Daniel
Working in Surin Province
Monthly Earnings 37,000 baht
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
The contract with my school should be for 39000, but the school uses an agency. It was initially an 'internship' and the company gave me a package worth 21,000 a month, but as a returner that is now 33000. I have recently picked up a tutoring gig for two hours on a Sunday worth 1,100 so full potential earnings can be 37,000 a month.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
I saved very little each month for the time I was earning 21,000. Now I am earning more, I have been looking to save at least 10,000 a month, as I found myself living comfortably enough on the previous wage. The only thing I am saving for is a holiday at the end of each semester.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
My rent is 4,000 a month for a spacious room in a ground floor apartment block. I have a nice porch, where I do my own cooking, as well as courtyard area and a large pond. Other teachers from my school also live here, so I'm surrounded by friends, and my landlord treats us to a bottle of whiskey every now and again.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
My agency provided us with bicycles to use, and as I only live a 10-15 walk away from school, the bicycle is more than enough. I have toyed with the idea of renting a motorcycle like a few of my friends, however I now have a girlfriend who drives, so I tend to get her to take me to any places (in the city) I may need to visit on a weekend. Typically, I spend nothing on transport.
Utility bills
During my first 6 months, the agency would pay up to 1,500 in utilities for us, of which I never used more than 1,000 of. This was during the rainy season, so obviously it was a lot hotter. I have barely used my air-con since starting the second semester, and my power was only 200 baht last month, with 200 for water also.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I pay 40 baht for a filling Thai meal twice a day. The school provides a free lunch but I will skip it if it doesn’t look appetizing and buy a meal at a restaurant. As I work out a lot, I felt like I wasn't quite getting the necessary nutrition so I recently invested in an electric wok. The price of chicken breast out here is ridiculously low, so I make large batches of food that last for a few days. I definitely spend south of 2,000 baht a month on food.
Nightlife and drinking
I spent a fair amount on entertainment in my first six months, however I've recently gotten into a relationship with a Thai girl who speaks perfect English thanks to four years at UCLA. She has no interest in drinking or clubbing and as I spend my weekends with her, I don’t go out either. I see this as a great benefit for my health and my bank balance. We might sometimes go out for a pizza but generally I spend less than 500 baht a month on 'nightlife and drinking'.
Books, computers
I know I should read more, but I don't make the time or have the interest at this point in time. I often download movies or shows for free, and then find myself not watching them. My laptop is four years old and works perfectly. I lost an iPhone in Koh Samui, but it was old and I bought a cheap smartphone for just 2,600 baht. I’m not a materialistic guy.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
I live comfortably. It's a small friendly city, where I can do what I want for very reasonable prices in relation to my salary
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Paying £90 for rent including utilities is pretty much a bargain, and my cost of living is much less than 15,000. The whole thing is a bargain for me.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
Well I lived happily enough on 12,000 baht a month, excluding rent/utilities. I can only speak for the Isaan area, which is typically cheaper than your popular tourist destinations, but my 32,250 is more than enough for here. I feel I could live frugally enough anywhere that I moved to, and get by just fine.
Phil's analysis and comment
I think some folks will read this survey and say that Daniel is clearly 'going without' in some areas. But he seems happy enough and he sounds like someone who has been brought up to appreciate the money he has and to be careful with it at the same time. Frugal would be the word to use.
It's been a while since I've read a cost of living survey from someone who's managed to keep their overheads quite this low. 4,000 on rent. Virtually nothing on utilities. Nothing on transportation. And what! - only 2,000 baht a month on food? That's less than 100 baht a day.
Seriously, Daniel sounds like he could live on about 6,000 baht a month.
He chooses rent and utilities as the top 'bargain' in Thailand. I'm going to go off on a little tangent if I may. A few evenings ago - with nothing better to do - I had a look at how much rented accommodation in the UK costs these days. I was flabbergasted. How do people afford it?
Small studio flats, in frankly miserable and run-down areas of Birmingham (my home city) were renting for 600-700 pounds a month excluding bills.
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