survey by Dhurakij Pundit University.

The survey was conducted during March 10-April 8 covered 1,190 respondents in 22 provinces.

They also said that they had little time for exercise and rest and suffered from stress.

Two thirds also said Thailand has no necessity in hosting elections within this year.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Few-Thais-can-make-ends-meet-Survey-30258454.html

Sometimes I do have a laugh with some of the Nation's articles.

What has to do the Thais income with elections this year?

I do understand that they are in trouble as they have no sense of financial responsibilities and they borrow money as there is no tomorrow,

but elections or not elections will not help them.

Some education could help them, but this is also too late.

Beware of Greeks giving free financial advice

Please read the headline, Costas. It's about a survey which probably had more than one question and topic.

may be more correct to say beware, of giving good advice to thai's as they so seldomn follow instructions and instead improvise/modify what was a good plan so as it fails

Sometimes I do have a laugh with some of the Nation's articles.

What has to do the Thais income with elections this year?

I do understand that they are in trouble as they have no sense of financial responsibilities and they borrow money as there is no tomorrow,

but elections or not elections will not help them.

Some education could help them, but this is also too late.

Hard to manage finances on less than 15k a month.

And that's the Thais with educations.

Without education less than 300bht/day,

I think I would give up too.

And my wife is one of them.

Sometimes I do have a laugh with some of the Nation's articles.

What has to do the Thais income with elections this year?

I do understand that they are in trouble as they have no sense of financial responsibilities and they borrow money as there is no tomorrow,

but elections or not elections will not help them.

Some education could help them, but this is also too late.

Hard to manage finances on less than 15k a month.

And that's the Thais with educations.

Without education less than 300bht/day,

I think I would give up too.

There is an old saying, "You should cut your coat according to your cloth".

Many Thai people survive on 15K or less per month, but it gives them little leeway if they insist on having the latest smartphone or the biggest widescreen TV. As a farang, I would find it almost impossible to manage on that amount, but there are many on this forum who have said they have done so, and good for them.

As long as people are conned into buying the latest whatever by borrowing money, they will be in debt.

H.M. the King advocated a sufficiency economy and many rural Thais try and follow his wisdom.

thats what keeps the gold shops ( money lending) and mafia lenders in business

Sometimes I do have a laugh with some of the Nation's articles.

What has to do the Thais income with elections this year?

I do understand that they are in trouble as they have no sense of financial responsibilities and they borrow money as there is no tomorrow,

but elections or not elections will not help them.

Some education could help them, but this is also too late.

Hard to manage finances on less than 15k a month.

Not really, budget your life and don't buy brand new cars and iPhones (for face) on credit and you should be okay.

thats what keeps the gold shops ( money lending) and mafia lenders in business

I do not understand how gold shops are money lenders?

People sit here and bash the Thais for their inability to manage their finances when in reality the vast majority of people in most if not all countries are in the very same predicament as here in Thailand.

People sit here and bash the Thais for their inability to manage their finances when in reality the vast majority of people in most if not all countries are in the very same predicament as here in Thailand.

I agree with you 100%! Just look (back) at the state of many economies in the West and you'll see that a lot of people have lived/are still living beyond their means. Many people here seem to forget/ignore that.

It's difficult to say no to all of these new mod-cons and even more difficult to say no to easy credit...been there, done that, learned my lesson the hard way and never again.

thats what keeps the gold shops ( money lending) and mafia lenders in business

I do not understand how gold shops are money lenders?

Many (maybe most?) gold shops will lend money and accept gold as security. The customer then makes monthly or weekly interest payments until they can afford to pay off the original loan and recover their gold.

If the interest payments are not made the gold is forfeit.

I think that is more or less how it works - similar to pawnbrokers.

Sometimes I do have a laugh with some of the Nation's articles.

What has to do the Thais income with elections this year?

I do understand that they are in trouble as they have no sense of financial responsibilities and they borrow money as there is no tomorrow,

but elections or not elections will not help them.

Some education could help them, but this is also too late.

Hard to manage finances on less than 15k a month.

And that's the Thais with educations.

Without education less than 300bht/day,

I think I would give up too.

According to some posters on here 300 bahts a day is to much and they are moving their businesses to adjoining countries. Then again I must be living in a parallel universe as I am run off the road almost daily by brand spanking new 4 door Toyota pickup trucks.

People sit here and bash the Thais for their inability to manage their finances when in reality the vast majority of people in most if not all countries are in the very same predicament as here in Thailand.

So true prosperity reins if you listen to the governments in most countries. Inflation is almost gone the stock market is a juggarnaut upwards and outwards and free money is everywhere. Utopia has finally arrived if you listen to most governments that is.

The lucky Thais are the ones with a sister/daughter who is married to a kind farang. Then the problem is transferred to the farang, who now can't make ends meet.

thats what keeps the gold shops ( money lending) and mafia lenders in business

I do not understand how gold shops are money lenders?

If you have any gold jewellery then you can give it to the shop to look after for some money. As long as you pay the "interest" every month or two then they keep the item for you. Of course, you need something to pawn first. I guess if you don't, it's off the the local "mafia" leader with you.

It's hard to live and have any fun on 15K, certainly not the high-life but then it depends on what you are looking for. It's especially hard when accommodation and transport is over half that amount before food and clothing. Paying off any loan as well, education or otherwise would be really hard. You wouldn't want to need to look after parents or children as well. Some do and it's commendable.

