Expats in Thailand, what do you cut back on?
Economize. Many expats in Thailand will undoubtedly have to deal with it, now that the baht is so strong. In some cases this can mean 15% less purchasing power. In addition, pensions and benefits are under pressure.
It is no different in the Netherlands. 70% of Dutch households have cut spending in the past year. Cut all income groups from low to high. Half of them feel that they cannot save more than they already do. 60% of people who cut back are in the last phase of cutting back, which means that they no longer buy certain products. For example, 9% even got rid of the car.
Austerity strategies of the Dutch
This is the conclusion of research by Nibud into austerity strategies of the Dutch, which Nibud carried out with the aid of research data from credit management organization GGN. A quarter of the Dutch have never cut back, but 24% of this group intends to do so in the coming year.
Cut all income groups
Nibud sees that the percentage of Dutch people making cutbacks has never been so high in recent years. The ongoing economic crisis in combination with government cutbacks may be the cause of this. All income groups, from low to high, cut spending.
About 60% of households with an above-average income (higher than 3.200 euros gross per month) are currently making savings. There is also a significant group of people (50%) who feel they cannot cut back more than they already do. 22% of them also have an income above average. Most frequently mentioned budget items:
- Luxury items (TV, computer, hi-fi)
- Going out
- To go out for dinner
- Vacation (most often cited as the first item to cut back on)
- Magazines/newspapers (subscriptions)
9% have disposed of their car
The most important austerity strategy of the Dutch who cut costs is to buy as many products as possible on offer. 86% of them do. This is called the first phase according to the scientific theory of Van Raaij and Eilander (2009). This phase does not affect lifestyle.
- The second step is buying fewer products and services, such as eating out less. This is what 75% of the economists do.
- The third phase is reducing quality, or investing in quality in order to be able to use it for longer. For example, 60% now have something that is broken repaired instead of replaced.
- The fourth and final stage is to stop spending in a certain category, such as not going on vacation or getting rid of the car. This has major implications for lifestyle; people try to delay this phase as long as possible. Nevertheless, this study shows that 60% of the economists are in this phase. 57% have canceled subscriptions and 9% have disposed of the car.
Top 5 austerity strategy
- 62% of all people (including those who do not economize) buy the same products but pay more attention to offers.
- 55% buy less or cheap clothes.
- 54% eat out less often.
- 52% go out for a day or evening less often.
- 48% spend less on holidays.
Dutchman is having a hard time
Nibud sees that households are having a hard time. Money is being collected everywhere it seems, all kinds of austerity strategies are being used interchangeably. Nibud understands that half of the people who cut back feel that they cannot cut back more than they already do. After all, it is already the fourth year in a row in which most Dutch people have to deal with a loss of purchasing power, as a result of which they have less money in their wallets.
Expats in Thailand: what are you cutting back on?
The editors of Thailandblog are curious whether expats in Thailand are also cutting back furiously? And if so, what are you saving on? Do you have any tips for other expats on how to cut costs?
Are you already cutting back? Leave a comment and possibly your savings tip.
Hoi
of course I'm economizing here so as not to let my holiday budget shrink.
in Thailand I drank much less beer last holiday.
buy a bottle of whiskey at the 7/11, and just order a Coke at the bar.
that immediately saves a lot, and since you go out on holiday every day, staying in Thailand remains more affordable!
Greetings
Bart
I will not deny that there is a need to cut spending with less income. I also can't ignore the fact that the exchange rate of the Baht against the Euro affects the disposable income of expats. In my personal case I only have BENEFITS from that. I have been working here in Thailand for almost 7 years now on a Thai contract with Thai working conditions (which are of course not as good as in the Netherlands). So get my salary in Thai baht, also get a small salary increase every year but have to pay bills in the Netherlands, especially my alimony. In those seven years I pay about 20% less for this alimony, while my children always receive the same amount in Euros. Am now able to give them a bit more than I am supposed to pay strictly.
