It is already a year ago that Prime Minister Yingluck introduced the minimum daily wage of 300 baht (€ 6,70) promised by her party.
A nice and social aim to do something about the (too) low wages in Thailand. Unfortunately, this noble plan has fallen short of the fact that – to my knowledge – no provisions have been included on the working hours that should be part of this minimum wage.
Employers have taken advantage of this fact to allow employees to work longer. It is therefore questionable whether employees have made any progress with it.
Another question that remains open is the following: can a Thai live on 9.000 baht a month? I do not think so. Yes, maybe if you live in a cottage in Isaan, but it certainly won't work in Bangkok. A room quickly costs 2.000 baht per month and then you have nothing special.
Inflation
Inflation has also hit Thailand hard. Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, vegetables and fruit in particular have become more expensive in Thailand. The consumer price index, based on 450 products, rose 1,92 percent from last year and 1,46 percent from October, according to figures from the Department of Commerce. Core inflation (312 items excluding fresh food and fuel) rose 0,85 percent year-on-year, keeping it within the Bank of Thailand's target of 0,5 to 3 percent. On average, inflation in the first eleven months of this year was 2,24 percent and core inflation was 1,02 percent (Source: Bangkok Post). Not shocking perhaps, but if you have very little to spend.
Little future
It is therefore virtually impossible for an uneducated Thai to start a family with this income. Both parents will then have to work, with any children raised by the grandparents.
It is therefore not surprising in my opinion that many single women with a child have pinned their hopes on a farang who wants to take care of them. When you have to work long hours every month and work hard for 9.000 baht, your future doesn't look very bright.
Hence the statement of the week: You cannot live on 9.000 baht (200 euros) per month.
Do you think differently? Then give your opinion in a comment.
About this blogger
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and a lover of good music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
My motto: "Don't worry too much, others will do that for you."
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Must agree with writer Khun Peter, because the only Thai person I know who comes to mind, and seems to have no problem living on 9000 baht a month in Thailand, is my 74-year-old mother-in-law, in her cottage in the Isaan. (although there will certainly be more in her situation)
She owns the cottage, she is a widow, and her only other possessions are the furniture in the house, of which the TV and stove are the most important, and her bicycle, which she uses to go to the market to do some shopping.
She lives very frugally, makes no demands, does not ask for more, chews her betel nuts, drinks a Chang beer in the evening, plays cards with the neighbors, and is happy when the family comes to visit, including yours truly.
With 9000 baht per month, she can live without any problems.
And I'm almost sure she would manage anyway, even without the 9000 baht. Because these people still know something about togetherness and community spirit, and will share the last grain of rice with each other and the neighbors, shower with rainwater, eat just about anything that jumps or crawls, and are more prepared for “Hard Times” than the average Post-War Dutchman will ever be, I think.
But for someone in Bangkok or Khorat, for example, and raising children, a car in front of the door, and paying off a house and loans, it is completely different, I understand that.
Conclusion, no, don't think 9000 baht is enough. Far from it.
Dear Khan,
If you get 45 baht for one euro, it is indeed 9000 baht per month, but I think the average is 40 baht per euro, so 225 euros per month to spend.
Now the baht happens to be not worth much for the time being and you get more baht for 1 euro.
A lot of people read many millions get a maximum of 9000 baht per month.
In most factories, most workers earn absolutely no more than 300 baht a day, but also most employees in supermarkets or shops or restaurants.
That means that most of them can get by with an income of 9000 baht per month.
Of course it is true that if two work in a family, that is 18.000 baht per family.
Many Thais do not live alone, but in pairs or more (working children)
An apartment for a Thai in Bangkok 2200 baht per month, food 200 baht per day is 6000 baht total 8200 baht.
800 baht per month for telephone, bus, clothes and other things.
So this is for 1 person many lives not alone in that apartment.
Most do not feel poor or dissatisfied at all and many help each other and eat together.
With this completely different lifestyle than Westerners, most feel happier and more with each other than most Westerners who have much more to spend, but always complain about too little money or quickly feel alone or lonely for lack of real friends …….. think of all our elderly 'locked up' in nursing homes or care homes where the family hardly visits.
In the west it is not the money problems but the social problems .. the Thai are more ready for each other and they are richer in that.
If you ask me .. who is better off ... the Westerner with his stress and social worries or the Thai with little money, but no stress and family and friends care, then I say the Thai with only 9000 baht per month.
Nice is not it ?:
And a really happy (educated!) Thai does not start a relationship with a Westerner, but believes in her family and friends.
a good greeting from Danny
A Thai can live on 9000 bath a month.
On average they have their own roof over their heads. Or they pay 2000 bath rent. They can eat 3x a day for 90 bathx30 days is 2700 bath.
Those who use little water pay nothing. Garbage collection 12x a month costs 20 bath.
Electricity if they don't turn on TV all day long and use a single lamp and fridge that costs 400 baht per month.
And if they don't buy an expensive phone or tab on credit, they can easily buy clothes every month in the 2nd hand store for only 300 bath, you have about 10 pieces of clothing for that.
