The National Wage Committee has decided not to not raise the minimum wage until late next year as the cost of living remains at a reasonable level. According to Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Labor Mr. Nakorn Silapa-archa, the wage committee has resolved not to increase the daily minimum wage given that the inflation rate and the global oil prices have declined. However, Mr. Nakorn, who is also the president of the National Wage Committee, said they would deliberate on an unofficial proposal from the labor union suggesting that the daily wage be increased to 321 baht ($10, or $220/mo). Another meeting will be held at the end of 2015 to consider the possibility of adjusting the wage again. Following concerns of higher costs of living after the salaries of low ranking government officials have been increased, the Commerce Ministry will try to make everyday items more affordable for consumers, the Permanent Secretary said, adding that the prices of most products remain unchanged.

Most workers in the North are paid less than the legal minimum, and rural workers are paid even less. The men who are constructing the new condo building next door to me – hard, dangerous work – are certainly not. Here’s a video of them doing their thing.

The post Thai Minimum Wage appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

What is the biggest obstacle to your retiring overseas?

At the moment it is creating a passive or online income. I’m currently employed as an electrical engineer in Australia. My wife is a stay at home Mum but our youngest boy will be starting kindergarten next year and she will be offering Photoshop services and custom phone/stubby holders online then. I am starting work on how to create websites and generating income through them. Thanks for the link to Building a Niche Site Empire. I’m currently working my way through that. I will also do the TEFL training in Thailand and teach English when we first arrive. I’m also keen to do the Thai language course so that we can become part of the community.

Our children are currently three and four years old and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the school they are going to here has a school in Chiang Mai too (Grace International). This looks like it will be our biggest expense at $4000/year/child.

So the biggest obstacle is making a living. We are planning to build up our joint income to $60 000/year before we move. This includes $2000/month living in Thailand (two adults, two children), $8000/year for school fees, personal insurance (which I should be able to reduce from its current level) and renting out our house which will cover most of the mortgage. I need to make our budget more accurate but this is approximately what we need.

What is the strongest attraction for you to retire abroad?

Even though I have been earning a good income, I value more the experiences I have had in my life, especially travel. I’m not a consumer type looking to shackle myself to a big house and car/boat loans. I’m looking to simplify my life. And because I did not get in on the real estate boom in Australia in recent years, my retirement date is a distant dream of another 30 years of work (I’m 36 now) with no guarantee of a reasonably comfortable life.

The cost of everything has gone up so much in Australia (I live in Western Australia where the benefits of the mining boom have made housing and day to day cost of living extremely high). I also don’t like the attitudes of the average Australian, they are very selfish and consumer driven. The generation Y attitude of me me me and no discipline or respect for others really concerns me. There is a lot of violence in pubs now – being attacked by a large group or being stabbed with a bottle are commonplace and did not happen when I was around 20 years old. I don’t want my children growing up in this culture and I can see great benefits for them growing up in Thailand where they will be exposed to more opportunities for their futures in the Asian Century. We were looking at moving to Brasil (my wife is Brasilian) but the economic boom there has caused real estate and other prices to be inflated – so it is no longer a cheap place to retire. Crime, pollution and the crumbling infrastructure are also major problems in Brasil. The last time we went back (Christmas and New Year just gone) my wife was looking forward to coming back to Australia, which I never thought I would hear her say!

From what you have described in your books, a lot of how Thai’s are, really resonates with me. Some of their ways will take time to adjust to but like you explain in your books, if you are aware of it and accept it, then you won’t get upset.

What is your first goal towards retiring overseas?

To make $2500/month from online sources.

What’s your pet peeve when it comes to your retirement planning?

That I can’t see how I can retire even with another 30 years of work!

What made you decide to buy the book?

I went to a seminar that my financial advisor put on recently and I met another of his clients there who has retired to Thailand and comes back to Australia every three years for about six months or so. I thought, what an amazing life and that is what I want! So I started researching on the net and came across your books via a Google search.

