MONTHLY COST OF LIVING IN THAILAND SEPTEMBER 2018

Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand September 2018

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

Total Earned:  65,500 THB

Total Spend:    55,000 THB   

Invested:   10,000 THB    

Saved:  500 THB

Breakdown

Accommodation – 13,000 THB

My one-bedroom condo on Sukhumvit 105 suits me perfectly. At 41 sq meters it’s a nice size. I couldn’t live somewhere much smaller than this. I enjoy the space to spread out and having a decent kitchen.

The rent is a great price considering some of my colleagues pay almost double this for a similar sized condo a few  BTS stations closer to the city center.

Every six months or so I get the urge to buy a condo. It’s something I’m feeling now but for the meantime will hold off. There are so many units being built in Bangkok right now that I feel it’s prudent to wait a while and hopefully pick up a discount in the future. I’m of the opinion that having your own property is important if you plan to retire here. The thought of having to pay rent for an unknown number of years after retirement would scare me as prices could increase dramatically over a 20 year period.

Utility Bills –   3,325 THB

Water: 165 baht

Electricity: 1,350 baht

Internet: 805 baht

Phone Bill: 555 baht (includes monthly subscription to Joox)

Netflix: 440 baht

My bills were a repeat of the last month give or take a baht here and there. I put the AC on whenever I’m home during the day and usually use it for a few hours before I sleep before relying on a fan.

Transport –  3125 THB

I take a taxi to/from work every day and it works out at 160 baht a day total. I sometimes share this with one of my colleagues who lives just down the road from me. I also use taxis once or twice a week for little trips out or to go to restaurants on my days off. I used to use UBER but now just use regular taxis and they hardly ever cause me problems.

I use the BTS / MRT probably three or four times a week too. I normally end up topping up 200 baht a week.

Very occasionally I’ll use a bus or songthaew to get around. At 9 baht a time they’re cheap but I often go for a taxi.

Food –   11,000 THB

I averaged one meal out at a nice restaurant in September. I went to a Korean buffet place on Bang Na called Factory Buffet which I really enjoyed. If you book on Eatigo app you’ll get discounts there too. I also went to Khao San for a beer and food and it felt like a really relaxed place, there were more massage shops than bars! It’s certainly changed a lot since I first went there. I actually ate on Sam Sen road which is just off Khao San and really worth checking out.

I normally eat a lot at the mall where I work as it’s convenient and cheap. A salad for lunch and rice dish for dinner normally comes to around 120 baht in total for the day. I’ll eat breakfast at home which will be an extra 50 baht.

General Shopping –   1,300 THB

I bought a special deodorant that I use which actually seems to stop me sweating. It’s only available here on Shopee.com. The problem is the site is all in Thai but it’s worth getting a Thai person to help you. I purchased ten so should last the next year or so. It’s certainly worth a try.

Entertainment – 2,500 THB

A couple of interesting trips and events this month including going to watch a Thai football match. The match ticket itself was quite cheap at around 170 baht but the beers and food added up quickly!

A few times I go out for a beer after work with colleagues. There are a few nice places where I work and a beer works out around 150 baht. Normally we stay for two or three.

I hit the driving range a couple of times this month and for 100 balls I usually end up spending 120 baht.

Travel – 0 THB

I didn’t travel anywhere this month or pay for future travel. Next month I’ll need to book a flight from Sri Lanka back to Bangkok after my New Year holiday. I’ve searched online and it seems the price should be around 6,000 baht.

Others –  20,750 THB

I have a maid who comes once a week for three hours. She does all the cleaning, tidying, laundry and ironing. It costs 550 baht a time via an agency – check out my review here.

This month I decided to join a gym. Thailand has made me fat. A new place opened directly above my school and as I’ll be there during work hours it’ll be empty which is what I want. I got a discount for joining in the first week and it works out at around 1,800 baht a month. Take a look at their page here for details.

I paid the final costs towards my book, Settling in Thailand this month. At just over 10,000 baht I’m pleased to get it all sorted and hopefully start to earn some money back on it now!  If you’re around on 7th October we’re having a little book launch in Bangkok – click here for more info – would be great to see you there!

I have one more payment left on my computer. I’m looking forward to getting this fully paid by the end of October!

I also had to buy a couple of little gifts for people this month which makes up the rest of this section.

Invested –   10,000 THB

One of the main perks of my job is that my company match my contributions to a provident fund up to 9.2% of my salary. I actually pay in 15% of my salary as I get tax benefits for doing so and the return should hopefully be higher.

I’m considering opening another type of savings account in the new year which will decrease my tax bill further and hopefully give a good return upon maturing. The money to do this will come for the UK, not Thailand.

Saved –    500 THB

Just a nominal amount saved this month. I do have a trip home to England in December and will come back via Sri Lanka so do need to save some cash in the next three months.

Having 10,000 baht a monthly taken directly from my salary for a provident fund has made it difficult to save cash. Over the last three months I’ve been paying for my book too and hopefully now that’s done I should be able to save some baht at the end of every month.

The last three month’s I’ve cut back a little on spending and I’ve felt the squeeze a bit. I know that investing is important and I see this as a new part of my life where I will adjust and find a balance between doing things I like and saving for the future.

I’m lucky that I have some savings in the UK which will help me out if I have an urgent need for cash but I would like to have a healthier bank balance in baht too.

Overview –Monthly Cost of Living in Thailand September 2018

September has been quite busy. I’ve been writing a lot on this site and taken up some extra responsibilities at work. The first two weeks of October my school is closed so I’ll be relaxing a bit more, hopefully out on the golf course too!

One big concern I’ve had this year is that my monthly income is down year on year. Last year I averaged around 89,000 baht a month and this year it’s down quite a bit. I know the reason for this, I previously could pick up more overtime and now in my new role I have less opportunity to do so. I’m lucky that my rent has dropped 7,000 baht per month which helps a little. Over the next few months I’ll be thinking about ways to get back up to where I was and hopefully closer to my goal of 100,000 baht a month.