The Family Budget

Even without statistical data, it is fair to say the majority of those moving to Thailand are single men. Ninety percent of those watching my channel are men and most are indeed single. The Thai government's increasingly tightened visa regulations have made it more difficult for those who are younger to move to Thailand long term. However, if you take a look at the budget shown below, you can see that although our budget is fairly high, speaking comparatively, but we pack in quite a bit, including tuition for our sons, expenses associated with this blog and my photography work, savings for a house, long term savings for my wife and I, and family trips to the US once every two years. 

So here's how our own budget breaks down:

Monthly Expenses (71,700)
​Rent - 7,000
Food - 20,000
​Electric - 5,500
Water - 150
Internet (True) - 750
Alex - Transportation to ROTC - 1,200
Kids - Lunch Money - 4,800
Dental / Eyes - 2,000
Doctor - 2,000
Medical Insurance - 3,800
Transportation to Work / Lunch - 6,500
Transportation (Scott) - 3,000
Tuition - van, uniforms, books, and after school tutoring - 15,000

Discretionary (24,920)
Alex - Music Lessons - 1,500
​Netflix - 420
​Clothing - 3,000
​Spending (Scott) - 12,000
Spending (Beau) - 12,000

Other (4825)
Miscellaneous - 4,000
​Bank Fees - $25 (825)

Savings (21,000)
Providence Fund - 6,000
Savings - 8,000
Trip to the US (1x per 2 years) - 7,000

Websites / Photography (10K + $82)
Equipment / Travel - 10,000
Adobe - $10
Aweber - $15
GoDaddy - $5
iCloud - $1
SmugMug - $20
Vimeo - $10
Weebly - $8

Total = 136,445 baht + $82 (2700)
​= 139,145 baht (132K) - $4350

The above budget is an average from a one-year period and the figures shown are estimates. Some months we spend under what is allocated and some months we go over budget. Every attempt is made to consider what is needed, however, it is impossible to budget down to the last satang. There are obvious difference when living in Thailand as a family versus as a single, retired male or a young backpacker unsure of how long they'll stay or will be allowed to stay.
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This budget allows our family to live a little as opposed to simply existing; if the kids need money for a field trip or campout, if we want to have dinner as a family every once in a while, go for ice cream, movies, birthday parties, gifts, etc., we usually have sufficient funds. We have absolutely no problem with going to parks or taking in a bargain movie, however the bottom line is some things take money. No bartering allowed. 

*** If necessary, items with the asterisks can be eliminated or decreased. Again, these figures are an average from over a one-year period and are approximations. ***