Updated 11 Feb 2016:
Updated 22 December 2015:
The petrol prices here dropped again last week and unlike Australia, where the government keeps prices artificially high with a heavy tax slug, we get the true benefit of low world oil costs:
E20, the ethanol mix recommended for my Mazda 2, is now priced at around A$0.88 a litre. The one at the top is diesel – even cheaper.
Updated on 22 November 2015:
I have been keeping a rough record of the various expenses we have had for the one month mid-October to mid-November and you can see the results HERE. A couple of things to keep in mind. There were two payments totalling 10,000 for Peng’s orthodontic treatments which were one off. A car service of 4,200 also fell in this period. I have fixed insurance annual costs which should be factored in – 35,000 THB for health, 14,000 THB car insurance, and 6,000 house and contents insurance – say 5,000 THB a month.
I will have missed some expenses but they won’t be major. The biggest living costs are the shopping for farang type essentials – Tesco Lotus items. I am surprised at how little we spend on local market shopping. Gaun tends to buy meat in bulk and a little goes a long way in Thai cooking. Massages are not part of everyone’s expenses. I enjoy them and my step daughter Peng has started a weekly 2 hour massage for health reasons.
We spent three days in Bangkok and I haven’t listed those expenses. It was a once off and therefore not useful to include in this list of costs.
16 November 2015:
A reader of the blog living in Bangkok has written to share his very comprehensive record of living expenses and you can find his post HERE. Obviously everyone has their own demands and priorities when it come to personal spending but It will be interesting to compare this Bangkok orientated list with the one I am preparing based on living in a small rural town at the other end of the country. Thanks for sharing Karsten.
Fresh Food HERE
Farang Food HERE
Useables HERE
Garden HERE
Utilities HERE
Services HERE
Treats HERE
I thought I would pin this post to the main menu of my blog and then I can add to it as I record various new expenses.
It will give you some ideas of the cost of living here in Isaan and give you a basis for comparing that with your current expenses wherever that might be.
As you can tell if you live like a local it can be dead cheap. Anything farang orientated is mostly what you’d pay in your home country or more. Most service that involve a large labour component are very cheap. Where people earn 300 – 400 THB or $12.00 – 16.00 a day it isn’t hard to work out why. Anything imported is hit with huge taxes and ends up being expensive. Electronics are probably as costly here as back in Australia.
You can rent a decent Thai style two bedroom house with hot water and maybe air con for 5,000 THB ($200.00) a month.
The dollars here are Australian based on the current rubbish exchange rate of $1/25 THB:
7 October 2015
We have just returned from local market shopping as we have a couple of friends coming over for a farang dinner tonight. Orange brandy and chicken pate for starters, plus a roast shoulder of New Zealand lamb and creamy potato and onion bake for mains. Mojito and pina colada cocktails to kick things off made with fresh pineapple, mint and coconut cream the latter squeezed as we watched. The shopping basket looked like this:
Sugar peas 200 grams
Carrots 780 grams
Cucumbers 1.2 kilos
Limes 1.3 kilos
Tomatoes 430 grams
Potatoes 2.4 kilos
Onions 800 grams
Oranges 1.2 kilos
Gaun models the grapes. They are very sweet and tasty.
Grapes 1 kilo
Mint 3 large bunches
3 small pineapples
Total cost 570 THB or A$23.00
Chicken livers not shown 1 kilo 100 THB (A$4.00)
The meal on its way.
Fresh Food – obviously prices on vegetables change according to season:
1 kilo carrots 50 THB ($2.00)
I kilo garlic 60 THB ($2.40)
I kilo cucumbers 20 THB ($0.80)
1 kilo limes 50 THB ($2.00)
365 grams dried chillies 50 THB ($2.00)
1 kilo of small mixed green and red tomatoes for pappaya salad 20 THB ($0.80)
350 grams of full sized red tomatoes 30 THB ($1.20)
30 (size 1 – large) eggs 110 THB ($4.40)
Chicken breast 80 THB/kilo ($3.20) market (75 THB Tesco Lotus supermarket)
Chicken wings 100 THB/kilo ($4.00) market (125 THB Tesco Lotus supermarket)
Pork from local market 120 THB/kilo ($4.80)
1 kilo of local pork.
