Minimum wage 'not enough for daily expenses'

[harryfrompattaya]

There is some seriously disengenous comments towards Thais here from people who are doing their best to flame bait.

Not a clue about their culture or their heritage, that's not the up their own asses farangs here, it's the people they're taking the piss out of!!

I think you do not understand as these poor Thais work for other Thais not Farangs that you refer to

Tell us about the low pay culture

[konying]

Konying obviously knows nothing at all about farming in Thailand, doesn't know much about the common people, has no common sense at all, knows nothing about surviving on a pittance, and can't even answer a straightforward question, just tries the old diversionary tactic of answering a question with another one. He must be a politician!!!

Or he is not a lazy ass who does nothing but waits around for hand outs blaming everyone else for his "lack of money"

As if farming concept in Thailand is different to any other country.

The only difference is, in other countries farmers work 365 days per year

Common people? who are they? the lazy ones spending their days looking for ways not to work? I have come across plenty, most likely know at least 100 times more than you, having owned a business for over 12 years and seeing hundreds come through.

I also know a number of common people who have been working in the same jobs for 17+ years and own houses, cars and raise kids.

I also know just as many who work without days off and doing OT on daily basis, doubling their salaries and not waiting for hand outs.

Now.... how many do you know on minimum wage to have been in the same job for over 1 year? and how many of those take up second job or do OT or work on days off?

[dageurreotype]

As an aside, I'm constantly asked by THAIS why I pay my mae baan, usually Thai, 500 baht per day. I tell them that she works for me just one day per week (don't need more), therefore, much like Contract workers in the West.

[Fat Haggis]

Konying, you keep mentioning handouts, is there a welfare system in Thailand that gives out such handouts?

If there isn't why would Thais expect to be given one?

I have a serious question, those guys with maids and gardeners etc, why don't you do the work yourself? I know maybe some of you might be getting on in life a bit, and that's understandable, but for those who are still as fit as a butchers dog, why doesn't your wife clean the house, and you do the gardening, and other similar chores? Is it because you want to offer some employment to the local neighbours, which is a nice gesture, and earns you heaps of respect, or is it the job is beneath you?

I clean our house, I got into trouble for doing it the first time, wanted to surprise the family when they went to work, washed all the floors, dishes and laundry, hung it out to dry, basically did all the things I had to do when I was living on my own, which to me was no big deal, but my MIL was a bit peeved and thought it wasn't a mans job to do what they had been doing for years... It took a lot of persuading for her to get it into her head that in my culture, we all have to do our own cleaning and tidying up. Now it's no big deal, and they respect me for it.

There's a Laotian woman who lives in our village too, she's not too healthy, she has no husband or man around the house that I have seen, her little daughter, who is only about 10 goes to work every other day in the Casava fields, when she's not at school, it breaks my heart seeing this, but to the villagers, it's no big deal, the wee soul came to our house and asked to clean it, I wouldn't let a child do the work, we adults should be doing, I said I'll give her 100 baht if she doesn't clean it instead, but she wont take the money.

If there was a social welfare program in Thailand that gave handouts to the poor and needy, it's not seen with that wee lassies family !!

What else can I possibly do? someone touched on this earlier, despite their obvious financial plight, that little girl, and her little sister have the biggest smiles on their faces, day in day out, and seem to be happy, and totally oblivious to what we expats would see as a very dire situation.

Happiness in a hopeless situation ? ... I sincerely hope that if I ever hit rock bottom, I'd be able to smile every single day like that little Laotian girl.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Fat Haggis

[Don Mega]

What cheese and yoghurt do you buy ?

Sneering at the cheese and yogurt does in no way detract from the thrust of the lobster's post. Thais Are (in the main) Lazy. Everyone including Thailand knows this. That's why they prefer to hire the Burmese and Khmer. Not simply because they cost less.

<deleted> are you talking about dageurrtype ?

I was asking about what cheese and yoghurt lobster was buying to fit into his budget.

No you weren't. You were implying that to be able to afford cheese and yogurt, one must be a veritable Creosus compared to the poor downtrodden Thai.

Ummm no. You have your own agenda's so do not impose them onto me.

I was asking about the price of the cheese as iam genuinely interested into what he is buying.

[konying]

Mr. Konying,

and bag of rice is not stealing?

Do you posses any common sense at all?

You should ask yourself if you do you posses a sort of common sense at all? My parents in law are rice farmers and they're not thieves.

