Caryl
Working in Phuket
Monthly Earnings 150,000
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
150,000 net pay including a housing allowance
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
About 50,000
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I pay 18,000 baht for a two-storey house with three bedrooms since my husband lives with me.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
Let’s say we pay 4,000 baht for petrol as we have a car to drive to and from school.
Utility bills
Electricity is about 2,500 and another 1,800 baht for wifi, water and phones.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I think we spend so much on food as we love to dine out and i like to explore newly opened restaurants.
Nightlife and drinking
Probably about 5,000 a month.
Books, computers
I don’t buy many books as we have a great selection at the library.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
I feel so blessed and grateful living a quality life here in Phuket. Compared to the life back home, I would never earn this much if I was teaching in the Philippines.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
I guess overall we get paid higher here in Thailand compared back home.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
I used to live in Bangkok on only 25,000 baht and I must say that was only living from paycheck to paycheck. It really depends upon your lifestyle. Some Filipino teachers live on 20,000 baht and they live comfortably!
Phil's analysis and comment
So you went from earning 25,000 baht a month in Bangkok to 150,000 in Phuket? I think that's the biggest salary leap I've ever heard of. I'm surprised that you only save 50,000 a month actually. How much are you spending on those restaurants?
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