Pork tenderloin 162 THB/kilo ($6.50) – Tesco Lotus
Potatoes 40 THB/kilo
Fresh fish 80 THB/kilo ($3.20)
Prawns 220 THB/kilo ($8.80)
Whole watermelon 40 THB ($1.60)
Asparagus 50 THB a bunch 450 grams ($2.00)
Pumpkin 25 THB/kilo ($1.00)
Grapes 120 THB/kilo ($4.80)
A bunch of fresh mint (for Mojito cocktails!!!) 5 THB ($0.20)
2 Litres of milk 92 THB ($3.70)
Campbell tinned soup 305 ml (small) 49 THB ($2.00)
Mainline cheese (Aussie) 250 grams 182 THB ($7.30)
Cornflakes 275 grams 76 THB ($3.00)
Instant noodles 10 pack 550 grams 51 THB ($2.00)
Sprite/coke 1.25 litres 28 THB ($1.10)
Allowrie butter 227 grams 87 THB ($3.50)
Orange juice 1 litre 62 THB ($2.50)
3 litre Berri cask wine (basic Australian) 650 THB ($26.00)
A case of Leo beer 12 large bottles 650 THB ($26.00)
Spirits are cheaper than Australia where so much tax is levied. I will make a list and report back soon
400ml flavoured milk 22 THB ($0.90)
French fries (yes I know!) 1 kilo 135 THB ($5.40)
Spanish olive oil 250ml 72 THB ($2.90)
Bacon (packed) 150ml 70 THB ($2.80)
Checking the prices. Peng reads from the docket, Gaun finds and I write down for the blog.
Glade air freshener spray 320ml 85 THB ($3.40)
Clothes washing liquid 550ml 16 THB ($0.65)
Car wash liquid 800ml 49 THB ($1.95)
Scotch Brite cleaning pads – kitchen x2 pack 26 THB ($1.05)
Nivea roll on deodorant 50ml 96 THB ($3.85)
Bleach – washing 600ml 26 THB (1.05)
Sunsilk shampoo 480ml pump pack 96 THB ($3.85)
Colgate toothpaste 180 grams twin pack 92 THB ($3.70)
3 pack Oral B toothbrushes 40 THB ($1.60)
50 kilo bag of pellet fertilizer 1,250 THB for flowers and plants ($50.00)
Rates: Nil
Water/sewerage: Nil (we provide our own water and have on-site septic)
Broadband – wireless 13 mbps unlimited downloads 740 THB/month ($30.00)
Electricity: billed monthly at 3.65 THB/unit plus add ons (service fee and VAT/GST). Our last bill for 655 units totalled 2,900 THB ($116.00) or 4.43 THB/unit ($0.177)
I thought I would add my monthly electricity payments here since the date we moved in. They aren’t directly helpful to others looking to work out expenses, as my electricity usage is obviously unique, but they give an idea of the seasonal use/cost of electricity. The bills are t0 the 17th of each month.
- March/April – 2,345 THB ($94.00) – we moved in 26 March.
- April/May – 4,238 THB ($170.00) – hot season and we are watering a lot plus air con.
- May/June – 2,947 THB ($118.00)
- June/July – 2,906 THB ($116.00)
- July /Aug – 2,465 THB ($100.00) – wetter and cooler.
- Aug/Sept – 2,474 THB ($100.00) – still using 9,000 BTU air con in bedroom every night.
- Sept/Oct – 2,883 THB ($115.00) – not sure why higher this month.
- Oct/Nov – 2,519 THB
- Nov/Dec – 2,669 THB – cool season but warm this year, nighttime mostly 9,000 BTU air con in bedroom set on 26 degrees. Watering every day.
- Dec/Jan – 2,462 THB – cool season but mostly warm, nighttime mostly 9,000 BTU air con in bedroom set on 26 degrees. Watering every day.
- Jan/Feb – 2,355 THB – cool weather continues. Mostly fan at night. Watering every day.
- Feb/Mar – 2,650 THB – we are back to using air con at night in one bedroom set on 26 degrees. Watering every day.
- Mar/Apr – 3,366 THB – We are using the two air cons in the living areas during the day as most of this billing period it has been over 40 degrees. We have a 12,000 BTU in the kitchen area and 18,000 BTU in the lounge. Running on their lowest setting because the house is very well insulated and I only need to drop the internal temperature from its natural base maximum of 30 degrees to 28. A Thai style house would have a natural base temperature the same as outside so the air con would be working to reduce the temperature by 12 degrees plus rather than the 2 degrees in my case. We are running one 9,000 BTU air con all night in the bedroom.
- Apr/May 3,584 baht. The peak of the hot season so our most expensive electricity bill. No rain so Gaun is watering every day.
- May/Jun 2,842 baht. Cooler weather and some rain.
- Jun/Jul – 2,280 baht. Cooler weather means that we are mostly only using air con in the bedroom at night. We have had rain so the garden isn’t being regularly watered. The combination has made a big difference to the costs.
