Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand June 2018

Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand June 2018

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

Total Earned: 65,650  THB

Total Spend: 53,500  THB   

Saved / Invested: 12,150  THB    

Breakdown

Accommodation – 13,000 THB

My one-bedroom condo is on Sukhumvit 105 (La Salle) and it is a cracking place. I have a great room five minutes walk from BTS bearing. It’s also only around 15 minutes from my office by taxi. There is a small pool and fitness room, neither of which I use frequently.

The only thing I don’t like about my condo is the sofa. I might have a look at IKEA for a beanbag sofa or seat to make my living room a bit more comfortable.

Utility Bills –   3,200 THB

Water: 110 baht

Electricity: 1,290 baht

Internet: 805 baht

Phone Bill: 555 baht

Netflix: 440 baht

These costs pretty much stay the same all year and at around 100 USD its a pretty good deal I feel.

Transport –     3,200 THB

I take taxis to and from work each day. The return cost is 160 baht, however I have a colleague who lives close so sometimes we split the bill. I use taxis for short journeys around probably twice a week outside of work trips at around 100 baht per time on average.

I travel on the BTS / MRT maybe half a dozen times a month which comes to around 120 baht for a return journey. When in groups of three or more people we usually take a taxi as it work out much cheaper.

Food –     10,500 THB

I did a big shop using Tesco Lotus online delivery which works great. I spent 3,500 there which got me a couple of months’ supply of necessities. I then topped that up with meat, fruit and vegetables from other local supermarkets. I enjoy cooking at home and normally do so three or four times a week. I always buy breakfast to eat at home and a yogurt, fruit and cereal works out at around 60 baht a day.

The rest of the time I usually eat at mid-range restaurants which cost around 60-100 baht per dish.

General Shopping –     2,000 THB

I got a few decorations for my new condo to brighten the place up. Hopefully this will be the last of my spending on the condo and I now have everything I need apart from a comfy chair!

Entertainment –  15,000 THB

With the World Cup taking place I have been spending most evenings in front of the TV at home. This has meant that I’ve spent around 120 baht a night on a couple of beers and have enjoyed some great football. For the knockout games I might venture out to a bar or restaurant but with most England games starting at 1am I’m not too keen.

Golf is still my most expensive activity in this section. I played four times this month and it costs around 1,000 baht a time. Outside of golf I went to the cinema a couple of times and used credit card points to get free tickets and snacks.

I’ve been going out for beers with friends more often this month. After work there is a decent bar nearby but at 150 baht a pint it isn’t the cheapest place around.

Travel – 0 THB

A month back at work meant no spending on travel. I do have 10 days off in the middle of July but I’m not sure what I will do.  I’ve actually not had a proper holiday for a while. I feel myself not taking opportunities to go away and need to change this. I wont have a big trip but will at least try and hit the beach or go somewhere for a couple of nights. 5,000 baht should be enough for a few days in Hua Hin or similar.

Others –  9,800 THB

Once a week I have a maid who comes and cleans / irons for three hours. It costs 2,250 baht per month (four visits).

I’m still paying off my computer via my credit card which works out at 5,000 baht per month. This will continue until October.

Finally a haircut and a present for family made up the rest of this section.

Invested –  9,000 THB

This was the first month of the company provident fund that I have joined. I pay in 15% of my salary and they top it up with an extra 9% (around 5,400 baht). The scheme will see me get a tax rebate at the end of the next tax year too which should be a few thousand baht. I have signed up for a five year minimum investment which I guess means I’m not leaving Thailand any time soon! Actually I can leave it earlier but will have to pay back my tax savings which could be quite a lot.

I’ve been trying to join this scheme for the last six months or so, so its good to get it set up. Historical figures cant always be relied upon but it sows that on average I should have doubled my investment over the five years. I will then be able to keep the policy going after the initial period if I wish.

I recently came across the site FireinThailand which has lots of great articles on investing and retiring in Thailand. On their cost of living article they mention that having a retirement pot of $750,000 would be a good target for someone living in Thailand so that will be an aim for me.

Saved –    3,150 THB

I actually need to start working on saving money. I have a trip back to England in December and will come back via Sri Lanka so need some spending money and to buy a flight back to Bangkok from Colombo. I guess 5,000 baht a month would be a reasonable amount to save over the next six months. I will also have a Christmas bonus which will help a lot too.

Overview – Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand June 2018

After the last two months being dominated by my big yearly holiday it was quite nice to get back into a working routine and it brought my spending down a fair amount too! I’m quite dissapointed with my monthly incomes this year as they are down by around 10,000 baht compared to last year. This is due to not taking extra overtime and is something I will consider doing in the upcoming months. One thing that will help with my income is that I will get a pay rise from next month. It wont be drastic, probably only an extra 2,500 baht a month but it will help.

This month involved watching a lot of football at home which kept costs down. If England manage to progress much further then I’m sure I’ll end out going out more. The final is also on the first day of a two week break from work so that could be a big / expensive day!

I hope to get set in the routine of saving money and in total I will need to put aside 14,000 baht in total per month for investments and cash savings. This means living off around 50,000 baht which is certainly possible as my rent and bills come to around 20,000 baht a month.