Did you realize how easy it is to eat well and NOT spend a lot of money? Just to be clear, I'm not starving, living like a hermit, and didn't go out of my way to be cheap. This was an average day of eating for me. Yes, there are MANY very nice restaurants around where you can spend a lot more and have a more "traditional" sit down meal, but that's not what I did this day. Everyone will have their own preferences. Just watch, learn and enjoy.

@gmm5550

5 ай бұрын

best and cheapest everyday food in bangkok is outside construction sites..often do they serve up to 10 different dishes as a buffe and its really good. try it

For a single person like me, $2,000 usd a month seems reasonable. I don't drink alcohol or smoke or into bars and girls but enjoy travel and eating out.

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Great! Everyone will have their own budget. Thanks for watching.

Thanks for you video we will probably see in our travels we Just leased a condo in the Aeras arriving end of April.

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

I'm sure our paths will cross at the pool or market. Say hello when they do. See you soon.

I enjoy your videos... straightforward look at cost of living issues... I am all for challenges, but not when it comes to a tight food budget !! Far too restrictive. Even a Cheap Charlies special will set you back 180 baht with no drink. The real question is how realistic is it expect an expat to live almost entirely on Thai food (say six days a week). Possible, but not likely. I think a more realistic budget that allows you to eat wherever you want (except high end rooftop restaurants etc) with a mix of half Thai and half Western... might be in the range of 15k to 20K baht a month.

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Correct, everyone's preferences, needs and resources will driver their individual budgets. I've eaten "western food" only 3 times since I moved here, so for me, it's very easy to eat Thai food 7 days a week. That's just me.

Me and my wife go to whole foods... grab a big salad at the salad bar... 2 Avocados and a large bottled water each... 85$ Another good reason to move to Thailand

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Haha they don't call it Whole Paycheck for nothing. 🤣

Simply amazing! Great video!

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Thanks a lot!

Another good video +1 👍. Frugality is a virtue, allowing AMAZING treats from time to time.

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

So true. Thank you.

@andrewrobinson2565

5 ай бұрын

@@RetiringToAsia Could you do a video on the options for drinking water, please? How good is the reverse osmosis water 🌊? No problem if not possible. Sleep well 💤😴👍.

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Water here is cheap and easy to find. Are you talking about built in systems or just buying from the store or delivery service?

@andrewrobinson2565

5 ай бұрын

@@RetiringToAsia The water machine you showed in the lobby of View Talay 1b is a reverse osmosis water dispenser. I guess that's the cheapest. Then there's the "trip to Seven/Tops" option. Water dispenser hire with delivery too? When Rides4Kicks lived in Grand Avenue the water wholesaler opposite delivered bottles to him. It's not a video that I've seen done. Not everybody bathes in beer 🍻🤣👍.

@harrykeogh3994

5 ай бұрын

@@andrewrobinson2565 During the early Covid days I lived on the reverse osmosis water (1B per ltr) from a machine at my Condo & it was fine but I have used it from more public machines & it wasn't so great so I guess the answer is how often the machine is used & it's filters cleaned/changed. Friends of mine swear by the big Blue 18/19 ltr bottles delivered to your door for 30-45B per bottle (2-2.5B per ltr) but you're guaranteed it will be "cleaner" than water in public areas - Add on a cheap (

Good Job showing receipts brotha. Keep it up.

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Appreciate it!

4:51 is gonna have me hopping a flight

@RetiringToAsia

2 ай бұрын

Come on!

Its easily doable here. Im coming up on 3 months traveling around Thailand. Im staying down the street from the night market you went to. I got the burger in the back to the left of the stage. Im 43 but plan on retirement here in Thailand.

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Say hello if our paths cross. Thanks for watching.

Love these down to earth/everyday videos 👏😎

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Thank you

@user-qz3tk1kf1m

5 ай бұрын

@@RetiringToAsia great video. It all seems real the way you showed it. 5 more years and I'm there. Keep the videos coming

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

@user-qz3tk1kf1m it's real. it's my daily life!