Furthermore, the financial conditions for expats to (continue to) live in Thailand after retirement are such that I think it is not too bad with cutbacks. Most expats are above average and especially with the cost of living in Thailand, most of them can get by very nicely. It is not for nothing that Thailand is in the top 5 of countries where retirees would like to live.
chris
@Chris, you are absolutely right. I think it won't be too bad for those retirees. Future generations will have to deal with much lower disability benefits/pensions and will also have to work longer for less. When I hear those stories from retirees about pick-ups, villas with swimming pools, multiple homes, a life like a neo-colonial, I think it is not a question of if, but when they will adjust the AOW for future generations who will also want to live in Thailand. The AOW is a general provision, based on the maintenance of the costs of living for a normal life in the Netherlands (enough not to starve, not enough to have a normal life), not the maintenance of luxurious properties with swimming pools, etc. In the future, we will certainly look at where people actually live. It is funny that 9% throw out their car because they can no longer afford it, while you hear that the staff in the Mercedes factories are working overtime and Porsche cannot cope with the high demand for expensive cars. Things are not going as bad for retirees abroad (research shows that older generations are mainly the buyers of more expensive cars and convertibles) abroad as people complain. I suspect there will be a storm of protest and indignation at this response. By the way, I am 50 years old, I have been working for 32 years now, I have only seen my income/purchasing power decline, I receive letters about a lower pension and I am now allowed to continue working until I am 67 (what is that early retirement?) but I am still there. I am sure that I will have to work until I am 69, so please do not come up with those stories that the current generations do not (do not want to) work.
@Cru Chulayinn. What an insane reaction. Which state pensioner (who therefore lives exclusively on his state pension) can buy a luxury villa with a swimming pool and an expensive car in Thailand. A single state pension has less than 1.000 euros per month, may live in Thailand for a maximum of 8 months per year, so must fly back and forth at least once a year and maintain a fully-fledged home in the Netherlands. Impossible.
So your story of rich expats/retirees only concerns people who have worked hard all their lives, have an insane amount of pension contributions through their employer (which has nothing to do with the state pension) or have paid privately, have also built up a considerable amount of savings, etc.
Nonsense story from the top shelf, which unnecessarily increases the misunderstanding between the new and the old generation. When the state pension was created, that old generation paid everything for the previous generation, who had never paid a cent, simply because the state pension did not yet exist.
It is exactly as you say in another sentence, aow is just enough not to die and certainly offers no opportunities to enjoy a lavish life in Thailand.
If you want to live in Thailand all year round, your income will drop to 600 euros and you will no longer be insured for medical expenses.
Can you imagine, what a luxury that is ??
Please don't spout such nonsense.
If pensioners are already well off, then they have saved that themselves all their lives and you have not contributed a penny to it. Only the state pension is paid by all (and they have paid for others for 50 years) every cent more has been built up from their own resources. And .. they pay neat taxes on every cent of self-paid pension.
For example, someone who has worked 65 hours a week all his life, studied for years in the evenings, sometimes built up his own business, provided others with a job, has often paid the maximum AOW contributions for years. That can quickly amount to hundreds of thousands (12% of your income). How can you ever get that back in your lifetime with a state pension of 8.000 to 14.000 per year? No one lives to be 200. This state pensioner has shown tolerance and solidarity towards others all his life. There is one more task ahead of you.
Make sure you work hard yourself, save for later (whether or not through retirement) and you can enjoy a life in Thailand or elsewhere at the age of 69 (or as much earlier as you want with your own money).
Moreover, ask yourself what has happened with the rising prices and the declining euro, it is still cheap for a pensioner here.
But again if there is already a penisonade living abroad, it is because he has chosen the right place after a lifetime of work, he has saved for later and has paid tax on every penny and / or now pays again. Would say, his business what he does with his own money, he used to leave a lot for and pay for others.
