working on my budget - give me your ideas and tips

[dirkjones]

You've all been so helpful i wanna say thank you. truly thank you. 

At this point between blogs, google, youtube. 

I understand the average cost of lights/water 1,000 a month "small condo" 
i went on Ais site and phone service will be 400 a month
Contacted bike rentals quoted 1800 a month
est a maid will be 1,600 "1 visit a week" 
Laundry maybe 750 a month 
home internet included in rent

so for household monthly expenses i est 5,550
visa fees boarder runs i'm figuring should break down to 1,750
I'm a vegetarian   So i'm thinking maybe  5,250 on food.. not counting cases of water 

now this is where i need input 
This leaves me with Regular Spending money  for entertainment, fuel  water and ect.. 
I don't drink, nor smoke and i'm moving out there with no Social network,
i haven't physically met anybody there yet

i know spending money is subjective on lifestyle. but is 5,250 a month enough just to have fun
ride around see the site, Go to the movies, maybe have a few dates, Do a few attraction. or do I need more?

[Dipterocarp]

Maid for small condo once a week no more than 300 baht.

[dirkjones]

1 minute ago, Dipterocarp said:

Maid for small condo once a week no more than 300 baht.

so 1,200 a month 

[dingdongrb]

Why would you rent a bike (I'm assuming you mean a scooter) for 1,800 THB a month why you could buy one for that price?

[scubascuba3]

No way laundry is 750 a month unless you are getting your socks and pants ironed. No need for ironing.
Find a machine nearby 30-50 baht and hang up to dry. Once a week should be sufficient

[canthai55]

1 hour ago, dirkjones said:

 but is 5,250 a month enough just to have fun

Not much Fun

[dirkjones]

1 minute ago, canthai55 said:

Not much Fun

So how much?

[canthai55]

1 hour ago, dirkjones said:

 "small condo"

Why do you need a maid ? With only 5000 Baht to spend on Fun, this leaves you with lots of time to clean.

[canthai55]

Just now, dirkjones said:

So how much?

Define Fun - for yourself.

[dirkjones]

1 minute ago, canthai55 said:

Why do you need a maid ? With only 5000 Baht to spend on Fun, this leaves you with lots of time to clean.

what i'm saying is I have no idea how much i'm going to need for entertainment. so i'm asking for ya'll to tell me a number or average 

[Briggsy]

Here's my tip.

 

Use an Excel spreadsheet. Everything becomes much clearer and easier to adjust.

[canthai55]

I have found - do a budget projection. Then Double it. Then add 50% more. This will be close to real costs.

And I see no mention of health insurance, or accident insurance.

Edited March 30, 2017 by canthai55

[dirkjones]

1 minute ago, canthai55 said:

Define Fun - for yourself.

well i'm in america. 

fun is shooting pool, movies, bowling, grabbing lunch, painting,  swimming, taking a drive, ect. 

[scubascuba3]

what i'm saying is I have no idea how much i'm going to need for entertainment. so i'm asking for ya'll to tell me a number or average 

If you'd been to Thailand you'd know how much fun costs.

[dirkjones]

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

If you'd been to Thailand you'd know how much fun costs.

i haven't. never been. which is why i'm asking 

[canthai55]

Just exploring the countryside on my CRF I burn 200 baht a day in fuel alone. You are asking questions others have no way of providing answers to. Lunch - can be 30 baht food cart on the side of the road or 2000 baht Le Meridian buffet. Swimming at hotel pool 50 baht a day. Go every day and that is 1500 right there. Go for a drive - car, bike, what ?  Own or rent ? Costs all different. Myself, my wife, MIL costs us 20 K per month just in necessities. My bikes, cars, travel, insurance, ... additional

[alfieconn]

16 minutes ago, dirkjones said:

So how much?

If by fun you mean woman, then this is the only real variable in your budget, like anything you only get what you pay for so can range from small money for an old bag lady ( as a friend use to call them ) to high quality top of the range which is obviously going to cost a lot more.

You could of course perhaps put the cleaner and fun woman role into one, which might work out a bit cheaper, for this i suggest a higher quality cleaner with the appropriate maid's uniform 

 

[dirkjones]

35 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

No way laundry is 750 a month unless you are getting your socks and pants ironed. No need for ironing.
Find a machine nearby 30-50 baht and hang up to dry. Once a week should be sufficient

Thanks for the tip 

[Suradit69]

37 minutes ago, canthai55 said:

Why do you need a maid ? With only 5000 Baht to spend on Fun, this leaves you with lots of time to clean.

