Chris
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 70,000
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
70,000 baht is my full-time salary.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
About 20,000.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I pay 13,000 baht a month for a 30 square metre condo outside the city centre.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I use public transportation and pay about 1,800 baht per month.
Utility bills
1,000 baht/month on electricity and water and 500 baht on my mobile phone.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
9,000 a month.
Nightlife and drinking
4,000 a month.
Books, computers
Nothing.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Low standard with minimum expenses, while going out and counting every coin in my pocket!
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Street food
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
To survive: 30,000 baht a month.
To live a basic life: 50,000 baht a month
To live a fairly decent life: 60,000 baht a month
To live comfortable with all kinds of insurance: 90,000 baht a month
Phil's analysis and comment
Thanks Chris. So from that you consider yourself to be living a fairly basic lifestyle in Bangkok on 50K a month (you save 20K from the 70K salary) It sounds like another 10,000 might make a big difference. I would agree that 50K in an increasingly expensive Bangkok is OK but not great. As you say, you might be counting those coins in your pocket.
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