My Monthly Spend in Thailand – November 2015
Welcome to the November 2015 report on my monthly spend in Thailand. To start with check out the about me page to learn a little about me and my circumstances. It will also explain the high accommodation prices below.
Total Income: 64,000 THB
Total Spend: 57,878 THB
Saved: 6,122 THB
Breakdown
Accommodation – 30,000 THB
My standard monthly repayment towards my 2 bedroom 64 sq metre condo. This money is from the UK, not a Thai bank.
Utility Bills – 2,550 THB
Electricity 750, Internet and cable TV 750, Sports365 package 600 , Mobile phone 300, Water 150.
These bills are very similar every month and the only thing that changes is the electricity bill. I was away for the first few days of November and as such didn’t use any power. With a few cooler days I had the windows wide open and a cool breeze running through my Condo which cut down on the bills.
Transport – 1,300 THB
I didn’t go on any major trips this month apart from going to and from the airport as my parents visited. The total cost of the airport run was 350 Baht as I traveled by taxi.
Local buses to work cost 345 Baht and add to that a few rides to the mall and golf course means a total spend of about 450 on buses.
I used the taxis this month for a few trips and in total spent 500 Baht.
Food – 9,500 THB
I went out for a dinner a lot in November. I had a couple of birthday parties to attend and felt too lazy to cook.
I also had my parents over to visit and treated them to a couple of meals ( and they paid to take me out a few times ) Total restaurant spend was 5,000 Baht.
Other meals I just ate at food courts and street food vendors at a total cost of around 2,000 Baht.
Add to this beer, snacks and a bit of shopping at the supermarket and my total food spend was 9,500 Baht.
General Shopping – 308THB
I bought a new pair of headphones which cost 150 Baht and seem to be doing OK 3 weeks in. I also bought some air fresheners for my condo to keep it smelling good which meant a total of 158 Baht.
Entertainment – 3,220THB
With my family over I decided to take them and my girlfriend to the IMAX to see the new James Bond movie – total 1,200 for 4 tickets.
I went to the arcade at The Mall Bang Kapi with my girlfriend and it was great fun playing lots of games. I even tried the Korean dancing game but got rated F so I guess I need more practice! We played for around an hour spending a total of 300 Baht. After this we watched the latest Hunger Games movie and I can say that I felt robbed of the 140 I paid to see it.
I also played golf at the Army Golf Club on Ramintra. Including my bus there and back, green fee, caddie fee, caddie tip, 10 golf balls and snacks I paid 1,350 Baht. Golf can be very cheap here if you go at the right time.
Friday is now becoming badminton night and it works out at around 40 Baht per week to play so 160 for the month.
November in Thailand means Loi Krathong – a festival to apologise to the water god for polluting the water. Of course the way to apologise is by putting lots of floating objects into the water. I made my Krathong and the cost was 70 Baht.
Travel – 0THB
I came back from my vacation on the 3rd November but included the costs in my October report.
I am looking at flight options for Songkran but didn’t book anything this month.
Others – 11,000 THB
This was the month when I bought Christmas presents for my family. It is nice to give them something to open from me as just sending money isn’t great and doesn’t feel like the thing to do at Christmas.
I also bought some decorations for my Condo and replaced some fittings in the bathroom which were leaking and not looking good.
I also had to send back a large amount to my UK bank account as the student loans company wanted an extra payment by the end of the year.
Saved 6,122 THB
Just over 6,000 Baht saved this month. I normally aim to save a bit more but with family over and eating out a lot it isn’t surprising that the total saved wasn’t that high.
My “others” section at 11,000 Baht was a large amount and had one off events like Christmas presents included. Also I am having to send money back to the UK more often now for my student loan payment. Hopefully they will reevaluate my payments now the Thai Baht is weaker vs the British Pound.
I guess the point I would make is that it is always possible you will have unexpected costs and need extra money to cover them. I would say 6,000 saved is still quite good. It will go towards holidays next year and a new project I have planned.
Overview
I had a fun month and did a lot. as I said above I would normally aim to save more but I didn’t do a lot of extra work ( I expect more in December ).
December means Christmas, New Years and the Kings birthday so plenty of days off to spend some money, buy gifts and eat a lot of food!
Photo Credits
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Dave_%26_Buster’s_video_arcade_in_Columbus,_OH_-_17910.JPG
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