Once the rice harvest is over, the majority pick chilies for others, if they don't have land to grow them. They earn 2- 3 baht for one kg.

Do you have an idea how long that takes to do that in the boiling sun?

Their life's really miserable. So the guy's really asking you a sincere question: "How much do you now about farming in Thailand?"

Were they or are they forced to be farmers?

What an insane question. They're both nearly 70 and just continued what their parents did.

Would you even have an idea about the quality of the schools in Isaan villages nowadays and consider how schools and life were more than 50

years ago, when they became farmers, then you wouldn't ask such a question.

Right , so once again its everyone else's fault.

SO seeing as their parents were poor they decided to follow the same path?

So when they were poor at 25 they did not think to do something else?

How about at 40?

But its everyone else's fault for their choices in life,

Speaking of insane

[konying]

Konying, you keep mentioning handouts, is there a welfare system in Thailand that gives out such handouts?

If there isn't why would Thais expect to be given one?

Actually yes there is, you should know, after all you are an expert

Yes, hand outs, there is a good reason why Thaksin was and is so popular with them, or did you miss that decade in Thailand?

You know those populace policies, what did you think it was?

A wage hike without any returns is not a hand out?

How do you think wage rise will affect farmers who work for themselves? and what do you think is going to happen to small businesses when they forced to pay higher wages to same unskilled people who lack not only skills but desire to work and any productivity.

[JockPieandBeans]

Fair play to the guy if he can live on 1,000 baht a week, perhaps he can start up a new online business/blog, called " how to survive in Thailand on 1,000 baht a week" and break down his shopping list, I'm not taking the piss here, It would be a great think for the farangs who can and sometimes do fall on hard times.

I'm with you on this one Fat Haggis. I honestly want to know if there is a Westerner in Thailand that can live on 1000 Baht a week and would love to see a breakdown of what they get for that 1000 Baht.

I posted this earlier

Can you please tell me your secret.

Where do you buy your toiletries for 200 - 300 Baht a month ?

I spend that a week on deodorant alone.

Having given it just a little further thought. A 1000 Baht a week probably covers my deodorant and water.

I have no intention or need, to live on a 1000 Baht a week, but I would love to know how it can be done.

[sirineou]

This is not a problem isolated to Thailand , this is a world wide issue as governments and corporations seem to be in collusion on keeping everything to themselves but their short sightedness will be their undoing as they will soon have no consumers.

This "free" world trade policy followed by most governments has developed a situation where wages are in a race to the bottom

so far most corps do not fear loosing consumers in one country if allowed to make up the difference from consumers in an other country

and in the process turn a hefty profit.

we have being sold an anti-protectionism bill of good, Protection from each other is the idea behind government.

[Fat Haggis]

Konying, you keep mentioning handouts, is there a welfare system in Thailand that gives out such handouts?

If there isn't why would Thais expect to be given one?

Actually yes there is, you should know, after all you are an expert

Yes, hand outs, there is a good reason why Thaksin was and is so popular with them, or did you miss that decade in Thailand?

You know those populace policies, what did you think it was?

A wage hike without any returns is not a hand out?

How do you think wage rise will affect farmers who work for themselves? and what do you think is going to happen to small businesses when they forced to pay higher wages to same unskilled people who lack not only skills but desire to work and any productivity.

Nope, don't consider myself an expert at all, it seems to be you that is, whilst constantly bashing Thais, but you also seem to be getting away with it, so crack on.

Ah.... I wondered when Thaksin would make an appearance in this thread, it was doing alright up till then.

Sorry, wasn't around for the Thaksin era, but I am around for this one!!

Populist policies? Right... like writing off some farmers debt? Fixed prices for rubber farmers? Promising to make working conditions better? Promising to lower the lottery ticket prices? ...no idea what you mean by populist policies

Again, if there's no social security, I'm genuinely interested in this welfare system, as there's a couple of families in my village who have to send their kids out to earn a wage, and NO they are not on the piss all day long either.

The small businesses will have to do what the Government (Junta) told the rice farmers to do...diversify... reduce overheads, work out an acceptable profit margin, tell me what happens to small business outside of Thailand who have to do the same?

[kannot]

I posted once that I doubt most Farang would last a single shift on a Thai construction site and was told that the majority of the hard work on those sites is done by Cambodians and Burmese, so I'll leave this one alone. Its for the Thais to sort in any case - foreigners living here have no say in how much people get paid or what that will mean for the cost of living.

