James
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 100,000
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I earn 92,000 pre-tax and 8,000 from private teaching. After tax it’s 88,000 a month.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
50,000 baht a month
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
21,000. I live in a one-bedroom, 50 sqm condo near the BTS
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
80 baht per day on taxis and approximately 120 baht per week on skytrain trips to the gym plus a few more skytrain trips at the weekend.
Utility bills
Water 50 baht, electricity 1000 and internet 650.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
Both restaurants and supermarket shopping 5500 baht a month. The meals are good in school with a choice of Thai or western meals. For dinner I enjoy Thai restaurants and at the weekend western food.
Nightlife and drinking
I usually go out on a Friday night and spend around 2000 baht a week on drinking. I tend to go to the cinema once a week so I guess socialising / drinking etc is about 10,000 a month.
Books, computers
I’d say I buy about one book a month perhaps. I signed up to the gym and paid a year up front which was 20,000bht and I’ve been spending a bit recently on things for my condo but I’m not really a big spender
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
I’ve worked in a Thai government school before on far lower wages and I considered myself to be lucky. I love living in Thailand and this new job has allowed me to enjoy it even more. After the initial set up costs I am living a life where I can afford most things that I want. I’ve been here around 2 years now and I enjoy a trip back to England yearly to see family and friends but I look at my life in England and my life now and it’s incomparable, I love my life here and am certainly far happier.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Where do you start? If you enjoy Thai food there are numerous restaurants where a meal will cost you less than 100 baht (This isn’t me being cheap, some of the best Thai food is from the small Thai restaurants). Taxis are incredibly cheap. Consider taking a trip to the airport, 500bht would be considered an expensive fare here but try seeing how far you can go for £10 in England.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
Where I lived before I was on around 32,000 but that was in the South where living costs were much cheaper. In Bangkok if we’re talking about just surviving then I’d say about 35,000. You’d have to pick your accommodation carefully and watch your spending habit but it would be very doable. To be comfortable and save a little I’d say 40k+
Phil's analysis and comment
Nice survey. And although James is pulling in a very nice teacher salary indeed, he also told me that he feels like someone who lives a 50,000 baht a month lifestyle. I think that's a fair comment and conclusion - there's certainly nothing excessive about James' spending habits. On more than one occasion I've read some wealthy celebrity say that the nicest thing about having money is not going out and buying things - but having the option to buy things if you so wish. Money gives you choices. I see a bit of that logic in James' figures above. He knows what it's like to survive as a teacher on the 30K salaries - he's been there and done that - but even though he's now earning three times as much, he hasn't let things go to his head. He's got a sensible attitude towards his money. He has a nice condo in a good location, he goes out a couple of times a week and he eats well enough - but it's all within his means. His main priority is stashing away that 50K a month. It's 600,000 baht a year. There's plenty you can do with that sort of dough.
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