COST OF LIVING

[Traveller]

I know that this has been asked before but I just wandered with the weakness of the pound how much things have changed?

How far does 50. 000 B per month go In HH these days. I already have a place there so this would be for living costs only!

looking to retire over there but a little concerned about the currency exchange rate likemost of us!

[BaaBaa.]

Well wander no more.

Thats £1000 a month so it would go very far.

[JimmyGreaves]

I know that this has been asked before but I just wandered with the weakness of the pound how much things have changed?

How far does 50. 000 B per month go In HH these days. I already have a place there so this would be for living costs only!

looking to retire over there but a little concerned about the currency exchange rate likemost of us!

Things have changed big time. Everyone I know is cutting back on their spending and worried. That 1000 pounds goes no where, alot of things now are much cheaper in the UK and that's a fact!

[hhfarang]

You could survive here on that but you certainly wouldn't be living "the good life"!

[cookmanchef]

1,666 baht per day. If your house is paid for and you have no other repayments to make you can live like a king. It all depends how much booze you like to consume and whether you dabble with the maidens, I eat out every day, go out for a drink twice a week and generally spend about half what you'll be getting.

[hhfarang]

...And I rarely eat out, drink only at home where it's very cheap, have a wife so don't spend any money on "other" ladies (except support for my mother-in-law), no mortgage, no other debts (paying the final car payment this month), and we average about twice that much per month... guess it just depends on what your standard of living is.

If you're single, and as cookman said, don't drink too much or dabble in Bintabat too much I guess you'll be alright.

Home maintenance, clothing, laundry, electric, water, telephone, internet, transport, insurance, pest control, medical including any medicines you normally take, housekeeper or gardener if you need them, TV (TrueVisions/Cable), visa expense, etc., are all things you will have to decide if your budget can handle and still leave enough for food, fun, and any recreation, sports, or travel you are hoping to enjoy.

We own a home so have no rent and all the other things I've mentioned (before and not including the food, fun, recreation, sports, or travel) costs us more than what your monthly budget is. There are a lot of people (including me) who thought they could live like kings on that much only to find that they are confined to the house, Chang beer, TV and the internet for entertainment to get through the month.

Make sure you plan well for what your needs will be and know the costs of items you require in your life.

Also, I don't know how you are planning to stay here, but you can't get a retirement visa with an income that low unless you have 800,000 baht to leave on deposit.

[Rider]

I can budget for 30k easy. 50k would be a nice cherry on top!
HHfarang has hit the button though.
If you're single and can keep yourself off the drink (as in rampant alcoholism) and don't turn into the monied-casanova of the binta you'll be alright.
The key is keeping your mind occupied, reading books, movin' around, writing stuff and taking up a sport or exercise need to be considered.
Early to rise, early to bed and all that usual jazz.
I will say that having your own transport and being out of HH center is a good move. Digs come down in price once you escape the center.
For me I've got my own transport and don't need to rely on the thai system too much. This saves me coin.
Are you married into the thai system?
This poses it's own set of problems, money pitfalls and trees.

[sandman67]

Since late last year Ive been living pretty frugally in a sad attempt to save some readies, and have been getting by nicely supporting Mrs S on 50K or less

I only go out n the tiles once or twice per week....mostly its net, pirate films and crappy cable....helps to be a film fan or a big reader.

I eat at home mostly as Mrs S is an excellent cook, and I can rustle up spare ends meals for myself.

A heaving Tesco trolley once every 6 weeks or so costs about 8K....fruit, veg and odd bits are sourced much cheaper at local markets. Dutch hot chocolate is one of my more expensive hobbies....I maintain a few less healthy habits such as smoking, the odd bintaburger, milkshakes, etc...

I run my moped daily...fuel is still cheap

50k is well doable.....you just have to keep that supply of red paint in the shed

[Spitfire]

Agree with HHF and Rider, it's the booze and girls/"other products" from that environment that are the money drain.

Alcoholics and fustrated "Casanova" types beware! You will just take a running jump into the abyss. Short-time holiday makers exempt, don't blame you guys for one minute.

50,000 baht a month should be OK, and will be, for sure, when the exchange rate sorts itself out.

SM67 sums it up well, it's "do-able", no such word but gets to the point.