Some foreigners like ME actually ended up doing all that construction work themselves as sad n old as I am at 51 the "kids" couldnt do it, I mixed the cement , got the sand got the cement, laid the blocks, tiled the floors, installed doors n windows painted it all, cleaned up the lot

And you still had time to post your obligatory 3 Thai-bashing epics on every one of those days, no doubt

The 'kids' I'm talking about arent farmers who dabble in construction - they're the poor sods who have to rock up to a highrise construction site every morning knowing there's a good chance they wont be getting the pickup to go home that night. The heat alone would do me in.

Ive done it all year right thru 42c no pick to go home in as I live onsite as most of them often do

[dageurreotype]

Ummm no. You have your own agenda's so do not impose them onto me.

I was asking about the price of the cheese as iam genuinely interested into what he is buying.

[konying]

Konying, you keep mentioning handouts, is there a welfare system in Thailand that gives out such handouts?

If there isn't why would Thais expect to be given one?

Actually yes there is, you should know, after all you are an expert

Yes, hand outs, there is a good reason why Thaksin was and is so popular with them, or did you miss that decade in Thailand?

You know those populace policies, what did you think it was?

A wage hike without any returns is not a hand out?

How do you think wage rise will affect farmers who work for themselves? and what do you think is going to happen to small businesses when they forced to pay higher wages to same unskilled people who lack not only skills but desire to work and any productivity.

Nope, don't consider myself an expert at all, it seems to be you that is, whilst constantly bashing Thais, but you also seem to be getting away with it, so crack on.

Ah.... I wondered when Thaksin would make an appearance in this thread, it was doing alright up till then.

Sorry, wasn't around for the Thaksin era, but I am around for this one!!

Populist policies? Right... like writing off some farmers debt? Fixed prices for rubber farmers? Promising to make working conditions better? Promising to lower the lottery ticket prices? ...no idea what you mean by populist policies

Again, if there's no social security, I'm genuinely interested in this welfare system, as there's a couple of families in my village who have to send their kids out to earn a wage, and NO they are not on the piss all day long either.

The small businesses will have to do what the Government (Junta) told the rice farmers to do...diversify... reduce overheads, work out an acceptable profit margin, tell me what happens to small business outside of Thailand who have to do the same?

Welcome to the working Thailand,

No social security? what do you think 5% from the employee and 5% from the employer is?

Now that you have clearly shown not to have a clue at all, might be the time to stop posting rubbish

Your last sentence is the biggest drivel i ever read. One minute you claim farmers to be uneducated and the next you start to talk about overheads and profit margins

Could it get any sillier than this

[Fat Haggis]

An interesting article from 2011..

http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2011/05/27/thailand-can-afford-equitable-social-welfare/

[dageurreotype]

I spend that a week on deodorant alone.

Som san. Ask a Thai. They wouldn't shell out for the overpriced non performing commercially produced 'deodorants' here.

Edited May 2, 2015 by dageurreotype

[Fat Haggis]

Konying, you keep mentioning handouts, is there a welfare system in Thailand that gives out such handouts?

If there isn't why would Thais expect to be given one?

Actually yes there is, you should know, after all you are an expert

Yes, hand outs, there is a good reason why Thaksin was and is so popular with them, or did you miss that decade in Thailand?

You know those populace policies, what did you think it was?

A wage hike without any returns is not a hand out?

How do you think wage rise will affect farmers who work for themselves? and what do you think is going to happen to small businesses when they forced to pay higher wages to same unskilled people who lack not only skills but desire to work and any productivity.

Nope, don't consider myself an expert at all, it seems to be you that is, whilst constantly bashing Thais, but you also seem to be getting away with it, so crack on.

Ah.... I wondered when Thaksin would make an appearance in this thread, it was doing alright up till then.

Sorry, wasn't around for the Thaksin era, but I am around for this one!!

Populist policies? Right... like writing off some farmers debt? Fixed prices for rubber farmers? Promising to make working conditions better? Promising to lower the lottery ticket prices? ...no idea what you mean by populist policies

Again, if there's no social security, I'm genuinely interested in this welfare system, as there's a couple of families in my village who have to send their kids out to earn a wage, and NO they are not on the piss all day long either.

The small businesses will have to do what the Government (Junta) told the rice farmers to do...diversify... reduce overheads, work out an acceptable profit margin, tell me what happens to small business outside of Thailand who have to do the same?

