Thread: Retire? How much do you need per month?

Originally Posted by BobR

As it appears to stand now, you'll need 800,000Baht in a Thai bank

...or B65K+ of monthly deposits from outside Thailand...

Originally Posted by Fondles

To be fair if someone does not have that amount of coin then realistically they probably cannot afford to retire anyways.

...I think that's the point of choosing Thailand to retire: it's cheap...

Originally Posted by tomcat

...I think that's the point of choosing Thailand to retire: it's cheap...

It cheap(er) than most places in the West, that's for sure. Well it can be, but obviously if you had the means and wanted to spend more per month here on living expenses than the average person does in London, Melbourne, LA, or Hong Kong, you can. And easily.

I've rarely seen anyone retire who didn't wish at some time down the road that they had a bigger nest-egg or that they'd have kept working for a bit longer, what normally bites them is not taking cost of living increases into consideration - or at least underestimating them - and exchange rates. Nobody can predict what these 2 thing will do in the future, but they're both crucial to most retirees standard of life plans.

But it's a fine-line to walk getting the timing just right. A good friend and colleague recently retired after 35 years with an Oil Major at upper management position making big bucks. I often asked him over the years why he didn't pack it in and enjoy life (I know he was worth USD $3,000,000+ in his mid fifties). So he finally retired earlier this year at the age of 61, and was dead from cancer 5 months later. 14 weeks from first diagnosis to brown bread.

Makes you think....

Originally Posted by Headworx

Well it can be,

Correct - 25 years ago I worked in the jewelry business district of Bangkok, lived in a "luxury" apartment, luxury by Thai standards. Long and short of it was, at that point in time, it cost me more to live in Bangkok city than in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Not much more, but, more.

When to retire - personal choice. Again, regardless of how much you have or where you live you MUST live within your means.

Death is just around the corner - one moments carelessness can cause an accidental death, several fatal medical conditions, disease, poisoning, etc. Hey, the human body is a fragile instrument and doesn't take abuse well.

Don't think anybody will ever get the "timing" right. Only way you could do that is to know exactly when you terminate.


Back to cost of living. You can live very cheaply in Thailand if you can live like a Thai. I can't.

anyone thinking of retirering from the uk.and moving to thailand had better think again,unless you have a well into which you can drop a bucked and pull it back up full of bundles of cash,compare these rates,your retirement extension amount you have to deposit has risen early 2016 it was 16,000gbp.today its 19,000gbp.and rising.
yes you can live cheap,rice,noodles but once the honeymoon period is over and you want some lamb and mince sauce,your goner be in for a shock.

Originally Posted by headhunter

once the honeymoon period is over and you want some lamb and mince sauce,your goner be in for a shock.

It won't have mince in it?

then there is those that has medical problems and need medication.
i was lucky i knew exactly what i needed before i came here,but this last year i have to add 2more tabs costing 56bht.each every day,that brings my total to 11every day.
with the expensive ones i am lucky i have a contact that supplies me.
everyone that comes here needs some cover of some sort,because hospitals are not cheap,a private one,can set you back a million bht. with just a few weeks in ICU.
and if a PINK BUFFALO needs to be replaced then you could be looking over a 10th.floor balcony.

Originally Posted by cyrille

It won't have mince in it?

sorry C i just got the jar out to make some for todays dinner,ITS COLEMANS MINT SAUCE [135bht] got rosemary in the garden,garlic in a bucket but mint i cant grow any at all,it keeps going black.

We've had similar problems.

Got some growing right now, but not really in sufficient volume to do much with it.

I make raita with it on the occasion that we have enough.

It seems to me like it would be a good idea if you weaned yourself off English tucker. It's really not that great anyway, is it?

I guess you're not with a Thai partner.

Originally Posted by bowie

When to retire - personal choice. Again, regardless of how much you have or where you live you MUST live within your means.

Death is just around the corner - one moments carelessness can cause an accidental death, several fatal medical conditions, disease, poisoning, etc. Hey, the human body is a fragile instrument and doesn't take abuse well.

Don't think anybody will ever get the "timing" right. Only way you could do that is to know exactly when you terminate.

Well said. ANything can happen on any given day. However I tend to disagree on the human body being a fragile instrument. The human body is amazing in that it can take a lot of abuse and recover. I have always been amazed what me and numerous friends of mine did over the years and quick recovery and back at it.

