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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Daniel
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 115,000 baht
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
When I first came to Bangkok a few years ago, I landed a teaching job at a mid-tier international school and made just over 60,000 baht per month. I now work more at one of the largest international schools, and make about 115,000 per month after taxes and deductions.That doesn't include bonuses, flights, insurance or the housing allowance of approximately 40,000 baht per month. (Yes, the big schools really are like this.) My Thai wife has her own income of about 15,000-20,000 baht per month.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
I'm paying off multiple student loans and also own a car, so debt and the other expenses below eat up a lot of the potential savings. I put away at least 20,000 per month or more depending on the time. That will go up after the loans are paid off in about two years, and my wife can work full-time.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
Until last year I lived in a 2-bedroom townhouse near one of the BTS stations for 12,000 baht per month. It's surprising how many deals you can find if you go off the beaten path. To be closer to work I moved into a 25,000 baht per month condo.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
The car payments are 11,000 baht per month, and I also frequently use public transportation when I want to avoid bad traffic in central Bangkok, and because my wife uses the car more. It probably comes out to a total of 14,000 baht per month for both of us.
Utility bills
I pay an average of 2,000 - 3,000 per month for the electric bill and another 1,000 for the internet connection. I don't even count the water bill since it's usually so low.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
We love good food and we're happy to go to nice restaurants or get street food depending on the mood. This is something we don't keep track of, so I can't put an accurate figure on it. It might be around 15,000-20,000 baht per month. We also have a dog that eats a lot and other household items, so add another 4,000 to that.
Nightlife and drinking
This is something we don't spend much on, but if you count going out to movies and other activities, it probably adds up to only 3,000 baht per month.
Books, computers
My job provides a laptop. If I buy books, it only averages out to maybe 500 baht per month.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
It's comfortable, but not luxurious. I would probably change that to be more positive in a few years once our debts our paid off.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Without a doubt, food. Even when you compare some of the expensive restaurants to ones in other major world cities, it's significantly cheaper. Clothes can also be purchased at a bargain at some places. Cars and some other items end up being more expensive.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
It depends completely on your standard of living and your goals. Yes, I earn a really good salary, but I come from a family that focused on being conservative in spending, unless it's food or an 'investment' like education. I save a lot compared to others, but my job demands a lot of time--up to 60 hours per week for years now. Others would be happier working and earning less, but spending more. It's all perspective.
Phil's analysis and comment
Not much to say about Daniel's survey really but the future looks very bright indeed. As a couple, Daniel and his partner are pulling in 135,000 baht a month - with the potential to earn more in the years to come. A couple are always going to live well on that sort of income in Bangkok. As Daniel has said, it's just a case of getting all those debts paid off and then he's going to be walking along 'easy street'
Seb
Working in Rangsit
Monthly Earnings 46,000 baht
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I worked for a private bilingual school and made 40,000 baht a month. I also made an extra 6000 from private tuition over the week
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
I was able to save 10k a month over 3 years which made a nice nest egg for when I came back to the UK to study for my M.Ed
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I rented a nice 2 bedroom house for 6,500 baht a month. It had a western kitchen so I was prepared to pay a bit more for the rent. I feel it is very important to have a nice place to come home to at the end of the day.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I could walk for free or take a motorcycle to school for 10baht . I went to Bangkok once a month and took the bus for 22 baht. I made weekly trips to Future Park shopping mall by van at 25 baht a trip.
Utility bills
Between 1500-2000 baht a month; I love my aircon!
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I cooked dinner at home during the week, this cost about 1,000 a week in groceries. I would often make a big pasta dish and freeze it for the rest of the week. I spent 500 baht a week on lunch (half a grilled chicken, som tam and sticky rice) when I was working. Weekends I had no budget for eating out so I can’t really put a figure down on paper.
Nightlife and drinking
3000 baht a month, I hate clubs! I’d rather go to a decent Thai pub and order a load of food and Leo beer.
Books, computers
None, not into reading and I only use the computer for work and watching free stuff.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Great! I had a nice standard of life and was able to save some cash each month! There’s also nothing like throwing yourself into an ice cold pool after work and sipping a few cold ones!
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Mostly everything! Thailand is wonderful for its cheap accommodation, food, transport, entertainment and weekend escapes. I been back in the UK for one year and I am already itching to get back to living Thailand in September.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
30k to survive, although it would be hard to save on that. Anything above 35k and things will start to get a lot more comfortable.
Phil's analysis and comment
I think this is the first time we've had a cost of living survey done in the past tense but it's clear that Seb really enjoyed life in Thailand on 46k a month and is itching to get back at some stage. I bet he finds the UK a lot more expensive! For the record, Rangsit is a suburb in North Bangkok but quite a distance from the city itself. A very well-balanced survey from someone who lived well within their means.