A pensioner who is only allowed to live outside the Netherlands for 8 months to retain his state pension and state pension? You will simply be paid this according to the rules (it does matter whether you are single -70% minimum living wage- or live together -50%-. Where in the world you live and for how long does not matter. However, you must deregister as a resident of the Netherlands if you live outside the Netherlands for more than 8 months a year, which has consequences for special benefits such as AWBZ and child benefit, in which case the Residence Principle Act comes into play and those benefits are reduced (in Thailand you get 50%, in Morocco 70% of the whole amount) .
Of course do not forget the tax, paying your tax to Thailand instead of the Netherlands (its treaties / agreements about) can also be financially beneficial.
On Topic:
As a tourist who goes to Thailand for a few weeks a year (unfortunately I am not an expat who lives there for a few years or even an emigrant who lives there permanently) I hardly save money. I wouldn't know why, maybe rent a car for a shorter period of time or travel less far by bus? We don't go to entertainment venues (bars), nor do we go to expensive resorts. Just travel around and explore the whole country, on an adventure. Expenses are mainly the costs of accommodation, but we have always paid close attention to that too. We always pick up food along the street where the Thais also go. Western food will come again when we get back... We withdraw money with my Thai girlfriend's card from her Thai bank, so there isn't much to get there either. Or will there not be a 50 baht service fee for cards from a Thai bank account that are withdrawn from the Japanese Aeon bank outside their district? That will save some money, but not shocking amounts.
Dear Cu Chulainn,
I am one of those retirees, and yes I am doing fine despite my disposable income dropping 20% (4800 baht in 2009 against 3800 now)
You are 50 years old and say you have to work until you are 67/69.
I'll take a bet with you that you won't continue working until that age, by which time you'll have long since been replaced, over declared complete, in short, shrunk out.
I had to work until I was 65, but at 58 I could go.
Too bad the government reintroduced the job application requirement.
I don't cut back, I just can't save anymore.
Hans
Moderator: you are getting too personal, don't respond to each other, but to the question.
Of course, you have to be careful how you collect the bahts here. I do this with long breaks, 1 million baht at a time often, and then as a bank transfer to my TFB account. TFB calls to tell you the rate and whether you agree with it. If there is a dip in the exchange rate, you can wait a while until it recovers. The rate now if I were to do it is 37.51 baht for the euro. You will lose 10 euros on the Rabo side and the same amount on the TFB side. ATM just down the street, bad idea, credit card even worse, traveler's checks a thing of the past.
Cut back now. Do not live in Thailand if you are on the financial seamy side of course.
LED's I've had quite a few LED's coming from China lately. Lighting of the wall around the country, 30 lamps, sun 50 in the house.
Solar safety lights, powerful, brought from USA and front and rear. Lots of bright with light if anything moves for 3 minutes
Solar water feature, my water tank with plants, various overflowing amphora's running on a 1.4m2 solar panel of Anger with battery interface. The interface allows the water feature to run at night and I also have 12 emergency lighting and a garden spotlight running on it.
As for power, a sonic humidifier that maintains the humidity in the bedroom well, but also cools extra, so that less electricity is used.
Eat out, not go to scam places like New York steak house in Marriot. Well, a Marriot year subscription, so everything there is 50% cheaper and much for nothing by means of a check book. Recommended if you want to eat well in BKK and other places for not too much.
Pool, garden, maintenance, do it yourself with occasional help on daily wages. Contracts for, say, pool care are much too expensive and you have no overview of consumables.
Cars, don't believe what all knowing Chiangs tell you, it drives up the monthly costs. I still have a Pajero that I bought new in 1994, and did the minor maintenance myself, sometimes in a local garage under my supervision. Runs like a charm and passes the MOT with glory. My Ford, now 5 years old, same. Also negotiate the 60% discount on insurance!
Water, I have built a water well for the large water consumption, the garden and emergency provision for potable water. Even with the pool, my water bill is less than 200 baht. Furthermore, a reverse osmosis system, something like 7000 baht, and make your own drinking water, water for everything related to food and drinks, water for windows, marble floor and car. Makes a difference girl, no need to chamois.
