Every new arrival wants to know if they can survive or live well in Thailand on X thousand baht a month?
It's a difficult question because each person has different needs. However, the following surveys and figures are from teachers actually working here! How much do they earn and what do they spend their money on?. And after each case study, I've added comments of my own.
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Approximate Thai Baht (฿) conversion rates as of 16th April 2024
฿37 to one US Dollar฿46 to one Pound Sterling
฿39 to one Euro
฿24 to one Australian Dollar
฿0.65 THB to one Philippine Peso
John
Working in Koh Samui
Monthly Earnings 65-70K
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
Salary is 60K per month and part-time tutoring adds another 5-10K
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
At the moment I'm managing 15-20K I could probably do 30 if I was careful.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
15K to rent a big one-bedroom villa with fitted kitchen, dining and living area, balcony and pool. Prices have risen massively in the last year though and my neighbours are renting for almost double my price.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
Occasional car rental when people visit, but mostly only bike fuel - 1000 baht.
Utility bills
Cheap as chips. Usually 1300-1500 baht
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I like buying food in both markets and Tops/import supermarkets, and I buy good alcohol. 4,000-5,000 baht.
Nightlife and drinking
I do a pub quiz once a week and maybe a Friday or Saturday, depending.
Books, computers
Varies. Sometimes nothing. But I like picking up the odd book, and buying clothes every couple of months.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Comfortably middle-class.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Food, even on Samui. Getting a delicious meal for $3 never gets old. Bills are so low also such as electricity and mobile phone. On the other hand, used cars are a rip-off. Anything under 200K baht is a huge risk and far too expensive.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
If you're single and like Thai food, 35k to 40K is definitely doable if you're away from Samui, Phuket or Bangkok. Things can quickly get expensive otherwise.
Phil's analysis and comment
I'd be interested to know where you work John. Is it as a teacher in a school or is it one of those in-house teacher jobs at a 5-star beach resort that most chalkies can only dream about. Either way I'm sure a 65-70K income goes a long way despite the temptations, and that's pretty much proved by the amount you can save.
Trevor
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 129,000 baht (including a modest housing allowance)
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I receive a full-time salary at a small international school of 115,000 baht, with a housing allowance of 14,000. Free education for my son breaks down at about 20,000 baht a month too, I also get free insurance and my son gets a yearly insurance allowance of 19,000. Free lunches for me aren't to be sniffed at either, Overall a generous package,
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
30,000 on average, 50,000 in good months.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I rent a very nice house for 25,000. It is secure and safe for my family, gives us lots of space and has a lovely smallish garden which gives a very productive hobby. We considered a condo but a house wins every time for us. We also invested 20,000 in a good alarm system and it is monitored at 499 baht a month, which brings peace of mind.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
Brand new car repayments cost me 10,250 baht a month. Can you believe that? I was paying a similar price for a 7-year old model at home. Insurance, tax and gas are also a fraction of the cost compared to home.
Utility bills
I can't help comparing bills to my friends and family in Europe and America, and they are so minimal. 3,000 a month roughly for electric, 200 baht water and 800 for wifi.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I allow myself two farang deliveries a week, so about 5,000 a month. One fancy Asian food delivery a week comes to about 2,000. Grocery shopping and markets about 10,000? Very flexible I guess.
Nightlife and drinking
1,000 a month on beer? Better add in 3,000 for "date nights",
Books, computers
I do try and build a library for my son because reading with him is so much fun. Maybe around 1,000 a month,
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
A lot better than if I lived in a western country,
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Absolutely everything. Big shout out to transport, car repayments, insurance, tax, taxis, trains. They are all a bargain compared to home. Also all things to do with property. Seriously everything (if you are willing to respect Thai culture and live like a local).
Also, just pay the "farang prices". I used to hate them too until I holidayed at home and realized they ripped off everyone, locals and tourists,
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
I wouldn't get out of bed for less than 70,000.
I respect your question on survival because I did the 30,000 TEFL gig. It was fine in my early 20s. I am no longer interested in surviving, but glad I had those experiences.