@user-qz3tk1kf1m

5 ай бұрын

@@RetiringToAsia Love it brother. Do you know of any condos in that area that are pet friendly?

@harrykeogh3994

5 ай бұрын

@@user-qz3tk1kf1m All of the Rivera condos are pet friendly but there is a size/weight limit on dogs (largest I've seen when I was living at the Riviera Wongamat Beach was a Beagle which I think would be about the max). Best approach would be to contact an Agent (For Wongamat I would recommend Som at ACI Ocean Properties but Lazudi would probably have the widest reach) and ask them for a list of places in the areas you are interested in.

Great video M

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching.

The lady vendor at the smoothie shop was a classic beauty 💐

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

She's such a kind and happy lady.

What a great video. Where are u in Thailand. It looks like jomtien but not sure. I've been to Thailand countless times and planning to retire in jomtien this August. Food is super cheap and u can easily dine fir 200-300$ a month. That's indeed very doable I agree. Nice channel u got there. Hope to meet u August

@RetiringToAsia

2 ай бұрын

Thank you for the compliments. I just moved down the road a bit to Bang Saray but definitely let me know when you're in town.

That food court was amazing! Is that in Puttaya or Cha Am ?

@RetiringToAsia

14 күн бұрын

It's The Big Market in Jomtien

Full English breakfast is about 150baht. A 600ml bottle of water at 7-11 is 6-7 baht

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for reminding me. The water I bought was 1.5L and 14 baht.

Which night market did you walk too? You should do an episode on fitness. I'm speaking for myself, but I think most American retirees are in pretty poor shape when they arrive in LOS. I'm one of them at over 300lbs. Can't wait till I can get over there and come up with a good daytime routine of walking , stretching, and swimming to go with a "semi" calorie restricted meal plan. How many calories do you think you ate during this challenge?

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Hmm....I've never tracked calories but I have lost some weight since I got here. I walk if I'm not going across town but that's the only "fitness" I'm doing. Should probably take advantage of the gym here but haven't yet. "The Jomtien Big Market" (really its name) Soi 16

I alternate daily between krapow and boat noodles for lunch . Very rarely have i spent more than 100 bht on food and drink before 7pm . I dont look at it like surviving its the way i choose to live now . I also benefit from being 1 of only a few farangs in the atea so prices are Thai prices not tourist .

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

I'm with you! It's all about living in a way that makes each of us happy.

As I commented on one of your previous videos, we tend to eat at home >95% of the time & it is much more expensive than eating out. E.g. This mornings breakfast (after 2.5 hours in the gym) will be an omelet consisting of: 4 Eggs - 50B 200g leaned mince pork - 70B 50g Cheese - 30B 1/2 chopped onion 5B Total: 155B Add some beans on the side (30B), a Protein Shake (buy in bulk so 40B) & I'm at 225B without the 2 cups of Coffee & 2ltrs of water. I eat 3 meals per day all costing at least this & my partner tends to eat 1.5 times a day so I can see now how I spend 1,000B per day on groceries :( One exception where we do eat out is when shopping at Terminal 21, the food court is ridiculously cheap there & the food is pretty decent.

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Thank you! I'm often asked about the cost of cooking at home, but I can't answer. I'd heard it was more expensive but had no proof.

@roygoad2870

5 ай бұрын

Much cheaper to cook at home imo, especially for two people, when you have a live in Thai girlfriend, we buy all our fruit, meat and vegetables from the massive market Ratanakorn in Thepprasit Road. It’s potentially healthier too, in street food they tend to add sugar and msg!😊

@oldthaiexpat

5 ай бұрын

You can get 30 eggs at Makro for 130 baht. You can get 1kg of lean pork loin at Makro for 200 baht. You should try Makro because it seems you are shopping at the most expensive place. Makro has boneless chicken breast for about 70 baht per kg. Also very good prices on fish