Welcome to the working Thailand,

No social security? what do you think 5% from the employee and 5% from the employer is?

Now that you have clearly shown not to have a clue at all, might be the time to stop posting rubbish

Your last sentence is the biggest drivel i ever read. One minute you claim farmers to be uneducated and the next you start to talk about overheads and profit margins

Could it get any sillier than this

Please show me where I have made any sort of claim farmers are uneducated? Your words..not mine..

If my last sentence is the biggest drivel you've ever read in your life, you don't get out much, nor read much.. You clearly don't read anything TAT put out, I've got you well weighed up... you're attempting to flame bait, or troll, whilst constantly bashing Thais...

What is YOUR solution, as you have bashed everyone else who's trying to understand why the country has the highest household debts, the lowest unemployment in ASEAN, and yet the laziest workers in the world according to most of your post.

Educate me, so I stop posting drivel

[Johpa]

Same old story. I earn minimum wages. I have wife and children to feed. Cost of living is too high to support my wife and kids on minimum wages.

Yes we all know. But why are you still earning minimum wages? Why do you not aquire more knowledge or skill to be productive and climb the wage ladder?

And why do you get married and have children when you can barely support just yourself?

Should society be responsible for you and your foolish acts?

If I maybe so hold as to perhaps paraphrase some answers for some of my close friends and neighbors whose rural Thai village my family also calls home.

"I apologize for having been born in a somewhat isolated village where electricity and all-weather roads are relatively new additions. The wealth extracted from the nation in the form of natural resources has not been returned to the people in the form of anything resembling modern education. Instead most of that wealth was spent in the cities on individual luxuries or, just as often, sent overseas to open Thai restaurants for the relatives of those who profited or sent back to be reinvested back in the homeland of China. And by the way, not being of ethnic Chinese extraction or having married into a Chinese family, until recently I had no chance of access to capital apart from the usurious rates at the local pawnshops. I received a simple education until the 6th grade after which costs to attend the high school were prohibitive. So I began to work as a laborer by the age of 12. A few friends were able to inherit some paddy land or orchards, but most of our parents sold the land for what seemed to them to be riches at the time. Our parents had received no education at all and were easily fooled by the city people who bought the land for a song as they alone understood modern financial thinking.

I would love to acquire more knowledge and skills, but that requires more time and money than I have ever had. Such imagined opportunities that might be available to some in your home countries were simply never an option for me in my country.

I am not a foolish person, just an ordinary human being who never got much luck or chances. And I got married and had children because I am human. You would deny my humanity because I am poor? Then f#*k you a$$hole, f#*k you!". And that goes as well to the 30 other assorted ThaiVisa neo-sahibs that liked your post.

[konying]

Please show me where I have made any sort of claim farmers are uneducated? Your words..not mine..

If my last sentence is the biggest drivel you've ever read in your life, you don't get out much, nor read much.. You clearly don't read anything TAT put out, I've got you well weighed up... you're attempting to flame bait, or troll, whilst constantly bashing Thais...

What is YOUR solution, as you have bashed everyone else who's trying to understand why the country has the highest household debts, the lowest unemployment in ASEAN, and yet the laziest workers in the world according to most of your post.

Educate me, so I stop posting drivel

TAT put out

So the poor farmers are well educated and are business people?

My solution? solution to what?

Solution to stop laziness?

If farming does not pay enough, change jobs,

If one job does not pay enough money, get a second job, have less holidays and do some OT, just like millions of people on this planet do.

Get some skills, stay in the job for long time, show your loyalty and dedication, and rest assured you will not be on minimum wage.

PS. social security http://www.sso.go.th/wpr/home.jsp

Edited May 2, 2015 by konying

[Fat Haggis]

Some of those poor farmers seem to have done alright for themselves to be able to produce crops, from generation to generation, and have some sort of lagacy to hand down, especially the ones who are not greedy... I'd say that made them smart enough, they are also able to buy, maintain, and produce crop after crop, for year after year...whilst making a little bit of money too.. isn't that what business people do?

Another idiotic statement, if farmings doesn't pay..change jobs, yep,old Lung Bpeag at 65 years old could easily retrain and step into a 15K a month job, which no doubt he'd have to leave his home area to go to, so will need to find all the things a youngster will.... and you accused me of writing drivel?

If only it was that simple to just "change jobs" after decades of farming (as an example)

by the way, it's not me you need to convince, it's the Thais, I presume you go to the local village meetings and tell them the very same things you are posting here?

