I haven’t written a post like this in a long time. It’s been something like two years now. Time flies, which is just one reason why financial independence is so important.
For years, I revealed the details of my real-life spending every single month. I showed exactly what I earned and spent, keeping myself honest and inspiring others to save/invest more in the process. It was a wonderful way to motivate both myself and others toward financial independence. And I wouldn’t have done any of it differently.
However, after years of posting the monthly budgets, I became a little weary.
I began to feel like talking about what I was spending on electricity or groceries was kind of a wasted opportunity, where I could have instead used the resources involved (time, creative energy, etc.) to discuss something far more insightful.
In addition, it became apparent to me over time that there were some people who were only interested in what I was making and spending. This misses 99% of what I write about.
In my view, the budgeting is the easy part. Once you have it figured out, it’s just a matter of cruising along until you hit your financial goals.
The bigger challenges in life require the constant striving toward one’s potential as a human being.
As such, I’ve found it more engaging to write about things like compelling dividend growth stock ideas, dividend growth investing as a long-term investment strategy, becoming a better/happier person, and living a more fulfilled life.
So I now split most of my creative time between writing about investing and writing about the benefits and mechanics of a holistic lifestyle that’s underpinned by financial independence and designed to maximize one’s happiness and quality of life.
That said, relocating to Chiang Mai, Thailand as a dividend expat has rejuvenated my enthusiasm about sharing my real-life expenses, mostly because I find it appealing to share what this new and different cost structure looks like in real life.
And so I’m going to reveal what I spent (rounded to the nearest dollar after using current exchange rates) in October 2017 (my first full month in Chiang Mai). Philanthropic giving and business expenses are excluded.
Without further ado:
| Rent & Utilities | $464 |
| Food | $397 |
| Amusement | $99 |
| Visa | $67 |
| Coffee Shops | $54 |
| Transportation | $51 |
| Gym | $33 |
| Health/Personal/Toiletries | $29 |
| Mobile Phone | $15 |
| Gifts | $10 |
| Everything Else | $68 |
| Total: | $1,284 |
The Everything Else category includes expenses that don’t have a budget. I had to buy a new phone charger after my charger broke one night. I also left an umbrella in an Uber one evening, which required me to go buy a new one. Lastly, I had to also buy a new pair of gym shoes, as my old shoes were old and worn out.
The total amount of money I spent in October 2017 slightly exceeded my passive income of ~$1,200/month (I don’t count blogging/writing/coaching income as passive, unlike a lot of people), but this was by design. Said another way, it was on purpose. I didn’t hold my spending back in any way whatsoever.
I was actually curious what I’d spend if I were totally unchained from budgeting/limitations.
Well, I have my answer.
There was perhaps a bit of a coiled-up spring inside of me. After living so frugally and watching expenses so closely in the US, for so many years, I felt like letting loose once I got here. Of course, my idea of “letting loose” is probably quite a bit different from what other people would think of that term. It’s all relative.
Plus, I wore many hats during the month of October.
I was a social entrepreneur, meeting like-minded people left and right. This involved a few more coffee shop visits than I’d probably otherwise partake in. But I really enjoyed it all. It’s been truly fantastic. I’m far more social here than I ever was in the States. This is largely because I no longer feel like a stranger in a strange land. I’m still an introvert (it’s not like I’m whooping it up late night at clubs), but I’m able to have these meaningful conversations with small groups that totally fills me with inspiration.
I was an urban bachelor, living in a gorgeous (but small) and fully-furnished apartment that’s located in one of the hippest and most walkable parts of the city. I’m dating someone and paying for everything. We’re taking Uber almost everywhere. We’re going to the movies. We’re eating out of the house for every single meal. We’re doing whatever we want, really.
I was a tourist, living in a totally new and foreign city for the first time in my life. As such, there’s a natural learning curve. I don’t know where the best places are for everything. I sometimes spent too much. I sometimes made mistakes. I also visited some of the city’s finest attractions, climbing mountains, petting tigers, and walking around ancient temples in the process. Actually, I was a tourist times two, as I was visiting all of these places with the girl I’m dating – and I was paying for her, too.
