GBP vs THB

[Dannie Boy]

Belt tightening already and unless I am repaid my loans to fellow farangs here it's either back to the jungle or join Sandman

But isn't it even more expensive to live in the UK than Thailand if you only have pension income?

[richard]

You can get allowances over there that you cannot if you live over here. Disability allowance, housing allowance, free bus passes, reduced rail fares, coal allowance, national health service ....et al

[chopsticks]

You can get allowances over there that you cannot if you live over here. Disability allowance, housing allowance, free bus passes, reduced rail fares, coal allowance, national health service ....et al

Coal allowance

Heating allowance for all over 60's even if living overseas in a Tropical country though ?

[lindosfan1]

If you claim before you move abroad you receive it I had in Thailand and in Greece. covers a bit of the extra cost of aircon.

[Siani]

But isn't it even more expensive to live in the UK than Thailand if you only have pension income?

Well, no not really, it depends on how fit and well you are. If you need Mega medication each month i.e.Tabs for blood pressure, diabeties, and any other common ailment. It may be cheaper to live in the UK. When I came out to Thailand the pharmacy bills were high for both Mr S and me...

Heating allowance is only for winter fuel. If you are over a certain age you can even get more, especially if drops the -3% for a week. I suppose aircon is maybe the same as heating?? The goverment will also insulate your house for free if you are over 60 yrs.

At the moment you can eat out quite cheaply here, it depends on what you want. At the moment you can buy a really good wine in the Supermarket for £4.99. Tesco have a half price offer nearly all the time, so you can buy a £10 bottle for £4.99 and if you buy 6 you can get another 5% off

Diesel is expensive, always has been... free bus passes for the over 60's

Anyway, hopefully summer is on its way...if I can I will try to go out to Thailand for part of next winter, and miss some of the freeze. To be honest, the last week although cold, has been glorious in Dorset, lots of sunshine, quite a change for Feb!
Please send more sunshine over!
There was areport on the news this morning that the pound fell to its lowest since June 2012

[caller]

housing allowance

What's the housing allowance for Richard?

[chopsticks]

May get worse as Moody's have now downgraded UK's rating from AAA.

[JimmyGreaves]

May get worse as Moody's have now downgraded UK's rating from AAA.

Lovely news!

[Siani]

May get worse as Moody's have now downgraded UK's rating from AAA.

Lovely news!

Apparently it won't malke a lot of difference according to some wizkid on the news this morning. There are not many countries in the world with AAA, most have lower...it still means the country is "stable". There are currently just 14 countries with the AAA credit rating . Two - Lichtenstein and Luxembourg - are not represented by country-specific ETFs . That leaves 12 countries that are and dozens of ETFs with which to see if the AAA rating has been at all meaningful in terms of equity returns in recent months.

[chopsticks]

May get worse as Moody's have now downgraded UK's rating from AAA.

Lovely news!

Apparently it won't malke a lot of difference according to some wizkid on the news this morning. There are not many countries in the world with AAA, most have lower...it still means the country is "stable". There are currently just 14 countries with the AAA credit rating . Two - Lichtenstein and Luxembourg - are not represented by country-specific ETFs . That leaves 12 countries that are and dozens of ETFs with which to see if the AAA rating has been at all meaningful in terms of equity returns in recent months.

Canada and Germany still have the top AAA rating. USA not anymore and it doesn't seem to have affected them too much.
There are 3 main ratings agencies and the other two (S&P and Fitch) will probably follow Moody's with a downgrade to the UK - the first time it's happened in over 30 years.
Following on from the USA housing loan crisis these agencies are less trusted and influential than previous.

[Zidane]

Dont forget the effect of the sliding Pound against the Thai Baht could have on your visa renewal.
Example : Extension based on Retirement,65,000 Baht per month (without money in a Thai Bank)

If your Pension/Income is 1,500 Pounds per month and you get 50 Thai Baht to the Pound,that equates to 75,000 Baht per month......HOWEVER.....
If your Pension/Income is 1,500 Pounds per month but you only get,say,40 Thai Baht to the Pound that only equates to 60,000 Baht per month.

That,on its own,is not enough to qualify for your visa renewal based on Retirement and you would have to top up your funds in a bank account so your monthly income plus bank account came to over 800,000 Baht per year.

I suppose those who are married could always go for the extension based on marriage (40,000 Baht per month or 400,000 Baht per year) but getting this type of visa can be a bit of a pain,I believe.

[PET]

Dont forget the effect of the sliding Pound against the Thai Baht could have on your visa renewal.
Example : Extension based on Retirement,65,000 Baht per month (without money in a Thai Bank)

If your Pension/Income is 1,500 Pounds per month and you get 50 Thai Baht to the Pound,that equates to 75,000 Baht per month......HOWEVER.....
If your Pension/Income is 1,500 Pounds per month but you only get,say,40 Thai Baht to the Pound that only equates to 60,000 Baht per month.

That,on its own,is not enough to qualify for your visa renewal based on Retirement and you would have to top up your funds in a bank account so your monthly income plus bank account came to over 800,000 Baht per year.

I suppose those who are married could always go for the extension based on marriage (40,000 Baht per month or 400,000 Baht per year) but getting this type of visa can be a bit of a pain,I believe.

Do you think those persons were not aware of this - and perhaps did not want reminding ?

[Zidane]

I'm certainly not trying to cause any mischief with my post and would hope that most Expats would be aware of the economics.
But if the Pound did continue to slide,maybe below 40,then I think many of us could be affected.
You need to have a Plan B in place,just in case......no good burying your head in the sand.

[Siani]

I'm certainly not trying to cause any mischief with my post and would hope that most Expats would be aware of the economics.
But if the Pound did continue to slide,maybe below 40,then I think many of us could be affected.
You need to have a Plan B in place,just in case......no good burying your head in the sand.

I am inclined to agree with you...Forewarned is forearmed...no good brushing it under the carpet. It is a fact for some people that you need to have a certain amount of assets and/or pension income in order to retire to Thailand, as you do for other countries as well. We should look on the bright side however, be optimistic, it may not happen
For workers in Thailand earning their income in Baht, it is a gain at the moment, especially if you want to send money back to the UK.

[Big Boy]

Fortunately I've experienced 30 Baht to the Pound, so I'd have been very foolish to make contingency plans on anything more. It will be a struggle, but we will be able to ride the storm - in the short term, at least. It was not long after dropping to 30 Baht to the Pound that the Baht collapsed.

I'm no financial expert, but do you not think with the huge debts Thais are accruing that they are about to follow what the US/Europe are going through? From what I can see, they are borrowing well beyond their means.