Monique and Husband
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 95,000 baht
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I work for a private company primarily teaching standardized test preparation (TOEFL, IELTS, etc). I am guaranteed 48,000 per month but lately I have averaged about 10,000 per month more than that. My husband works as an English teacher at a Thai high school and earns 37,000 per month.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
We try to live on only my salary and save my husband’s salary. We haven’t always been successful but we’ve managed to send home 50,000 every two or three months (to pay off credit card debt, ugh). This is after paying for a 20,000 baht holiday every three months and several smaller daytrips/overnights in between, so if we cut those out we could save more (but what’s the fun in living in Thailand if you don’t take the opportunity to explore?).
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
We have a two bedroom condo in a nice building with gym/swimming pool. We’re in downtown Bangkok three minutes by foot from the BTS. We have a roommate and split rent equally with her; the apartment costs 28,000 per month and our share is 14,000.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I walk to work every day, but occasionally take a motorcycle or taxi or hop on the BTS. I estimate that costs no more than 1000 per month. My husband takes a motorcycle and the MRT to work each day – about 2500 per month.
Utility bills
We pay two thirds of our apartment utilities, and our share comes to 400 per month for internet, 150 per month for water, and around 1300 per month for electricity. We try to use a fan rather than the aircon, but during the summer our share of the bill can get as high as 2200. We pay 650 baht per month for our phones.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
We almost exclusively eat out and try to limit ourselves to 500 baht per person per day, so about 30,000 per month. Some days we eat mostly street food, but we also have go to a fair number of sit down restaurants and have many Western meals (just not necessarily very good ones!)
Nightlife and drinking
We’ve cut back a lot lately, but we probably average about 3,000 baht per month. We don’t go out much, though, as we prefer to drink at home with friends.
Books, computers
We recently purchased my husband his first smartphone which ended up being 16,000 baht – at least 4,000 more than it would have cost in the States! This has been our only major purchase, although we’re eyeing tablets for around 8,000 each. We access almost all of our media online (no TV or paper books), but we like to go to the movies about once a month or so – less than 300 baht including drinks and popcorn.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
With my relatively useless undergraduate psychology degree, there’s no way I’d be able to live in a building this nice or eat out as often as I do if I were working an entry-level job in the US.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Transportation. Sometimes I get annoyed when cabbies won’t take me with the meter running, but then I realize they’re only asking me to pay the equivalent of $3 (even if it is double the meter price!). We’ve also been able to explore a lot of Thailand via minibus and, although we really hate the cramped space and the fact that they always make the farang squeeze into the smallest seat, we still feel lucky to have the option of paying only 300 baht or so for a daytrip outside of the city of smog.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
We have to watch ourselves during months when we’re trying to survive on only 48,000 and we often end up dipping in to the 37,000 that we’re trying to save. You should really have some wiggle room in case of emergencies (like when I accidentally dyed all my clothes blue in the washing machine) so I think 60,000 for a couple is probably the minimum to survive but not save anything. For an individual, 45,000 will be comfortable but you could probably do it on less by finding a cheaper apartment.
Phil's analysis and comment
I like this survey. It raises a lot of interesting points. Thanks for giving us such an honest insight into your financial world Monique.
OK, we've got two teachers here (a married couple) earning 95,000 baht a month. Monique is earning what I would call an 'above average' teacher salary and her husband earns slightly below average. I would have said straight off the bat that a married couple with no kids should be living 'fairly comfortably' on 95,000 baht a month in Bangkok - but it's certainly not a fortune, especially when you have credit card debts back in your homeland.
One aspect of the survey that really caught my eye was the 30,000 baht a month they spend on food. Wow! That strikes me as a lot of money for a couple - even a very hungry couple. I bet if Monique and her husband could find their way to the kitchen, start planning meals together and buying fresh produce at the supermarket, they could cut 10,000 baht a month off that expense easily. No one's saying give up the occasional splurge on Western food, but strike a happy medium and eat at home a few nights a week.
Only yesterday, I bought an enormous chicken breast fillet at the supermarket for 40 baht (which I grilled in the oven), A large bag of salad stuff (lettuce, tomatoes, raisins, boiled eggs, peppers, chopped fruit) which cost 65 baht - and a couple of baking sized potatoes for another 40 baht. I will get two very filling meals out of that for just 150 baht (75 baht a meal) - and Monique's daily food budget for two people is 1,000 baht. See what I mean? You can save a fortune by cooking at home and you eat far better than you do by buying those bags of streetfood as well.
Andy
Working in Udon Thani
Monthly Earnings 70,000 baht
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
My wife and I have our own private tutor school. After outgoings we end up on average having a profit margin of around 60,000 baht per month. We also undertake some private tuition and corporate work which levels out at about 10,000 baht per month. I rarely have to teach more than 20 hours per week. We are also pursuing another business venture which could double this amount.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
We usually save around 25,000 baht per month in Thailand. We also have two properties in the UK that we rent out and these give us an income of another 55,000 baht which we do not touch so this could also be counted as savings.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
we pay 7,000 a month for a spacious three-bedroom fully furnished property. We have everything we need and are only 5 kilometers from the city centre and all its amenities.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I initially put down 200,000 baht on a car from the profit gained from selling my car in the UK. We now just have to pay 5,000 baht a month over the next four years. On average we spend around 700 baht on fuel per month.
