One thing you can be sure to look forward to in Thailand is less monthly bills. Not only are utilities cheap in Thailand, but if you are like us, you may find yourself paying for fewer recurring expenses each month because of a change in lifestyle. Here’s a snapshot of our Chiang Mai monthly bills and how they compare to our bills back in the USA.
Chiang Mai Monthly Bills
Of course, some expenses are unavoidable, such as electricity and transportation. We choose to have things like a cell phone plan and an internet connection, but the bottom line is that these are fixed expenses that have been slashed since moving to Thailand!
Our December 2013 electric bill ringing in at $22 USD plus $0.30 to pay it at our local 7-Eleven
Lifestyle Change
Thailand’s cost of living can certainly be cheap, but we also live a more minimalistic lifestyle in Thailand than we did in the US. This definitely contributes to our Chiang Mai monthly bills being so low. Check out how life has changed…
RENT |
||
| THEN |
|
$1,885 |
| NOW |
|
$500 |
INTERNET & TV |
||
| THEN |
|
$92 |
| NOW |
|
$18 |
CELL PHONE |
||
| THEN |
|
$186 |
| NOW |
|
$22 |
WATER |
||
| THEN |
|
$27 |
| NOW |
|
$4 |
GAS |
||
| THEN |
|
$500 |
| NOW |
|
$31 |
LAUNDRY |
||
| THEN |
|
$45 |
| NOW |
|
$10 |
ELECTRICITY |
||
| THEN |
|
$135 |
| NOW |
|
$22 |
*Gas and electricity are combined into one expense for a better comparison. Averages were used while living in the US (2012) and in Thailand (2013).Â
Expenses We No Longer Pay
- Car Payment ($900 per month) – We paid our motorbike in full using some of the money we earned from selling Angela’s car.
- Car Insurance ($175 per month) – We purchased motorbike insurance, which covers repairs and up to the replacement of our motorbike, as well as emergency care for us. Â We paid $130 upfront for one year of coverage.
- Health Insurance ($180 per month) – Medical care in Thailand is about 20% of the cost of similar care back in the US, so we self-insure. A few small trips to a nearby clinic has always cost us less than $30.
Drumroll, please.
Our Chiang Mai monthly bills are $608 USD compared to whopping $4,122 USD back in the States. That’s an 85% reduction in our cost of living!
By the nature of things, monthly bills and utilities in Thailand are much cheaper than in the US. Not only on a cost by cost basis, but also because of eliminated expenses and reduced fixed monthly bills. It is always great to find ways to live cheaper, and it is because of our new lifestyle that we now easily live within our means and remain 100% debt free.
Check out our full budget breakdown we did in June 2013.
What is the exact price for one unit electricity?
I mean 1 kilowatt use pr. hour? (kWh).
6 thb per unit in our private house in Chiang Mai and our private condo (years ago). However, if you are in a serviced apartment or long-stay hotel, the price can be as high as 10 baht per unit OR even higher (if the owner/landlord fluffs it up a bit).
Thank you for the blog and for sharing all of these experiences and nuggets of information! I’ve read that a single person, such as myself, could live on $500/month. Could be comfortable on $1,000 (USD) per month, and live like a king for $1,500/month. However, it seems the two of you together are living quite well for less than $700. What is your take on this? I plan to move to C.M in 15 months or so, once I finish school. I am pretty quiet and easy-going. I just want the basics. I don’t drink alcohol or do the night… Read more »
A single person who lives a spartan life can *survive* on 500 USD per month in Chiang Mai. You will be able to afford Western comforts on 1000 USD per month and afford to travel a bit. On 1500 USD, you have much more freedom to spend money on things you like to do. We live on 2000+ USD per month (1000+ USD per person). The lifestyle we want to live *cannot* be done on 700 USD total per month (we aren’t sure where you got 700 USD – the least we’ve ever lived off of was 500 USD per… Read more »
Hi Chris and Angela we are thinking of moving to Chiang Mai in the next year We are looking at buying a home there as we have large dogs and a home would be better. Thank you so much for the information on Vet care made me feel so much better knowing they will a good care. l was wondering about medical care for myself im diabetic so need regular medication plus a good Doctor i do have so many questions but really wanted to say thank you on your vlog about animal care and im going to look at… Read more »
Hello! I’m so happy to have found your blog! I appreciate the time you’ve taken to put it all together, and in a way that is quite down-to-earth and honest It seems as though we have taken similar paths – trading the “American Dream” for a much simpler life of owning less and exploring more. We have been in Taiwan for just over a year now, and although we have loved it here, we would like to spend some time in some other SE Asia locations too. Thailand has been on our bucket list for quite a while, but we… Read more »
Hi Kelli, glad you found us! Of all the countries we’ve visited in SE Asia (Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia), Thailand is still our favorite and we’re glad to call it home. It’s great that you are considering moving here after living in Taiwan. Thailand, in general, is very safe. We feel comfortable where we can walk alone at night or leave our bike somewhere without it being stolen. Great for kids. The country also has fantastic Wifi in the major expat-friendly cities. As far as working, yes, teaching positions make up the vast majority of employment opportunities here. There… Read more »
Hi Chris and Angela ! I will soon be in Chiang Mai on a retirement visa. I lived and worked from 1974 – 1982 throughout Asia. I was young and ambitious and the men I worked for being 45+ were from established families. I have researched some of the charitable foundations helping children, elephants and general social platforms to help enrich the lives of one of the most beautiful cultures I have come across….I have been to over 40 countries; I have chosen Thailand because of all peoples I have engaged; their kindness and compassion is unequaled. Perhaps we may… Read more »
It certainly says something if you’ve traveled that extensively and Thailand is one of the best countries you have come across. Thanks for reassuring the many others who are looking to find a new place to settle. Perhaps we’ll see you around!