Tooth filling with white insert 500 THB ($20.00)
Front wheel balance 100 THB ($4.00)
Car oil change and new filter 1,200 THB ($48.00)
Haircut male 60 THB ($2.40)
Massage 1 hour Thai 150 THB ($6.00) Oil 300 THB ($12.00)
Photo prints 10 x 15 cm 4 THB each ($0.12) including folder
12 months car registration 1,800 THB ($72.00)
Compulsory Third Party insurance 650 THB ($26.00)
Comprehensive motor vehicle insurance (260,000 THB value 2010 Mazda 2) with AXA including 24 hour assist 13,500 THB ($540.00)
Car service 80,000 km + disc brakes machined, wheel balance 4,200 THB
Large 16.3 kilo gas bottle refill – 380 THB (about A$15.00)
Cornetto ice cream cone 25 THB ($1.00)
Large iced coffee (Thai style), green tea or fruit iced shake 20 THB ($0.80)
Mentos roll of peppermints 10 THB ($0.40)
A Tesco Lotus shopping trip 1 Nov 2015:
Expenses Oct-Nov 2015
I wrote another post about the cost of living when we were resident in Chiang Rai back in 2013, which you can find HERE. It is more a summary of total costs rather than a breakdown that you see in this post however it helps round out the topic.
More to come so keep an eye on this post.
Thanks for reading.
Hi Tony, Hope you are all well?.Keeps the posts coming as they are always a good read. Hopefully the rate starts getting better before we are back in December.
Doing very well David. Thanks for the encouragement. I already have another couple of posts in my mind. They just keep on coming and I thought I would have run out of subjects by now.
Yes, I hope the exchange rate improves. I guess it will sometime. I have had a 15% reduction in my income since I moved here, which is a pretty big hit. Something people need to budget for when planning retirement here. Make your calculations based on the worst historical rate.
Hi Tony, just came across your site, great information here, thanks for taking time to do this. I’m also looking to retire in Chiang Mai (my partner is from there) we are currently in Sydney. You mention tax in one post, what’s the rate of tax you pay on your pension?
Thanks John and welcome. For some unknown reason the Australian Government treats us citizens living overseas differently both with tax rates and the eligibility for pensions. You would think that they would see it as an advantage to have us oldies become someone else’s problem rather than clutter up the infrastructure back home. Not so.
I pay 32.5% tax from DOLLAR ONE. No tax-free threshold. Why? Who knows. Once I hit 60 the rate drops to 23.5% from dollar one. I have a number of readers on this blog who still maintain a permanent residence status in Australia by keeping an address there and just travelling on long holidays to Thailand!!! It can be done.
Hey Tony, I am trying to understand how on earth chicken breast is cheaper than chicken wings???? Only in Thailand.
Keep on blogging. Xxx
I know. It is odd. Maybe more labour involved? I will check next time we buy some but I am sure that was right because I was surprised at the time.
Hi Tony, found you last week and I am back tonight to catch up. All great stories, extremely enjoyable. My wife and I have land in Ban Na Di (About 20k on the way to Phuwiang) We will build our Thai house in a couple of years. We go home to Thailand at least twice a year. Will be dropping in for a week in November on our way home from Exploring Vietnam a little. No doubt there will be a concert somewhere that we may catch up one day. HA HA. Thank you for the blogs, appreciate the factual, honest representation of life in the North East. It truly is a wonderfully colourful place when you emerge yourself into the culture. Cheers.
Thanks for the positive feedback Jon. You are just down the road from us so if there’s a chance to say hello when you are passing through in November please let me know. I have just returned from three days in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. It was a pleasure to visit there but a pleasure to get home to the quieter life here in Isaan. Not for all but certainly suits me (thank goodness).
Hi Tony,
I have read your website with interest. Seems we have some things in common; I spent 20 years in Canberra working for private enterprise. Now I reside in Melbourne and will move full time to Thailand (Sakon Nakhon) June 2016.
I am interested in understanding what is your average monthly spend in regard to all living costs; food, petrol, electricity etc….
BTW my wife and I will be up your way to play golf in early January 2016.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Shaune
Hi Shaune. Good to hear from you.
I was going to keep a record of my expenses to get a better idea of living costs. Your comment has encouraged me to get started. I will let you know how it looks in a month’s time if that’s OK. I have just paid 2,400 for car registration (1,800 THB) and compulsory insurance (600 THB). I seem to remember it getting close to A$1,000 in Canberra.
I haven’t been to Sakhon Nakhon yet. Gaun has a friend who returns home to Nakhon Phanom from England once a year and we are waiting until her next visit before spending some time in that part of Isaan.