And if they work as a couple, they have 18.000 baht per month. That is an amount they can live on well. Of course not all of them work, but there are those who if the woman works then the man does chores and then have they don't have much together but can live on it.
The people who really can't or don't have a job are dependent on family.
My neighbor across the street has a disabled man and her mother who is 97 years old to take care of. She receives from the state together about 3 thaibath for 2200 people because she receives a kind of state pension and disabled care money. Those people don't have it wide, but they are helped by the neighborhood etc. And family from Bangkok regularly visit mothers and they support the whole family where they can. And that neighbor does not have a tablet or iPhone and she cooks on wood, which she collects and gets. I had given her a kind of shower boiler so that she could give the old people a warm shower. But after the installation she told me I do not use it because with that it is much more wonderful to shower with a bowl from that large barrel. So you see that one can also be satisfied with little.
The people from Europe are too often compared to what we are used to in NL and the little that a Thai resident is also satisfied with. Have the idea that more Dutch people than Thai people are dissatisfied with their existence.
In Thailand, between 8 and 12 percent (depending on where you get the figures from) of the population lives below the poverty line of $ 1.25 per day or 1.200 (!) baht per month. That was still 10 percent 25 years ago, a good improvement, thanks to Thaksinomics. Only Malaysia does better: 4 percent below the poverty line; in Laos, Cambodia and the Philippines, around 25 percent of people live below this poverty line.
I have not been able to find out who these people in Thailand are, I suspect that many of them are elderly and disabled.
Here lies a fine task for Suthep in his reform of Thailand.
Yes 9000 baht is indeed not much. A friend of mine has an income of just under 9000 baht a month and she works in the administration of 2 small primary schools just outside Yasothon. She lives with her mother who can no longer work, they have a good house so she does not have to pay rent. Now she has completed a university education {accounting} and has been working at both these schools for several years now and it is always promised that there will be a raise, but these have only been empty promises for some time. Now that 9000 baht comes down to about 300 per day for 2 people, now I have to say that rice comes to the table through the family and their own pieces of land, so there is no need to worry about that. But still ... 300 baht per day for 2 people food, drink, water, electricity, clothing, petrol for the moped etc etc is on the tight side, but it is just doable. And of course you know there is always family nearby who can lend a hand or who is given a helping hand. Yes, I can also imagine that if one lives in the city with this wage and then also has to pay rent, it will be very becomes tight or impossible to do. As so often, promises are made by politicians that have not yet been fulfilled, but on the other hand, it does of course provide employment and, I believe, very low unemployment here in Thailand.
Generations of people will certainly still live in the countryside who have to and can live on (less than) 9000 Bath/month. But those who know that countryside also know about the housing and living conditions. The people who have traditionally lived there are used to those conditions, but you cannot call them ideal. The question is whether in 2014 they would not have been granted better conditions.
Then what are we talking about? A selection of previous reactions: having work with superiors in the household and having to combine the wages, relying on family and/or neighbours, doing chores here and there, buying 2nd hand clothing at an average of 30 Bath/piece, not all day turn on the TV, use a single lamp, eat what jumps and crawls, shower with rainwater, even share the last grain of rice. Perhaps not a point of discussion for the elderly, for young people not exactly a springboard to an independent life and a different interpretation of a hopeful future. Because living in poverty simply does not mean being able to follow good (vocational) education and being able to afford to deal with opportunities in a well-considered way. It is not just about financial or economic poverty. Much more important is that many Thais grow up without solid opportunities to escape social and cultural poverty. To be able to do that, 9000 Bath is not enough, and to be constantly dependent on each other, as it is so beautifully formulated: staying alive without problems is not exactly the starting point for achieving more life goals than just “eating 3 times a day”. up to an amount of 90 Bath per day”, and having a basic living space.
And yes: in the city a loner will barely make it with 9000 Bath. Sophisticated shopping, taking your meals sparingly, choosing a poor place to live, purchasing minimal luxury, to enjoy a social life to the maximum (via smartphone and tablet). Many in the same boat, recognizable to all, therefore willing to share. But does it invite you to spread your wings? No, so many Thais get stuck in a rut of sub-modal lifestyle, because even as a couple, 18000 Bath is not enough: getting older, responsible for parents, a family, but still want to live more spaciously and independently, own transport, want more perspective for your children.
In short: it is a good thing that Thais know hard work and discipline. As @Tino Kuis indicates, poverty is structurally declining. It is hoped that Thailand will give priority to improving the income situation in new specifications. Minimal life and living, minimal work, reward and reward? In 2014, that should no longer be the case!
Finally: in some previous reactions it can be deduced that people think it's fine, as a farang, that Thais do so well in a minimalistic way. It is romantically dismissed. Also because of the wasteful Western lifestyle. And let all the irony lie in that, as @tinus's response makes it very clear.
