LIVING ON A $300 MONTHLY BUDGET IN THAILAND.
A lot of people ask me how much I personally spend per month living in Thailand. I tell them that, if I absolutely needed to, I could survive for around $1000 per month. I don’t live like a king, but I live comfortably and am able to pretty much do whatever I want to do. Immediately following this question, many will ask something like “Could you do it with less money?”
This honestly depends on your style of living. I have met one person to live in Chiang Mai on $100 USD per month, but he has very special circumstances. However, I have met several expats here in Thailand living on $300 per month, give or take, but it is not always their ideal situation. That being said, I wanted to break this budget down for you so you’ll get a rough idea of what $300 per month will get you.
You’ve all heard the hype that Thailand is cheap – and I agree. But, like anything – moderation is the key. Everything adds up and one could lose count, lose control, and lose a life savings in a blink of an eye. A guy could realistically spend $1,000 USD per day here, and plenty have. I see these guys all the time that come and get caught up with all the girls and – before they know it – they’ve dropped their mortgage for an entire year – on some chick (or group of chicks, and sometimes… chicks that weren’t really chicks). The best advice I can give – is come with a budget, and stick with it. I don’t really recommend coming with a limited amount of funds, with no way to get more – because shit does happen, and you may have an emergency.
Self control and self discipline is the key to surviving life, but especially a Thailand adventure.
At the time this post was published, $300 was equivalent to about 9,600 Baht; and all conversions are based on the current exchange rate of $1 USD to 31.99 Thai Baht. To start things off, the minimum wage of a Thai worker is 10,000 Baht ($313) per month. Often people making this salary live with friends or family, have little to no bills and eat stall food every day. Should they have any medical problems arise, they can go to any government doctor or hospital for free.
Shelter
Now, if you want to challenge this budget – you’ll first have to find a place to crash. You can find apartments, with no hot water and no air conditioning, in most areas for as little as 2,000 Baht per month, but the average for something like this would be 3,000 baht. These apartments are nice, often furnished and may even have a balcony. Don’t forget that you will need to put a deposit down before you move in; this is usually 1 or 2 months’ rent.
Utilities
You’ll be responsible for electricity, water and most likely WIFI. Rates for electricity greatly vary and can range between 4-7 baht per unit. Assuming you will be only running a fan, maybe a small fridge and some electronics, your electricity should cost no more than 400 Baht per month. Water is usually a set price at 100 Baht per person per month. Many of these Thai style apartments have WIFI, but you’ll have to pay a monthly fee of 300-400 Baht per month. If you don’t require internet access on a regular basis, you could get away with using the WIFI at coffee shops and restaurants-as long as you order something.
Food
With this kind of budget, you’ll have to eat at the stalls set up alongside the road and at markets. You can find some really great food at prices between 25 and 35 Baht. One thing to mention is that portions are small; I don’t know too many guys, or girls for that matter, able to get completely full on one dish. If you allocate 90 Baht per day in meals, you may be able to set aside another 30 Baht per day for snacks like fruit.
Transport
Ideally, you plan on walking to most places. If you do need to need to get somewhere in the city/town you’re living in; public transport will be your best option. Local buses start at 5 Baht per trip, songtows 15-20 Baht and tuk tuks range from 50 Baht upwards. If you’re in Bangkok, you can take the Metro or Sky Train for 30 Baht.
Before I get to the fun part of living in Thailand, let’s add up your total expenses so far.
- Accommodation: 3000 Baht per month
- Utilities with WIFI: 900 Baht per month
- Food: 3600 Baht per month
- Transport: 200 Baht per month
Total so far: 7700 Baht
This leaves you with around 1900 Baht, assuming the exchange rate of $300 equals 9600 baht.
Entertainment
Drinking: If you crave a beer, every now and then, you can head to a local bar for Thai Beer. A large Chang will cost 80-100 Baht. Alternatively you can go to a mom and pop shop, or 7-11 and buy the same size Chang for 55 Baht.
The Girl: For times when you’re feeling lonely and need a bit of company, you may want to hook up with a girl. Now, here is where how much you will pay greatly vary depending on the circumstances. So, I am going to leave this for a post on its own. For now, let’s put it at a very modest 500 baht.
Explore: Weekend trips could be a viable option as long as you resort to the cheapest public transport and accommodation.
Train: You may be able to fit in a few Muay Thai sessions every month with your left over money. Do some searching around because the prices greatly differ.
Other
A lot of people forget about the other expenditures that will no doubt come up. For example, you will be responsible for all costs accumulated from an accident or health problem – though that may not be much of an issue, if Thai Officials get their way with Compulsory Travel Insurance. But, what happens if someone steals your clothing out of the washing machine? Unlikely yes, but it can happen – you will need money to buy new clothes. Don’t forget that you will have to pay for visa runs if you are planning on staying longer than the set number of days in your passport. These are not exactly cheap and have to be done. If you do need to go on visa runs, there goes all of that leftover money you had for entertainment. Now, you’re broke…..and in Thailand.
Is living on $300 a Month in Thailand Possible?
As you can see, it could be done, but you will struggle! Unless you are able to share your accommodation or find some special situation in which you will get free food and lodging for work then, I recommend trying to save up some more money. Otherwise, you may not have the best time.
There are options to make money; you don’t need to rely on the traditional 9-5 job. Check out my post on making money online. It will point you in the right direction so that hopefully you can extend your monthly Thailand budget to at least $600.
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