Cost of Living in Thailand: How I Spend ฿74,031.83 Every Month

[Naam]

I have friends back in the UK who think you can live in Thailand on just a few hundred pounds a month but it's just not like that.

I live on £100 monthly (all inclusive) as I pointed out elsewhere, which you may have noticed, so your friends are more than correct.

EDIT:

And here in Bangkok, I'm not the only one that I know of.

74k? Only in my dreams but again Im not compaining, just giving facts about that reality too. Not everything is as it seems.

"all inclusive" =

[VIPinthailand]

you can buy branded name clothes at second hand market. it s amazing the number of clothes I have for 10 to 20 bahts piece.

I have even the best eau de Cologne.

I can say I live a 5 stars life for less 300$ a month.

in the USA I would barely feed myself.

chichkebab 60 bahts, where you get this price in farang land?

scooter cost half price.

oil change cost 100 bahts or less

our dream comes true...

Edited October 26, 2015 by VIPinthailand

[Nomyai]

you can buy branded name clothes at second hand market. it s amazing the number of clothes I have for 10 to 20 bahts piece.

I have even the best eau de Cologne.

I can say I live a 5 stars life for less 300$ a month.

in the USA I would barely feed myself.

chichkebab 60 bahts, where you get this price in farang land?

scooter cost half price.

oil change cost 100 bahts or less

our dream comes true...

HOG wash! that 300$ figgure has been de-bunked!

[Goldbear]

Living cheap is great. I am a minimalist myself to a certain extent. But living on $300 a month is not "five stars." Let's not fool ourselves.

In California for $300 a month you can sleep in a cardboard box under a bridge. Not a fun place to be in the winter. There is no question that Thailand is better on a budget.

[55Jay]

you can buy branded name clothes at second hand market. it s amazing the number of clothes I have for 10 to 20 bahts piece.

I have even the best eau de Cologne.

I can say I live a 5 stars life for less 300$ a month.

in the USA I would barely feed myself.

chichkebab 60 bahts, where you get this price in farang land?

scooter cost half price.

oil change cost 100 bahts or less

our dream comes true...

Why bother with branded (second hand) clothes and "the best" cologne? I thought you were enlightened, living outside the box that this wasteful, materialistic society tries to put us in with their social rules and consumer propaganda.

You are a fake. A poser! I'm crestfallen.

[fey]

you can buy branded name clothes at second hand market. it s amazing the number of clothes I have for 10 to 20 bahts piece.

I have even the best eau de Cologne.

I can say I live a 5 stars life for less 300$ a month.

in the USA I would barely feed myself.

chichkebab 60 bahts, where you get this price in farang land?

scooter cost half price.

oil change cost 100 bahts or less

our dream comes true...

those are actually knock-offs.

look closely at the stitching on the levis.

[Lukecan]

Living on $140, I call bullshit. You're probably freeloading most things of your GF. I lead a $3000 lifestyle for $0, because of my parents. But I dont go around telling I live for free.

[mpa]

You lead a $3000 lifestyle because of your parents, that sounds perfectly fine, so whats wrong about it?

As for me, yes I live on $140 out of necessity. I wrote I wish I lived on 74k but this will happen only in my dreams, just expressing my thoughts here, I obviously dont brag about it. In this very page I also give details about my rent, food, and travel expenses. Why you call that bullshit?

My gf likes to contribute, however all I'm getting from her is a free meal as mentioned before, and this comes out of her free will.

Is there a moral code I dont get?

[rwdrwdrwd]

Sounds to me like you're a parasite on the goodwill of other people - your landlady, your friend and your girlfriend.

Edited October 26, 2015 by rwdrwdrwd

[mpa]

I see. Lets assume that. According to your logic Im a parasite, although an unseen one, an amoeba I should say.

Guess we have to redifine the term then, because real parasites live where money makes the world go round. Untouchables.

[55Jay]

Thats true goldbear. I came here with very little money indeed.

I have friends back in the UK who think you can live in Thailand on just a few hundred pounds a month but it's just not like that.

I live on £100 monthly (all inclusive).

74k? Only in my dreams but again Im not compaining, just giving facts about that reality too.

How did you end up here on 100 pounds a month?

Did you start out at more then dwindle down to this?

What kind of visa do you exist here on?

Gotta repeat my answers toward the same subjest in other posts:

I have always been low maintenance, not thrilled by fancy or luxurious things as well, I'm not wealthy either. Believe it or not, most Thais I've met are richer than me.

To cut things short, Im pretty good at finding the cheapest flight combinations. It cost me 200 euros to get here from the UK -where I was residing at the time- with a 30kg luggage, almost a year ago. My beloved London landlady was charging me zero money for the last 3 months, considering my economical situation(=normality to me but it doesnt seem the same to others).

Thanks to a wealthy friend, I spent 3 months on the top floor of a Chao Phraya waterfront residence, but as he was leaving I had to do smt in order to live on. Teaching -part time mostly- was the obvious. Now I'm looking for a different occupation if Im lucky enough to find anything really, otherwise I ll go back to tutoring, not my actual profession though.

Getting 49 makes the whole thing kinda challenging but spending up to $140 per month, gives me plenty of time. Thai gf helps too.

I had an offer to work elsewhere but some fellas are not to be trusted, so better stick to my usual habits than getting involved God knows where.

