Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand April 2017

Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand April 2017

Welcome to the April 2017 report on my monthly spend in Thailand.

Total Earned:  82,000 THB

Total Spend:   100,000 THB

Saved:   loss of 18,000 THB

Breakdown

Accommodation – 20,000 THB

Our 2 bedroom condo in Bang Sue is quite expensive but we wanted somewhere with a lot of space and a good environment.

We have 73sq meters which means 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, dressing room, a large en-suite bedroom and a small bedroom we use as an office / music room. We have a great swimming pool and fitness center and a everything is brand new.

We could have chosen a cheaper place but for us this works and isn’t a problem in terms of our budget. The idea of being in a studio room is a nightmare for us and even a 1 bedroom place would be too small with all of our possessions.

Utility Bills –  3,500 THB

This is an area I could cut back on but choose not to as the savings aren’t worth it for what I’d be losing out on.

I have internet and phone packages with AIS and a Netflix  TV/movies and sports to watch. Sure I could download these things for free but I feel I get good value from both and can stream in the bedroom and living room through my wireless router.

Our normal electric and water bill comes to around 1,500 Baht which means we use the air con for just a few hours a day and rely on the fan / opening windows at other times.

Transport –    2,000 THB

I take a taxi to/from work and it costs about 125 each way. I have a colleague who lives less than 5 minutes away which is great as we can split the cost. I use the MRT a couple of times a week and rely on local buses he res of the time.

If we travel longer distances to the suburbs then we use vans where possible. Very occasionally we use taxis to get around but with the high amount of public transport it isn’t very necessary.

Food –   5,000 THB

As we knew we were going on vacation for the last 2 weeks of the month we tried to cut back a bit on eating out to save a bit of cash. We did eat out on a couple of occasions but only at cheaper places where the bill was around 500 Baht for the two of us.

With our kitchen we try to cook at home a few times a week and it isn’t difficult to make decent meals for around 100 Baht each. Pasta, chicken and salad dishes are easy to make and work out good value.

The rest of the time we picked up food on the way home from a little restaurant outside our condo. They charge between 60-100 Baht a plate and it is great!

At work I normally eat at the food court which is inexpensive and normally good quality.

General Shopping – 2,000 THB

A few bits and pieces were bought from the shops before our holiday such as toiletries and sun cream.

I also had to buy some new cleaning supplies.

Entertainment –  500 THB

I went out for a few beers a couple of times this month but no crazy nights. We recently discovered 2 local bus routes which take us from Bang Sue down the river so we had a night just visiting a couple of local riverfront places which was really nice.

Travel –   65,000 THB

We had 2 weeks in Nepal this month so this was the cost for 2 of us and everything we did apart from the flights which were included in last month’s survey.

I had hoped to spend around 40,000 Baht but as always we went way over budget!

The major costs were our 5 night 6 day Mardi Himal trek which cost around 30,000 Baht for the two of us and another 20,000 Baht on hotels and trips for the rest of our trip. Although Nepal is quite a cheap place, we ate in nicer restaurants so ended up paying around 600-1,000 Baht each night for dinner when it wasn’t included in our hotel package.

Nepal was fantastic and although it went over budget I wouldn’t have changed anything. I have always wanted to visit and when there we had a few extra costs we didn’t expect (guide for our trek at $45 a day for example) but it felt right to do and in the end gave us a better holiday experience.

Others –   2,000 THB

My monthly gym membership at Fitness First costs 2,000 Baht a month. I try to go two or three times a week but have found myself using the gym at my condo more often now. I enjoy the group classes at Fitness First but don’t think I’ll renew the contract at the end of the 12 month period as I don’t go often enough.

Profit –  loss of 18,000 THB

If we had stuck to our budget on our trip then we would have came out around break even for the month. In the end I know we will have more months where we make profit so it isn’t all doom and gloom to make a loss occasionally.

Having a 2 week vacation always means you will spend more than a normal month so I wasn’t surprised to see a loss as it happens pretty much every month I have a trip! I look back on all we did in Nepal and I could have saved maybe 20,000 Baht by cutting back on food and booking hostels but that isn’t my style, I don’t want to be a penny pincher on vacation.

Other costs this month were around normal and I felt my food spend was probably the lowest it has ever been.

Overview – Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand April 2017

Losing 18,000 isn’t the end of the world as I can see the money has come from previous savings and the cost is accountable. If I start losing money without doing any special activities or having unexpected costs then I will start to become worried.

Over the past 4 years living in Thailand I have found it difficult to build real savings but do have a decent amount put away in the UK now. I feel that I will look to save a higher proportion every month and cut back on vacation costs in the future. I know a couple of people who put 10,000 Baht a month into a savings account and leave it alone, it sounds like a good idea to me.

I get paid a month in arrears and I only get paid when I work so I expect to make a lot less next month which will probably mean another loss. After this I should have several months making similar amounts to this month which is when I’ll start putting together a run of profitable months.