Truth be told, I was practically spending for two people for much of October, since I would have for sure spent considerably less money if I were just paying for me. Multiple dinners and events involved me paying for both of us.
Yet I still spent very little overall money.
I have no doubt in my mind that this exact same lifestyle would cost at least three times more in a comparable city in the States.
And that’s not even factoring in the savings on health insurance and income taxes. Both would be significant (if I were still living in the US) due to my business income. However, both have been almost totally eliminated.
The value here is incredible. And I can say that the move has exceeded my expectations thus far.
One of the reasons I moved over here was for the building of relationships, which I’ve openly discussed. I could just stay in a cheap apartment (or get a roommate), never date, pass up the opportunity to meet people, not explore the city and surrounding area, and spend less than $500 per month here. That wouldn’t be a problem. But that’s not why I came. Nor is that how I want to live.
All of the saving and investing is a means to an end. I did all of this to be free to live life as I see fit.
For anyone following me on Twitter and checking my updates, you’ll see by the pictures I’m sharing that I’m living a very rich and active life over here.
That said, I feel good knowing I have an ace in the hole. There’s a lot of wiggle room in my budget. If some kind of catastrophic event were to occur and cause my income to materially drop, it would not be that difficult for me to scale back.
Looking at things another way, spending $1,100 to $1,200 per month represents kind of a bottom for me in the US. That’s “scraping the barrel”, more or less. But spending $1,100 to $1,200 per month represents kind of a top for me here in Chiang Mai. That’s essentially me going about life without worrying about money or spending at all. And so I could scale that back quite a bit, if I had to. But I don’t anticipate such a need arising.
In conclusion, I would have had to be a bit more cautious with the spending if passive income were all I had to live off of. Simply cutting out the tourist stuff would have dropped me below $1,200, but I fortunately don’t have to confine or limit myself like that. My active income complements my passive income (and vice versa). So if I want to, say, travel to a different part of the country (or a different country altogether), I can do that (regardless of the cost).
Being financially free means one is free of financial concerns. And that’s where I’m at. Knowing that I’ve got my core personal expenses (rent, food, transportation, phone, etc.) covered via passive income totally frees me to live life completely on my terms.
It just so happens that living life completely on my terms costs very little because of who I am, what I value in life, and where I’m now living.
I wanted to share these real-life expenses with you readers in order to show what geographical arbitrage looks like for me in real-time. While my lifestyle/spending doesn’t necessarily correlate all that well to anyone else’s lifestyle/spending (which is partly why I stopped sharing the spending updates), I still think there’s value to be gleaned from the peek at what living life fairly full-out (by my definition) looks like in a place with such a dramatically lower cost structure than the United States.
How about you? What was your spending like for October? Did you enjoy seeing my expenses for Chiang Mai?
Thanks for reading.
Image courtesy of: Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
P.S. If you’re at all interested in becoming a dividend expat, or even just becoming financially independent, there are a number of resources that are invaluable toward that end. Definitely check them out!
Hi Jason,
Excellent article, thanks for sharing your October expenses, it is always encouraging to be able to live in
a comfort life style while maintaining social and active relationships within your expected budget.
I think it is widely expected that your expenses will drop further in the future as you gain more knowledge about the city and you eventually reduce certain amusement expenses.
ATM,
Happy to share. I’m actually kind of excited to talk about expenses again. I’m not sure if this will provide a ton of value an perspective to everyone, but I hope it gives a few people out there an idea of what might be possible.
I anticipate my costs lowering a bit. So that may mean I spend less. Or maybe I just end up doing a few more things. Not sure. But it’s nice to know that things could come way down, if they had to. 🙂
Cheers!
Hi Jason! I’m happy you’ve shared the expenses in your new city. I stopped sharing mine at least a year ago too. But I may share my annual expenses again next month now that I’m self-employed. Apologies if you have already addressed this, but you are self-insuring for healthcare, right? Do you think living in Thailand is feasible for anyone with any kind of chronic health condition?
Kate,
Thanks so much! 🙂
Yeah, I totally hear you there. I’m glad you get it, too. I can only share what I’m spending on bread and rent for so long before I just can’t do it anymore. I’m kind of excited to go through that stuff once more, only because things are just so different now. It’s nice to compare things (to the US) and provide some perspective. Not sure I want to make a monthly thing out of it, but it’s nice to see this kind of thing here and there so that people can quantify and make something out of the numbers (even if my situation doesn’t necessarily correlate all that well to anyone else’s situation).