A well-founded response Soi. Only poverty is not falling. It seems that way because more and more Thai borrow. Bangkok Post's Year-End Review notes that household debt rose from 1995 to nearly 2013 percent of GPD between 40 and 80. And as a ratio to income from 100 to 200 percent!
No numbers to be happy about.
Dear Khan Peter,
The number of people living below the poverty line has fallen sharply (in the Isaan, for example, from 35 to 12 percent), see my response above. That is completely separate from borrowing money, this is about income. What hasn't fallen in the past say 15 years is income inequality. As far as household debts are concerned, that's not too bad: too long to explain, so read (two parts):
http://asiancorrespondent.com/79276/household-debt-in-thailand-is-it-unsustainable/
I totally agree with Soi! A salary of 9.000 baht per month is just enough for the Thai not to die. However, it offers no opportunities to develop socially or to build a decent social life. Soi has put it nicely: For generations people get stuck in a rut of a below-average lifestyle.
I know young couples here who together earn about 20 to 22.000 baht per month, but also support both their parents. In addition, they have school-aged children. There is not enough left for them to build up a (decent) independent existence. That is also the reason that many children continue to live with their parents.
The image that some have, that it's not too bad because the Thai all help / support each other, I find a bit cynical. People are probably not aware that it is actually no more than sharing in or of each other's misery. It is precisely that circumstance – that support and sharing – that makes people linger in a minimalist existence. It's a bit like the lame helping the blind!
Nothing is strange in this world, so why shouldn't we (sometimes) agree with each other?
In addition to the fact that some comments are very pedantic about the alleged purchasing behavior of luxury goods, people probably judge this without having lifted their bottom out of their own leather easy chair. I live in a village in Isaan with, say, 6 or 700 inhabitants and I dare say that the number of laptops, PCs, flat screens, tablets and more products that fall into this category can be counted here on the finger of one hand. be count. When I count the number of cars, I don't get much further than about 20 or 30, most of which are not even worthy of the word “car”. Given the distances in Thailand, it is not surprising that people buy mopeds and that they buy them on credit is also not surprising, because few have 50.000 baht on the shelf. But apparently people think that if you earn 9.000 baht, a moped is an unnecessary luxury and you should therefore go to work on the buffalo.
mr. Bacchus, after 7 years I have not noticed that the Thai live in misery. On the contrary !! There are plenty of time to earn extra money. And for your information, I pay 400 or more for half-days here in the Northeast. Too much in my opinion but I will avoid being labeled as a miser at all costs. In addition, I only have to make ends meet on 400 a day. whatcolonial???? It is therefore not appropriate to generalize here.
Diqua, It was meant as good advice. Since you didn't write anything about what you paid, I assumed you assumed the normal daily wage for a Thai; what most do.
As for the “colonial” part, it related to other responses. Of course, everyone is free to take it or not. Generalize? If I were you I would go through the comments again; paternalism and colonialism is dripping from it!
Dear soi
Completely agree with you
If you ask on the Blog. I have my own House, my state pension and a small pension
That is easily 8 to 9 times as much as the 9000 bht that is being talked about here
Then you get the answer that you better stay home. Wall that won't work
But the Thai who has to do it with his 9000 bhats
Yes he'll make it he just won't die
All Farangs who think that the Thai can live off it should be ashamed
Those people have nothing, it is a hopeless existence
I think it's all nice and nice, hear those stories and reactions, but living here in the Isaan, where people only have work if rice has to be cut and sugar cane has to be cut, then they have a minimum of 300 baht a day. However, it is not longer than 2 months. And the rest?……. A job here and there if you're a handy guy. If not, then eat off what has been earned in the two months and hope that your children will give or send something every month from the big cities where there is work every day in the factories or enough is generated in the nightlife.
About the cost of living; the percentages mentioned have been cobbled together by statisticians and that means, lied to each other. Last year we came out with an x amount every week. That amount plus 20% now is just about enough and, believe me, we're not buying anything more.
It is pure poverty when you are 65+ with no children around here and you have to live on a government pension of 500 baht a month.
Dear Gerrie, I definitely believe that the cost of living has increased by 20%. Those numbers can be manipulated. I also hear from Thai that life has become considerably more expensive. My girlfriend regularly gives me examples of this.
And so it is Gerry.
Your story from Isan also applies here , where I live in pasang / Lamphun .
Where I live they say it seems to be one of the better provinces in Thailand in terms of wages.
However, I hardly notice it myself.
Oh yes it is more luxurious living and living here than in the Isaan, certainly a big difference.
There is more industry here, most of it sponsored by many Japanese companies.
But they are also careful with their money in salary to the average Thai.
Here, too, many still work around 200 baths per day.
Especially in the clothing industry.
A good construction worker makes 350 in a day.
How to make ends meet on this monthly , as a Thai is still a big mystery to me .
My wife 's sister , husband passed away .
Works every day in the kitchen in Ban Hong Hospital , for a catering company , 200 bath , but free food .
Sometimes this catering company goes to different types of celebrations or parties to take care of the meals, etc.
Then she works longer days but then earns 500 baht.
