Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand February 2018

Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand February 2018

Welcome to the February 2018 report on my monthly spend in Thailand.

Total Earned:  69,000 THB

Total Spend:  61,000 THB   

Saved / Invested: 8,000 THB    

Breakdown

Accommodation – 20,000 THB

My 2 bedroom condo in Tao Poon is a lovely environment to live in. My living room is the size of a studio condo and gives me lots of speace to relax. The main bedroom has a walk in wardrobe and enough space for a king size bed. My kitchen is not really great but that’s the same with every Thai condo I guess.

I will be looking for a new place in April though so I will get somewhere a little bit smaller and cheaper.

Utility Bills –    2,900 THB

My electric bill was lower this month at around 1,200 Baht. I put the AC on overnight and a few hours in the day. I guess my machine is quite efficient as I know people who pay much more than me.

Water bills in Thailand are dirt cheap, I pay less than 100 Baht a month. My internet, Netflix and phone are all fixed bills which come in at 1,600 a month combined.

Transport –    4,300 THB

I went on an Uber binge in the last month. As I can pay by credit card and don’t have to worry about being rejected it makes things easier for me. A quick look at my account shows I spent 2,000 Baht this month on the service. I also probably spent another 500 Baht on regular taxis too which is the most I have ever spent in a month on cars. On top of this I spend around 300 Baht on motorbike taxis. I know these aren’t the safest but I usually restric it o short journeys on quieter roads.

I also took the bus a few times which came to around 500 Baht in total. I then added 1,000 Baht to my MRT card and 500 to my BTS card too. However, these payments for the MRT and BTS will probably last close to 2 months.

My total travel bill might seem quite a lot but when I know of friends who have bought cars here and are spending 6,000 Baht a month just for the repayments I still feel I am getting a bargain. Also a quick look shows me a monthly zone 1-3 travelcard in London is over £150 so I feel even better about my travel costs.

Food –   12,800 THB

I want to try one month to see if I can get my food bill really low. I see a number of people saying they spent around 7,000 a month on food but I don’t feel its possible for me.

I normally have breakfast at home, a couple of yoghurts and a banana which is under 50 baht in total. Lunch is usually a sandwich, omlette or simple Thai dish which is around 80 Baht. Dinner I usually spend more, probably closer to 150 on average. However, I sometimes go to nice places for a meal and will spend over 500 Baht.

General Shopping –  3,000 THB

My washing line broke so I decided to get a new one. It was 1,200 Baht but is a lot better than my previous one and should last a while I hope!  I got it from Homepro which have pretty much everything I need for my condo.

I picked up a new pair of shorts from AIIZ which cost 500 Baht. I also got some new socks to replace some old ones, these were 6 pairs for 500 Baht.I like AIIZ, they have decent quality products at a reasonable price.

I also dropped into 7/11 to get some cleaning products which came to 450 Baht.

Entertainment – 13,000 THB

I did a lot more than normal this month in terms of going out.

I played golf a couple of times at the Navy Golf Club which is a 5 minute walk from BTS Bang Na. Its a great choice for those living in central Bangkok and the green fee starts from 270 Baht for 9 holes.

Also I went out for beers at least twice a week during February. Most of the places I went to weren’t cheap. The average price for a beer was around 160 Baht. It adds up quite quickly, especially when you get food too.

Travel – 0 THB

Still nothing on travel this month. My Songkran travel plans are a bit up in the air right now! I am beginning to think I will just stay in Thailand and do a couple of little trips. I am lucky that I will get a 5 week holiday from work so I’ll have plenty of free time. I will be moving house during this period though so a fair amount of time will be spent packing, moving and unpacking.

Others –  5,000 THB

Currently I am repaying for my new computer and have joined Joox music service. The combined cost of these in 5,000 Baht.

My computer is financied via my KTC credit card. I understand why people don’t always like credit cards but they can be useful here in Thailand. I pay mine off in full every month and the points I get pay for monthly trips to the cinema, free meals and cash back. You also get the benefit of interest free repayments at many major stores. For example my computer was just under 50,000 Baht but I will repay this over 10 months at 0% interest. It certainly helps.

Invested –  0 THB

I didn’t put any money into investments this month as I need to build up some cash savings.

Saved – 8,000 THB

I wanted to save 25,000 Baht between February and April so it is looking good for that. I expect a higher income next month which should mean I can save over 10,000 Baht at least.

Overview – Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand February 2018

Another quiet month in terms of work. I had one project come in but not a lot else. I will make more in March, hopefully up to around 80,000 Baht.

It was nice to get out more and play a few sports and socialize. March will be busy for a couple of weeks and then my Songkran holiday will start.

Next month I will probably reduce my Uber costs and rely more on public transport.