This website is what I’m looking for, real stories from real people! I plan within the next 5 years to pay off all debts, boost savings, and develop a plan before flying over. Thank you Chris and Angela for sharing your beautiful life transition and ventures. Happiness is the ultimate goal.
Jetsun
Thanks Jetsun! Your comment made our day :)
The best thing in Thailand you learned is “helping others” i am too very fond of it, after my visit to Thailand and planning to migrate…… will sure come to Chiang Mai and visit you people. TC
Helping others is what this blog is all about!! It’s exciting to hear you are panning to move here, too.
I was working at a local government school for the last year here in Chiang Mai making 28,000 baht a month. I was living well on that and saving money. Recently, I decided to quit that job because of the difficulties of working in the Thai school system (as you have mentioned in some of your blog posts) and gone solo. Now I am making a bit of money between my translation work and teaching English online. It is really sporadic though and I haven’t gotten anything stable set up yet. Online clients can come and go quickly and I’ve… Read more »
Thanks for sharing your experience. We hope your online work continues to grow so that you can live more comfortably and help your girlfriend. That transition period can be a bit tough, but we wish you luck!
People dont try to budget or watch their spending because its cheap so the more they’ll spend. end up spending even more. Being a tourist and living in Thailand is different. Though street food cost 40bht , food in the market cost lesser, when you live there there’s a difference because it adds up. unlike being on a holiday short term tourist just splurge because its not going to be a place where they reside. Living a western lifestyle isnt cheap in Thailand and also depends what kind of western lifestyle. From an Asian country comparing to another Asian country… Read more »
I think its not about how to live cheap in a ‘ cheap’ country. Its about adjust and changing lifestyle and what lifestyle you want. One can live cheaply in Thailand and yet splurge all money or choose minimalist and still live happily without being too tight budgeted. develop countries everything cost more and we all pay more. For a modern western lifestyle in a modern develop country isnt cheap and most of us want to stretch our hard earn dollar to enjoy max. Thailand is affordable but not cheap . If its 100bht for electricity you still gotta cough… Read more »
Your lifestyle is definitely a major contributing factor to how much you spend, no matter where you live. Your priorities affect your overall budget as well as keeping yourself in check and not overspending beyond your means. A Western lifestyle can still be expensive in Thailand and its easy for some people to forget this and spend money frivolously. One day they wake up and have nothing left!
Reading that made me happy! I’m glad you guys found a way to escape the rat race – and Chang Mai is wonderful! Good on you guys (and good on you for sharing this so others can do the same!)
Thanks, Stacey!
I enjoy reading this! I am amazed at the amount of money people in the states or Canada (I’ve lived in both places) spend on ‘stuff.’ – Just because in Thailand it costs so much less! LOL What a lot of people said here is also true – whether you choose the minimal lifestyle or work hard for the money but hardly have time to enjoy it. I’ve seen too much of it here in Canada. People bury themselves in work, buy more things, and just get stressed out when they don’t have money to buy “more” things. It’s refreshing… Read more »
Some of our favorite things to read are about cost of living comparisons of places around the world. It really puts it into perspective! And yes, a change in lifestyle is also necessary. Once you’ve adjusted to a less materialistic lifestyle, it really gives you more freedom to do more. Both because you have more money to DO things with and less things to take care of. Thailand is also great because of the peaceful and laid back attitude surrounding you. It’s just easier to relax here!
Hi :)
Thanks for sharing your insights to the bills in Thailand. I get so tired of everything is overpriced. Living an expensive place means that you have to be a work slave. And I really don’t like being forced to do something that I don’t love just because the rent is high.