Originally Posted by bowie

Back to cost of living. You can live very cheaply in Thailand if you can live like a Thai. I can't.

I have always found this comment interesting.... "Live like a Thai". The Thai folk I know and worked with live quite well. Most have nice houses, 1 or 2 cars, dress clean, are always out and about doing something and eat out frequently. So my view is vastly different then others. I think most state this in reference to Thai's living in a Teak shack on stilts in the middle of nowhere, eating Somtam, bugs and roasting animals on an open fire.... For me in the states that would be like living in the backwoods of Tennessee or the Bayou area in New Orleans. I couldn't live like those folks if I was in the states.

Originally Posted by Norton

A bit more or less depending on accommodation and entertainment cost you choose to have.

That's really the crux of it all Norton. IMHO the way you keep the COL cheap is a balance of Thai and western. I can easily live on 35k to 40K baht a month and live well (including a trip or 2 somewhere near by for a few days). This also includes a balance of some "western" foods like spaghetti, a nice steak, Pork tenderloin, Salmon, BBQ Pork Ribs, baked potatoes etc etc. But I also enjoy the majority of Thai dishes and as we know those are really inexpensive. My single largest living expense each month is power and that ranges between 2k to 3K baht a month. Where things get really expensive are when folks insist on eating out for "western" foods or fusion Thai restaurants or require a house full of Western foods. That and travel to 5 star hotels and eat the hotel food or drink in bars. Of course paying for companionship on a regular basis has a steep price tag as well.

...so, it appears that no one is able to suggest a retirement lifestyle that is completely appropriate for another...to sum up: it all depends on what your resources are vs your requirements for a comfortable life...

Originally Posted by bowie

you, and I, are “High Tech”, we hang and work with a “higher” economic level of folk than the “general public”.

...La Di Dah...

Originally Posted by bowie

So, by comparative measures – "live like a Thai" means living on THB 14k/month. Can’t do it.

I concur. If we take the Thai avg standard of living I too could not live on 14k baht a month.

Originally Posted by bowie

To amplify, meds, vitamin supplements, medical insurance, transportation, other insurances add up

This too has a HUGE impact on living anywhere. I seriously doubt that if I had a serious or chronic medical ailment I would have moved here. I would have legged it out in the US and then waited until Medicare kicked in. Honestly my wife and I always have a path back to the states in the event something was to go horribly wrong here but if its just about slowly aging and biting the bullet, we will stay. I can croak here or there. Doesn't matter much, I am dead...

Originally Posted by tomcat

...so, it appears that no one is able to suggest a retirement lifestyle that is completely appropriate for another...to sum up: it all depends on what your resources are vs your requirements for a comfortable life.

^ this is, and always will be, the reality of it all TC. I chose to change my lifestyle a bit to live abroad. Nothing drastic mind you, just wanted to retire somewhere different. I think the key point is, I am cognizant that Thailand is not a paradise, a nirvana etc. Its another place to live. I absolutely could have moved to a different state in the US with my wife and maybe been able to retire early (doubt that but maybe) however after we went and looked it just did not sound as fun and my wife wasn't all that impressed.

Originally Posted by JPPR2

this is, and always will be, the reality of it all

...you wouldn't know that reading the previous six pages, however...

Well, except that it was pointed out in the first reply.

Originally Posted by tomcat

...you wouldn't know that reading the previous six pages, however...

To your point, the cross section of responses has been small if you look at what the OP thread title is.

Only a few respond to the question. Like most, if not all threads, they go off on a tangent.

I plan to retire in Thailand in 2 years with 65k THB.

Originally Posted by Norton

Nail on the head re cost of living. Extreme difference between going 100% local to near 0% local. Guesstimate but 25k baht for 100% local to 100k baht for near 0. A bit more or less depending on accomodation and entertainment cost you choose to have.

If one buys all his/her vittles at Tops or Villa Markets, that figure of 100K baht might be on the low side.

[QUOTE=MickLondon;3912159]I plan to retire in Thailand in 2 years with 65k THB.[/QUOTE
65million THB.might be enough.

Originally Posted by MickLondon

I plan to retire in Thailand in 2 years with 65k THB.

that will hold you for a month..

OP: Don't listen to these gasbags. Just do it and always keep an open ticket back with taxi fare to Swampy.

Yes it's that simple.

Originally Posted by Texpat

OP: Don't listen to these other gasbags

...ftfy...