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Living Cheaply

ThailandGuru.com > Tips > living cheaply 

ThailandGuru receives a lot of inquiries by people who wish to live cheaply.

During the first few years of my stay here, I lived luxuriously, when good consulting work was abundant. All that changed around the 1997 crash, and when I hit rock bottom around the year 2000 (when savings had dwindled to the dangerous level) I learned to live almost as cheaply as any expat ever has here. I've rebounded since then, but my experiences for about a year certainly qualify me to preach what I've practiced.

How much do you need to live? Add it up yourself:

Rent: ________ This varies from around 3500 baht for a small room in a Thai apartment building with just the basics, to about 250,000 baht for a luxurious large home with a big yard in a good neighborhood. (The cost can actually be lower or higher, but I've got to chop the bell curve somewhere, and I think this comprises 99% of people I know.)

Electricity:

• 6,000 baht, maybe more, for a large house with continuous air conditioning (someone home all the time)
• 3,500 baht for an apartment or condo with continuous air conditioning for some rooms (someone home all the time)
• 2,000 baht if you run the air conditioner only at night to sleep.
• 200 baht for no air-con, no refrigerator, just fluorescent lights and fans

Water:

• 100 to 800 baht, depending upon family size, usage, yard watering, etc.

Food:

• 1500 to 3000 baht = 50 to 100 baht/day for "street food" dining out every day, 3 meals per day
• 10,000 baht for cooking Western groceries every day, never eating out (need kitchen/ette)
• 30,000 baht for eating out at Western style restaurants every day in the expat areas. Add more for alcohol.

etc., etc. -- I hope to finish this page sometime in 2003 or 2004.

  ThailandGuru.com > Tips > Living cheaply 

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