Jan Beute
A few notes:
– 300 baht minimum wage applies to those who work in a form of paid employment. Many, many Thai people do not do that, but work in the informal sector or work on a loose basis. They have their own business (farm, sale of t-shirts, coffee, fruit, laundry, shop, sale of lottery tickets, market stall and so on) and also do odd jobs when they have the chance (e.g. driving a taxi, selling Amway or beauty products, homemade cookies or kanom etc).
– Laws in Thailand are sometimes worth as much as the paper they are written on: 2 Satang. The law is being evaded and has led to firing people or closing companies. Result: 0 baht per month;
– recent university graduates should earn at least 15.000 Baht per month. What happens in practice? Companies are hiring lower-skilled workers who are cheaper and more academics than ever are unemployed;
– if the Thaksins, the Yinglucks and the Abhisits of this world are all so good with their compatriots, why haven't they been paying 600 to 1000 baht a day for years? The super profits of the corporations and the growth of the wealth of the wealthy have been exorbitant over the last 10 years.
The big spenders in the most expensive condominium segment in London in 2013 are yes: the THAI. I can well imagine that as a Thai you demonstrate with some sense of justice in 2014 for fundamental reforms in this country.
However, the statistics (including those from the World Bank) show otherwise than the widely used and emotionally easy to endorse statements.
Income inequality has not increased, but decreased. Life has indeed become more expensive, but the income of the Thai has increased more than the costs. It is a fairy tale that the Thai earn the same or less and have to pay more.
What bothers him is that the increase in income is used more (too much?) for the purchase of luxury goods (such as mobile telephones, flat screens, mopeds and cars; the latter form is strongly encouraged by the government measure to refund the tax). The general manager of Kasikornbank recently said that 5 years ago of every 100 baht the Thai earned, 43 baht had to be paid in loans and repayments, now that has risen to 64 baht. A great consumer bubble…..
I mentioned the three politicians to show that all political parties (and their financiers, the companies) have butter on their heads. And demonstrators are not only the people on the street, but also the business community that is not only against corruption, but also against the lack of accountability of politicians, the lack of transparency of offers, the ways of (pre)financing construction projects, the boot patchwork of laws, social inequality, etc. Last week the civil servants' unions announced that they were also fed up and want to work more for the benefit of the population than for the politicians.
Dear Chris,
Who am I to contradict the general manager of Kasikornbank, or maybe you misunderstood him. That the Thais now have to pay 100 baht for every 64 baht in 'loans (do you mean interest?) and repayments' does not seem right to me. Do you have a link to these numbers? Thanks in advance.
Did you know that on average, Thais save 20 percent of their income? Does that surprise you? The need for capital in this country is largely covered by domestic savings. See the link below, very enlightening.
http://asiancorrespondent.com/79276/household-debt-in-thailand-is-it-unsustainable/
Dear Tina,
Of course I immediately studied your link carefully.
Average income doesn't really exist in Thailand…..I think.
Of course you can make an average, but I think this gives a wrong picture of the average income of the majority.
This is because a very small population group earns an awful lot of money…..( billions )
these are often the people who run the country.
Because of the group of maybe 10 percent of the wealthy people, this average becomes misleading.
And there is a very large population group..maybe 70 percent who have to make do with the minimum wage of 300 baht a month or less to much less.
There is a very small middle class maybe 20 percent with an income of 25.000 to 35.000 baht a month.
Because you know how to find the right links very often and exactly, I am open to a translated income distribution link from the Thai population on which one can see how skewed the picture can be by assuming an average, when it comes to income.
I do recognize the story of Chris (from my own environment in the Isaan), when it comes to the insanely high debts that many people live with.
I want to thank you for your faithful careful contributions to this blog.
a very good greeting from Danny
Danny,
http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/thailand/income-distribution
On the above website you can play with the income distribution of all countries in the world.
For Thailand the following. The first number is the percentage of the population, from highest to lowest incomes, the second number is the percentage of the gross national product (GNP) that this group has to spend, which translates into the third number: the average income per month ( this is approx) per person in that group (baht). And finally, the 10 percent highest and 10 percent lowest earners (the latter group is below the poverty line).
20% highest incomes 48% of GNP 30.000 baht average income
20% next group 21% 12.000
20% 14% 9.000
20% 10% 6.000
20% 7% 4.000
highest 10% 34% GNP 40.000 baht per month. average.
lowest 10 % 3 % 2.000, approximately poverty line
So you see that 9.000 baht per month in Thailand is a middle income. About 40 percent earn slightly to much more and another 40 percent earn slightly to much less, and they also have to live on that. You also see that 20 percent of the population enjoys almost half of the GNP and the lowest 20 percent only 7 percent. That cannot be sustainable.
Dear Tina,
Thank you very much for your valuable data.
It is remarkable that the minimum wage of 9000 baht forms the middle income.
When I read the word poverty line , in this context for the people who have 2000 baht to spend , I agree very much with some readers above , when they see people in their area with an income of 2000 baht a month and are very happy .
