My Monthly Spend in Thailand – December 2015
Welcome to the December 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: 72,500 THB
Total Spend: 73,640 THB
Saved: (- 1,140) 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 – 2,750 THB
Electricity 950, Internet and cable TV 750, Sports365 package 600 , Mobile phone 300, Water 150.
I use the air-con around 3 hours a day and the rest of the time have a fan or my windows open. It was a “cold” month so didn’t need to spend a lot on electricity to keep cool.
All my other bills stay the same each month. I am debating about cancelling my Sports365 package as I actually watch very little sport now on the weekends. Maybe I will wait until the end of the football season and cancel for a couple of months to save some cash.
Transport – 2,390 THB
I ended up traveling around a lot this month and also took a lot of taxis so my transport bill was higher than normal.
I took around 10 taxi journeys which came to about 1,200 Baht in total. These were just going to visit my girlfriend or going to local restaurants etc.
I went to the centre of Bangkok 4 times which meant spending 280 Baht on vans to get me there and back. In Bangkok I took the BTS and MRT a few times which cost around 400 Baht in total.
My normal daily work commute on the bus costs 15 Baht return so going in for 24 days meant a total of 360 Baht.
Add on a few extra bus trips and the total transport spend comes to 2,390 Baht
Food – 16,000 THB
December 2016 was my biggest spend on food since I started living in Thailand. It seems like I went to so many parties and events. Colleagues leaving do’s and then Christmas parties seemed to happen twice a week at least. I thought this month might be an expensive one for going out and to be honest I was happy to spend more as I had a great time and visited some cool restaurants. I particularly enjoyed visiting Game Over Lounge which had classic video games and a huge Jenga set to play with whilst eating a drinking. Drinks here were pricey – 140 BHT for a small Leo but it was a nice place for a party.
Eating out in central Bangkok costs a lot more than eating where I live, I guess there are just far more international choices and choices than I’m used to. One of my favorite places was After You Cafe in Central World. Judging by my girlfriends excited reaction to going there and the 20 minute queue to get in it is maybe the most popular cafe in Thailand. 500 Baht for honey toast and two drinks shows it is also one of the most expensive in Thailand too…..
I also went to The Sportsman Bar in Bangkok for some food after and took advantage of their happy hour to get a few cheap beers with my food. 900 Baht for the 2 of us to eat is expensive compared to my normal spend but as a treat it was great to eat some different food than normal.
For Christmas I went to a friends place and the plan was that everyone had to bring some food and drink. It was a great day and for around 1,000 Baht I got to eat lots of different food and drink more than enough!
I also ate out so many times at local places and spent around 5,000 Baht doing this. Eating in these local restuarants ( not street food places ) is great value. You spend around 300- 500 Baht for 2 people to have a few dishes and a couple of beers whilst listening to some live music and enjoying the cool “winter” breeze!
Next supermarket shopping added around 3,000 Baht to my total as I normally cooked lunch at home and bought yogurt for breakfast.
General Shopping – 8,500THB
So this month I actually spent a lot in this section compared to normal.
I had to buy some new clothes for work and took advantage of the end of year sales to get some new jumpers and shirts. These things can be expensive when you pay full price before a sale but I managed to get them for a reasonable price.
I also decided to upgrade my sporting wardrobe and bought some new Reebok trainers which cost 1,700 Baht. Branded sports equipment seems to be much more expensive in Thailand compared to the UK. Even basic items like shorts are around 500 Baht – the locally made products are cheaper but the quality is much lower or the style looks pretty nasty in my opinion. By the time I added on some new trousers, some socks and new shuttlecocks I had spent around 3,500 Baht in Sports World.
My condo was in need of some decorations and I decided to buy some plants, pictures and other ornaments to make it look a bit more homely. I also picked up some new towels and bed sheets as the sales meant they were a decent price for good quality items from Robinsons department store.
Entertainment – 2,000 THB
I think everyone in the World has seen Star Wars and I’m no exception. I went and saw it on one of my days off and it cost 650 Baht for 2 tickets and snacks.
I went to lots of parties but already included these in my food section. I did however go for a few beers on other nights spent around 1,000 Baht doing this.
Badminton is my favorite sport and I spent 150 playing twice with my colleagues. I also recently joined the local youth centre near my girlfriends house which has fantastic facilities, including a swimming pool. It costs 40 baht per year for membership and most sports are around 20 Baht per hour to play.
Travel – 0THB
No vacations in December but I will have a short new years break which will be included in my January 2016 cost of living.
Others – 12,000 THB
More Christmas presents were bought this month, both for family and friends. My work did a Secret Santa where I also had to buy daily gifts for my Santa.
Buying presents for my family and girlfriend added to the cost of Christmas although I do enjoy buying people gifts so for me its a cost I’m happy with.
Saved – (- 1,140) THB
For the first time since I started writing these reports I actually made a loss, although only jut over 1,000 Baht.
Every month before this I have made money so it is not really a concern that I lost money this month. December is always an expensive month with Christmas and the parties that come with it. I was always in control of my budget this month and next month I’ll make it back.
However, for new arrivals to Thailand it might be common to lose money every month with parties, buying international food and adjusting to a lower salary.
Overview
It is safe to say that I had an awesome month, doing many things and making the most of the Christmas spirit in Bangkok.
Whilst it is never good to lose money I was expecting it when I realized I was going to be going out nearly every day to eat or drink. 1,000 Baht is easy to make up for and with my end of year bonus being paid in January I will be covered for buying the presents and clothes I got this month.
Thanks for reading my monthly spend in Thailand – December 2015 – I will back in the new year with more updates!
Photo Credits
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Fish_and_chips,_Edinburgh,_Scotland,_Sept._2011.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/New_Year_Ratchaprasong.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Star_Wars_Logo.svg/2000px-Star_Wars_Logo.svg.png
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