If you plan on moving to Thailand, the very first thing to do is to identify your expenses.
Do you know how much all your expenses will cost you each month?
- Housing
- Food
- Utilities (electric/water)
- Mobile Phone
- Internet
- Daily Transportation
- Medical Insurance
- VISA
Those are the big 8 expenses.
PS I will not even try to tell you what YOUR costs will be each month. That is 100% on you!
You should have a pretty realistic estimate of how much these 8 things will cost YOU every month and understand if you will be able to afford them with margin (money left over).
Many foreigners make the mistake of moving to Thailand and think they understand the big 8, which only gets them started off living in Thailand.
However, moving, rate increases, medical bills, can drastically change costs over time.
Understand the big 8 are only the basic monthly costs.
There are other costs that can add up like bank transfer fees and ATM fees each month.
You should not fall into the false bravado of you can live in Thailand for $1,000 a month the rest of your life, because it is simply not true.
Not only do you have to survive in the present, what about saving money so that when you are old and retired you have earned the money to afford to stay here?
Youtube never seems to tout the thousand’s of foreigner’s that moved to Thailand and then for one reason or another, could not afford it and had to move back home.
Youtube is all the fake stories. Don’t be foolish and fall into that trap or you will be sorry when you have to go home, years older and broke.
A stranger’s monthly expenses are not your own.
Who cares what someone else spends each month?
There is a realistic cost to living in Thailand and one cost story designed to get views on Youtube.
Can you really see yourself spending the rest of your life in a rented, box sized 1 room condo?
Thailand is no different than your home country.
There will always be costs throughout the course of your lifetime.
Life cost money anywhere.
If you make the mistake of moving for today, with no regard to costs in the future, you are guaranteed to fail.
Thailand is not a fun place to live on the cheap!
Understand the cost of your own happiness living in Thailand.
It might end up being a lot more than you bargained for.
Don’t trap yourself here with limited money.
You will end up hating living here.
It is imperative to have a plan B. A place to move back to, enough money to get a ticket back home, and some left over to start over in your home country.
There is a reason people all over the world work their entire lives, just to be able to save a small amount to retire on.