Expats’ Experience Abroad

The Best Places in the World to Retire just polled 389 expats from the United States and Canada and asked why they wanted to retire abroad and what it’s been like. Here’s a summary:

• The striking number of expats who left home for quality-of-life issues, such as a more meaningful and less stressful life.
• Many expats said they were seeking to live a life like they remembered, or believed it to be, growing up in the ‘50s and ‘60s.
• Most thought that by moving abroad they’d achieve a
  • lower cost of living (87%),
  • a simpler, less stressful life (82%) and
  • better weather (74%).
• 84% said they achieved a lower cost of living and 74% got better weather.
• Only 71% are living a simpler, less stressful life, compared to the 82% who were hoping for it.
• While 56% thought they’d achieve “a less materialistic, or more meaningful life” (their #4 reason for retiring abroad), an impressive 61% say they’ve found more meaning.
• Two thirds of women said they achieved a less materialistic, or more meaningful life, but only 56% of men did.
• 85% are happier living abroad than they were before.
• 56% said they’re much happier and 28% said they’re somewhat happier. Only 5% are less happy now and 11% said they’re about as happy as before they moved.
• 64% said they enjoy life abroad much more than their former lives.
• 42% of the expats never plan to go back to the U.S. and
  • 37% aren’t sure;
  • 16% expect to return to America when they’re old or sick,
  • 4% said “as soon as possible” and
  • 3% anticipate moving back within five years.
• If they had to do it all over again, 79% said ‘yes’ and another 12% said they ‘probably’; 3% either wouldn’t or probably wouldn’t.

The post A Moving to Thailand Letter appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

Can you make it in Thailand on $4 (100 Baht) a day? Well… sort of. Here’s a fun video of a young Brit, Alex Putnam, who’s experimenting with living on the Thai minimum wage. It’s not a lifestyle I’d recommend, but it’s an interesting exercise and it shows that living on $500/month is completely do-able:

Budgeting in Thailand: A Reality Check

Until I developed an outside income, I lived on my $1240/mo. Social Security check. Because the cost of living is so low my $1240 paid for a standard of living that would have cost $3,000/mo. back home. Moving here more than doubled my buying power, a you see in the sample budgets above. I lived a stone’s throw from the leafy campus of Chiang Mai University in an air-conditioned studio, ate out three times a day, rented a moped, and lived a comfortable, leisurely life. If I’d had a partner with a similar income we could have lived almost luxuriously. That’s what the second budget outlines.

To help you understand how that’s possible, remember this benchmark: after graduation from university a beginning Thai engineer makes $500/month. When you live in Thailand you enjoy one of life’s great luxuries: forgetting about money and focusing on living.

Ways to Save Money in Thailand

Here are a few tricks to help you save money when you come to Thailand:

1. Come in the Summer: Thailand is much cheaper between May and November. Rooms, food and vehicle rental often discounted. There are far fewer tourists around, and you’re more likely to receive personal service.
2. Stay on the Mainland: Remember how expensive Hawaii is? That’s because everything you buy on an island is transported by boat or plane. Island life is always more expensive than living on the mainland.
3. Choose Basic Accommodation: Simple rooms cost less than 150 baht ($5) a night or you can share with another bargain hunter to split costs. Dorm rooms are even cheaper.
4. Travel at Night, by Train, or by Bus: Plane fare from BKK to Chiang Mai is $70 each way and you see nothing. You can go a long way for a few baht on over- night trains because you won’t need a room that night. An air-conditioned seat or a sleeping compartment is around $25 each way BKK to Chiang Mai, about 1,000 km. Third-class rail is even cheaper. Air-conditioned day bus rides show you the whole country for less than half that and you kill two birds with one stone.
5. Use Local Transport: Local buses and, songthaews (shared taxi/pickups) go everywhere in town for around 20 Baht (70¢).
6. Hitch Hike: Riskier, as it is everywhere, but many people hitchhike around Thailand. Do offer money for gas, even though it’s rarely accepted.
7. Avoid Western Food: Foreign food is mostly imported and not well prepared. For the price of a single pizza you can eat three Thai meals a day for three days.
8. Eat Like the Locals: Thais love food, and you will always be close to a market selling curry and rice ($2) or a small restaurant making Thai food to order. Just watch the locals and point to whatever looks good, smile, and say “khap”. Road- side stalls are literally everywhere, especially at night, and meals cost around $2.
9. Don’t Tip: Thais don’t tip. You need not.
10. Accept Offers of Food, Drink and Accommodation: Thais are friendly and gracious and if you’re around them you’ll be invited for a drink or a meal. The offer of a bed for the night is a generous gesture, but consider it carefully.
11. Water is Good for You: In this flood-prone country it’s best to drink bottled water. Buy big bottles in local grocery stores rather than small bottles in restau- rants or convenience stores; drink plenty of free water whenever you eat a meal. You can even fill your water bottle free in banks, hotel foyers, and Buddhist tem- ples. There are RO (reverse osmosis) dispensers on every street corner that dis- pense 2 gallons for 3 Bt. (10¢).
12. Alcohol is a Luxury: Supermarket beer is $1.65 for a large, cold bottle. Out- side Bangkok you can have it served at your table for $2.10. Lao Kao, the cheap- est alcoholic drink, is a harsh local spirit that’s palatable mixed with Coca-Cola. Thai whisky, like 100 Pipers, is cheap and surprisingly drinkable.
13. Use Free Entertainment: Thais exercise at local parks; often there are free aerobics groups, basketball, tennis, tagraw (an amazing mix of football, volley- ball, and kung fu), tai chi, or concerts and festivals. You can watch free films at resorts or read a free newspaper in a library or a hotel. As a rich farang you can waltz into the most luxurious hotel lobbies and take advantage of the A/C, the latest newspapers, even free cups of tea.
14. Buy Clothes and Personal Items in Thailand: Clothes are very cheap and well suited to the hot climate. I buy a new cotton long-sleeved drawstring pants and great long-sleeved shirts for $14 total. Toiletries are much cheaper than back home, with free soap in some rooms and sometimes in shared bathrooms.
15. Bring Your Own Specialized Equipment: For special activities like diving, it’s often better to bring your own gear rather than renting it. Most such stuff here made in China and not the same quality you’re used to.
16. Watch Your Money: Thailand is a cash economy which makes budgeting easy. Put your daily budget, in cash, in your pocket each morning and let that be your guide. This saves you being distracted by obsessive budgeting on the one hand and tempted by credit cards on the other.
17. Minimize Money Charges: You’ll be charged $5 for withdrawing money from an ATM plus your own bank’s exchange rate plus any other charges they can get away with. So bring cash with you and, if you need to make an ATM withdrawal, take out your daily maximum: usually around $500.
18. Do You Really Need a Guide Book? Do your research on the Internet before you leave. Store the relevant information on your Smartphone or a USB memory stick and use an Internet cafe here. Pick up free brochures when you get here. Or just buy a guide book at a local used book store.
19. Haggle: Bargaining for some items is expected in Thailand. Anything from a market is fair game, but keep it real when trying to get an extra few baht dis- count. Room prices can be negotiated, especially in low season and for longer stays.
20. Do Your Own Laundry: A 10 Baht packet of washing powder and a few min- utes each day is all that you need. If you buy loose, light clothing here, it will dry in minutes in the hot sun. Buy a sarong here to use instead of a heavy towel. Washing machines are everywhere (in the street!) and a 5 lb. (2 kg.) load is 66c. There’s also a laundry on every block that will happily do your laundry for $2.
21. Know the Rules of the Road: They’re like the ones at home, though Thais drive on the left. Bring an international driving license with you (get it from your local motoring club) and always carry it when driving. Always wear seat belts in cars and helmets on motorbikes, or you risk a fine. They’re only $7-10, but a big nuisance. If you are booked for a traffic infraction you will be required to sur- render your license until you’ve paid your fine.
22. Obey the Local Laws: Littering is an offense in Thailand, and people have been fined for dropping cigarette butts on the ground. Police will pay more atten- tion to the actions of a foreigner, so be aware, especially in Bangkok.
23. Don’t Be a Victim: Google “Thailand scams” and study up. There’s nothing original, but it’s best to know in advance that you’re not in Kansas anymore. For example, at the airport, ask the fare in advance. Avoid tuk-tuks. Read the safety tips in the appendix to this book.
24. Get Paid to Travel: Again, Google this idea. Talk to your local newspaper, etc., or act as a buyer for someone or a business at home if you have expertise. Enliven your blog (see the Ten Best Blogs in this book for inspiration). Our workshops include a seminar devoted just to this.
25. Avoid Tourist Traps: It sounds obvious, but there are several places, like Pat- taya, Phuket and Ko Samui that are overpriced and overcrowded. You’ll have more fun off the beaten track visiting remote temples and national parks. And if you want to spend some beach time, try Nakhon Si Thammarat where the unique food is a big plus.