Regarding my rent, food, and transportation expenses:

2000 thb for monthly rent in Phatthanakan area near the skylink line. 35 sqm with ceiling fan plus a small room for storage. Decent bathroom, no kitchen, two balconies, 3rd (top) floor.

I cycle to nearby huge Tesco around 9-10 pm almost every day. Many Thais go there at the same time to catch the late discount deals. Cheapy food prices drop (depending on the item) from 50-25 to 2 (yes 2) and up to 10 bath, regarding salads, vegetables, fish, soups, fruits, pizzas, milk, donuts etc. I estimate around 3.75 to 8 for most goods. I often see a bunch waiting, myself included sometimes. It's fun!

I don't drink alcohol. My Thai gf brings me a well cooked meal everyday since her school is 2 minutes walk...she's teaching there.

When going downtown I use the railway. 2 to 3 baht per trip to Makasan, Asoke, Phaya Thai etc.

So far I have visited two gov hospitals, Siriraj and Sirindhorn. Nice services and prices as well.

Double entry since you asked.

Now I need to find a long term stay condition and a health insurance thereafter.

As you said, you have plenty of time on your hands, so thanks for repeating for me.

[Goldbear]

MPA, I can think of one particular "parasite" that I am related to. She definitely follows the money. There is no way that she is going to live on the cheap in Thailand.

Thanks for sharing your story. Good luck with generating some more income.

[thaibeachlovers]

I have friends back in the UK who think you can live in Thailand on just a few hundred pounds a month but it's just not like that.

I live on £100 monthly (all inclusive) as I pointed out elsewhere, which you may have noticed, so your friends are more than correct.

EDIT:

And here in Bangkok, I'm not the only one that I know of.

74k? Only in my dreams but again Im not compaining, just giving facts about that reality too. Not everything is as it seems.

How did you end up here on 100 pounds a month?

Did you start out at more then dwindle down to this?

What kind of visa do you exist here on?

Are you saying low paid Thais only "exist" in LOS? If not, why should a farang only be existing on the same income?

[55Jay]

How did you end up here on 100 pounds a month?

Did you start out at more then dwindle down to this?

What kind of visa do you exist here on?

Are you saying low paid Thais only "exist" in LOS? If not, why should a farang only be existing on the same income?

No, I don't believe I did. I didn't even mention Thai people.

[buji]

Living cheap is great. I am a minimalist myself to a certain extent. But living on $300 a month is not "five stars." Let's not fool ourselves.

In California for $300 a month you can sleep in a cardboard box under a bridge. Not a fun place to be in the winter. There is no question that Thailand is better on a budget.

Actually in California where winters r a joke as being around 60-70 degree F, you can live at $100 a month, can get most meals from trash bins which in the real world is equivalent, nutrition wise to anyone eating at McDonalds or KFC. Only problem is 20% of that $100 goes to the endless yearly for life taxes. Or they will take you from that cardboard box & throw you in prison to die.

[55Jay]

[KhunG]

We live on nearly the same here in the NE as we did in the US with a paid off house, etc. Some things here are definitely cheaper, like fresh veggies, building supplies, labor, thai restaurants/takeout, minor medical care. Some things are more expensive here, such as western foods, motor vehicles, fuel, electricity, appliances. We do live a quite modern western lifestyle, and there are four of us. It would be very easy to drastically cut our spending if we needed or wanted to.

We didn't move here to save money, though, but rather to be near her family and enjoy the lifestyle. I could have retired just fine back in the US.

[buji]

spend 75k a month and you will die.

it s impossible for a guy to spend so much money in himself and not have any cholesterol problem.

if you eat and drink a lot, you will spend Maximum 20k.

when you sleep, I doubt you spend money. maybe in your American dreams... lol

Another member of the mamma noodle staple diet brigade

Is the 20k a monthly or weekly total ?

I don't get your post. Are you saying that one can only eat unhealthy rubbish for 20,000/ month?

How many Thais can spend 20,000 a month on food? Average pay is around 9 to 15 thousand a month.

Ever heard of markets?

My food budget for two of us is a basic 5,000/ month, but snacks/ restaurants are not included in that.

Of course if one wants to eat a western diet expect to pay big money, but I didn't move to LOS to eat unhealthy expensive imported western processed food.

Actually an imported healthy diet (excluding alcohol or cigs) is 10-15K a month, or just 10k if only fish.

????? How can an imported food be healthy, unless it is flown directly from picking to destination with no storage in between. That would be very unhealthy to the planet.

Other than frozen ( and meat is very unhealthy in the amounts we eat in the west, as are dairy products ) and dehydrated, imported food has to be full of preservatives and chemicals. At least that is the imported food I see in Rimping etc.

A healthy diet is predominately vegetarian, and LOS is just bursting with fresh veges, available very cheaply at the local markets.

That is why Thais were always slim till recently, when they started eating western garbage food.

Cheers to that...want to see a fat Asian, only need find 1 McDonalds or KFC in that region. But on a note left out, Thais are immune to certain chemicals in food & drink being exposed since their civilization really started. What one might consider organic here is heavily dosed in pesticides & fresh here is washed with bacteria infested water. Though the biggest problem for relocating foreigners is the medical care...Thais love to issue lots of useless medication that will destroy any westerners' immune system.

[Naam]

it s impossible for a guy to spend so much money in himself and not have any cholesterol problem.

if you eat and drink a lot, you will spend Maximum 20k.

little do you know!

Edited November 2, 2015 by Naam