I don’t have health insurance. I’ve already got a (lengthy) article written on the how/why of that. That said, I don’t have any health conditions of any kind. If I did, I’d simply research and find out what the costs might involve here, which would then allow me to make an educated decision. Healthcare expenses in general are substantially cheaper here. I know because I’ve inquired. A doctor visit is roughly $10, for example. And there’s a world-class hospital within a five-minute walk. So it’s really neat.
Thanks for dropping by!
Best regards.
Hey Jason, awesome article, as always. I have to ask you about the dating situation. Is this a Thai woman? Or another expat who is also in Thailand? What are the (cultural) expectations? Do you feel compelled to pay for everything. I was single 5 years ago, and many of the women I dated opted to chip in and contribute to the experience of dating, which I actually appreciated a lot. I always wanted to conform to what is expected in being a ‘gentleman’, and at the same time, I am looking for a partner in many areas of my relationship, including finance. Just curious as to your perspective on this. Many thanks. Andrew
Andrew,
Yeah, that’s a great question. Also a tough question, because everyone has different views on this stuff.
The girl I’m dating is Thai. I already noted before that I’m not interested in dating American women (nor have I been for a long time now), and Western women in general are often just passing through anyway.
It really depends on the situation you get yourself into here. Some women are poor. Some are doing quite well for themselves. The girl I’m dating has a full-time professional job. She has her own car. Has her own house. But her purchasing power isn’t even in the same universe as what I’m working with, so I’m not going to press her about the $5 her dinner might cost me. It doesn’t bother me one bit to pay for her. I feel great if I can take care of someone, especially since the male-female dynamic (from what I’ve personally seen and experienced here thus far) is so different from what I’ve seen in America. If we were to get serious and talk about living together or something (way down the road), then we might have to see about splitting housing costs and perhaps some other things. But it’s not a concern for me right now. Dating in general would cost me way more in the States, regardless of “chipping in” (as men very often shoulder more of the cost, as expected, in a place where the cost structure is much higher), which is just one more reason I came over here.
Not sure if you already read the article, but I covered some of the dating angle here:
https://www.mrfreeat33.com/two-big-reasons-behind-my-decision-to-move-overseas-and-become-a-dividend-expat/
This all said, another guy might do it totally differently. Might try to split everything down the middle right from the start. To each their own on that. I can only provide my perspective.
Hope that helps!
Best regards.
man this sounds so tempting to leave. I am not making $1200 in passive income, but I did past the $1000 a month mark which I am very happy about. Thank you for the report. I been looking forward for this post.
FV,
Hey, I’m glad to be able to provide some perspective. 🙂
I honestly couldn’t be more pleased with my decision to come over here. It’s exceeded my expectations across the board. I feel like I’m walking in a dream.
Best wishes!
Thanks for sharing Jason. It is amazing to see how cheap things are over there. Like you stated, I’ve been checking out the twitter/etc post and you are indeed living it up! All those years of saving are really paying off for you, congrats!
ADD,
Paying off in a big way. I worked incredibly hard to get to this point, but I’m also blessed and fortunate in so many ways. I count my lucky stars every day! 🙂
Cheers.
Thanks for sharing jason,
Looking forward to following along this ride with you.
It is amazing how the expenses are so much different between the two places.
-DG
DG,
Happy to share!
The value here is really incredible, especially when considering the overall quality of life. If the low COL and fairly high QOL were all you were getting, it’d be a very fine place to live. But it’s just so much more than that, which makes it such a wonderful place to live.
Thanks for stopping in.
Cheers.
Thanks for sharing. Really looked forward to this article. It would indeed be interesting to see how your expenses change when you settle in a bit more. Looking forward to the November update 🙂
SF,
No problem. Happy to share! 🙂
Yeah, it’ll be interesting to see how the expenses ebb and flow as things naturally change over here. I won’t always be single. I’ll find my routines. I’ll adapt to the lower cost structure over time. So on and so forth. But to come over here and spend without thought, yet come out so low, I’m very pleased.