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

thanks for watching and the input

@harrykeogh3994

5 ай бұрын

@@roygoad2870 For me, It comes down to the quality of the ingredients & if I'm honest, I have never seen meat for sale in a market that I would buy/eat, nor would I buy/eat the meat from Makro, Big C or Tescos (when I lived in Bangkok, I would buy all my meat from Tescos but it seems to have gone downhill since Covid), so I buy it from Foodland/Central & pay a premium for doing so. As you can probably tell, I'm a very fussy eater who doesn't eat Fish/Sea food (mild allergy) or chicken so it's beef (at a minimum it has to be Australian Beef, the Thai Beef is inedible to me), lean Pork & Duck all of which are much more expensive than Chicken/Fish. Add to this my Thai GF eats completely different food to me (not because of the spiciness, if anything I like my food hotter than she does) so we don't get the savings from 2 people eating the same food. Too each his own, I don't worry about it too much as I don't have any other vices so splashing out on food is my treat to myself 🙂

i am doing the same thing here in Chiang Mai. keeping track of every expenditure daily. just want to see where it all goes. full CM retirement 05/2024. Hot damn !!!!!!

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

That's great! Congratulations.

@harrykeogh3994

5 ай бұрын

When I was planning for my retirement, I got into the habit of tracking all my expenses on my mobile using "Spending Tracker" which is available for free from App/Play store though I paid a nominal amount (IIRC 149B) to upgrade to the "Pro" version which allowed me to export everything to Excel. Good luck on your upcoming retirement, not long to go now :)

I am from Belgium and I also want to retire in Jomtien within a few years, your videos are very good, I have subscribed and will see more of your videos, that's for sure, can you tell me the location where you ate your dinner? looked like a good place with lots of choice and good prices.

@RetiringToAsia

Ай бұрын

That's called Jomtien Big Market near soi 16

7-11 usually has a sale (different brands) on those size (1,500ml) water bottles, 2 for 20 Baht. Two of those bottles really isn't enough water for a day...day after day. MAYO clinic says that healthy men average 3.7 liters per day, women 2.7 liters per day. Leftover 16 Baht can get you a Sponsor or M150 sport drink to put some extra electrolytes in the body. Good video, thank you.

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching

Easy,done it in Feb.

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Can live and eat well for very little money.

Eating cheap is easy... Thai food is even cheaper if you go out of the tourist areas... but try to do keto (aka very low carb/no sugar) or carnivore (only meat/fish) in Thailand is a real challenge... Thai food is loaded with sugar, and carbs...

@kumasuke1

5 ай бұрын

I have easily eaten keto/carnivore. IF you love eggs you can easily get these cooked anyway you like for very cheap along with grilled meats. I ate 2x a day and was full with no cravings and hit my macro targets. This challenge is not hard at all if you cut out all the extra snacks, western foods

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

True, Thai food isn't very healthy. Lots of sodium, msg and sugar. Did you notice the clip getting my smoothie I said no sugar? I get one there almost every night and she'll usually say "no sugar" before I can.

@hownwen

5 ай бұрын

Yes, very unhealthy. I had a hard time eating out. Will have to cook a lot at home

@NotTomS

5 ай бұрын

@@RetiringToAsiaYes, you can ask all the vendors to reduce sugar... However, the sauces, glazes, etc already have that in the mix... Also, Thailand fruits are some of the highest in sugar content (mangos, bananas, pineapples, etc all have huge sugar content)... I generally avoid... cheers...

@NotTomS

5 ай бұрын

@@hownwenTrue, I love the mookata's, hotpots, etc where you cook it yourself...

I sometimes only spend 2 or 3 hundred thb aday and eat well

What was that meatball dish you had for dinner? I see so many videos of street food or market food stands and have no idea what most of those dishes are.

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

She said it was pork. I didn't ask beyond that. I love trying all the new food here.

Where’s that street food market you went to for dinner? Looks really nice!

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Soi 16 Jomtien

@hgraphix

5 ай бұрын

Thanks!