Agree that maid service and laundry budget are excessive considering your obvious need to be frugal.

 

2 hours ago, dirkjones said:

I understand the average cost of lights/water 1,000 a month "small condo"

And I don't see rent included in your itemization. Even if you own the condo there will undoubtedly be some monthly charges in addition to utilities as well as some annual assessment and possible maintenance expenses.

 

No mention of health needs. To assume you'll never need to see a doctor or take any medicine can be a gamble.

 

 

2 hours ago, dirkjones said:

visa fees [border] runs i'm figuring should break down to 1,750

Hopefully you understand that living here long-term doing visa runs and/or visa exempt entries isn't as easy as it once was. 

 

2 hours ago, dirkjones said:

 thinking maybe  5,250 on food.. not counting cases of water 

I'd find that pretty bare bones for food even if you are a vegetarian. I get large re-usable bottles of water delivered to my door weekly at Baht 50 per bottle. Buying water in small drinking-sized bottles is comparatively expensive (and adds a ton of plastic waste to the environment).

 

 

Edited March 30, 2017 by Suradit69

[Thailand]

I think you may need to employ a nanny.

[dirkjones]

29 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

 

Right now i'm in the states.. My food entertainment transportation runs me 14,000 THB

i Didn't include Rent, because  i already have a monthly cap for rent. i'm not paying more than 11,500 a month for rent.. 

i'm going to be taking language classes 

i've already had health and accidental insurance quotes. 

I do understand about the visa rules and regulations changes. 

Its not a  situation of being frugal. it's this situation that i'm going to be out there alone. and i really don't know what its going to cost daily..

I typically do Photography and filmmaking. which will take up a lot of my regular day. 

Thanks for correcting me on the laundry budget. i will make a note of that.. 

 

Edited March 30, 2017 by dirkjones

[LannaGuy]

 

20,000 get by

30,000 livable

40,000 some fun

50,000 comfortable

60,000 more fun

70,000 wine, women and song

80,000 life is grand

90,000 super lifestyle

100,000 bliss

[dirkjones]

1 minute ago, LannaGuy said:

 

20,000 get by

30,000 livable

40,000 some fun

50,000 comfortable

60,000 more fun

70,000 wine, women and song

80,000 life is grand

90,000 super lifestyle

100,000 bliss

Thank you lol  I can work with this 

[scubascuba3]

.

 

[scubascuba3]

i haven't. never been. which is why i'm asking 

You are a little premature, you need to try it for a few trips to see if you like it before you move out there.

[LannaGuy]

1 minute ago, dirkjones said:

Thank you lol  I can work with this 

but seriously... most of my friends have a 40,000 budget but a 'student' lifestyle could be done on 20,000 all-in I think less than that and you will run into problems  

[dirkjones]

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

You are a little premature, you need to try it for a few trips to see if you like it before you move out there.

Moving is my test trip.. I'm staying for 6 months. if i like it. then i'm headed back to the states for 3.. and i'm returning for another 6. this will be rotation for maybe 2 years. before out there for good 

[dirkjones]

1 minute ago, LannaGuy said:

but seriously... most of my friends have a 40,000 budget but a 'student' lifestyle could be done on 20,000 all-in I think less than that and you will run into problems  

my full budget will be around that.  I just don't know how much i should i expect to spend on average for entertainment 

[dirkjones]

i'm moving out there for 6 month.. I'm bringing roughly 280k bath...

[seancbk]

29 minutes ago, dirkjones said:

30 minutes ago, LannaGuy said:

 

20,000 get by

30,000 livable

40,000 some fun

50,000 comfortable

60,000 more fun

70,000 wine, women and song

80,000 life is grand

90,000 super lifestyle

100,000 bliss

 

Thank you lol  I can work with this 

I would say that is pretty accurate although after 60,000 the increments should be 20,000 or more each level.  

There is very little difference between 60 & 70K, just 5000 a week and an extra 5000 a week really doesn't improve life that much.   
 

20,000 get by

30,000 livable

40,000 some fun

50,000 comfortable

60,000 more fun

80,000 wine, women and song

100,000 life is grand

120,000 super lifestyle

150,000 bliss