China town in BKK, buying engineering items but also household consumables there, much cheaper. The special batteries for my ELRO wireless alarm system there are 1/4 of the price in town.
But the most important cost saving is to keep away from thai parasitic free loading family
Success!
Although I can spend considerably less in Bahts, I still have no reason to cut back. Can still live generously with my income and see little change in that for the future, both the near and the distant future.
I am not the oldest and fortunately not dependent on the Thai bath because I have no income from the Netherlands and we have earned our money here in Thailand.
In 13 years I will receive my state pension from 20 years of working in the Netherlands, I hope, still sent to Thailand.
So with us the bath remains the bath and for me this is an extra.
In these 17 years that I have lived in Thailand, I have of course seen it all become a bit more expensive.
So the problem is that people have less to spend if you live here or come on vacation.
Now I have to repeat one more time, when I first came to Thailand, 1, it was all more expensive than now.
Then 10.000 bath was 385 euros and now 285 euros!!!
I therefore agree with Cris that most of them are above average and I think that most expats do not live in the big cities, but just outside where it is all very cheap.
And to Bart, booze is a luxury problem, so it's an expensive problem.
Despite the fact that everything is becoming more expensive, we still stay in Thailand, you can always do more with your 1000 euros here than in the Netherlands.
We cannot escape it all together, especially now that the euro is weak against the baht
cutting back on luxury items; longer with mobile and laptop, also leave the car at home more often.
Bar visit ; sorry but happy hours are in, so don't go to 60 bath for leotje bar.
Always cook yourself, but now look more at offers.
Schooling is expensive but the future of kids; no cutbacks!
Clothes anyway, no brands needed here.
Fly to frog land ; wait for an offer and only go if there is a good one; directly
also once a year now and not 1-2 times.
Going to the beach with kids; now a cheaper place which is also okay.
The euro should not fall too much, otherwise it will look bad for many fellow countrymen
Hello.
Saving money is very easy for me. I like to drink a beer or a few in the evening. So I switched from the bar to the corner shop.
greetings and goodbye.
I have no idea how people get to 15% less but with me it is certainly 25-30% in a few years and on top of that they have gone crazy here on Phuket with regard to prices…according to the Thai the trees grow up to so heaven undress that farang. Prices in restaurants and supermarkets are the same or even more expensive than in the Netherlands. I'm not bad myself but damn it's really crazy. Have already seen people who go back to Europe.
If you have a pension or a benefit from the Netherlands, things have indeed become less in recent years. And in many cases 'economy' has to be made. But, as has already been noted, 1500 Euros per month is certainly not a cat piss here and if that suddenly amounts to 1300 euros due to the devaluation of the euro against the hard baht, then that is still not a cat piss. Dutch people with an AOW and a supplementary pension have a good life here. Those complaining are undoubtedly people who would still complain if everything were free.
When you have an SUV on credit, have a banana-shaped pool dug in your backyard and demand chocolate spread on your ten-grain bread every day, you will undoubtedly have a hard time in these hot days. But you don't deserve an ounce of pity.
The fact that pensioners have “enough” money is of course a fairy tale, but it is happily used by our ministers so that they can involve even these people who have worked and saved hard for years in collecting even more taxes! There are more than enough retirees who can just about keep their heads above water. From my pension of € 354,00 per month, more than € 23,00 was taken from my pension in April, while we have not received any compensation for 4 years, so we have already had to hand in a significant amount compared to the working person. It is not only the car but also the pensioner who turns out to be a cash cow! I can forget my beloved Thailand vacations as long as “the caterpillar is never enough” reigns!
In short: not every expat is the same.
It makes a difference:
– in which currency you receive your income;
– whether you only have to live on that income (perhaps a partner who still works);
– what fixed costs you have (rent, mortgage, alimony, Thai family, health insurance, tax in the Netherlands)
– where you live (there are expensive and less expensive regions);
– where you do your shopping;
– your daily and non-daily consumption pattern.