I’ll see how I feel about sharing these expenses regularly. I’m mixed on it, but this was the first time in a long time I was excited about doing a post like this.
Cheers!
I just found you blog and it is a very interesting read. My life is very different from yours with kids in high school and college, a husband who is employed but has a chronic health condition. We have a mortgage, cars, tuition bills etc. however, we do save a lot and hope to retire early. Will continue checking in here to be inspired. Thanks!
SB,
Thanks for stopping in. Glad you found the blog! 🙂
My spending won’t necessarily correlate all that well to anyone else’s spending, but I thought it would be really neat to share what the lower cost structure looks like over here within the context of my own views on life, frugality, happiness, etc. No matter your lifestyle, though, the value over here is really incredible.
Best regards!
Thanks so much for sharing this information. I recently found your blog, and it is quickly becoming one of my favorites. It’s great to read how positive your experiences have been thus far in Chiang Mai, and makes me want to travel there with my family. That said I have a quick question (and apologies in advance if you have discussed this previously). I know you said that you don’t observe your expenses too often these days, but how do you handle the currency exchange rate charges from USD to THB, if at all? Are they built into the numbers you present above, or am I missing something? Thanks again, and all the best!
Danny,
Glad you found the blog. Hope you continue to enjoy the content! 🙂
I track every expense. I input expenses into Mint at the end of every day. Most transactions are cash over here. So I just keep a running log in my phone (in baht) each day. I convert baht to dollar on the day the transaction is input into my Mint account. As such, the expenses you see above are accurate as of the day they occurred, which is as accurate as it’s going to get.
Hope that helps!
Cheers.
Hi Jason!
Thanks for sharing, it’s very useful. Me and my wife are planning to spend 3 months in Thailand and one or two of them will be in Chiang Mai (depending on how much we like it).
We will be first timers in Chiang Mai, we have heard a lot of good things and realize that we don’t know the best places etc so we expect the first month to be more “expensive” than the rest (if you stay longer).
We could spend around $2000/month but hoping for around $1600 but we don’t want to hold back too much, we want to enjoy and be tourists and that seems like it would work out fine
Might see you in a coffea shop or at some meetup in January
Have fun
Rikard,
That sounds amazing. I hope you guys fully enjoy your time over here. 🙂
Definitely drop me an email if/when you’re in town. It’d be great to grab a cup of coffee.
Best wishes.
Even if your food expenses were cut in half, its seems comparable to my food budget for one in the US. Perhaps you will be putting those 5 pounds back on.
Fred,
I could spend $200/month on food in the States (and I have). But it wouldn’t be at all like it is here in Thailand. Those just looking to compare a dollar to a dollar, without factoring in the lifestyle difference, don’t really get it.
And since I’ve actually lost just a little more weight since I published that post on weight loss, I think things are turning out just fine. 🙂
Cheers!
Hi Jason,
I know that you are not interested in kids but you might have met expats with kids over there. I’d like to know how it is to raise kids there? Have you met any bloggers talking about that or have had that kind of discussions with some expats there?
Thanks for sharing the expense. It’s cool to see a real life example.
Cheers
Allan,
Happy to share! 🙂
I’m sure there are expats with kids here. There are international schools in the city. They’re not empty.
That said, I don’t naturally find myself reaching out to people with children, so I can’t really say what that scene is like. As I’ve discussed quite a bit, one of the things I love about living here is the ability to meet up with like-minded people (that includes people who don’t have children).
Wish I could help you more on that one.
Best regards.
Hi Jason,
I live in the SW region of the U.S. and if I wanted to I *could* spend $1,500 a month (not including health insurance) which kind of mirrors your categories (not amounts), except we don’t pay for the gym or transportation. But I spend a little more than that due to flexibility for groceries. That’s for a two-person household. For one person, it would be low $1k easy. It’s doable in the US, it just depends where you live and how well you live.
HP,
Yeah, I agree with you. I could easily spend $1k/month here (my spending on myself this month was probably near $1k anyway). In fact, I don’t think I’d find it all that difficult to spend less than $1k/month. I just don’t find a pressing need to watch my spending or try to get down to some predetermined level. If I can come out around $1,200 to $1,300 month, living as I do (not worrying about money whatsoever), I’m more than pleased. 🙂
Best wishes!