I'm curious also to as what your background was employment wise, that makes you seem so bitter?

You sound like you'd be an amazing boss to work for if you were a poor Thai who has just had to retrain.. I guess tolerance doesn't fit into your way of thinking?

I was reading up on that welfare system you mentioned was in place, sounded alright right up to the part where I read that many poor/low income Thais from rural areas are not in the scheme, as they have not been contributing to it, for whatever reasons.

All I've learned from you Konying is that you appear to hate Thais, and seem quite bitter about something? ex Thai wife bleed you dry or something?

[djjamie]

Economics 101.

You pay someone more the cost of living then goes up.

You pay a minimum wage of 10 000 baht a day the cost of a street meal will still be relative to the wage earned.

i.e 300 baht wage = street meal 30 baht. 10 000baht wage = street meal 1000 baht.

If you want your money to go further then do what everyone else on the planet has to do, marry a rich falang, go back to school or work your way up the ladder through dedication and commitment.

[MrWorldwide]

To those saying 'If you cant earn more than 300 baht a day, you cant afford a family', fine - in terms of the numbers I absolutely agree, but how does that work in a society where family is everything ? One thing for an old foreigner to live alone but I'm not sure that's a fate most Thais are willing to contemplate - always willing to hear otherwise from those who've been here longer. Arent your kids considered the 'aged pension' in Thailand ?

[Thai at Heart]

It should be illegal for employers to employ agency workers and for those workers to receive less than 300. The 300 is their wage, not their wage minus agency fees. Sorry, but this is a basic stupid abuse of the law.

[HerbalEd]

Same old story. I earn minimum wages. I have wife and children to feed. Cost of living is too high to support my wife and kids on minimum wages.

Yes we all know. But why are you still earning minimum wages? Why do you not aquire more knowledge or skill to be productive and climb the wage ladder?

And why do you get married and have children when you can barely support just yourself?

Should society be responsible for you and your foolish acts?

You've got it all figured out, huh? Do you really think it's that simple? Simple answers for simple people, I guess.

[sambum]

.........

I can't believe what I am reading.......

300 Baht /Day not enough....... o_O

I spend roughly 1000baht/week in groceries (and I buy luxury goods such as cheese and yogurt) and I can maintain both myself and one other individual on this budget.

That's about 4,000baht/month.....At a minimum daily wage I'd be getting 7,200 baht and on a monthly minimum roughly 9,000baht/month.

If I were to buy only normal groceries I could reduce that to about 600 Baht/week (2400 Baht/month).

People need to get off their a$$e$, get a job and stop expecting the gov't to feed them.

Furthermore, once they do have a job they need to show respect for the work that they do and actually do the work instead of playing candy crush on their phones!!

Source: Just one guys opinion.

How much do you pay per month for your accommodation, and how much do you pay in regards to water and electricity bills for said accomodation?

How much is your fuel bill to take you to your shop per week?

How much is your internet that you are able to post regularly on TVF?

I don't think the government is feeding those on low income or don't have jobs.... wait a minute, wasn't there a post in recent days about the unemployment rate being so low in Thailand right here on TVF? .. that would kind of blow your "they need to get of their asses and get a job" ... low unemployment would state otherwise.

Is there a welfare system in Thailand that they can claim from? I don't believe there is, can anyone shed any light on this?

what's wrong with candy crush?

I think our inquisitive lobster has not been inquisitive enough when he conveniently forgets the cost of some of the essentials that you and I have already queried, and to ask them to "show respect for the work that they actually do" - I don't know what he means, I suppose maybe he means they should show respect to the kind and benevolent people that have been so good and kind enough to give them a job in the first place, and be eternally grateful for their 300 baht a day.

[sambum]

Motor manufacturers continue to use asbestos in vehicle manufacture, particularly brake linings? Totally irresponsible as the dangers of asbestos have been known for many, many years.

Sorry, but what has this got to do with the minimum wage? EXTREMELY off topic!

[cookee68]

well if he is struggling on 15000 baht a month i cant see the 60 baht increase they are asking for will work

[inquisitive lobster]

What he's not telling anyone is that he's starring in "The Machinist 2"

Fair play to the guy if he can live on 1,000 baht a week, perhaps he can start up a new online business/blog, called " how to survive in Thailand on 1,000 baht a week" and break down his shopping list, I'm not taking the piss here, It would be a great think for the farangs who can and sometimes do fall on hard times.