1,190 people is NOT a justifiable survey !

People sit here and bash the Thais for their inability to manage their finances when in reality the vast majority of people in most if not all countries are in the very same predicament as here in Thailand.

Yeh but Western countries have much higher salaries. Not many people on 300 quid per month would be able to afford an iphone & car

Sometimes I do have a laugh with some of the Nation's articles.

What has to do the Thais income with elections this year?

I do understand that they are in trouble as they have no sense of financial responsibilities and they borrow money as there is no tomorrow,

but elections or not elections will not help them.

Some education could help them, but this is also too late.

Yup,

I hear your call , personally I do not get it either... One can never borrow their way into prosperity can they? And financial responsibility just may never be in their vocabulary..... Believe me I have such a family in Thailand, some smart, most on the dole.... They do need education, and a true understanding.

My reality? I will not bail you out.... Just a thought....

I do understand that they are in trouble as they have no sense of financial responsibilities and they borrow money as there is no tomorrow,

Thats a bit rich coming from a Greek....

Well after buying smart phones, ipads and dining out, yes they are broke.

too many poor

with no education

sounds like in the west: the non educated newcommer immigrants with no education complaining they cannot find a job and get unemployment benefits for whole their life & every family member

still.. thailand is the country with the most general millionairs/billionaires

and some of the richest families in the world also

After reading that, I started to think of people back in my origin country (England) and how many people that might be debt free. I'm not sure that any of them are actually, though I'd take a stab and guess they all have the latest phone and a nice car.

I have zero debt, no nice house, sold my car as I no longer need it, average phone blah blah, and actual savings, living on less than my income. I know it's a strange concept but this isn't bragging, this is humble living. Guess who is the first person they call when they want to borrow money

I'm pretty sure that if I let someone else dictate my spending (English or Thai), they'd change all that pretty quickly.

Makes me look like a cheap charlie I'm sure, but at the same time I tip better than anyone I know ("you're spoiling it for the rest of us"), and never see friends go short for anything. I feel like a parent sometimes even though I'm not.

Oh yeah, I stay alone. Wonder why.

After reading that, I started to think of people back in my origin country (England) and how many people that might be debt free. I'm not sure that any of them are actually, though I'd take a stab and guess they all have the latest phone and a nice car.

I have zero debt, no nice house, sold my car as I no longer need it, average phone blah blah, and actual savings, living on less than my income. I know it's a strange concept but this isn't bragging, this is humble living. Guess who is the first person they call when they want to borrow money

I'm pretty sure that if I let someone else dictate my spending (English or Thai), they'd change all that pretty quickly.

Makes me look like a cheap charlie I'm sure, but at the same time I tip better than anyone I know ("you're spoiling it for the rest of us"), and never see friends go short for anything. I feel like a parent sometimes even though I'm not.

Oh yeah, I stay alone. Wonder why.

And the thing is, I bet you are still better off than 80% of the human race. People nowadays are way too greedy.

Have a middle aged divorced lady do some gardening for us once a week ....5 hrs for Bt300.......she says it's so hard to survive without extra work......

She usually brings here 3 teen daughters to help her....all 4 of them have smart phones!!

Sometimes I do have a laugh with some of the Nation's articles.

What has to do the Thais income with elections this year?

I do understand that they are in trouble as they have no sense of financial responsibilities and they borrow money as there is no tomorrow,

but elections or not elections will not help them.

Some education could help them, but this is also too late.

Hard to manage finances on less than 15k a month.

And that's the Thais with educations.

Without education less than 300bht/day,

I think I would give up too.

There is an old saying, "You should cut your coat according to your cloth".

Many Thai people survive on 15K or less per month, but it gives them little leeway if they insist on having the latest smartphone or the biggest widescreen TV. As a farang, I would find it almost impossible to manage on that amount, but there are many on this forum who have said they have done so, and good for them.

As long as people are conned into buying the latest whatever by borrowing money, they will be in debt.

H.M. the King advocated a sufficiency economy and many rural Thais try and follow his wisdom.

Their choices are what exactly?

Have a middle aged divorced lady do some gardening for us once a week ....5 hrs for Bt300.......she says it's so hard to survive without extra work......

She usually brings here 3 teen daughters to help her....all 4 of them have smart phones!!

So, you get 20 man (or woman) hours work for 300Bht?? Thats just half the minimum wage.

Must be all the cash you altruistically toss their way that has made them rich.

I disagree with some of the TV members statements....I am in my 50s now, I came to thailand about 15 years ago, with only about Bt 80,000 (I lost most of my monies as I was recovering from a serious medical condition then.) and I do not have any secondary education. I am Asian (not farang). By working hard and doing things ethically, I have managed to build a comfortable life along with my thai boyfriend , and we have accumulated a lot of assets (not expensive types but like small condo units that we rent out), small land plots all over the North etc that we develop etc and off course my main core business is trading ie food ingredients, cosmetic ingredients, etc. We never borrow or even take out any loans from the banks and we live within our means. But today, our accumulated assets are well over 105 million baht plus we enjoy a comfortable revenue every month.

Its an issue of whether you want to work hard.....most of these people only want things easily and complain of being deprived.