Hi Jason,
Glad to hear that you are able to spend as you please and still have it be very reasonable at the end of the month. That’s a true stress test on your finances! We also spend as we please and only give consideration to the big purchases. However international school education for our child is ghastly expensive but generally I see if people can afford it they do use these services so we are in that camp.
For what it’s worth I think the financial approach you are taking with the person you are dating is sound and will match with the culture here – both parties in the relationship will try and “take care” of the other party, whether financially or helping life be a bit more smooth while having fun in the process. It sounds like you figured that out. Of course there are people who are exploitative but when you see that behavior it’s time to cut the cord and move on without becoming bitter or jaded, like some tend to do unfortunately.
-Mike
Mike,
Yes, a good “stress test”. I like the way you put that! 🙂
I agree with you re: dating/culture. I tend to figure things out pretty quickly, if I’m particularly interested in something. I also agree with you that if there’s any kind of exploitation occurring, it’s time to move on. It should be a win-win situation, as always. The good news is that the dating scene here, in general, is quite robust. So there would be no need to be bitter or jaded. But to each their own on that.
Cheers!
Glad to hear you moved to Thailand. Ive been looking into moving to Eastern Europe because the heat does not agree with me. So far I have about 15000 a year in passive income but been experiment with making money on the internet as well. The passive income is between realestate and dividend income. Congrats anyway and home to join as a digital nomad one day!
reidar,
Sounds like you’re in a great spot over there. Eastern Europe definitely has some options, too, especially if the heat here is unappealing for you.
Cheers.
This is pure gold right here my man. Thanks for sharing, you’re a badass
Ronald,
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Best regards.
Player please! Haha sounds like your having a great time. Pretty cool to see how far money go’s in different places.
PCI,
I’m having a wonderful time. Couldn’t ask for more! 🙂
The value here is pretty amazing. I sometimes think I should write about my experiences here less, so as to not encourage more people to move here. Ha!
Best regards.
Jason,
It is always good to set up a budget and to track spending. No one really knows whether $1,284 is expensive or cheap. But I am always okay with spending extra $$$ if there is a purpose of spending. You enjoy meeting with new people in CM and date with someone but spend a little more $$$. That is totally worth of spending extra $$$.
We (2 adults and an adult dog) totally live off of our passive income (dividend payments, investment distributions, interests, etc.) and spent $2,352 last month that includes a one-time housing deposit (we moved to a new home). Our average monthly spending for this year to October is about $2,000. Our spending fluctuates due to the current exchange rate between USD and MXN.
If totally necessary, we can cut off many items like school tuition, my coffee stuff, dining, etc. They are discretionary expenses for us. But they are somehow our investment to enrich our life. So I am okay with those expenses as long as our passive income covers our spending.
ER19,
Yes, exactly. If you’re spending just to spend, you’re probably the type of person who doesn’t make good choices with money in general. And you’re probably not on the path to financial independence anyway. I find a lot of value and enjoyment in what I do/spend on. It just so happens that I don’t spend all that much due to who I am, what I value, and where I’m living (as I note in the article).
I hear you on having that flexibility. It’s nice to know that the spending could be cut, if absolutely necessary. I’m already in a really great spot here, but I know that I could probably adapt to any kind of financial situation. That’s very different than how it is in the States.
Thanks for sharing!
Best wishes.
My favorite blog. Seems like you a living a great life on 1300 dollars a month. Wow that is incredible.
The states would be double that.
David,
Thanks so much! 🙂
I actually think this same exact lifestyle, if it were replicated in a similar city in the States, would cost three times what I’m spending. And that’s before even factoring in taxes and health insurance. So my purchasing power has at least tripled. Likewise, one could live super frugally here and get by on a few hundred a month. So there are options, depending on what kind of resources you have and what you value in life.
Best regards!
Hi, Jason
And greetings from Finland. It has been great to follow your journey. I love budgeting it was nice to read about real life example from your expenses in new environment. It would be also nice to read in the future where your monthly budget settles in a long term. 🙂
I have a plan to make a same kind of a move in the future but to Cambodia. 🙂
Best luck!
