Ed
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 43,000 baht
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
My salary from a government high school is 39.000 baht with an extra two lessons on Saturdays. I also make around 4,000 baht from translating documents from my native language to English. So, I would say I make 43.000 a month.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
I can save around 10.000 baht every month.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
With this I believe I'm lucky. I have a good landlord. I live 10 minutes away from a BTS station. (3 minutes with my bike.) My condo has a swimming pool and a gym. I pay 8.000 Baht for this condo because I made a contract for 2 years. I'm very happy here.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I spend 800 baht on petrol for my motorbike. Also I spend around 700 baht for BTS and taxis. So total 1,500 Baht a month
Utility bills
Electricity, water and internet at home costs me 2,000 baht
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
That I would say is my biggest expense as I'm not into Thai food or any street food. I try to cook at home most of the time or eat in a restaurants. I also buy lots of imported food. This all costs me 9,000 baht a month.
Nightlife and drinking
I don't drink or smoke. That is my advantage here I believe. I only go out once a month and only have a soft drink. I mostly spend my money on travelling
Books, computers
Honestly, I don't read much. I prefer watching movies when I'm free.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
I have a very relax and comfortable life for a single person.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
I think transportation and local food are the real bargain. I can easy travel somewhere once a month in Thailand.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
In Bangkok, the minimum is 30.000 baht but you really need at least 45,000 baht to live comfortably. I believe no native speaker should take job offer below 40,000 baht anyway.
Phil's analysis and comment
Ed earns what I would consider to be the minimum a foreign teacher would need to live in Bangkok, but he seems happy enough with his lot doesn't he? He runs a motorcycle, travels around Thailand, eats Western food and saves 10,000 baht a month. And he manages all of that on a salary of just over 40K. Well done Ed. Think about how much more you could save if you were to develop a taste for Thai food but actually, probably not much at all if you are someone who cooks at home a lot.
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