Utility bills
About 1,800 baht. We use air conditioning most evenings and it is left on overnight. We have a water pump but our water bills never exceed 250 baht.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
We spend on average around 10,000 baht per month on shopping at Tesco Lotus and my wife and daughter probably spend another 5,000 baht per month on eating out (Thai food). We eat out on average around 4/5 times a month costing us around 5,000 baht for the three of us.
Nightlife and drinking
We rarely go out drinking now but when we do we spend around 3,000 baht. I think on average we probably go out once every three months. However, we have had two beach holidays in the last six months. We spent Christmas at Pattaya and in October we took my daughter and her friend to Phuket. When we holiday there is no expense spared. We go all out for a good time!
Books, computers
I use to spend a fortune on books in the UK but have a kindle over here in Thailand. With my internet at both our business and home I would say we spend around 1,500 baht per month including the odd kindle purchase.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
We work exceptionally hard and have a very good standard of living. We can choose when we want to eat out and every time our business is closed we can always afford to have a break at the beach. We make sure we have at least two to three massages every week. I always have at least two days a month at the pool side at one of the big hotels in Udon.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
I think the cost of living is the biggest bargain here. My wife takes 30,000 baht per month which covers the shopping, hers and my daughter’s eating out, and our utility bills. This leaves her with some spare money in her pocket to spend on what she wants. I then pay the rent and the car payment via direct debit. With the other little extras you could say we spend around 45,000 baht per month on our living costs. I also pay 20,000 baht a year for health care and regular dental check-ups for the family.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
A single person can have a very good standard of living on 30,000 baht per month in Udon Thani. However, in my opinion a family of three needs an income of around 45,000 to 50,000 baht per month. Most people I know who are teachers can easily make this money. Government teaching jobs pay 30,000 baht per month and most teachers supplement this income by earning another 15,000 baht per month by working two or three evenings and weekends at one of the many language institutes in Udon Thani.
Phil's analysis and comment
Udon Thani sounds like the place to be doesn't it? What time does the next bus leave? Andy's not in the millionaire bracket but he seems to leads a great lifestyle. When you combine a 70,000 baht salary and a 55,000 baht income from a couple of properties in the UK, that is serious coin for a family of three living in Udon Thani. Andy lives within his means but he eats well, holidays whenever he wants, runs a car, has his medical insurance sorted out, etc, etc. And who begrudges him any of that when we're talking about a guy who clearly works very hard. Well done Andy!
David
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 35,000
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I live in Bangkok and work through an agency. Right now, I teach English in a pretty good government high school. My net income is 33,000 and I get around 2,700 (300b an hour) from teaching private students on weekends.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
I spend a lot of money on food. I like to buy new clothes and gadgets as well. I have a scooter (bought with an installment plan, 7,000 baht down and 3,000 monthly for a year since last December) which I always use to get to my school. I can save up around 5,000b a month
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I live near Victory Monument (heart of the city) and I’m renting an apartment for 5,500 a month. I have a room, a bathroom and everything I need: A/C, TV, fridge, hot shower, own internet connection (590b a month).
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
As I mentioned, I ride my scooter and I have to fill the tank 2-3 times a week (100 baht per tank).
Utility bills
About 800 baht a month for both water and electricity. I use the A/C as much as I want and the 3BB Internet connection costs 590b a month (got my own router).
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I spend a lot of money on food. I like to go to The Pizza Company, Sukishi, Toast2U and so on. I used to have a meal from 7-11 everyday as well, but I also like to get something delicious from the street vendors. So around 10.000 baht a month. I don’t have a kitchen but would love to have one in the future to save money.
Nightlife and drinking
Nothing, but I sometimes go to the cinema.
Books, computers
I have a 4-month old notebook and a 6-month old phablet (bought them here), not so expensive stuff, but I can say that I think I’m able to buy new gadgets every year.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
My standard of living is much better and more comfortable than it would be in my home country. My life is totally stress-free.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Food, gas, gadgets, accommodation. Those smoothies…
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
At least 20,000 baht a month but that would be a bit difficult. You would have to live a Thai lifestyle with no luxuries and little or nothing in the way of savings each month.
Phil's analysis and comment
Anyone who follows these cost of living surveys will probably predict what I'm going to say first - 35K in my opinion just isn't enough for a foreign teacher to live on in Bangkok. However, many teachers do and David above seems to be very happy with his lifestyle so who am I to argue? He eats well, treats himself to a few gadgets and has his own transportation. But at the end of the day, he's only stashing away 60K a year for a rainy day. A trip home to see the family or some unforeseen expense will account for those savings in the blink of an eye and the flap of a withdrawal slip.
If I were David, I would be looking to maximize my earning potential a bit more. 300 baht an hour for private students is mighty low for starters. If he's teaching those privates at his home or their home, he's seriously undercharging. He should be asking for at least 500 baht an hour and certainly more if it's a small group of 2-3 students let's say.
If he's happy earning 300 baht an hour, why not look to teach in the evenings during the week and leave his weekends free. Life is much more enjoyable - in any job - when you have two days off a week instead of one!
Showing 5 Cost of Living surveys out of 442 total
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