If you, as a retired Dutch person, live alone here or with a Thai partner who has no income and only has to survive on the AOW, you have a hard time. But I think you were already having a hard time in recent years. This also applies to those who have lost a lot of money here in Thailand for one reason or another. Most Dutch expats are – in my experience – much better off. Few have plans to permanently return to their homeland for the money and quality of life. Me neither.
chris
chris
You can certainly cut back on your food
As a foreigner you will simply have to opt for Thai food, which has nothing wrong with it.
For 30 baht you have a delicious noodle soup, and a day you can live on 100 baht !!! if you want to!!!!
There are many other dishes that are really delicious and affordable.
So I recommend throwing your European mentality overboard and you have a good life here with your state pension.
Something you simply don't have in Europe anymore.
I would say enjoy it, live day by day, and if you do it well you will still have money left over.
i'm not talking about a luxury house, no a house 10,000/15000 baht
electricity 800 baht, internet 640 baht, don't worry, you will also get a fast internet connection.
Then there's your food, so dear people, what's your problem?
just a matter of choice isn't it??
And be happy that you can still live like this in this beautiful country.
in any case I'm happy that I ever took the step, and never regretted it.
I think it's great if you have an electricity bill of 800 BTH, then you certainly have 1 fan in the house, no refrigerator, washing machine, etc. My electricity bill is on average 2000 BTH per month and we only have the air in the 2 bedrooms on for 3 hours a day.
To all expats and tourists in Thailand,
I stay in Thailand 8 months a year and recommend going out when going out
to avoid the most expensive things, not to give in to much begging
drinks in bars, not going to expensive restaurants, not increasing your girlfriend or wife's budget for any purpose, and buying your necessities
in supermarkets of Thai origin, because imported is twice as expensive.
With pleasure and respect
Freddy
Augusta
I don't know how you do it but electricity 800 bath???? And 100 a day????? I pay electricity alone 8000 bath that 100 bath only make it 1000 bath I think you forgot a zero everywhere. School for my daughter alone costs 480.000 a year…… msg in the middle of nowhere you can live like that but not on Phuket
Hans, Phuket is the most expensive province in Thailand. Was in the news a while back.
I pay between 400 and 500 baht per month for electricity….
It's just a little paying attention; do not have aircon but two fans. Saves an estimated 2000 baht per month.
chris
All well and good, but the purchasing power of the euro has dropped about 20% compared to the Baht.
In addition, here in Thailand prices rise at least 5% per year.
So if you could get by here with 5% 100 years ago, it is now only 55%.
100 – 20 – (5×5) = 55
If your income is adjusted for inflation according to European standards, then you may assume 70% of 'before'. In both cases, that is a lot for a lot of expats.
If you have an income in Thai Baht then it is a bit different, but that is not the case for many.
i think you are mistaken. Most expats work here: people with a business, employees of companies in transport and industry, teachers at all school levels !!! Most get their money/income/salary in Thai Baht, a smaller number in Euro AND Thai Baht. (money in the Netherlands in a bank account and money here to pay the monthly costs).
Chris, at first I thought this response was complete nonsense. But if you're talking about an expat, you're right. An expat is someone who is sent to work abroad for a number of years. In reality, we who live in Thailand are immigrants (the Thais don't see it that way) and they are usually retired and with a low or medium income. The question is also about this group of people.
You are also correct in your other comments. If you live like a Thai, you can still make ends meet with your AOW and possibly pension. And certainly get by better than in the Netherlands.
Nor would I want to trade my life here for a life in the Netherlands.
Incidentally, my wife grumbled this morning because of the high light bill, 364 bath, but laughed again afterwards because it was because of the heat and the use of the fans, she said. Normally she pays less than 300 baht per month.
The question was: expats in Thailand: what are you cutting back on?