Phil's analysis and comment
Thanks Trevor. It sounds like you have a nice lifestyle and certainly don't want for much. Is a 'date night' a night when you go out with your partner to somewhere like a restaurant or a movie theatre?
Please send us your cost of living surveys. We would love to hear from you! This is one of the most popular parts of the Ajarn website and these surveys help and inspire a lot of other teachers. Just click the link at the top of the page where it says 'Submit your own Cost of Living survey' or click here.
Joe
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 115,000 (including my wife's salary)
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I earn a relatively low salary for being a subject teacher in an international school in Bangkok, although the tuition-free education makes up for the measly 60,000 baht salary. On top of that, I earn about 9,000 to 12,000 for private IELTS classes, for which I charge a thousand baht an hour. The wife's salary helps a lot. She is Thai and works for a Thai insurance company so we get great health care from that and she earns a good salary with a pension at the end of it. We are both still young (32 and 34 respectively) so we have time.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
Nit much at the moment. in fact we barely make it through each month with so many expenses. However, in two or three years when the debts are paid off, things should look brighter.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
The cost of the mortgage on our house gets deducted from my wife's salary and comes to about 19,000 baht a month. It feels like we're going to be paying that forever. I pay for utilities and other stuff.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
Car payments 8,672 per month (18 months left)
Motorcycle payments 4,569 per month (10 months left)
Fuel 4,000 - 6,000.
Easypass 3,000 per month.
Occasional trips adds another couple of thousand.
Police traffic fines 1,000 a month.
Utility bills
Electricity 3,000
Water 150
Internet 1,200
Phones 2,500
True 899
Premier Sport 1,200
TV Subscriptions services 1,000
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
Supermarket bills come to around 10K per month and meals out for both of us plus a little one weigh in at around 12-15K.
Nightlife and drinking
Probably 3,000 - 4,000 baht a month. We don't go out all that often.
Books, computers
Audible books cost about 1,000 and PC subscriptions like Office, Adobe add another 2,000 baht.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
We have a really good standard of living but the occasional curve-ball can create problems. We're not really saving as much as we did in the past.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Buying food at the market and avoiding the western fast food joints can save you thousands!
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
A family, especially an expat family, needs at least 150,000 baht a month to survive and thrive but you can do it for less. We don't really save much because we are riddled with credit card debt from setting up our house.
Phil's analysis and comment
Thanks Joe. What's interesting about this survey is that although you're an international school teacher, not all international schools are created equal in terms of foreign teacher salaries. I'm guessing that you were perhaps a local hire? Also your Thai partner is making a significant contribution to the joint income. It certainly doesn't sound like you go without anything though and even strapped with a significant mortgage payment each month, 115,000 is not a bad income for a couple with one child right?
Stewart
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 178,000 (including a 52,000 baht housing allowance)
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I work at a newish and expanding Tier 1 international school in East Bangkok. The salary is 163,000 a month plus yearly bonus. 10% of the salary per year is paid monthly through a provident fund to save on tax. After tax I am left with 133,500 per month. I am also in a lucky position to have yearly flights home and worldwide medical insurance.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
I can save between £22,000-£25,000 per year so around 80,000 - 100,000 per month depending on expenses, holidays and costs. It also depends on the exchange rate when transferring back to the UK. The last five years has been anything from 37-47 Baht to the £.
COVID stopped us traveling abroad but now we can really take advantage of living in SE Asia. Therefore this is an added cost compared to the previous 3 years.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I pay 44,000 for a large two-bedroom apartment in Thonglor. It is an older building but a renovated unit with communal facilities such as the swimming pool, which has also been renovated. The benefit of the older building means the units are large at around 150 square meters.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I have a bike so I ride that to work and usually spend around 300 baht per month on fuel. I don't use it a huge amount over the weekend due to having the BTS/MRT. The journey to work takes around 25 minutes. I probably spend another 500 on the public transport system.
Utility bills
Electricity - 1,400 baht
Water - 100 baht
Broadband - 800 baht
Cleaner - 2,500 baht
All a huge saving compared to monthly totals in the UK!
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
We enjoy taking advantage of the fantastic food available in the city.
We usually order Thai food from Grab/Food panda from Monday - Thursday evenings and then eat out from Friday - Sunday.
