Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand January 2019

Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand January 2019

Welcome to the January 2019 report on my monthly spend in Thailand.

Total Earned: 68,000 THB

Total Spend:   52,950 THB   

Invested:  10,000 THB    

Saved: 5,050 THB

Breakdown

Accommodation – 13,000 THB

January will be my last full month in my current condo. Due to a problem with a neighbor and ever worsening traffic I’ll be moving in the middle of February. I’ve loved life in La Salle and, if you only travel by BTS, then it’s a great place to live if you want to avoid being in the city center.

It’s a real shame as I actually love the place I’m in now. You can’t choose your neighbors but at least my new place is a corner room and I’ve been told them room next to it has been unoccupied for a year. I actually haggled on the new place and got a pretty decent reduction in the rent.

So for the last month in my current place I’ll be keeping my head down to try and avoid a war with my neighbor which would see me not getting all my deposit back.

Utility Bills –   2,450 THB

Quite possibly my cheapest electric bill in years as I was away for most of December. My other bills are either fixed or change by minimal amounts each month.

Netflix is a bargain here at 420 baht a month. My internet and mobile phone bills cost around 1,200 baht per month which is OK. Water is always around 120 baht a month. Spotify is 129 baht a month.

Transport –  3,000 THB

I’ve been using Line Taxi a lot this month as they have an unlimited 50 baht discount on all fares. If you aren’t using Line Taxi then it works just like Grab. Download the Line Man app and the discount codes are listed in the welcome page. Currently I use either LMBEST50C or LMBEST50A for a discount.

I’ve also been using the new blue buses a fair bit. They are clean, use the express way on many routes and at around 23 baht a trip are sometimes faster than using the BTS.

I still have to use the BTS once or twice a week. However if traveling with at least one other person, the above Line taxi discount meas a taxi is cheaper and usually more convenient.

Food –  11,000 THB

I used the App Eatigo (website available too) several times in January. It’s pretty good for getting discounts at restaurants in Bangkok. One of my favorites, a Korean buffet, is usually 40% off.

I ate out in a few other restaurants and night markets during the month too. I don’t go to the supermarket that often. I usually just do one order a month and get it delivered to my place.

The rest of my food was from places close to where I work. I’m normally in the office for lunch and dinner time. On an average day I’ll spend around 150 baht in total on the two meals.

From the middle of next month I’ll be trying out a home delivery company which provide healthy meals. They work out at around 70 baht per dish and get decent reviews online on Thai sites, more to follow on this soon…

General Shopping –  2,500 THB

I’ve got a little shop near where I live that sells things for 20 baht. Most of the stuff is tat but they do decent plastic hangers so I picked up some.

I try to keep myself out of shops as they bring me no joy. This month I did buy a couple of bits and pieces online from Lazada which is a pretty good online marketplace.

Entertainment – 5,000 THB

I’ve played golf three times this month. It works out at 1,000 baht a round with caddie fee and tip. The golf course has actually been a good escape from the smog and pollution in Bangkok this month. I also just love seeing trees, wildlife and the beer helps too!

I’ve decided to cut back on going out a bit this month for both financial and health reasons. So only two nights out drinking meant I spent around 800 baht in total.

Finally I did a couple of little trips to places around where I like which came to around 1,000 baht in total.

Travel – 10,000 THB

My parents were in Malaysia so I went and joined them for a long weekend. The flight, taxi trips, food and drink came to around 10,000 baht in total.

Others –  6,000 THB

I made a final payment on a flight I booked and my monthly payment to my gym.

I also make sporadic payments for my student loan in the UK.

Invested –   10,000 THB

Every month 10,000 baht is taken out of my account which is matched by my company and put into an LTF here in Thailand. I’m due to get a report on how it’s doing in the next couple of months.

This scheme is locked in place for five years although I can change the percentage of my income I put into the plan every year. I’m hoping that I’ll get close to a million baht out of it by the end of the five year period.

I currently have a lump sum saved in the UK and some crypto-currency as alternative savings / investments. I keep meaning to make voluntary payments for my UK pension as I currently would need three more years of payments to be eligible for anything. The concern that I have is that I’m 31 and as such the age I would be able to get anything is probably going to be 40 years from now. Also the minimum number of years to be eligible may change and leave me needing to put a large amount extra in or get nothing.

Saved –   5,050 THB

A few thousand baht in the bank at the end of the month. I’d like to save more but at the moment I don’t think it’s possible without making big changes in my lifestyle.

I could stop playing golf, not drink beer and only use public transport but I think they would all be major things to change. They would impact on my quality of life.

If I can save 5,000 baht per month it’ll pay for a yearly holiday in Thailand and a trip back to the UK once a year. The only problem is if any surprises come up like the need to buy a new TV, computer or an emergency trip home.

Overview – Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand January 2019

Overall it was quite a busy month for me. I had a couple of trips and did a lot of work in the first few weeks of the month.

Next month will be interesting as I’ll be moving and have a couple of new projects. I expect I’ll spend around 10,000 baht on things for my new place.