The situation is then as follows for those people with an income of 2000 baht per month.
A 70-year-old retired father receives 700 baht a month from the state, which everyone of that age receives as a pension. The mother is over 60 and receives 600 baht a month. Together they have 1400 baht and their working children in a cotton factory supplement this with about 600 baht so the parents have 2000 baht to spend.
The parents live on the land and house of their deceased parents with 12 rai of land.
The land is just enough to grow all their food, rice vegetables and fruit trees.
They have a well and rain storage tank.
They have 4 cows and 30 chickens.
They woven most of the clothing themselves..silk clothing or exchanged for other clothing.
They work hard and like it and when they are sick or weak help their family with the land and animals.
These kind of people, of which there are millions .. especially in the Isaan but also in the far north, provide for their own needs and are very happy too.
In the statistics these people are poor because of their money.. 2000 baht but they don't even need that money.
And so, as a Westerner, I learned a new way of dealing with life that has nothing to do with money or poverty.
Thailand is AMAZING.
a good greeting from Danny
Dear Danny, I understand that you have seen the light and now live on 2.000 baht a month and are very happy! So for you every evening a bag of boullion with chicken straws, duck butts and other indefinable ingredients. So you also just drink rainwater and pour a nice refreshing bowl of water over your head every morning. Of course you also walk in 2nd hand clothing, as Jan Geluk – a beautiful name in the context of the story – writes. Of course you also do not have an I-Pad, I-Pod and what is no longer there with an I, or similar equipment. And of course you also live in a turf hut without western sanitary facilities. Be a real man and tell us how you make your life easier with 2.000 baht a month. Do you also lie on such a self-assembled wooden platform to watch the day go by? Or are we once again dealing with a Dutch “Jan Modaal” who plays King Bolo in Thailand? There are quite a few of those around.
You react, and with you a few more, like an old-fashioned colonial! You would hope that the colonial era is over, but take a good look around Thailand and you will find that colonials still exist! Especially in behavior!
I totally agree with Kees1. It would be nice if a statement was made why a foreigner cannot live on 9.000 baht a month in Thailand. I'm afraid it will turn out that colonialism still flows through the veins of many!
Dear Bacchus, totally agree with you. It's been ages since I visited an Isan village for the first time. What struck me was the ubiquitous poverty of all! conditions the people lived in.
In the years after that I follow the Isaan a bit, I live there, I notice that eg habitation, education and agricultural mechanization have improved, but the circumstances in which people live are relatively and almost the same.
There are many factors to blame for this, but three come to mind:
1- The apparent bliss believed to be found among the poorest may well have been inspired by the Buddhist tradition of resignation. The resignation that this eventually entails deprives people of the sense and usefulness of their own initiative. Responders would do well to consider how they felt in situations in which they themselves became aware and aware that they had nowhere to go. And what luck when a way out came into view. One wonders to what extent people, devoid of skills and certainly alternatives over the centuries, recognize a possible way out?
2- Thai society is a layered society. How hard then is it to think that you can escape your fate, when you are already assigned a place by virtue of your rebirth. That place is also confirmed by the fact that the same society has been ruled for centuries by religious and secular governments, who for centuries have shown themselves to be able to legitimize your assigned place, and consider themselves to be on a higher plane because of their own origin, so more favorable and deserved their own rebirth, with all and pleasures of life added thereby.
3- Thai society is an absolutely capitalist society. The irony now is that the poorest have no access to available capital. Micro-credit does not exist, banks do not lend them, resort to informal lenders abound. You are poor and you will remain poor. Once born to a satang, you never become a baht. Such a variant certainly applied until the 80s in the regions where I was born, when the jenever houses rose to the bottle, excuse me.
It is a pity that many responders think that they consider themselves to be on a higher plane because they apparently have been granted access to a way out. I believe that many a commenter, given his age, should be considered to be able to put things into perspective, because of his own knowledge of the wretchedness of shabby conditions and poverty, for example in his own childhood and youth years just after World War II. It is a pity that he then proves unable to have a more nuanced opinion and thinks he can do so due to accidental birth on the other side of the world.
Regards, Soi
Think this problem is not only in Thailand. Visit India often, where our daughter lives and works, 20% of the people (240 million) live below the absolute minimum of 1 USD per day, while the average wage for a worker is between 150 and 200 euros per month…
Apparently they can live on it, but it remains a great shame, which is partly caused by the corruption from high to low.
Some ask themselves daily which one is better off with, corruption or communism.
What a nice compassionate response everyone, and everyone is right, but suppose the minimum wage becomes 600 bath, well, not a lot of money yet.
And we also assume that no one is fired, then prices will rise a little bit.
But that's what we frugal Dutch people just don't want, because that's why we're all here, right? Nice country, nice, nice people and… low wages/prices. Good for us, we can afford a lot with our euros. Then suddenly we shouldn't be so terribly concerned about the minimum wage.
Or am I now kicking against a pair of well-fed shins?