[crazy88]

Just an observation

Whatever your means you can have a better lifestyle,pound for pound,euro for euro,dollar for dollar here than most can have at home IMO .Bit of a generalisation,horses for courses on lifestyle needs . I accept I may be wrong but it works for me on most things so far .

Crazy 88

[Vital Spark]

Traveller: Mr.VS and I have a pretty nice lifestyle on around 30,000 baht a month. Our rent (which you won't have to pay if you've bought your house) is 3,000 baht a month, electricity a whopping 1,600 (don't know why), UBC 1,500 baht, Ipstar connection (I use that term loosely) 2,000 baht.

We both drink beer (not just at home) and eat all our meals at home. Meat and veg. bought at the local markets (talat nats) is infinitely cheaper and usually fresher than the air-conditioned supermarkets. We also have little treats like avocados and nice cheese from Hua Hin. Oh, I forgot to mention I smoke a packet of Krung Tong a day (45 baht). We also have a car, and a round trip to work is about 30kms.

If you're not paying rent, or an expensive gardener/pool cleaner, or maid, then you can certainly have a nice lifestyle here for 50,000 baht. As others have said, if it's just living costs it's fine. If you're going to be 'supporting' an extended family it's another story...

VS

[big jimmy]

I know that this has been asked before but I just wandered with the weakness of the pound how much things have changed?

How far does 50. 000 B per month go In HH these days. I already have a place there so this would be for living costs only!

looking to retire over there but a little concerned about the currency exchange rate likemost of us!

Thought I'd pick up on the currency exchange rate which most people seem to have missed. As a Brit when I bought my house in 2005 the exchange rate was 65 to the pound. It is now hovering around 50.
I told all my neighbours that I needed 2,000 pounds a month in income to retire to HH and they thought I was mad. Four years later and there is a strong likelihood that the exchange rate will go down to one dollar to one pound. So my 2,000 pounds becomes 80,000 instead of the 130,000 it was in 2005.
My point is that if your income is 1,000 pounds a year be very carefull what you plan for..and no I haven't retired yet and I do appreciate that we all have different lifestyles and costs.

[margaretcarnes]

Horses for courses, and everyone has made valid points. As Rider and VS both say 30,000 can be fine providing you can occupy yourself happily with hobbies, work or other interests, and don't need the BintaBars every night.
2 of us did 2 months last year for not much more than 60,000, which included 6000 per month rent, and ate out every day.
But - and its a big 'but' - there were no utilities to pay. We didn't splash out on expensive restaurants, preferring the market eateries anyway. My average bill for a good meal in HH would be around 80 to 100 baht, and we stick to the cheaper bars. Visa costs were already taken care of. No insurance. Trips were an additional cost, (and we can cope with cattle class train and 20 baht local bus trips.)
As a permanent resident these days I would be worried about having enough to put aside out of 50,000 for emergencies, visa runs, and run of the mill replacement items, as well as routine medical bills, dentist and medicines.
For farangs with the extra commitment of Thai family, a house to maintain, and a car to run, or those who want to travel more, 50,000 won't go far.

[hhfarang]

Exactly Mags,

It depends on whether you want to just "survive" or whether you want to live a good and comfortable life. I alone could probably survive on 30k a month although I would be a more miserable old fart than I am already because of the things I would have to do without.

I'm living comfortably (with two dependants) now but don't do extravagant things like play golf, go out to eat often, or travel at all unless you consider an occasional overnight trip to Bangkok and I need a minimum of 100k per month to get by. If there are any extra medical expenses or something breaks around the house that costs a few thousand to repair, then I have a hard time making it through that month.

[norm]

My wife and I live in Cha Am in a condo on the beach, it's paid for as well as our car. We own everything we have.

We live a comfortable life style. We don't drink much, we don't do the night life scene and don't smoke.

We do have true vision platinum plus, hi speed internet and a housekeeper.
The housekeeper is expensive but very cheap when you consider she does much of our shopping, which gets us better prices, she fixes us lunch 6 days a week and keeps the condo spotless.

We go out to eat a couple of times a week. The wife is a avid reader and tends to go through 3 or 4 books a week, that adds up in a month.

We probably average about 50,000baht a month except when we go to BKK which is every 2-3 months then it jumps up 10 to 20K baht.

We could scrimp and get by on much less but since we are retired and decided we were going to enjoy our final years. Less for the kids one day when we have both cashed in but hey that's life. Besides we may as well enjoy it before the banks and gov't screw us out of it.