That’s why I left London last week to go travel in Asia and hopefully be able to live as a freelancer and building a webproject I always wanted to.
I will keep reading your blog and get some inspiration for another kind of lifestyle! :D
Laura
No problem. We are happy to help and wish you the very best of luck on your trip!
Isn’t it crazy how expensive some things are back in the states? I’m loving this cool weather we’ve had the past few months. I haven’t even had to use the fan at all. My last month’s electric was around 300 baht (~$10)!
Yea, I think it has been about 3 months now of no fan or aircon for us. The temps are starting to creep up again, but the mornings are still very pleasant. 300 Baht is outstanding. Our lowest was January’s bill at 653 Baht. We should be able to get it lower once we move into a smaller place I suppose.
Hi Chris, Angela, Wow those a cheap expenses you got there! I and Lou need to get our buts over there soon, I have been working with Ryan on a new project and now were in business together. what a difference a year makes as last year I had no job and no money coming in plus I have 21 interview attendances under my belt. Luckily my partner Louise works and can just cover our cost of living which is on average over £1000 sterling a month and that is not including the help we got from Lou’s mum and… Read more »
Chris and Angela,
Love your blog! I linked up to it in my latest post; since I am living in Chiang Mai for 2-3 months now, at the Riverside Apartments, I wanted to churn out a relevant post.
LOL on utilities. I have spent 6 months here over the past 3 years. I pay *a few* bucks less on bills, rent, etc, than I did in NJ ;)
Thanks for sharing guys!
Ryan, thanks so much for including us in your post. Protein powder is a common thing we hear many expats having issues with…we will definitely let you know if we come across anything more affordable. We are so glad that you are following along. We hope you are loving your place at Riverside. Seems like a great spot to stay! Take care :)
Hi Chris & Angela, I had emailed your “Contact” tab with this similar question, but I will also ask it via the reply post so others who might be interested in the same information can see the response. Although my first choice is to live in Bangkok, because I love that dynamic city. In reality, my costs there were pretty much on par with what I spend here in Los Angeles.month to month. My main concern, wherever I end up living in Thailand will be solid internet and stability. Do you have Wifi or a Hardline connection, and since you… Read more »
From our experience, Chiang Mai has excellent internet connection and availability. Not just in places such as restaurants, hotels, and coffee shops, but private connections as well. We have private Wifi through 3BB, which took about one day to install the line and to connect. Our internet package is a midrange option, but even with the low range options you will be able to meet 10 Mbps downloading and 1 Mbps uploading speeds. High range is around 50 Mbps downloading and 5 Mbps uploading. There have been a few times where the internet has been spotty for us. We replaced… Read more »
Wow, this is really amazing! Very practical, very inspiring, very useful. Thanks very much for sharing this really detailed post and let people peek into your confidential data! :)
Thank you for the kind words. Glad to be able to help!
Really inspiring and practical stuff, Chris and Angela. We’re sharing this with our clients going to Thailand. Looking forward to following your blog.
Awesome Scott! We appreciate the share :)
Yeah, I’ve cut my expenses quite a bit since setting out on my adventure (but I also cut a lot of expenses back home before I started). All I’m really paying for now are flights and visas; everything else is much more affordable. Even while I stayed in Tokyo for two months, I saved more money (although I kind of spent those savings on having a bit more fun than I used to).
Matt, that is great. Sounds like you really have your finances together.
Thanks for sharing. Very helpful info as I’ll be in Thailand for a few months (my first time) this year. Fighting!
Chris and Angela, Great post. Very, very informative! I love seeing super low monthly nuts like that. It’s great that not only is it super cheap to live over there, but it’s also a great place to be in. However, I would argue that it’s possible to live fairly close to that cheap here in the U.S. I was living on about $900 not long ago in SW Florida by using a scooter to get around, eating cheaply, avoiding health insurance, canceling cable, etc. And my rent was quite a bit more than what you guys are spending. I think… Read more »
To continue from my comment… I didn’t fully articulate what I meant to say. I guess what I meant to say is that while you could acheive a similar base spending level here in the U.S., you guys are living a great adventure. It’s not just about lowering your cost of living and getting rid of recurring bills that end up handcuffing you to the 9-5, but also living life on your terms and seeing the world. In addition, I think living on that low of a spending level here in the U.S., while possible, would be a lot more… Read more »
We totally agree with you. We have talked about what it would take to live a similar life in the US, but you’re right, the quality of life just wouldn’t quite match up. For two people to live in States they would have to live somewhere not as appealing. Probably a place not worth mentioning with limited options for eating out, exploring, and meeting friends. Plus, a scooter wouldn’t be much fun to putt around on in a cold Midwestern US winter :) In Chiang Mai we still have the freedom to travel around on a whim, eat at most… Read more »
Got to love Chiang Mai! Been here for two months and the costs are just wonderful!