You can extend this even further ...... that a reasonable number of lowlanders and the slightly higher "flanderslanders" can only manage with a "bussines class" that costs double to x3 .... only for 12 hours of flying ..... compared to all previous facts actually brutal outrageous spoiled mess we are…..
Moderator: please respond to the statement.
Dear readers.
2000 bath of 9000 bath is more than 22%.
In the Netherlands, the minimum wage is effective January 1. 2014 gross 1477,80 euros is net 1193 euros renting a house or flat is approximately 500 euros net 500 euros of 1193 euros is over 44%.
How do you solve living in the Netherlands if you can't in Thailand?
best of osh,
In my opinion, 500 euros is not more than 44 percent, but 41.91 percent of 1193 euros.
Your message is a bit cryptic, but I think I understand.
You mean that if a Dutchman already spends 42 percent of his income on rent, then the life of a Thai must be easier if he only pays 22 percent of his income on rent.
And I think you're right about that. It seems to me that it is more difficult in Holland than in Thailand. With that minimum wage and all its additional costs that the Thai do not have here, who do not need heating or compulsory health insurance, and besides that, life in Thailand takes place outside .. without a vacuum cleaner or an iron and often no washer or dryer etc, etc.
Greetings from Danny
All nice and nicely written, but the main thing is the 9000 bath per month. That is certainly not sufficient for the young Thai to build a FUTURE. As a result, many are indeed looking for a farang as a partner… have a double job… or do odd jobs… or both work as a couple. This shouldn't be necessary. But to date it is no different. Anyone who has been here for a while can see that everything is getting more expensive. So it is incomprehensible to me that there is a 7 eleven on almost every street corner….which is also too expensive….and yet seems to be making a profit.
Yes and the older Thai….for example in Bangkok they get food and shelter from the government.
But who are we to understand or give our opinion about the 9000 bath.
That's why I just presented it to my girlfriend / wife. She is 27 years old and has a university education….her answer…NO normally a Thai cannot live on this…..only if you live very frugally….so the answer is No the 9000 is not enough for a normal life in Thailand …
I live in the Countryside near Phichit, between the small farmers who all own about 2 rai of land, they have to make do with about 2000 a month in the yield of the land and they are all very happy, sometimes one of them works few for me then they are sure if they earn some extra 3 days not approachable because of the drink.
Yet someone comes to me at least 3 x a week to bring a bowl of homemade soup or curry.
We can live here on 20.000 baht per month, incl. car, house is free
Dear Gerrit,
I also recognize your story well.
I hope Gerrit van Elst also reads this story because it is a real-life story for many happy Thai people.
They are very happy with much less than 9000 baht per month and are not short of anything.
This is also the case in my area and they are very happy.
Greetings from Danny
In Belgium it has been argued for years that minimum wages are too high, because on the one hand they can cause a competitive disadvantage (which argument is also used in neighboring countries to talk down the minimum wages there too), and on the other hand sometimes because the incentive for higher qualified work it could be missing. It is also a fact that the correlation between the income of parents and that of children indicates that eliminating “cultural disadvantage” by “democratizing education” has turned out to be a big flop.
Also in Bangkok one can achieve overweight for 100 baht a day. Renting is expensive, but who absolutely wants to live alone – that is a great luxury all over the world. Raising the minimum wage, not so long ago around 100 baht but depending on the province and therefore a bit more in Bangkok, set a standard that ensured that (not illegally) 'undeclared' poor rice pickers in Chiang Rai are now pay 250 baht per day. Raising minimum wages is always a motor for the local economy, because poor people mainly buy the goods and services produced there. An even bigger shock than the increase to 300 baht / day seems completely unrealistic to me and would probably cause problems for a number of local larger and medium-sized companies as well as for the state finances, which are then usually best recovered from the small man.
Anyone who finds an i-pad indispensable to be respected in fashionable Bangkok will have to continue to earn more than minimum wage. Of course, giving up gambling and drinking can also help some people to live happily with 300 baht a day.
In the Netherlands, too, you have to work with both people on a low income. I think it's the same in Thailand. Grandparents can look after the children . But the thought in Thailand is often the man or FARANG has to bring in money. And the rest just sit at home. And they usually don't save, but they want to have everything. And they don't think about the fact that they have to pay off a loan, e.g. for the motorbike, which is also very expensive. Then it becomes difficult with 9000 bath.
9000 bath is more than enough if you live like a Thai and not like a FALANG.
But a Thai wants an expensive phone and a tablet and a nice moped.
When we used to have no money in the Netherlands, we could not drive a moped and buy luxury items.
You have to adapt to the money you can spend so don't say that 9000 bath is too little.
If I make my food at home it costs little but a Thai has to get it outside the door why.
Dear Mr Bal Bal
It is not a complaining Thai who launched this story But Khun Peter
Why shouldn't a Thai be allowed to live like a farang? Are we You more human than a Thai??
