Henry
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 37,000
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I get a 35K salary from my high school in Bangkok and now and again I add a couple of thousand baht to that from doing evening classes.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
About 15,000 a month.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I pay 8,000 baht a month for an apartment including bills
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
Not stated
Utility bills
Not stated
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I like to eat well and have a small kitchen so often cook for myself. I like to shop at the sometimes more pricey Tops and Villa supermarkets so i spend quite a lot on food (but figure not stated)
Nightlife and drinking
Not stated
Books, computers
Not stated
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Quite comfortable but i always feel conscious when I use my air-conditioning of how much electricity I am using. I use public transport whenever possible and try to avoid taxis but sometimes it's too late in the night or just too hot outside to take a bus. But overall I would say I have a comfortable life but occasionally feel the pinch of a low salary
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Local buses
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
I would say 40,000 baht a month in Central Bangkok.
Phil's analysis and comment
Henry didn't really go into much detail here, but if you do the maths, he earns 37K in a good month, saves 15,000 baht of that and lives in an 8,000 baht apartment. That means he's surviving in Bangkok on a grand total of 14,000 (and that's without knowing the figure for food spending) It's less than 500 baht a day! That can't be much fun.
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