An expat is anyone who has left his home country to build up a life in another country. this can be done in many different ways: working on a local contract, being posted or seconded, living as a pensioner or benefit recipient in another country. In my response I try to make it clear that there are many different Dutch expats in Thailand and that you cannot and should not lump them together. Not even when it comes to austerity behavior in relation to the exchange rate of the Baht.
Power bill of 8000 baht and 800 baht? A big difference. What I think is a good saving: I'm moving to my new house in a few months: small but nice: two bedrooms, living room with fitted kitchen and bathroom. This may cost me 500.000 Baht, but for that I no longer have to pay the 11000 Baht rent and I have an 800 m2 piece of land, where my girlfriend grows vegetables.
I think this is the best savings in the long run.
I'm also doing the garden myself at the moment. That gives me something to do and I save another 650 Baht, because then I don't need a gardener, who comes when he feels like / time.
I can't save on alcohol, because I don't drink. Eating out is also never that expensive - sometimes cheaper than shopping - we always eat more at home than in a restaurant..
You can get by with little. And I don't feel like I'm missing out.
Yes, if you live in Phuket, you know that "everything is the most expensive" there...also cities such as Pattaya, Hua Hin...are more expensive due to their tourist attraction.
I recently visited a compatriot in Khon Kaen and the prices there are a lot less …. many Belgians and Dutch people do not want to live there, but the area is very pleasant and the people are very friendly … I think this is because there are not yet too many large number of Westerners live here and they have not yet had too many bad experiences with the tourists.
And "Hans" what you pay for school must be a super private school... that's how expensive I have two daughters who go to school in Pattaya but they don't even pay half of that and it is not a state school either.
And we have electricity of 3000 bhat in the hottest months and then the 3 air conditioners hardly stand still.
And I often hear people say... yes, I don't buy Nutella anymore because it is expensive here...
Yes I don't know how some people see that but how many slices of bread can you spread from a small pot .... and how much would that cost if you put other toppings on your sandwich
I do think that the toppings will be more expensive or there should be some that put rice in between ?…
I don't have air conditioning, and don't want one. Saves a lot of electricity, and your body adjusts itself. I shower with "the bowl of water", and what falls back into the bucket I use for the toilet This is not a "greasy ” savings, but the recycling easily saves 10-20%. I “live the Thai way, ie on the floor, It's hard for a few years (painful), but now I don't want anything else. Don't have a cot, but a thin mattress on the floor. No table with chairs, no sofa, no side tables. What is not there cannot wear out, and therefore does not need to be replaced! When I leave the house, all plugs - except the refrigerator - are unplugged. Believe it or not, this saves electricity. Do you want to cook a pot of soup? Put your pot of water in the sun for an hour first. It is already preheated for free. Exceptionally, I eat Falang-style. Thai food is tasty, healthy and cheaper. beer is also cheaper than Singa or Heineken. And also tasty! There are more things you can come up with yourself. Oh, yes, and if you have enough time, go by bus, the red ones are also often FREE. Enough ???
Dear Bart,
I have read a lot of nonsense,….but this takes the cake and hopefully not that of Willem next Tuesday, because then more cutbacks will have to be made here
@Bert. I don't even know if your comment was meant to be serious or humorous. But was it your life's wish to end up like this again? To have to live like this, a mattress on the floor, a bowl of water for washing, a pan of soup in the sun? Vagrants under the bridge still occasionally eat at the Salvation Army.
Feel that your lifestyle is not really a reasonable alternative for the average expat. When you move country you still want to build a better life not a much worse one.
I know... not everything is materialistic, but we still want a certain minimum, also for our family and possibly. children. . Not back to the Middle Ages. If you can't do anything anymore, don't get anywhere, then returning to the Netherlands is a more humane alternative, isn't it? Or do you have no choice?
The average Thai in the Isaan, the poorest area of Thailand, lives a lot more comfortably than you describe.
If you ever thought about becoming a voluntary monk in a temple, you live even cheaper.
My Thai wife and I don't live that “Thai” way, and I don't see why we should.
