Carl
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 150,000
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I set up an online company some years ago that pulls in around €5K a month, sometimes triple that. From that, I pay myself a salary.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
50,000 Baht.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I live in a rented one-bedroom condo with my girlfriend who is now unwell and isn’t able to work and pay 20K a month. It's a wonderful place that would cost thousands of dollars almost anywhere else in the world.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
Usually around 6K a month on Grabs around the city according to my financial app. That’s higher than I expected - much, much higher
Utility bills
4K a month, sometimes 2.5K if I remember to switch the bedroom AC off when I’m in the living room. I like the whole condo to feel cool for some reason
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
10K a month on groceries at Big C. Salad and veggies are quite expensive here. Probably another 4K at Max Value on bits when we need stuff
Nightlife and drinking
Ah yes, now we get into it. Probably 40K a month. Sometimes more. We both like (liked) to eat out and I enjoy wines (expensive here). As I don’t have much work to do I sometimes get pissed for 2 or 3 days in a row around lower Sukhumwit.
Books, computers
What’s kindle unlimited , 300 baht a month? Get a MacBook every 2 years or so through the business . Don’t see that as a personal expense. Probably around 2,000 baht more on various digital subscriptions , oh and TrueVision / Move etc
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Opulent. I don’t have to do much work-wise, maybe the odd call for an hour in a week. Sometimes not even that. My girlfriend and I and are now in our late 30s and both want to enjoy life now, raging against the dying of the light. Long term finances are fine, I've got a pension and she’s got inheritance. People keep advising me to invest in property, but as a good Marxist, I believe all property is theft.
Nobody in either of our families has ever lived “well” past their mid-60s. Most of her Thai family didn’t see 55
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Thai food, electric, renting, water, cleaners, etc
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
30K a month living in a 5K studio in Sutthisan, 1K electric, 400 baht internet, socialising locally. Aye, those were the days
Phil's analysis and comment
Carl, you don't say whether your 150,000 baht a month business is anything to do with English teaching or not - and Ajarn is a site for teachers. I know a bloke in the oil industry who earns a million baht a month and spends every weekend on the golf course with a bunch of mates who all earn a million baht a month. Do teachers want to read about him? Probably not. No disrespect.
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