John
Working in Nonthaburi
Monthly Earnings 81,000
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I work at a small international school and my salary is 81,000 baht after tax. This also includes a small housing allowance.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
50,000 baht a month. If I do any travelling, the money comes from that 50,000. I have a strict budget so save well
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I pay 10,000 baht a month for a one-bedroom condo. There is a pool and small gym and it's very secure.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
Almost nothing as the school is walking distance from home and I only go into Bangkok once a week by taxi.
Utility bills
I spend around 2,800 baht for my phone, internet and cable TV and then probably another 1,000 baht on electricity and water.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
The first year I was here I spent about 8,000 baht a month on food and supermarket shopping as I ate like a local. But this second year, I order western food through a delivery service so now spend around 12,000 baht per month on this. it's worth the extra cost though. I couldn't handle eating like a local anymore, it's a nice luxury to have.
Nightlife and drinking
I rarely go out, maybe once a month if I'm lucky. If I do go out I wouldn't spend any more than 2,000 baht per month
Books, computers
Nothing.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Very comfortable. I set a budget which helps me save nearly 70% of my salary but I never feel like I'm missing out. I get my weekly massage, eat well and go out drinking when I like. I have been able to travel a lot using some of the money I have saved. Living in Thailand is great.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Any service that the local people provide is an absolute bargain. I can get a massage for 150 baht (it would be at least 10 times more expensive back home in Australia). I can get my condo cleaned by two people for 500 baht (it would be triple that back home). Taxis are so cheap as well and I really like that. Plus if you buy food from the local markets or off the street, it is incredibly cheap. Flying in Thailand and going to surrounding countries is relatively cheap as well.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
Hmm, well I budget 30,000 for the month but that leaves no money for travel or extra fun, but you could survive off that. Truthfully though, I think you have to earn at least 50,000 per month (if you are living in and around Bangkok) to live a comfortable life with some travel thrown in.
Phil's analysis and comment
John is a saver, no doubt about that. But he saves for a purpose and that usually seems to be travel.
81,000 baht in Nonthaburi is always going to leave you with plenty of cash to spare because Nonthaburi certainly doesn't have the temptations of Central Bangkok. John is obviously not a 'bright lights' person anyway.
I was only ever lucky enough to have one job where I was able to walk to work each day - but what a godsend that is! It's not really about how much you are saving on transportation (although that should be factored in) but you know you can leave your digs at exactly the same time each morning and not give a fiddler's about how bad the traffic is. I'm sure John would agree.
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