We eat lunch at work most days.
Lunch - 1,500 baht
Supermarket (breakfast and sundries) - 1,500 baht
Weekday Dinner - 1,600 baht
Weekend - 8,000 baht
Nightlife and drinking
I think since COVID I now spend less than I used to, I still go out as much but will usually go home earlier. I haven't really kept a tab but I would imagine around 8,500 baht a month.
Books, computers
I am given these by my employer so only really need to buy a Netflix and Spotify account which comes in around 400 baht per month.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Excellent. I had a good life in the UK as I had a similar job, however the cost of living in the UK is substantially more expensive than in Thailand.
International schools are hard work though and I would probably say I work considerably more hours here compared to my old job in the UK, however the benefits provide a wonderful standard of living.
With the easing of the pandemic, living in Bangkok also allows you to visit so many amazing countries and save massively on long haul flights from the UK. Living in Thailand also give you access to meet new people and experience a completely different culture to the UK.
I also have a small property in the UK which I rent out and although I don't make a huge deal of profit, the mortgage and fees are covered by the rent.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
There are many great bargains in Thailand and although Bangkok is an expensive city, it is still far cheaper than most UK regional cities. Once you are out of the tourist areas and into the provinces, Thailand is a fraction of the price of the UK.
The big savings are fuel, utilities, internal flights (less so now), local cuisine, motorcycles, taxis and public transportation such as boats, trains and buses.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
I suppose it depends on your what you expect from life and how skilled or experienced you are in your industry. If you are willing to live local or try your hand at a new industry on an entry level wage then you could live on 40,000 in Bangkok which would include a small apartment in a less central location. Out of Bangkok, Phuket, Samui etc you could probably live on 25,000.
However, if you wish to live a similar life to what you have been used to in Europe, North America, Singapore then I would say around 75,000 plus housing.
Phil's analysis and comment
Thank you Stewart. I'm assuming here that the 178,000 baht package INCLUDES the housing allowance (In the survey you sent, you stated that the housing allowance was on top of the 178,000 baht salary so to be honest, I'm still not sure) Also I'm not sure if in the food section, the supermarket costs and the weekday dinner costs are weekly or monthly. The numbers don't really stack up if they are taken over a month. But some good points to ponder all the same.
Colin
Working in Phuket
Monthly Earnings 33,000
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
My full-time salary is 1,650 baht per day multiplied by 20 days. Factor in a bit of tax and an end of semester bonus or two and it comes out to around 33,000 per month.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
Around 10,000 baht a month.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I share a house with another person and my half-share of that is just 5,000.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I ride my scooter to work. I live next to the coast but work in town, so about 800 baht a month on gas.
Utility bills
Water is a fixed cost at 200 baht while electricity comes in at 1500-1700. We use the A/C every night but not during the day.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I usually cook at home at night but I buy food during the day. I also just have oats or cereal in the morning. Groceries for dinner and breakfast are about 2,000 baht a month and lunch is around 50 baht per day.
Nightlife and drinking
I do go out on weekends. Maybe once a month I'll have a fun spending night with friends, but usually we BBQ at home on weekends or have dinner and drinks at inexpensive restaurants.
Books, computers
I bought my laptop and most of my electronics online from Lazada at a fraction of the price it would have cost in my home country.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
I live comfortably here, it's a beautiful place, there is plenty do to and to explore without breaking the bank.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
The cost of living is much less than back home. Drinks are expensive, but food is cheap and accommodation is affordable.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
One will always want more, but I do live comfortably on my salary and I do manage to save money. If my salary was more, I would love to think that I would be able to save more, but I'd probably do a lot more things and my spending would increase.
Phil's analysis and comment
This survey was sent in anonymously so let's call him (or her) Colin. This person does extremely well to live in Phuket, one of the most expensive places in Thailand, on 23K a month. I'm not saying it couldn't be done but it must be one hell of a challenge! The foodnumbers don't really stack up for me. Assuming dinner is the main meal of the day, it means Colin spends 66 baht a day on breakfast AND dinner. I know cooking at home can reduce costs considerably but even so...
Showing 5 Cost of Living surveys out of 425 total
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