He gets a like from me for his shopping, I wonder if he will come and do mine for me?

Thanks for the upvote

Regarding the question about my grocery list, I normally do alot of shopping in Tesco and my local market.

I spend about 300-370 baht on Vegetables and Meat (5lbs-7lbs of "MOO") at my local market and then hit Tesco to get Milk,yogurt,eggs and cheese.

Milk Dutchie Mills about 92baht per bottle x 2

Yogurt Dutchie Mills about 49 baht for 4 cups x 2

Eggs about 78baht/tray for 30 eggs per tray.

Cheese (I can't remember the brand sorry) about 110 baht.

I only add a little cheese to my eggs in the morning so usually a block can last me 1 - 2 weeks (depending on how hungry I am )

That's about it. Sometimes I may buy 1 or 2 Rotisserie chickens at Tesco at 139Baht each (Sometimes they have them for sale at 99Baht ) but that's about it.

Regarding the other costs:

Accommodation: 0 baht (Built my own accommodation before moving to Thailand)

Water: 1500Baht/Month

Electricity and Internet:......Well you've got me here.... 40,000baht/Month my place of work is a factory that runs heavy machinery 24/7

Transport: As I live at my place of work (and also provide accommodation for employees as well) not much need to drive around much so 500baht/month (if so much).

Also when an employee decides that playing candy crush is more important than operating the machinery in front of her and decides to ignore it in order to achieve that new highscore, one of the following happens;

1.) At the point of exit on the machine, where she has to grab the finished product and move it out of the way(and package it accordingly) so that it will not block the exit where the next finished product needs to come out, begins forming a pile up of finished products leading all the way back into the machine where the moving bits of the machine that are responsible for pushing out the finished products are unable to do so anymore, thus causing mechanical failure within the machine and alarms to go off, at which point she realizes she done F*****d up, turns off the machine, comes into the office to say that the machine has a problem, at which point I turn to the electrical engineer who is sitting at his desk playing Candy Crush to tell him to fix it, which is to no avail. Upon shouting at him, he realizes he done F****d up (as he was supposed to be outside working on one of the other machines) and goes outside, looks at the machine hums "Cow-jai, cow-jai" returns to the office and tells me the reason the machine is not working is because the power button is off...... *facepalm*

2.) Turns off machine completely, as she has learned from her past experience that not doing so can cause major problems (You see....This I believe, is what they call PROGRESS!!!) and sits down for the next three hours playing Candy Crush on her phone. I now walk along, see her, realize that I am now paying for her to achieve that new high score on Candy Crush (Money well spent!!!), inquire as to why the machine is off to which she says it won't turn on, to which I reply "Have you tried flipping the main switch on the machine to ON" at which point she does so and realizes that I am super pissed as the machine did turn on, ONLY to be relieved seconds after as the alarms on the machine had gone off. I inspect the machine, only to see a pile up of finished products leading all the way inside the machine to be the cause of the problem, which then leads me to march into the Men's Room to find the Electrical Engineer who is sitting in a stall playing Candy Crush. It is at this point I ask him in a polite, calm and homicidal way as to why he has not fixed the machine to which he replies that I should get a new one....... Then he tells me that the work is too hard and that he is resigning ......

Gotta love Thailand's No Defamation rule huh? ^_^""""

[sambum]

What he's not telling anyone is that he's starring in "The Machinist 2"

Fair play to the guy if he can live on 1,000 baht a week, perhaps he can start up a new online business/blog, called " how to survive in Thailand on 1,000 baht a week" and break down his shopping list, I'm not taking the piss here, It would be a great think for the farangs who can and sometimes do fall on hard times.

He gets a like from me for his shopping, I wonder if he will come and do mine for me?

Thanks for the upvote

Regarding the question about my grocery list, I normally do alot of shopping in Tesco and my local market.

I spend about 300-370 baht on Vegetables and Meat (5lbs-7lbs of "MOO") at my local market and then hit Tesco to get Milk,yogurt,eggs and cheese.

Milk Dutchie Mills about 92baht per bottle x 2

Yogurt Dutchie Mills about 49 baht for 4 cups x 2

Eggs about 78baht/tray for 30 eggs per tray.

Cheese (I can't remember the brand sorry) about 110 baht.

