Welcome to my February 2020 cost of living post. As a 32-year-old teacher living in Bangkok, the idea is to show what I get and spend to help others plan. It also helps me keep track of my spending too. I’m not too serious about counting every baht precisely so the figures below are rounded up / down to make things easy.
I live near Hua Mak airport link with my Thai girlfriend. She’s a freelance English teacher and her income varies month to month. In general, she looks after her own expenses but I cover our rent and utilities. When we go somewhere together I normally cover 75% of the costs.
Income: 81,000 baht
Last month I made 100,000 baht but that included a New Year bonus. This month I did just my standard hours and a few extra jobs which got me to 81,000 baht.
I teach 18 hours over a five-day week, Wednesday-Sunday. Midweek evenings, weekends morning to early afternoon. I spend around an extra 18 hours in the office planning, doing admin and attending meetings.
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: 79,000 baht
I came out saving 2,000 baht this month which I’ll probably blow on my first weekend off work, however, every little helps I guess.
Accommodation: 17,000 baht
This is my biggest expense but it’s still under 25% of my income every month so is pretty affordable. Sure, I could find somewhere a few thousand baht cheaper but this place suits me just fine.
I live in an 82sq meter one-bedroom condo near Hua Mak airport link. It’s an older building but the condo is basically two units joined together so I have a 41sq meter living room/kitchen and a 41sq meter bedroom/study /walk-in wardrobe with a bathroom in the middle.
There’s a pool, shop and a few restaurants nearby. It’s nothing fancy but I’ve added furniture and decorations over the last year to make it nice inside. Having a huge living area and bedroom makes a big difference for the two of us.
Utility Bills: 3,500 baht
Electric (1,000 baht) Water (300 baht) Internet and Premier League Football TV (1,200 baht) Phone (500 baht) Netflix (400 baht) Spotify (120 baht)
I rarely use the AC as I have a couple of really good fans which keep things cool. My condo is quite old and the AC units are huge, I used to run them a few hours a day and my bill was over 4,000 baht a month. Those 2,500 baht fans have paid themselves off for sure.
Food: 10,000 baht
I usually go out and eat once or twice a week at most. I used to go out far more frequently. I don’t mind spending on food but I was spending around 20k a month last year which was way too much on my budget.
I get most of my lunch/dinner from a place called Enjoy Healthy at Seacon Square. It’s a shop that has a selection of healthy food from different companies which is usually delivered to people by motorbike drivers. However, as this shop has a collection from many different providers there’s a large choice. I usually pay around 90 baht per meal. It’s opposite my gym so I can get food daily. Breakfast is usually fruit or toast.
Entertainment: 9,000
This month I was back on the golf course, playing badminton and out on a few day trips. I don’t do anything too extravagant but when I do go out to have fun I don’t count the pennies.
Travel: 0 baht
No travel this month and nothing booked for future trips. I’ve got six weeks off at Songkran but I am holding off booking anything for the moment until I know a little more with this virus going around.
Investments: 15,000 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.
I also put around 5,000 baht a month into cryptocurrency. I use Bitkub here in Thailand and they work really well. This month I bought some more LINK and XRP, two projects I really like.
Other: 22,500 baht
I spend around 1,500 baht on transport a month through a mix of taxis, buses and the BTS / Airport Link. I’ve looked into getting a car but it really wouldn’t suit my lifestyle and the cost is an issue too.
Both my girlfriend and I are members at Fitness First. I wanted to start going to the gym at the end of last year but knew I wouldn’t go alone so I agreed to pay for both of us, this comes to 4,500 baht a month.
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. Having a maid makes my life much easier and doesn’t break the bank.
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 UK student loan is 5,000 baht per month. There’s no getting away from it so I make sure I transfer enough money back to cover it.
Every month I make a trip to Boots or Watsons and stock up on toiletries. This usually costs around 1,000 baht. I spend the same amount on cleaning products. Finally, there are a few other random bits and pieces I buy every month.
Saved: 2,000 baht
Although it says 2,000 baht in this section I do invest around 15-20% of my salary every month so I don’t feel too bad that this section isn’t higher.
The issue will come when I go on holiday as I’ll need some spending money. For Songkran I’m not going to travel far so will probably do a week somewhere in Thailand. I imagine I can do this for around 15-20,000 baht for the two of us all in.
Overview
With around 20,000 baht less in the kitty this month, but without a trip to pay for, it was a pretty comfortable month. Sure, I didn’t do too much but I knew that I would be having a quiet February having just had a trip last month and will be going away at the start of April.
Most months I tend to spend pretty much everything I make. There’s always something I want to buy or a place I want to visit which will use up my budget.
I said that I wanted to make 100,000 baht a month by the end of this year and I can see that happening. I don’t think it’ll really affect my lifestyle too much but will make things a little more comfortable. That’s the goal, to have that nice buffer where I can deal with anything without needing to worry.
I’ll be back again at the start of April with how I’ve gotten on in March.
