My Monthly Spend in Thailand – January 2016

My Monthly Spend in Thailand – January 2016

Welcome to the January 2016 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: 110,540 THB 

Total Spend:   108,487 THB

Saved: 2,053 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 –  2,850 THB

Electricity 1050, Internet and cable TV 750, Sports365 package 600 , Mobile phone 300, Water 150.

With the cooler weather I don’t have to use my air conditioning too often. I usually just have it on for 30 minutes before I go to bed and an hour during the day if it was hot outside.

For 300 Baht a month I get 1.5GB 3G allowance and 100 minutes calls from DTAC which lasts me a month.

I replaced a leaking shower hose this month so my water bill may fall next month. Compared to my friends my water bill is higher.

Transport –  1,625 THB

I had a quieter month in terms of taking taxis this month. With Christmas and new years I traveled a lot in December.

I went to central Bangkok 2 times by van which costs 140 in total for the return trips. Once in Bangkok I took a few BTS journeys totaling 85 Baht.

I took 5 taxi journeys this month which cost a total of 900 Baht.

I take a bus to and from work which works out at around 15 Baht a day return. Including some additional bus trips I spent about 500 on bus trips.

Food –  10,875 THB

After spending 16,000 Baht on food last month I made an effort to cut back a little bit here. I went out fewer times and cooked at home or ate local food more often.

I still went to a restaurant maybe twice a week on average. When I ate out I normally spent about 500 each time so 4,000 total restaurant spend including drinks.

My normal breakfast is yoghurt which costs around 30 Baht a day meaning 900 Baht for the month.

For lunch I normally ate a sandwich ( made myself ) or got some fried rice or similar which comes to around 1,500 Baht for the month.

Dinner was usually more expensive as I would get something nice to eat or cook something bigger like spaghetti. I spent around 75 baht a day on dinner so 2,325 THB for the month.

Add on supermarket shopping for drinks and snacks and the total for the month is 10,875 Baht.

General Shopping –   2,240 THB

I bought some new stationary this month and a large diary to keep track of events and work. I went to B2S and spent 800 Baht and should have enough to last me most of the year.

I went to Boots and bought a tonne of new toiletries that should last a few months – 1,200 Baht.

My monthly haircut with tip came to 240 Baht. Hair cuts are great value in Thailand – for this price I get my hair washed twice, a good cut and a head massage.

Entertainment –   3,150 THB

After the Christmas and New Year party season I was a bit quieter this month. I only had one big night out and that was with my colleagues after a work party. 500 Baht on drinks.

I played badminton a couple of times and went to the gym a few times – total spend 150 Baht.

I also went to my first Thai wedding and including transport, gifts and other costs spent around 2,500 Baht.

Travel –   56,300 THB

Emirates had a special flight sale at the start of January so I bought two tickets for me and my girlfriend to go to England in October. The flights were 23,950 Baht each which is great value for the service offered. Last year I paid around 32,000 for my flights and now the Baht is weaker than that time so I was expecting to pay about 10,000 Baht more for each of my tickets than I did. It is also worth noting that my girlfriend will pay back some of the cost of her flight.

I have a trip planned for Songkran to Singapore and Malaysia. I had already booked my flight to Singapore but waited for the Malaysia option. I found two one way flights from KL to Bangkok for 3,400 Baht which is reasonable for Songkran.

My work shut down for four days after New Years which was a nice surprise. It also meant I could have a great 3 day 2 night trip to Kanchanaburi. Hotel, food, transport and trips came to 5,000 Baht for the two of us.

Others –  1,450 THB

I had to buy some tools to fix some things in my condo. For 800 Baht I got a screwdriver set, Allen keys, tape measure, adjustable spanner and a Stanley knife. I then had to buy a new shower hose and I could complete my DIY project. I’m planning to make a few upgrades in the coming month to my condo so will probably spend a couple of thousand baht a month for the next few months to add new fixtures and improve the ones I currently have.

I also topped up my credit with the local laundry shop. for 200 baht they clean 50 items of clothes and even do my socks for free. The service is invaluable for me – I go there once a week to drop off dirty clothes and pick up clean folded clothes.

Saved  2,053 THB

So a total of just over 2,000 Baht saved this month. The major cost of this month was buying two return tickets to the UK for me and my girlfriend in October. My girlfriend will pay me back the cost of her ticket so in reality the total amount saved is closer to 25,000 Baht.

Even so it is good to get the biggest purchase of the year completed without having to use money saved from other months. It means I have 10 months to save up and not have to worry about paying for the flight closer to the time.

After last month where I lost just over a thousand Baht it means I am about even for December and January combined.

Overview

This month I was paid my end of contract bonus which doubles my salary. It is always good to get it and use it for something important. This year I have three holidays planned, one over Songkran to Singapore, the second to the UK and the third yet to be confirmed but maybe Japan. This bonus normally covers my yearly flights and maybe some hotels.

I didn’t expect to buy my flight tickets to the UK this month and only did when I saw the Emirates flight sale and the decent price I could get for the dates I wanted. It helps as I saved around 10,000 Baht on the price I expected to pay.

January was a slow month for extra work and I only did around 5 – 8 hours a week. Hopefully February picks up.

I have also signed up for the free Netflix trial and next month this will be a new cost, although only 350 Baht.

Thanks for reading My Monthly Spend in Thailand – January 2016, if you have any questions please leave a comment.