How I lived on 33k per month
During my first year in Thailand I worked with a guy who was, in the most literal sense, a complete douche.You know the ,”I’m Buddhist” because I wear a Buddha amulet around my neck and love Thailand. It was apparent he didn’t know much about the religion, but who am I to tell him he ain’t Buddhist? He acted like he knew everything about Thailand and Thai people. Couldn’t speak a lick of Thai and would give his girlfriend a 1/3rd of his paycheck because she “owed the mafia”…smh. I knew nothing when I first came here and he was really my introduction/guide to Thai culture. He led me to believe that on 33k per month we were basically ‘middle-class’. I started planning my life here after accepting that notion. It was only later when I started meeting other foreigners working here who were making way more that I realized I was so naive.
At my first Job I was getting paid 33,000 baht per month plus 2,000 for travel. Seemed like a lot then, because we only had each other and the Thai teachers to compare our salaries too. I’m not saying it’s a horrible salary because it’s not if your a young single expat. You can pay your bills, eat Thai and western food and go out and enjoy your weekends. Even though doing all this you wouldn’t save much money, it’d still be fun.
There was a point where I wouldn’t eat Thai food. This was because the menu’s where I lived were in Thai and most of the people didn’t understand English. The food was so damn spicy!I didn’t know how to tell them not to make it so spicy. It was as if they were trying to hide something in all that chili. I only ate 7/11 and ordered out, on weekends I would sometimes spend 6,000 baht. I was living beyond my means and managed my money so poorly that sometimes I would only have 1,000 baht at the end of the month! I did manage though most months to walk away with something.
Here is a breakdown of my expenses on my first salary in Thailand 2012:
*keep in mind these are ball park estimates!
Pay day: 35,000 baht!
Rent(water & Electric included): 6500 baht per month ( depending on A/C usage)= 28,500
Food & Water:14,000(included a lot of western meals)=14,500
Recreational fun(Playing football every Friday & Saturday with Thai students and Thai Friends):2,100= 12,400
* On Saturdays I would travel by van to Mo chit(25 baht), then take the MRT to huai kwang(25? not sure sorry) and then a motorcycle taxi to the football field(30 baht). We played from 8pm-12am so I had to take a taxi back home which was usually about 220-250 baht. Finally at the end we all paid about 120 baht per session. Playing with my students was much closer so it was cheaper.
Entertainment: 5,000 baht per weekend! =7,400
*Taxi’s, cover charges, drinks,drinks and more drinks. Club hopping and more taxi’s and more cover charges and more of the same. Easily adds up.
Taxi’s to school(split 4 ways): 500= 6,900
Food at school: 1,200= 5,700
Song-tail back home: 160=5,540
Room cleanings (twice a months) 600 baht=4,940
Essentials( toilet paper, toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, body wash)=300 baht= 4,640
Random impulse buys: ?
Well as you can see even after all that I still managed to walk away with ฿4,640. Mind you these are ball park estimates. Some months I would go so hard that for the rest of the month I was living very humble…Very humble.
Now this whole expense chart doesn’t include a girlfriend. If it did I would be beyond broke. Living for two people is essentially doubling your food and entertainment cost. Unless your partner didn’t mind splitting the bill with you.
Also this doesn’t include visiting the doctor or traveling to the islands…
What about you?
As always comments are always welcomed.