We can afford a couch, so why sit on the floor. And when it wears out, it will be replaced just like the rest.
However, everyone lives as they please as far as I am concerned, and hopefully within their means.
Is that 30, 40, 50 Bath good, but I have my own budget and it is above that. I certainly won't feel guilty about that.
So your way of life doesn't bother me at all, although I do find some things extreme, but good, as long as you feel good about yourself with this.
Hopefully you don't mistake shower and toilet water and don't turn things around (just kidding)
I often read that people want to live the Thai way. Best for me.
However, most Thais would prefer not to do this themselves. They live this way because there is no other way and they (financially) have no other option.
Just look around you, as soon as a Thai has the opportunity, he will live in a modern house or apartment and they will furnish it in a Western way, including a flat screen and sofa, etc..
Living the "Thai" way is apparently something that is especially wanted by the farang, who want to live "energy and price conscious". (that's how they describe it nowadays)
In any case, I don't know a single Thai who wants to get rid of his apartment, flat screen and couch and return to his corrugated iron hut and sit on a mat on the floor. But of course that also has its charm.
To continue with Bert's last reaction, if I had to live like this you'd better order a gravedigger, it won't be too expensive there either and you don't have to pull the plugs anymore, that's already happened .
Just a response to a comment: Thanks Andre, I love people with humor! And yes, if you had to live like me, that might be the best! It's different if you WANT to live like this. Have also lived in the Netherlands as a small independent, nice car, 6 weeks a year to (dream) Greece, luxury yourself can afford. It's all nice, but in the end it DOESN'T MAKE your life! When you see how many people have to live (survive) here, I think how good I am, throwing my bowls of water, and my plugs. Because there is a choice for me! A second point that is not unimportant for my lifestyle is the fact that we are confronted with in the media every day: pollution, overconsumption, the depletion of “our” Earth. It gives me a good feeling that I am at least trying something to to turn the tide, no matter how minimal! And for the rest: I got it right….
The article mentions a 15% income decline due to the exchange rate of the bath. But the people who came here at a rate of 51 baht and are now at 36 have to deal with 51/36 is 1,41, so 41% more at the time.
And how many would there be?
You shouldn't make comparisons based on a few outliers.
Those people did not decide one day to go to Thailand because the baht just happened to go over 50.
Back then, only profit was made with that price, you can also look at it that way.
Ronny, I think you write a bit mean-spirited about others. I also looked at whether I could make ends meet 7 years ago when I decided to go to Thailand. It certainly wasn't an overnight decision either.
I was not yet retired and had high alimony to pay. At that time the rate had been around 47-48 bath for a long time. Based on this, I decided to move to Thailand more than 5 years before my retirement and thus stopped my AOW accrual, which was very acceptable given the bath rate. With my reduced AOW and shared pension (ex.) I can make ends meet, but it is still about 10.000 baht less than I expected per month.
I live cheaply here, but if I had rented a house for 20.000 baht a month, I would be in trouble right now. And I know of people who have this problem. They now have to look for a cheaper rental home.
What do you mean, low-minded? Where do you get that from?
Many only count on the basis of 51 bath because they once had that and everything below that is a loss. (Purely mathematically that is of course).
You take a risk if you start organizing the rest of your life on the basis of a change of course.
If this is negative at the moment, you have to live with that and don't be surprised.
This has nothing to do with low thinking but rather with realism.
One would better take a look at this link on the Euro versus the Baht from its inception.
We're just back where we started
http://www.oanda.com/currency/historical-rates/
@tjamuk. I'm always amazed at the comments that mention insanely low energy costs for Thailand. Have lived here for 7 years now. Have a 3/4 room house, the normal electrical appliances (oven/microwave/refrigerator/computers/TVs)
Our electricity bill (after the first experiences with an explosive bill) with limited use of one or two air conditioners) is in the cold period (nights 12+ C) at approximately 3.500 to 6.500 bath per month in the warm periods. In addition, 400-500 sometimes 900 bath of water.
