Money Diaries

Money Diary: How Much Do You Spend in a Week Living in Bangkok, Thailand?

May 30, 2019

Occupation: PYP Coordinator

Industry: International Education

Age: 50

Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Salary: $64,000 USD (includes rental allowance and responsibility stipend)

Paycheck Amount (Monthly): $3800 USD (I put 15% of my base pre-tax into a retirement fund)

Monday

I catch the free minibus from the MRT stop near where I live and head to school. Lunch is free and delicious. After school I go to tutor, earning an extra $38 which goes in my jar for weekend trips.  I take a motorbike home for $1.50, buy some street food on the way home for $1:00 and go for a splash in the pool.

Tuesday

I am running late so I catch a motorbike at $1:50, I take the bus home. For dinner I have Tom Kha Goong from our local cafe for $6.39. It is delicious. I go to 7-11 to pay my internet bill, $32.20 a month for unlimited phone data and unlimited streaming at home. I could cut that cost but I like this service. They are also very responsive and have English speaking operators.

Wednesday

I catch the bus to work, and tutor after work, another $38 to the extra trips fund.$1.50 again for the bike home.  Wednesday is a long day, I get home at 6, so I have a glass of wine. I am careful with wine here, the best deals I can get on drinkeable wine is $22.48 a bottle,  Dinner is from the local night market and costs $1.20

Thursday

Bus to work again, after work I have coaching practice down town, so that is $5:30 for the bike to get there in time. I come back on public transport at about $1. The metro stops right at the end of my road so it is really convenient. Sometimes I eat downtown with friends on a Thursday, an Italian with a glass of wine is about $25.00 USD. I am going out tomorrow though so I don’t stay this week. Tonight I decide to fast until lunctime tomorrow, I do intermittent fasting about once a week, it is healthy 🙂

Friday

Bus to work so no cost there. At lunchtime I order 3 books from Book Depository, books are expensive in Thailand so this is the cheapest way of buying them – $20. I go for a massage after work with a friend who drives. My local place gives a 20 percent discount if you buy a card for 10,000 baht, thats $314 Sounds a lot? That makes my 90 minute Thai massage only $12 so it lasts for ages. It’s an up front investment, I save $60 by paying up front. We have a light dinner in a local restaurant appx $6. Then I head off to wine tasting, this is one of the best deals in the city.  Every week a different region is featured, there are 6 to 7 wines on the list. Three hours of wine tasting with tapas for $31.40 is a bargain. Trouble is we tend to go out afterwards so I end up spending another $15-30. I tend to limit these nights to once a month.

Saturday

I am often out of town on a workshop or travelling for fun, so if I am home, I don’t do much on Saturdays unless I have visitors. I swim, clean house (I could get a cleaner for $16 a week but currently I choose not to as my place is really easy to keep). I take a few pieces of ironing to the local laundry, that will cost about $5.  Lunch is salad made at home and some hot smoked salmon. A friend gets me this for $32 a kilo, It stays frozen in pieces until I want it. A coconut is $1.50. If there is an exhibition or other cultural event I might go there which ranges from free to about $30. I book a trip to Phuket, where I go about once a month, total cost of flight, beach accommodation, sailing and food is about $380. But I love it, that is why I tutor.

Sunday

Catch up work day, and grocery shopping. Because lunch is provided, and I travel 2 weekends out of four, I don’t need a lot. My big monthly shop is about 100 USD, my weekly catch ups $ 20 – 40 depending on the week.  I have lunch at the local mall for $1.50, it is delicious freshly made Thai soup with steamed rice and an omlette. Totally delicious.

Monthly Expenses

$940/month rent (my allowance after tax is $630 and I could theoretically find a smaller less convenient place for that, but I love where I live so I bump it up)

$600/month put away for holiday travel

$380/month travel

$200/month groceries

$200/month nice restaurants and socialising

$50/month local streetfood and markets

$560/month retirement fund (comes out of salary pre-tax)

$32/month Internet

$27/month electricity

$6/month building water

$14/month drinking water

$40/month public transport

$10/month ironing

Savings potential on my (mid range for Bangkok) salary, and lifestyle is about $1300 a month, I also have my pension fund which my employer contributes an extra 5% to (appx $185 a month), so that is an additional $745 a month in a growth fund.

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Video Highlight

Video Highlight: British International School Phuket

March 4, 2013

There are so many international schools to work at in Thailand!  How do these schools stand out from each other?

British International School Phuket

It is not so surprising that an international school celebrates “International Day”, but how great that they have such a grand entrance to their school to display all those national flags.

They even set out a red carpet for the event!

What a great idea to have all visitors, important people, etc. sign their name on a huge map stating where they come from. That map could be a great addition to a front hallway display at an international school.

The school population does look rather diverse, even though around half of them are Thai.

Did you hear when the host mentioned about the Prefects at this school?  That seems to be a Harry Potter reference.  Do all British international schools have prefects?

Cool and colourful presentations!  Those costumes looked great, and so did the Michael Jackson impersonator!

How interesting that the more “important” people at the celebration get to sit in comfortable lounge-like chair in the front of the auditorium?

The student band looked and sounded great too!