If you had the time/inclination and you were our way you would both be most welcome for a meal and a chat in January.
All the best Tony
Thanks Tony,
I am looking forward to understanding the monthly cost of living.
I will email you before I fly out in December and give a clearer picture of our travels over Xmas/New Year.
Cheers
Shaune
The spreadsheet is happening in an unusual burst of self discipline. I will wait to hear your travel plans and if they include a visit to Si Bun Ruang.
Hi Tony,
Thanks for the info.
Can you email me direct as I would like to communicate privately if possible.
Maybe link up via Facebook also?
Only 10 sleeps and I am back in Thailand.
Shaune
Nice to see a fellow Tesco customer 🙂 – though my main reason for being with them is their online ordering service. It’s not the cheapest option, but certainly the most convenient if you can make do with a somewhat smaller selection.
I saw you are planning to do some expense logging for an entire month. I did that for about 6 months in Bangkok (can e-mail you the results if you like) and the most helpful app I found for that was called ‘Depoza’ (on Android). Though probably pen and paper do the job as well 🙂
Hi Karsten. We are lucky in having a full Tesco in the nearest decent size town to us 25 minutes down the road. We don’t go there that often as most everyday stuff can be bought locally or through the Tesco Lotus Express in Si Bun Ruang. Maybe once a month we do a major shop to stock up on usables and a few farang items. Tesco has bought a site downtown 5 minutes away and will be building a medium size supermarket, which will save us doing that trip. I don’t mind doing the drive as it gets me out of the village and we usually combine it with other things like the dentist for my step daughter or a massage for me.
Thanks for the tip on the expense recorder. I have to say that I am just recording everything in an Excel spreadsheet. Our expenses aren’t too demanding thank goodness so it is pretty easy to keep track. Even in Thailand the money seems to flow out quite steadily one way or another.
Would you be OK to have your expenses list published on the blog? I know that a lot of readers are interested in the cost of living in Thailand and a Bangkok record would give a very different perspective on costs than living in the backwaters of Isaan. I am happy either way so entirely up to you.
Thanks for your comment and feedback. Much appreciated.
Cheers
Tony
Sure thing – I just sent you an e-mail with the requested details.
Thank-you for this updated information on your total monthly costs of living in rural Isaan. If you take away the 10,000 baht for Peng’s orthodontist, it looks to be right around what I am budgeting for when I am able to retire there.
I realize that you have built your own home, so there is no rental costs included. Do you have to pay any yearly taxes for your land and/or house?
Worming tablets? Please explain, if you don’t mind.
Thanks again for all this information.
No problems Michael. I might keep keeping a record for another month just to confirm the figures. The biggest variable is how much like a Thai you want to live. I have farang friends that have almost fully adapted to eating as a local, which as you’d know is super cheap. I am about 50/50 as I still enjoy western foods like the occasional steak, pasta and sausages etc. Breakfast for me is cornflakes, toast or a couple of times a week bacon and eggs. A Thai style breakfast just doesn’t do it for me.
Yes, owning your own home is super cheap once built. Unlike Australia where there are all sorts of “base” costs even if you aren’t in residence, here there is none of that. There are no rates or local taxes unless you live within a Tesaban area where there are some level of local council services provided – collection of garbage etc. We are self contained in sewage, water – both for house/garden use and drinking – and outside Tesaban. We don’t use the moo baan water but there is no fixed cost applied just to have the supply available as there would be in Australia. Electricity is calculated purely on a usage cost. If we’re away and use no electricity then the cost would be zero.
Probably too much information when I included worming tablets as a separate item. There is a bit of debate on the forums about the necessity of taking worming tablets here. An extract from Thai Visa here:
The most common anthelmintic would probably have to be albendazole. You can get it at virtually any pharmacy in thailand. I always see the brand Zentel, but there are many. Its my understanding that mebendazole is very similar. Others are available but you will have to look around a bit. And dont mess around with these- they’re not candy!
I was surprised to learn (after a few years living here) that quite a few Thai’s and expats take these (albendazole) once a year or so to “de-worm” just on the chance they might have picked up something. No one ever told me (except after reading about it though this forum- thanks again!).
I err on the cautious side and take a three day course twice a year and get Gaun to do the same. I think there is a greater risk of picking worms up here but others say they have never had problems. It isn’t one of those front and centre topics is it?
Cheers. Tony
Hi Tony,
I’ve followed you blog for a while back in Tasmania.
Now I’m dipping my toes in the pond at Ban Ped, Khon Kaen.