Now I really hope that Peter will come tomorrow with the question can a farang live on 9000 Bhat
and that you will answer that in detail
Then of course I have to take that into account. That we can't do the falang without a computer, of course
can cost a lot of money. The Thai does not need it. After all, he is not on the Blog
He can't read it anyway. He doesn't need a washing machine. The few clothes he has can easily be done by hand. A dishwasher idem ditto food he does with his hands
and the rice lays on such a banana leaf
Airco have you gone crazy he is already complaining if it is 20 degrees then he is cold no we have to protect them a bit they would just get sick of it.
And then a 150 cm wide flat screen that doesn't fit in that little house of his
A car is of course madness, public transport is fine here. A moped is dangerous
it also needs petrol, that costs money and the only thing they do with it is drive from here to there, there are already too many of them. You hardly see them when you're in such a big high Pick-up. You can also walk from here to there. They don't have family in the Netherlands, so they don't have to go up and down twice a year. Holidays can just be in the backyard, after all, it always is
nice weather. Let's stop talking about phones, ipads, laptops or whatever those things are called
They're not quite there yet. Let them learn from the Indians who do it with smoke
Clothing also costs nothing. I always give that old rag that I use to clean the car to my Thai neighbor and she makes a sarong out of it. I deliberately don't use too much wax otherwise you get those hard spots that takes effort but you have to do something for each other. But that is my opinion
Some farangs in the neighborhood think I'm crazy, she works 7 days a week on the rice field
she's got money. Bless them
Eating out doesn't make sense at all, I never do that myself. From 10 am to noon
5 o'clock I'm in the Bar and at 6 o'clock I always eat at Home.
I don't understand Ball of ball what the Thai do with all that money. I think they buy booze for it
They can't handle the luxury.
Then we haven't talked about any children yet. But that doesn't have to cost anything, you put them in the corner and you occasionally throw a hand of rice at them.
My answer to the question can you live on 9000 Bhat is no. You can live on it
I hope Khun Peter will be his next piece.
Why do the farang think that the Thai can live on 9000 Bhat. But he himself needs 90000
The minimum daily wage is often even less here in ISAAN.
especially Chinese bosses here in Isaan have the habit of paying less,
and/or extend it.
What I have heard from many Thais is that with the payout at the end of the week.,
but also at the end of the month when the salary is paid…
the thai workers get the answer…this month was very quiet.,
we therefore no longer have work for you!
Come and try at the end of next month.,
maybe then we have money for you.
My son occasionally participates in a Thai movie or music video.
In his participation in the last video clip, he and a Thai girl had an important film role.
This video clip has already been seen regularly on Thai local TV,
and also on many Thai music channels.
This clip is also already available on VCD in the music stores here in Thailand.
But a salary or payment of several thousand bht forget it…
again and again delays when my son contacts me by phone.
Luckily I don't have any problems with my maid..,
who comes to clean my house twice a week.
Our house is not dirty, since we only live in the house with the two of us.
Our maid cleans the house two mornings a week (2 x 3 hours),
and I pay her Bht 100.= per hour.
The video clip in which my son also plays an important role.
can be seen on you tube…
http://youtu.be/M2Ji-FLpVVE
It is better to tempt them to work and become a bit friendlier just like 30 years ago and to provide the service again, but that is deteriorating with containers.
Why do you think why they bring Cambodians here because a Thai no longer wants to work for that money.
And you don't think people will work harder if they get more money, I experienced that in the Netherlands and that doesn't happen here either.
What @balBal says is correct. We should not compare the Thai people with the Westerner. In addition, on average they borrow too much and easily. If they do not receive a loan from the bank, there are always people who borrow from each other. Or I doubt they always pay each other back on time. And yes, they can also save the money they spend on scooters and gasoline. Let them go cycling is healthier and cheaper. Why does everyone have to go to the toilet with such a tablot or iphone Those are all costs you can cut back on. And as far as the fines for not wearing a helmet are concerned, the police are very happy with that instead of pre-licensing, they give a fine of 200 bath, these are also costs that you can avoid, because a helmet costs barely 350 baht, and you can drive for a day without a helmet. If they let everyone who does not wear a helmet walk, the whole of Thailand will come to a standstill tomorrow and the economy will suffer a lot. One can easily stand everywhere without an ipot. but you don't see anyone using it. I have yet to meet the first Thai man or woman who knows what saving is. It seems as if you give them something extra or the money has to be spent by force.
It's great that you can just indicate what the Thai can/must cut back on in order to get by as little as possible - otherwise it will be too expensive for the foreigners …………….. Find this of little understanding, let alone show respect .
All nice reactions, but as long as we in Europe and the rest of the world continue to buy and consume cheap clothing, shoes and electronics from the Far East, I don't see the minimum wage going up.
I also sometimes read articles and comments about haggling when you buy something, that is so much fun and part of Thailand.
This is not a Thai problem but an international problem.
And yes there are people in my acquaintances and family circle who have to live on 9000 baht, but fun is different.
Dear Khan Peter,
The idea of coming up with this theme for the proposition of the week turned out to be a great success.
It's nice to read a lot of enthusiastic positive reactions from all those bloggers.
