Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand March 2018

Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand March 2018

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

Total Earned:  84,000 THB

Total Spend:  80,850 THB   

Saved / Invested: 3,150 THB    

Breakdown

Accommodation – 20,000 THB

This is my last month living in my current condo in Bangsue. My 2 bedroom place is great but it is time for a change. I like to move every year or two as I like trying different areas of Bangkok, it keeps things fresh.

I’ll be looking at a cheaper, smaller place too. I will be moving around Udom Suk and think a budget of 13-15,000 baht will get me a good condo or perhaps a small townhouse. It will also mean my cost of travel to work be much less too.

Utility Bills –     3350 THB

I use a fair amount of AC during the day and at night. I spend around 1,500 baht per month on my electric bill. I could cut down but for the sake of a few hundred baht its not worth it.

The top Netflix package is 440 baht here in Thailand. My internet is 790, phone 450 and water around 100 baht.

Transport –     4,000 THB

I use a mixture of transport here. Taxis, Uber,  BTS and MRT are my main choices. I spent around 1,800 on taxis and Uber in the month. I topped up 1,000 baht on the MRT and a few hundred on the BTS. Add on a few bus rides and a couple of motorbike taxis to get the final amount.

When I move to a new condo next month I should be able to reduce my transport cost quite a lot. I believe I will save around 30% on costs of getting to/from work.

Food –   12,000 THB

As you will read about later on I actually was in hospital a couple of times this month. I was advised to eat more healthily by the doctors and so went to the supermarket more often than normal in March. Food there can be expensive, especially from the salad bar but I felt like I ate much better quality food than what I would normally get from local restaurants.

I did go out a few times to nice restaurants and spent on average around 500 baht each time (food and drinks).

General Shopping –  3,000 THB

I picked up some new socks and t-shirts this month in a sale at the local mall. There always seems to be some sort of sale going on at every mall in Thailand. It is very rare that you have to pay full price for an item.

I also stocked up on golf balls (500 baht) so should have enough to last a while now!

Entertainment – 12,000 THB

I played golf a few times this month at the Bang Na Navy Golf Club which is a great course 5 minutes walk from BTS Bang Na, 18 holes of night golf is 840 baht. With a tip to the mandatory caddy the total round cost is about 1,150 baht.  They also have a driving range which costs around 120 baht for 100 balls. After golf I normally have a couple of beers and food too.

I went and watched the Kings Cup football competition this month. I watched 3 games and the total price was 220 baht as one of my friends got some free tickets for the final game. It was a great experience and Thailand played brilliantly despite losing 3-2 in the final to Slovakia.

I visited the cinema a couple of times this month as well. I either use my KTC credit card points to get free tickets or visit on a Wednesday when tickets are half price.

Finally I went out for drinks a few times this month. I normally avoid the famous places and instead head to local bars in my area or near where I work. I get pretty much no joy from going to Sukhumvit or Thong Lor style places.

Travel – 7,000 THB

I will be going to Laos for 6 days starting on the 1st April. I paid for 3 flights and my firsts night accommodation in advance this month. I will either book accommodation on the way or use Agoda to pre-book. The other costs will be in my report next month. In total I will plan to spend around 20,000 baht maximum but ideally closer to 15,000 baht.

Others –  19,500 THB

I have medical insurance through my work but I have to pay a yearly excess of around 6,500 baht. Although this is quite a bit I had 2 hospital stays this month which came to a total of 127,500 baht so in reality I was happy to only pay 6,500 baht. The major benefit with my scheme is that I only pay the excess to the hospital and the insurance company pays directly for the rest, I don’t need to claim it back. I haven’t stayed as an in-patient at a hospital before but knowing that I have this cover gives me peace of mind. If I need any further treatment this year then I will not need to pay a penny.

I paid for the next 3 years web hosting for this site which came to just over 8,000 baht in total. I was actually on a higher tariff but with a quick threat of changing providers I got offered a large discount.

I also pay back 5,000 baht a month on the computer I purchased earlier this year. This will continue until October this year.

Invested –  0 THB

In the end no investments but this was expected. I had planned to use my savings from the last three months for a vacation and that is what I have done.

Saved –  3,150 THB

There is still a small saving for this month but it will go towards my vacation later in April.

To help me save I have two bank accounts in Thailand, only one of these has an ATM card. from my savings account (no card) I pay my rent and transfer 10,000 baht into my second account with an ATM card. I then try and only use this money in places where I cant use a credit card. When I can use a credit I do as I get points, rewards and discounts in certain shops and restaurants.

Overview – Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand March 2018

I had a couple of extra work projects this month which helped increase my income. I hope to have a few coming up over the next few months too. Whilst it would be good to have a set income from one job I feel it is important to have multiple income streams whilst living here.

I’m looking forward to my trip to Laos next month and might even do another trip within Thailand later in April too. If I don’t then I will go to the beach in May.

I will be moving condo at the end of April so I imagine there will be a few days spent moving my stuff and buying new bits and pieces. I imagine I will probably need to spend around 5,000 baht for taxis and getting a few necessities for the room. I will try offset that by selling a few things on Kaidee.com later in April.