So that’s how to live like a king in Thailand on $4 a day. Not so ‘kingly’, you say? True, but it’s still one of the highest living standards with the highest quality in the world!

The post Thailand on $4 A Day appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

Yet despite all that, the streets are safe, clean and well lit, the roads well maintained, infrastructure is always being upgraded, and people are in a good mood 24×7.

Making money in Thailand is surprisingly easy because Thailand’s unemployment rate is 1%, everyone’s in a good mood,and the economy is growing at a steady 5-6%. Gross domestic product grew an impressive 19% last year. Much of that can be credited to the tremendous floods and the consequent rebuilding boom. But even so, the rate of growth surprised everyone. Experts had predicted growth to come in at 12–15% for the last quarter, but the resilient Thais blew that away. Here in Chiang Mai the signs are everywhere: building is booming and almost all of our hundreds of temples is on a major building or renovating tear. Exports are up, and so is domestic consumption. The ‘surprise’ part is probably attributable to the unofficial economy. Most Thai transactions are for cash, and almost all Thais have unreported income. When I rented a car last week, for example, the rental company refused my credit card and insisted on a cash deposit (only $170, on a brand new Toyota!).

After the USA, it’s fun to walk around in a booming economy. Normally happy Thais are now ecstatic. Everyone’s got a job, and everyone’s expecting bonuses. Friends who are hiring complain that most of the Thais who accept positions fail to show up on their scheduled first day – or ever! They’ve found better offers. Strangely, inflation has stayed low. I had an iced coffee, beef with noodles, and a large bottle of cold Singha beer yesterday for 134 Baht–$4.50. So… as the Aussies say, no worries! Here’s an Aussie video talking about exchanging money in Thailand:

And here’s more reading about money in Thailand:

• 7 Ways to Save Money Traveling in Thailand >> – Paper Planes – So we’ve covered the basic monthly expenses for living in the Land of Smiles and some surprising money sucks, now we’re on to how to save money in Thailand. While most things are very cheap, there are a few little ways to …
• Make Money while Living in Thailand for Expats | Thailand Expat … – Therefore, you will look for ways to make extra money in Thailand. This is especially true if you need to make money in your home country’s currency so that you can pay bills outside of Thailand. Thus, methods for earning …
• In Thailand Money comes first! – News from an Asia traveler – Read also: Credit card poker game in Thailand. Tags: ATM, ATM’s in Thailand, Money, Money in Thailand, Thailand · *. Home In Bangkok is an independent website that helps you find your perfect new “Home” in Bangkok.
• Cost of Living in Thailand: 1. Food | Understanding Thailand – Thailand’s culture, history, and present reality (by Godfree Roberts)
• 3 Simple Ways to Earn Money and make a living in Thailand … – Three easy ways for Foreigners to Earn an Income whilst Living in Thailand. With the western world deep in recession, lots of people losing their jobs and homes, there tends to be an air of doom and gloom amongst the …
• Travel in Thailand advice and information | TTN – Thailand Travel … – Before choosing the right time of year for a trip to Thailand, beginning with choosing the right airline that will offer the best prices. Use search engines and travel agency available on the website Thebestofthailand. The number …
• Travel Scam Asia Story And 5 Top Tips | engagingthailandtips Blog – Travel is such a marvellous thing and to open my eyes and learn the cultures and traditions of another people is of great interest to me. However whether a traveller or a tourist the one thing that must be paramount when …

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