Very nice to read so many nice and beautiful comments.
thanks from Danny
Can you live on 9000 bath? That question cannot be answered if you do not know the personal circumstances of the person. Because everything depends on that. Do you have to pay rent or do you own a house and land? Do you also have to support a wife and/or children? Do you also have an alcohol, drug or gambling problem? Does the person have any special wishes such as a car, moped, TV or a nice mobile phone? Ask a Dutchman on social benefits if he can make ends meet, one will say yes, the other yes, but I will, but it is extremely difficult and another will say no, then I can't. And so it is in Thailand too. One can get by and the other can't.
Nice to see that there are so many reactions to this “life of…”. Because perhaps our underlying thought is: could I, as Farang, get by on so little money in Thailand? Have you also had that thought?
To be honest, I've asked myself that question, and the answer is no.
Although I also know that emergency breaks the law, and you can still get by with little money, see the welfare mothers and other minima in your own country. But it would be too little to live on, and too much to die from .Can hardly do otherwise.
But it is also a fundamental difference between the Thai and the farang (I think) how you should handle money.
Saving is not really promoted, I have noticed over the years, and (over)-consumption is. The first time I visited Thailand in the 90s, I noticed that the Thai are bombarded with advertising, sometimes maddening Well, at least it drove me a little crazy, that the same infantile commercial came along every five minutes, I remember that.
And if you earn so little, with often also heavy, dirty, or physically unhealthy work, then it can only be frustrating that you cannot buy all those desirable things, and what is worse, you understand very well that you won't be able to buy them later either, unless a small miracle takes place.
And that miracle can often only come in the form of a better-off Farang, winning the lottery (see the endless gambling on anything and everything) or thinking yourself rich and happy by taking a lot of drink and drugs, and your hopeless exist for a moment to forget.
And I understand that it would also show a lot of paternalism if I, as the privileged Farang, were to tell the Thais how to live on so little money, if I couldn't do it myself, and frankly would rather not think about it.
I think it's actually quite amazing that people with so little, or even less, to survive, and still manage to go through life not as grumpy or complaining as the average Dutch person.
That's why I love Thailand.
A simple answer to this, since our pension is not enough here in Belgium either, I also thought about spending the winter in Thailand. Since there are still costs here, I just asked my girlfriend (who lives in BKK) How much would we need to not live too lavishly but decently and eat well; answer 35 to 40 000 Bath. The answer of a Thai lady with hot water shower and hob and the like as it should be, will certainly be convincing ??
With increasing amazement (or perhaps rather: annoyance) I read the reactions of a number of people. Do not buy luxury things, such as mobile phones, TVs, laptops and mopeds (to what extent is this still a luxury?) . Buy second-hand clothes.
In this way we can benefit from the misery of the thai people for a long time to come, because low wages for them means a cheap holiday for visitors to thailand. If they do something for you, pay them a little more. We don't want exploited, neither do they, We want a pleasant life, so do they. Improve the world, start with yourself a little.
Maybe you should think about part-time work. Like with me a few hours a week in my garden. Can't find someone, only if I pay a monthly salary.
Maybe you pay too little for those few hours a week? A young man has been working with us for years and we always pay him 200 baht for his work. One day he works for an hour, the next day sometimes 4 or 5 hours. In addition, we always drink a few beers together after work. No exception here in terms of hours. He enjoys working for us and is regularly at the door to see if there is still a job to be done. There are also many who like to take over his work.
People also like to work on our rice fields. We pay 300 baht per day, for which people work an average of 6 to 7 hours. We arrange lunch and here too at the end a beer together to end the day.
I also know people who convert the Thai daily wage of 300 baht for a 12-hour working day into an hourly wage and also pay that for an hour of work. So that is 25 baht for an hour of work and for that you only have to show up when the "boss" wishes.
Most foreigners here are well off. Pay those people well and not always according to Thai standards, because then you do exactly the same as those Thai exploiters.
Moderator: too many generalizations.
It will be enough to live, but certainly not to build a future. Before I say this I have gathered some good information on the net, so maybe other bloggers can help me… If one wants to earn more and have a better life, why don't I see the Thai in eg Dubai, now Quatar working against much better salary (yes, have you seen the program about the abuses in Qatar), but the Fillipinos, Malaysians, Indonesians, Indians, Pakistanis? Chance? Lazy? Don't want to earn more money?
Mathias, entire families work abroad. Recently a cousin of ours came back from Korea, where he worked for more than 6 years. At the moment they are now hiring Vietnamese, Cambodians and the like because they work for less! A brother-in-law of mine worked in Saudi Arabia for many years. He worked there with a lot of Thai people. A cousin of ours goes to Sweden every year for a few months to pick berries and then earns a decent Thai annual wage in 4 months. Many Thais are also working there. I know Thai who work in Australia as a seasonal worker to pick fruit. So there are definitely Thai people going to work abroad. There are even special employment agencies for this; ok here in khon kaen. So I would like to get some more information.
Moderator: Please do not chat.