I only add a little cheese to my eggs in the morning so usually a block can last me 1 - 2 weeks (depending on how hungry I am )

That's about it. Sometimes I may buy 1 or 2 Rotisserie chickens at Tesco at 139Baht each (Sometimes they have them for sale at 99Baht ) but that's about it.

Regarding the other costs:

Accommodation: 0 baht (Built my own accommodation before moving to Thailand)

Water: 1500Baht/Month

Electricity and Internet:......Well you've got me here.... 40,000baht/Month my place of work is a factory that runs heavy machinery 24/7

Transport: As I live at my place of work (and also provide accommodation for employees as well) not much need to drive around much so 500baht/month (if so much).

Also when an employee decides that playing candy crush is more important than operating the machinery in front of her and decides to ignore it in order to achieve that new highscore, one of the following happens;

1.) At the point of exit on the machine, where she has to grab the finished product and move it out of the way(and package it accordingly) so that it will not block the exit where the next finished product needs to come out, begins forming a pile up of finished products leading all the way back into the machine where the moving bits of the machine that are responsible for pushing out the finished products are unable to do so anymore, thus causing mechanical failure within the machine and alarms to go off, at which point she realizes she done F*****d up, turns off the machine, comes into the office to say that the machine has a problem, at which point I turn to the electrical engineer who is sitting at his desk playing Candy Crush to tell him to fix it, which is to no avail. Upon shouting at him, he realizes he done F****d up (as he was supposed to be outside working on one of the other machines) and goes outside, looks at the machine hums "Cow-jai, cow-jai" returns to the office and tells me the reason the machine is not working is because the power button is off...... *facepalm*

2.) Turns off machine completely, as she has learned from her past experience that not doing so can cause major problems (You see....This I believe, is what they call PROGRESS!!!) and sits down for the next three hours playing Candy Crush on her phone. I now walk along, see her, realize that I am now paying for her to achieve that new high score on Candy Crush (Money well spent!!!), inquire as to why the machine is off to which she says it won't turn on, to which I reply "Have you tried flipping the main switch on the machine to ON" at which point she does so and realizes that I am super pissed as the machine did turn on, ONLY to be relieved seconds after as the alarms on the machine had gone off. I inspect the machine, only to see a pile up of finished products leading all the way inside the machine to be the cause of the problem, which then leads me to march into the Men's Room to find the Electrical Engineer who is sitting in a stall playing Candy Crush. It is at this point I ask him in a polite, calm and homicidal way as to why he has not fixed the machine to which he replies that I should get a new one....... Then he tells me that the work is too hard and that he is resigning ......

Gotta love Thailand's No Defamation rule huh? ^_^""""

Ah, so a disgruntled employer who obviously does not have much of a training/discipline regime in place! However, I like your description of your working environment - could make a good film in the "Carry On ....." mode!

[charmonman]

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Same old story. I earn minimum wages. I have wife and children to feed. Cost of living is too high to support my wife and kids on minimum wages.

Yes we all know. But why are you still earning minimum wages? Why do you not aquire more knowledge or skill to be productive and climb the wage ladder?

And why do you get married and have children when you can barely support just yourself?

Should society be responsible for you and your foolish acts?

Yeah, just ask your parents to lend you some money so you can go to university and become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer or start a business (note: sarcasm).

Seriously, do you have any idea at all what life is like for the poor?

[charmonman]

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Mr. Konying,

and bag of rice is not stealing?

Do you posses any common sense at all?

You should ask yourself if you do you posses a sort of common sense at all? My parents in law are rice farmers and they're not thieves.

Once the rice harvest is over, the majority pick chilies for others, if they don't have land to grow them. They earn 2- 3 baht for one kg.

Do you have an idea how long that takes to do that in the boiling sun?

Their life's really miserable. So the guy's really asking you a sincere question: "How much do you now about farming in Thailand?"

Were they or are they forced to be farmers?

What an insane question. They're both nearly 70 and just continued what their parents did.

Would you even have an idea about the quality of the schools in Isaan villages nowadays and consider how schools and life were more than 50

years ago, when they became farmers, then you wouldn't ask such a question.

Right , so once again its everyone else's fault.

SO seeing as their parents were poor they decided to follow the same path?

So when they were poor at 25 they did not think to do something else?

How about at 40?

But its everyone else's fault for their choices in life,

Speaking of insane alt=rolleyes.gif> alt=thumbsup.gif>

Do you even understand that there are many people in this world who don't HAVE choices in life? Jeez, are you Mitt Romney or something?