Some days i spent 70bht cause i was eating 1 gd meal! Rice chicken i was so full! Really easy to do that

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Yes, I have higher and lower spend days too.

@MeditateMeHigher

5 ай бұрын

@RetiringToAsia 💯 exactly n when I'm on a cut (diet) I'm not focussed on lots of food, just quality Keto 👌 meats haha! I enjoy avery quite simple life too... I'm not big on spending! I'm half Thai so that's probably why🤣🤣

eat healthy thaifood like a local at a thaidiner less tha 2$ dinner incl water (yes i love chili and are use to it) Eat a greasy hamburger/pizza at western restaurant in Thailand 8-10 $ + drinks Its all about your lifestyle and how you adapt.. live like a westerner ..pay like a westerner live like a thai - pay like a thai

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

All true. I'm enjoying diving into the culture.

@gmm5550

5 ай бұрын

@@RetiringToAsia tip is to train your mouth with chili..ad littlemore every day and after a time it doesn't bother u and u like it =)

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

I beg for Thai hot instead of farang hot. I love spicy food.

@gmm5550

5 ай бұрын

@@RetiringToAsia yes..chili makes u cool and strong

It always amazes me on how super affordable and delicious Thai food can be. Comparing that to the Netherlands, here you spend €10 easily and you hardly get anything. And that is not going out to eat food.

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

So true. A big plate of food here is less than $2 USD but there is $16 or more!

Scary fact: Thailand have longer life expectancy and health index than the Usa. Usa is nowadays is the absolute bottom numbers in life expectancy health and happines in the western world and many asia country's

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Processed foods

@gmm5550

5 ай бұрын

@@RetiringToAsia yes something is really wrong with american food.. i see many expats on KZread coming home to the Us complain that they get sick, constipated bloated and gain weight fast of the food

You are WRONG about leaf blowers. I flew from California to Bangkok. Took a 2 hr taxi to Ayutthaya. Paid to enter. Started walking. And there they were. Tons and tons of them. There's no escape

Off subject question. Do you get to vote in American elections? Sorry if this has been already addressed.

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

I maintain a US residence in VA, so yes, all elections. I can use absentee ballots if I want to vote.

Maybe I missed it but WHERE in Thailand are you??

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

It's in MANY of my other videos, the title of one of my playlists AND the description of THIS video. Yup, you missed it. 😂

I use to spend 300 thai baht per day and that was enough for me I even made my Sunday roast

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

That's a solid budget!

Everybody has a different idea of living compared to just surviving. I personally couldn't "Live" on $5 a day eating in Thailand.

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Absolutely. Live they way you want.

what about breakfast?

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Guess you missed the part where I talked about not being a breakfast person. 😂 When I do feel like eating early, I'll get some pork Joke for 50 baht a bowl.

@gmm5550

5 ай бұрын

i prefer thai rice soup on the corner for breakfast and a boiled egg = 40 baht =1$ =)

That is eating the cheapest street food. How about a video eating some nice fresh sea fish, crabs, squid, or other seafood. Living near the sea and not eating good fresh seafood is almost criminal

@RetiringToAsia

5 ай бұрын

Keep watching. I've mentioned Pupen Seafood just a few blocks from me in a few videos. Seafood there is amazing!

@gmm5550

5 ай бұрын

nobody eats anything from that bay or even swims there...most seafood is farmed or catched way out from chon buri bay

@oldthaiexpat

5 ай бұрын

Plenty of people eat seafood there. Most of the seafood sold there is caught more than 20km from the coast there or around the corner in Rayong. How do you think all those high class seafood restaurants stay in business? All sea fish comes from the same water. Fresh water fish is farmed.

Nice video & challenge. Personally, I couldn't do it on just 200 baht, I like food too much but I talk often about living on a $1K budget on my channel, which is doable in the right circumstances. Cheers

@RetiringToAsia

4 ай бұрын

Yeah, isn't it great that you can move around what you spend on, or how you spend, and still be under $1000 a month? Love your channel! Watch all the time. Let's do margaritas sometime. 🍸