It is great when a school has a history that started with a “dream”.  And it appears as if this dream really did come true because when you look at this campus in the video, it basically looks like some amazing castle.  Who wouldn’t want to work at British International School Phuket or attend here as a student??!

Currently on www.internationalschoolcommunity.com we have 46 international schools listed in Thailand with 4 of them being in the city of Phuket.  The number of comments and information that have been submitted for each school is listed to the right the link to each school.  Here are a just a few of them:

• British International School (BIS) Phuket (8 Comments)
• Phuket International Academy (11 Comments)
• Concordian International School (15 Comments)
• St. Andrews I.S Green Valley (10 Comments)
• St. Stephen’s International School (Khao Yai) (12 Comments)
• Prem Tinsulanonda International School (18 Comments)
• KIS International School (Bangkok) (39 Comments)
• Harrow International School (Bangkok) (16 Comments)
• International School Bangkok (16 Comments)

If you know about what it is like working at one of these international schools in Thailand, log-on today and submit your own comments and information.  For every 10 comments you submit, you will receive 1 month of premium access to International School Community for free!

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Video Highlight

Video Highlight: Hong Kong International School (Hong Kong, China)

July 22, 2012

There are so many international schools in Hong Kong.  Which ones are good places for international school teachers to work at?  How does the international teaching community view the international schools there?

Hong Kong International School

Inspiring speech by the founder of this school – Dr. Mel Kieschnick. What a history this school must have being that it was founded back in 1956!d

There have been 33 comments and information submitted on this international school on our website.  Want to know more about what life is like as a teacher at this international school?  Take a look a their profile page on our website – Hong Kong International School

Additionally, you can check out the school’s website here and their employment page here.

Currently on www.internationalschoolcommunity.com we have 23 international schools listed in the city of Hong Kong.  The number of comments and information that have been submitted for each school is listed to the right the link to each school.  Here are a just a few of them:

• American International School (Hong Kong) (22 Comments)
• Hong Kong Academy Primary School (14 Comments)
• Renaissance College Hong Kong (5 Comments)
• Singapore International School (Hong Kong) (7 Comments)
• Yew Chung International School (Hong Kong) (8 Comments)
• International Christian School (Hong Kong) (19 Comments)
• Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong (11 Comments)

If you know about what it is like working at one of these international schools in Hong Kong, log-on today and submit your own comments and information.  If you submit more than 30 comments and information, then you can get 1 year of premium access to International School Community for free!

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Video Highlight

Video Highlight: KIS International School (Bangkok, Thailand)

June 17, 2012

There are so many international schools in Bangkok.  Which ones are good places for international school teachers to work at?  How does the international teaching community view the international schools there?

KIS International School (Bangkok)

The school building looks quite big.  Also, there is a large outdoor swimming pool and a climbing wall.

The outdoor playgrounds appear to have tarps installed on the trees to aid in shading the heat from the sun.

Looks like the students enjoy playing soccer as most students at international schools do during their play time.

The school has the students wearing uniforms appropriate to the tropical climate of the country.

Every shot of a classroom makes it seem as if there is much learning space allotted for the students. It is nice to have a lot of space for students to explore and not be so distracted by others in the room.

The indoor shot of the atrium looks impressive and definitely creates a welcoming feeling as you walk along the hallways of the school.

I noticed a shot of an exercise room on campus.  I still haven’t had the chance to work at an international school that had one of these.  Would be nice to have access to a gym on campus!

Wow their special celebration days look to be quite the spectacular!  There is a great open space outside on the field to hold these types of big events.

There have been 39 comments and information submitted on this international school on our website.  Want to know more about what life is like as a teacher at this international school?  Take a look a their profile page on our website – KIS International School (Bangkok) (39 Comments)

Additionally, you can check out the school’s website here and their employment page here.

Currently on www.internationalschoolcommunity.com we have 24 international schools listed in the city of Bangkok.  The number of comments and information that have been submitted for each school is listed to the right the link to each school.  Here are a just a few of them:

• Bangkok Patana School (14 Comments)
• Harrow International School (Bangkok) (10 Comments)
• International School Bangkok (16 Comments)
• St. Stephen’s International School (Bangkok) (8 Comments)
• Hampton International School (13 Comments)
• Thai-Chinese Int’l School Bangkok (7 Comments)
• Berkeley International School (Bangkok) (8 Comments)

If you know about what it is like working at one of these international schools in Bangkok, log-on today and submit your own comments and information.  If you submit more than 30 comments and information, then you can get 1 year of premium access to International School Community for free!

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Video Highlight

Video highlight: Introduction to PTIS International School (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

November 1, 2011

PTIS International School (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

The location of the school looks quite serene, so green and clean-looking.  The area with the bike rider going along on a nearby path looks amazing.  Having a school around so much nature can be quite inspiring we would imagine.

Definitely looks like an inviting campus. The Olympic sized swimming pool is probably well appreciate by the students, parents and staff.

The cooking staff looks like they would cook up some great meals. Yum!  I wonder if the teachers eat for free.

On their website it appears as if they have a professional sports academies in tennis, cricket, golf and football.  Not all schools are offering that!

Check out their profile page on International School Community here.

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