Gas consumption is added for cooking. In addition, all kinds of small costs for garbage collection etc.
Depending on the use of air conditioners, the use of the various other falang friends we have here is not much different.
We live in Nongkhai/Bueng Kan, water is sometimes more expensive here than in other municipalities.
Of course the energy costs for the Thais living here in Isaan are considerably lower than ours. Their home is often equipped with a few fluorescent beams and a socket here and there. They live outside much more than we do.
If you want to maintain a "normal" Western lifestyle (after all, you didn't retire here or otherwise come to go back 50 years) without too much luxury, then life here is not as cheap as everyone says.
(upc tv platinum 35.000 bath p year, internet 1.000 bath p month, plus telephone, insurance, etc. Road tax of car and moped all not expensive but payable)
Also here in the cheapest area of Thailand, a simple decent stone house with comparable comfort as in the Netherlands costs 15,000 or (much) more per month.
Even a reasonable detached house including land price starts here at 1,5 million bath, a nice so-called villa 6 million, nothing special and not comparable to the solidity in NL.
Yes .. I know all those people who live for a few thousand bath a month, Thai partly wooden houses improved with corrugated iron. Some people have no problem with that “step back”, but I compare the costs here with a comparable life in the Netherlands, where most families would also like to have a decent single-family home with a garden.
Many falangals here are forced to settle for a back room or an “apartment” where the electrical wiring hangs on the wall. Then you can of course save a lot. Do you also have a different life, which was not really everyone's dream for when they retired.
If you live in Rotterdam-c you have a nice 3/4 room house for 150 – 220.000 euros, in Bangkok you have a nice mini apartment of 65m2 id near Sukhumvit for 5 million baht.
If you adjust your requirements and significantly lower them compared to NL, you can live cheaper in Thailand. Then also Thai food and not European style restaurants, no sandwich fillings or comparable quality meat here. (A New Zealand steak at Sizler also costs 800 baht).
Know enough European families here who have 100.000 baht available per month and can't do anything special with it, also have to count their money every month and watch everything.
You have to pay for a decent school for your children yourself, which can be from a few thousand baths to 100.000 bath.
Many medical expenses are often for your own account, a Thai simply does not go to the doctor.
I know that I get a lot of people who think they can live on 30.000 a month here, but not a life comparable to that in Europe. Of course you don't have to want to. But if you're honest no one went to Thailand to live there poorer than in NL.
Of course, freedom, space and nice people compensate a lot
dear Ferdinand
It's about individual differences and different lifestyles. I didn't come here to get rich, to show myself rich or to have a better life than in the Netherlands. Unlike you, I have a two-room apartment in one of the suburbs of Bangkok. Pay 4000 Baht rent, 200 Baht for water (fixed price, no meter) and this month (just paid) 792 Baht for electricity. It should be noted that I work during the day during the week and am not at home. However, I have no air conditioning (only two fans, 1 in each room), no oven, no microwave, no car (really not necessary in Bangkok), cook electrically (don't have gas, prohibited in this building), eat Thai (nothing with it, but I eat bread in the morning), 600 baht per month for a super fast (10GB) internet connection. I am a civil servant and are insured against all medical expenses at the cost of social security (700 baht per month). Never pay in the hospital, not for the doctor or for medicines. Even after my retirement I can continue this insurance at 6500 baht per month.
However, I am very happy here: fantastic partner, not a hundred and one regulations at work, a fraction of the Dutch bureaucracy and rat race.
chris
Our energy bill is almost comparable.
3 air conditioning and electric cooking. Three refrigerators, 3 TV, PC and some other media brings the bill around 3500-4000 Baht per month..
Water consumption is about 300-400 baht.
I share the internet with the family next door and my share costs 500 Bath.
Fixed telephone around 300 Baht and mobile phone with charging card – 200 Baht
TVs are connected to satellite so no monthly costs.
I think the cost of all this is quite reasonable.
Oh yes, you don't have to pay for garbage collection in Bangkok.