Welcome to my June 2020 cost of living. I’m a 32 year old teacher from the UK who has lived and worked in Bangkok for seven years. I live in the outskirts of the city with my Thai girlfriend.
With Covid-19 still affecting daily life in Thailand, June has been another strange month. There have been a few small changes which have improved things such as restaurants opening and being able to go back to the gym in the second half of the month. However, there are still a lot of concerns out there.
I’ve been lucky personally that my income hasn’t been affected so far by Covid-19, however my girlfriend has suffered. She’s a private English tutor and has seen around 80% of her work disappear. Normally we split costs but it’s meant that I’ve covered most expenses during the last few months.
Income: 89,000 baht
I’m working at a language school five days a week from Wednesday to Sunday. I teach around 20 hours per week and have a few extra admin tasks to do. Throughout June I’ve been working from home but will be back in the classroom from July.
I also get income from my book, Settling in Thailand, as well as royalties from a couple of teaching books I’ve co-written.
Spent: 86,000 baht
Accommodation: 17,000 baht
My condo is 82sq meters, near the airport link, and about 10 minutes by bus from where I work. It’s not a modern building but we’ve been here just over 18 months and have added furniture and decorations so the room itself is pretty nice.
I’m starting to look at other options when the contract expires and feel like living in a house after seven years in a condo. I want the garden for BBQs and to have a little more space. I feel like there are decent options around Bangkok costing around what I’m paying now. I don’t work in the city center so I’m not too fussed about commute times to downtown from where I live. However, I might be looking at buying a car in the next month or so…
Utility Bills: 4,000 baht
Being at home so much this month meant my electric bill was around 2,000 baht. I don’t mind paying this as I wanted to be comfortable whilst teaching online and I wasn’t really paying much for transport this month anyway.
I also have to pay for Netflix, Spotify, water, internet, and my phone.
Food: 23,000 baht
I actually did go to a few restaurants this month but nowhere near as often as I used to. I’m guessing that will change in the coming months as I used to eat out maybe three or four times a week.
Right now, I usually get lunch and dinner from a health shop which prepares meals. I pay around 90 baht per meal and for breakfast just get something simple from the shop in my condo.
This month I covered the food bill for my girlfriend and I. Usually we split the bill in restaurants and get our own lunch when we go to work.
Entertainment: 2,000 baht
I actually managed to get out and play golf at the end of June. It was nice to play after three months without going.
Travel: 0 baht
There was the option to travel at the end of June when I had a few days off but I decided not to. The weather was pretty horrible and the selection of places to visit didn’t really entice me. I’ve got a week off in September which I’ll use when there will hopefully be more choices.
Investments: 10,000 baht
My company takes 10,000 baht out of my salary and adds 10,000 of their money to pay into a provident fund. This is a great little scheme which is on target to pay out a nice return in five years when it can be cashed out (or continued). It also gives me a lower tax bill too which is a nice little bonus.
Other: 30,000 baht
With the new school year starting on 1st July, it was time to buy some new work clothes. A trip to the mall saw me spend 5,000 baht which will probably be all I need to spend until at least the end of the year.
I have a maid who comes weekly for six hours to clean, do laundry and iron. I pay 3,000 baht a month for this. Our maid agency has plenty of procedures to stop the spread of Covid-19 and we feel that having the maid here isn’t a problem although I have seen some people cancel their maid services.
I cover gym membership at Fitness First for my girlfriend and me which is around 4,500 baht in total per month. They froze the membership fees whilst the gym was shut down and it’s been great to get back in and do some proper exercise after so long away.
I use my KTC credit card to split payments interest-free on certain purchases. I did this to buy a Nintendo Switch last year and pay 2,000 baht a month.
My student loan is 4,000 baht per month.
Usually my girlfriend looks after her mum’s rent and utility bills. This month I helped cover some of these costs.
Saved: 3,000 baht
My thoughts over the past few months is just to try and get through this troubling period. I’m certainly not setting savings targets or aiming to live to a certain budget. I’m pleased to have saved a little though.
Overview
I’m really excited to get back into the office and see colleagues and students again face to face. Online teaching has been interesting but I certainly couldn’t do it full time. I’d struggle with that big time.
Thailand is slowly starting to open up and there’s more to do. I can see the upcoming months being better and hopefully some confidence will return.