AK,
Thanks for dropping by from Finland! 🙂
I used to really love publishing the budgets. But it took a toll on me after a while, especially as I started to grow as a writer and a person. Just felt like it was holding me back. That said, I’ve had some of my enthusiasm rejuvenated after coming to such a new and different place where the cost structure is so radically unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.
It’ll definitely be interesting to see where things settle in at, if only because I’ll be as curious as anyone else (since I’m not trying to “steer” or “control” things in any way). As such, I imagine I’ll be revisiting these posts at least occasionally.
Best of luck with the move over to Cambodia in the future. That’ll surely be very different from what you’re used to!
Cheers.
Jason, I never realized after Dividend Mantra changed hands that you were writing here (I was enjoying keeping up with your story there and was very sad when that happened). I’ve been missing out all this time!! I’m glad to see how far you have come with your goals and look forward to reading about your adventures in Thailand! I’ll also admit, I also am happy to welcome back in to my life another source of inspiration because I’m still struggling in the getting-out-of-debt stage and I feel like I’m losing my marbles. Someday..I’ll be an expat like you, if my plans don’t change before then. 😀 Happy to see you again!! Great work!
Jamie,
Hey, glad you found your way over here. I did my best to keep everyone in the loop (via social media and my freelance writing) once I started a new project, but obviously not everyone got the message.
Things are a lot different than they were when I left things off with Dividend Mantra at the end of 2015. But I’m having so much fun. I honestly couldn’t be more pleased with my decision to come over here.
Hope you continue to stop by and enjoy the content. I do my best to provide thoughtfulness and inspiration with every post, as always.
Best regards!
Good Morning Jason,
Look forward to your updates every week or so. My question is your making $1200 in dividend income a month, is this the same every month or more of an avg over the course of the year. I ask this because a good portion of the companies pay in months like Sept, Dec, March and June. I would assume your making more in those months then you are months like Oct and November.
Also after learning from you the past few years, in Sept I had my first $800 month. What a great feeling!
Jackal,
That number is just averaged out. The volatility between months doesn’t matter much to me. If I make too much in one month, it just rolls over into the following month(s).
Awesome work over there with getting to $800 in one month. That’s fantastic. You’re experiencing a level of success and freedom that very few people in this world have any idea about. 🙂
Best wishes!
To be honest, this is making me want to move to Thailand. Your monthly total expenses are only a little bit more than my housing expenses. Unfortunately, I got too much tying me down here.
Amazing that THAT is the result of you going spending-crazy, and glad to see that you’ve been enjoying your time there so much. I’ve seen pictures of your adventures in Chiangmai; you’re definitely having fun over there. Not sure I’d have the courage to pet a tiger, though.
Congrats on finding a girl so quickly!
Sincerely,
ARB–Angry Retail Banker
ARB,
It’s really crazy. As you can see via social media, I’ve been living full-out over here. It’s obviously not going to be like that every month (especially that whole tiger thing – ha!), but the one thing that won’t change is the absence of worrying about money in any way, shape, or form. I’ll just continue to input the expenses as I go, but I otherwise won’t be trying to steer the ship. I’m just going to continue going about my life as if money is unlimited. That, for me, is true freedom. To be free even from budgeting/money itself. I find it fascinating and gratifying. But me being me means that even that kind of unleashed freedom doesn’t result in a whole lot of money being spent.
Thanks for the support. I honestly feel like I’m living inside of a dream. I can only hope that so many other people (especially my readers) get to experience something similar when they get to where they’re going. 🙂
Cheers!
When I have significant change in my life, I like to revisit my expenses more closely and see what is happening. I find it helpful to understand and take control of my spending decisions. I hope it was a good exercise for you a well. Tom
Tom,
Well, I kind of already knew (based on research) what a month might cost me here, but I wasn’t sure what living full-out would run. I was curious. Now I have my answer.
I suspect things will drop a bit as I settle down, but it won’t be because I’m putting active effort into reducing expenses.
Thanks for stopping in!
