My Monthly Spend in Thailand – September 2015

My Monthly Spend in Thailand – September 2015

Welcome to the September 2015 report on my monthly spend in Thailand. To start with check out the about me page to learn a little about me and my circumstances. It will also explain the high accommodation prices below.

Total Income: 76,000 THB 

Total Spend:  56,635 TH8

Saved: 19,365 THB

Breakdown

Accommodation – 30,000 THB

My standard monthly repayment towards my  2 bedroom 64 sq metre condo. This money is from the UK, not a Thai bank.

Utility Bills –  2,750 THB

Electricity 1,000, Internet and cable TV 750, Sports365 package 600 , Mobile phone 300, Water 100.

I spent a bit more than normal on electricity this month as I used the air conditioning most days. All my other utility bills are pretty much the same every month.

Transport – 991 THB

I went into the city 3 times this month which meant a total spend of 210 Baht on vans to get me there. I then had to go on the BTS several times resulting in me spending 145 Baht.

My usual journey to work is by bus or songthaew, Sometimes the bus is free but on average it works out at around 14 Baht return. Total work travel spending was 336 Baht.

I also took a few taxis this months for short journeys which worked out at an extra 300 Baht.

Food –   13,540 THB

Breakfast is normally very simple, a yogurt and pineapple which is 34 Baht a day during the week. At the weekend I go and get a couple of croissants from the bakery which costs 45 Baht. My total breakfast spend was 1,040 Baht.

Lunch is proving to be a problem for me. I don’t start work until the evening and the area around me is very quiet during the day. I have a small kitchen to make food but I’m finding myself going to 7/11 for microwave meals quite often. I do sometimes cook pasta or a sandwich but often I can’t be bothered to cook. On the weekend I normally go for lunch in a restaurant and pay around 150 Baht. Overall for the month I spent around 3,000 Baht on Lunch.

This was a month for eating out for dinner. I went out maybe 3 or 4 times every week to eat dinner. I didn’t go to any very expensive places and probably spent around 400 Baht each time on average. When I eat at home I bring back food. I had Somtam twice a week and some fried rice on the other nights. I think roughly I spent 7,500 Baht on dinner this month.

Next we have snacks, water and beers. Water is cheap to buy in big multi-packs and the same can be said for beer! I normally go to 7/11 as it’s easy for me to visit and stock up. I think around 2,000 Baht on these items.

General Shopping –  584 THB

I normally go to Watsons pharmacy once a month to get toiletries. This month I got new toothbrushes, toothpaste and mouthwash which came to 395 Baht.

I also buy air fresheners most months to keep my place smelling good. Also they are on special offer at the moment so I got 3 for 189 Baht.

Entertainment – 2,570 THB

It was my birthday this month so I went out to celebrate which meant a few beers and food at a nice local restaurant. 1000 Baht here was a good spend for a fun night.

I went to the Escape Room at MBK which is an activity where you have 45 minutes to solve 5 clues and escape a locked room. Needless to say I failed at this and for 400 Baht per person I thought it was a bit expensive for what it was. After this I went to Asiatique with my girlfriend and we had a few beers and bought a few things at the stalls spending around 500 Baht.

I also went to the cinema and saw Inside Out which was a good movie and with a free tickets I split the price of a ticket with my girlfriend so it cost 70 Baht.

On my days off I didn’t go and party but hung out with friends and had a few beers. I guess the overall spend for this was around 600 Baht.

Travel –  0 THB

No travel this month. A couple of little day trips but nothing else is planned until my trip to Krabi at the end of October.

Others – 6,200 THB

I sent 4,000 Baht back to the UK to cover my student loan payments. At the moment they are about 750THB a month so this will cover me for a few months. Hopefully when the rate is re-evaluated the monthly payment will be reduced as the Baht is now weaker vs the Pound.

I am paying for my girlfriend to take driving lessons as I feel it’s an important skill to learn. Personally I would hate to drive in Bangkok but maybe if she learns here it wont be too scary for her. 2,000 Baht gets 8 lessons which I think is a very good price.

Finally my monthly haircut costs 200 Baht at a mall salon.

Saved   19,365 THB

A very good month for savings. I worked a lot more than planned and didn’t spend a great deal either.

In previous months I have had big expenses like renewing my passport which cost a lot of money. This month I didn’t really have any big extra expenses apart from sending some money back to the UK.

I have plans for this money, a holiday in October and again in April. Also it is useful to have this for any unexpected expenses that might occur.

Overview

I was happy with my savings at the end of the month. I had a good month with a few days out and eating in many restaurants. As I said in a previous article on Ajarn.com I don’t really go out and party a lot so my spending on entertainment is maybe lower than many other people.

October will mean lower or perhaps zero savings as I’m away on vacation. All my hotels and flights are paid for so I just need to cover a weeks spending money. I reckon about 20,000 Baht will cover me for a week – scuba diving, kite surfing and eating out all the time isn’t cheap.

I will also not be able to work as much so will get less money in. This is why savings this month will be important to cover the extra spend I will have.

If you have any questions feel free to comment!