I will be leaving the Kingdom around 7th Feb and would deem it quite a privilege to catch up with you before then.
Our life story and circumstance has many parallels.
Enjoy the cool.
Regards,
Brenton
Welcome Brenton.
Just let us know when you plan to drop over. We’re about 1 1/2 hours drive from Khon Kaen. I look forward to meeting you and having a chat maybe over lunch.
Best regards.
Tony
Hi tony
Thanks for your website. My wife Jo and I are moving to Phuket on a retirement visa on 31 jan 2016.
Can you explain about your unique electricity useage, as your previous bills in 2014, were much lower.We rented a two bed villa back in feb 2015 for 24 days with air con , fans and pool pump and it came out to $60 aud.
Look forward to your reply and keep the posts going.
Nando.
Hi tony
thanks for your insight of retirement in thailand. My wife Jo and I are moving to phuket in feb 2016.
can you explain on your comment to your unique use of electricity. Your recent costs seem much higher than your costs back in2014. A number of websites average monthly costs of 55 to 65 aud. We were both in phuket feb 2015 and stayed in a pool villa for 24 days. We had aircon, pool pump, fans and large tv going and it cost 60aud.
look forward to your reply and further posts
keep up the good work
Nando
Hi Nando. Sorry to be slow in replying. We’ve had friends visiting over Christmas.
In 2014 we were renting a place in Chiang Mai. I presume you are referring to a comment I made on the cost of electricity back then? From memory we are paying around 1,000 plus extra here – more in the hot season. It is difficult to compare individual situations because the useage is such a personal thing. I can tell you that the extra we pay here is due to a few factors such as:
1. We have a storage hot water heater, which when compared to the little wall heaters is expensive;
2. We now have an extensive garden and due to the drought haven’t stopped watering it since we moved in. Gaun will spend up to 2 hours a day hand watering. The water comes from a bore (well) so costs to bring up plus the pressure pump to the hose.
3. We are still using air con in the bedroom overnight as the temperatures haven’t dropped in the cool season like they have done the last two years I’ve been in Thailand. We also cool the living areas in the hot season, something we didn’t in Chiang Mai as there was no air con in the lounge area.
4. We run a large pond filter pump all day and a couple of water feature pumps;
5. We have a lot more lights in this house although they are all LEDs. We use garden lights a lot too; and
6. The fridge has a built in ice maker, which although must be a very minor power user, would cost more to run.
I guess a combination of the above makes our electricity bill more expensive but if $60 or $120 a month it really doesn’t affect my lifestyle too much.
I hope that’s answered your question. If you need more info please let me know.
Tony
Hi Tony
Thanks Tony for your in detailed reply.
Jo and I are researching as much as possible so we can better gauge costs. One point that is very important to Jo is having health insurance. Any guidance on that would be greatly appreciated as so far it has been a bit hit & miss.
Thanks and have a great NY.
Nando
Thanks Nando.
If you have a look at my post HERE and read the section on health insurance you will get some ideas for Jo.
Hi Tony. Have been following your blog. I have been living in Phuket for 6+ years, with my girlfriend for 5 years. Her family is from the N.E. and recently we went to a lovely small city in the far N.E. on the Mekong. It was love at first site to me, especially after dealing with the dirtyness and buisiness of Phuket. We will be heading North in early March to look for land, and would love to visit you. Will be ordering your book as soon as I secure land. I am fortunate that I was a building contractor for 35 years (custom homes and remodels) and plan on doing a lot of the work myself as I am a hands on guy and will probably only hire out the concrete/block work, plastering, and the roof. OK, maybe the tile work as I want to finish before I am finished. I shall be incorporating solar as well as roof water collection for the gardens. Lots of ideas and perhaps the most difficult task will be finding the land. Thanks for all you have made available with your experiences. Steve
Hi there Steve.
I would enjoy meeting you and your partner if you want to come and see us for a chat. Nice part of Thailand up there along the Mekong. I have “met” a couple of guys through the blog who are building that way – although “that way” is a pretty big area.
Funnily we are visiting Phuket in March 7 – 11 as I try to take my Thai brother and sister-in-law away for a holiday once a year as otherwise they never stop working and I have seen more of Thailand than they have. Phuket isn’t somewhere I have any special desire to return to but it is easy to get there by direct flight from Udon Thani and I want them to experience the sea, something they’ve never seen. Also the sight of lots of farang behaving badly will be the talk around the dinner table back in Isaan for some time to come I suspect. All in good fun and hopefully my last trip back there. Hopefully your time here isn’t while we’re away.
I will send you my personal email separately so you can contact me outside the blog.
Cheers.
Tony