Cheers.
lol.. 400 dollars for meals. That like $4.40 per meal 🙂 ($400 / 30 days * 3 meals) I assumed it was going to be maybe $2- $3 dollars a meal. (the last time I checked I think). But who can say no to a good pad thai noodles! (with lots of shrimps and squids/cuttle-fish). Nevertheless thanks for sharing. I enjoyed these updates with anticipation!
PS: Are you doing any tax gain/loss harvesting for the year? I was hoping you are watching the REITS industry with interests as most of them are getting value priced and their yield/payout is adequate to enhanced your current income.
PinealTone,
Yeah, it really depends on how you’re eating here. If you’re eating at the cheapest markets every single day, for every single meal, and you’re only paying for one person the whole time, you can eat on very little. But we were eating out at restaurants fairly often, and American food was in there sometimes. Even just a high-quality sushi meal for two people can add up in a hurry over here. But I’m not in any way trying to spend a predetermined amount of money on food (or anything else). The last thing I wanted to do was watch every penny for the rest of my life, until I’m dead. What a lousy way to live, in my view.
As for REITs, I just added to two. I noted that via social media, as I always do. 🙂
Cheers!
Sounds like a fantastic life to live! I really hope you are enjoying your time over there, I am really jealous!
BHL,
I’m super fortunate! 🙂
I worked very hard to get here, of course. But I just wake up every day with a smile on my face, thanking my lucky stars.
I can only hope for the same level (or higher) of happiness for everyone else out there.
Best regards.
Hi Jason, thanks for sharing you expenses in Thailand. Its definitely cheaper, no way you will find those expenses near close in the states. You work for this and its great everything is working out. Hey! you didn’t waste any time to start dating, I hope is a great girl , have fun! Omar
Omar,
Thanks so much. Appreciate the support. 🙂
It’s been really wonderful over here. The value is amazing. Almost hard to believe.
Hope all is well over there for you!
Cheers.
Hi Jason!
I really enjoyed the post, and find it very interesting to know what the true cost of life is, in different places, for people that are not older retirees. I’ve read about people in their 60s who retire to Latin America to dramatically reduce their living expenses, but I’d never read of someone in their 30s in Thailand!
~$1,200 per month is incredible. Here in Miami, “good” health insurance alone can cost more than that, as does rent or mortgage in a nice area. $1,200 per month here would be close to a poverty-level lifestyle, even if you owned your own paid-off home.
Technical question: When you say “Visa”, is that a Visa credit card, or do you have to pay visa fees to the Thai government on an ongoing basis?
Thanks,
Miguel
Miguel,
Ha! Yes, you won’t often read about someone who moves to Thailand permanently in their 30s to essentially “retire”. While I still work on passion projects, I don’t ever plan to have a job again.
I can get by on very little in the US. I’ve done it for years, so I know what’s possible. But the quality of life, options, and flexibility cannot be compared. My purchasing power has been at least tripled over here. The days of me watching every penny are over. That benefit alone is worth a lot of money to me.
As for the visa, it’s the latter. You’ll always have some kind of cost there, which will naturally vary depending on how you decide to stay long term.
Best regards!
Wow, this is what happens when you miss reading your favorite blog for over 2 months – the blog owner shifts across the world from Florida to Chiang Mai! Boy, you are killing it in Thailand, though the expenses don’t surprise me. A very good life can certainly be had in Thailand for $1500 a month or less from what I have seen. Of course, you will need to put up with cultural change and have a good companion, which in your case, you clearly do! Also, you may need visa runs very 3 months or so but this is common – many expats do across the border hopping, to renew their Thai visa. That of course will disappear once you and your GF decide to “move up” the relationship notch and get married – then you can live there forever and buy a house as well. Jason, you are always a genuine blogger and have followed you from DM days. Keep blazing the path!
The good news in all of this for me is that Thailand is close to where I spend significant time, so I will reach out to you Jason before heading over! Beer on me when we meet!
TFR,
Glad you stopped by! 🙂
Life is very different for me these days. That’s for sure. But it’s been wonderful over here. Couldn’t ask for more.
If you’re ever over here in CM, definitely send a note. It’d be great to meet up for coffee or something. There are these beautiful coffee shops on every block. I’m in one as we speak. The vibe is awesome.
Hope all is well!
Best wishes.