Aren’t they!? We love our lives here and the prices that allows us to live well without too much stress. Thanks for stopping by!
Sounds amazing! What part of town were you in? How long was your lease? Was they anything similar but smaller in cheaper? We are looking for a three month base :-)
Hi Hanna! We live in the area on the outside of the south side of the moat. There are definitely cheaper places to live though. Our first condo was $330 a month. Here is a link to the review:
https://www.tielandtothailand.com/apartment-at-ban-jed-yod/
I’m sending the link to this article over to Drew. I keep telling him I really don’t think we will be coming back to the States once we get a taste of living this cheap.
It is tempting…the thought has definitely crossed our minds a time or two :)
It is exciting to see how much less money we could be spending in Thailand, I think we will enjoy it there! As for staying, we’ll have to see how it goes!
I think you both will like too. Thanks for commenting!
Nice layout guys.. I miss Chiang Mai’s cheap living! Ireland is expensive, but we are avoiding rent for now :)
Thanks man. Definitely can’t beat rent free living though. You will be back soon enough ;)
Really useful post, im always interested in what other people and spending living in Thailand, it really is a massive saving!
Thanks, Laura! These posts were the kind that really stood out to us when we were trying to gauge how we would live in Thailand. Glad you liked it :)
Good for you guys. I should do a comparison of ours in Spain. I have all the numbers, as I am crazy that way with keeping tabs on things. I am excited we will be over your way later this year. Maybe we can save even more!
Do it! We love crunching numbers and seeing them crunched by others haha. We can almost guarantee that you will shave more off of your monthly expenses in Thailand…especially in Chiang Mai :)
Hi Chris and Angela. So happy to hear that you are enjoying your time in Chiang Mai Thailand, I have had the privilege of spending some time there in 2007. One thing I have noticed is that many of your blog visitors are from the USA but because I live in Cape Town South Africa, I cannot compare prices. However I do know that the cost of living in Thailand is a lot cheaper than most countries I have visited. I will definitely be coming back to Chiang Mai someday soon and would love to hook up with you guys.… Read more »
Thanks for the comment Grahame! So it looks like our monthly bills are about 6500 ZAR while our entire monthly budget is 13000 ZAR. Hope that helps :)
Best of luck on your travels. Let us know when you are in town.
So we’ve been on our recon mission for about a month now and cannot believe how far our money is going. Even staying in “expensive” hotels here, eating in falang restaurants more than we anticipated, taking public transit everywhere, purchasing gifts for friends and family (for when we “vacation” in the US for the next 6 months or so before we move back “home” to Thailand) we blew our anticipated budget for this trip out of the water. It looks like the trip is going to cost about 2/3 what we anticipated (and that includes the deposit we put on… Read more »
Wow! That is great Vince. When we first visited Thailand on our honeymoon we were blown away by how HARD it was to spend our daily budget. So happy to hear that you both are loving this wonderful place. We are looking forward to many more great dinners and gatherings with you two. Enjoy the rest of your time here!
Wow, guys! Thailand is so cheap in comparison to what you paid back home. Incredible. Imagine how much you can save a year on bills!
I know! It is mind blowing that we ever thought it was ok to spend that kind of money on bills. Plus having carried so much debt back in those days we were also paying hundreds in credit card payments. So glad those days are behind us :)
Young people these days, people have to be creative. It is hard for young generation to have a good life here in us. I’m a good saver and over 50, pretty well to do even in us, but I want to be pampered in chiang mai very soon. Love your blog.
We hope you truly enjoy your future in Thailand :) Best of luck to you!
Very informative – Thailand is much cheaper than the US and Aus – but given how much you pay, doesnt Thailand also reflect a lower income? SO you might be saving all of that but you arent necessarily getting paid the same as you were in the US?
Very true, and that is a really important point. Living in Thailand has also been a lifestyle change for us. We made great money back home, but between debt and no time off we just couldn’t fully enjoy it. We definitely think Chiang Mai is a wonderful place to retire on a fixed pension or for those looking to simplify the way they live. It is all relative.
Hey guys!
I can imagine – living in Thailand is my dream – my one day!
I guess it depends on whats important to you – having a nice house and pretty things around you but working your ass off 24/7 or being able to relax a little and enjoy life…
Exactly! The things in our lives back home that we always thought we needed to be happy soon became our anchors. We felt such a big weight lifted when we started to sell them and pay off our debts. Making less and being financially free totally works for us. We appreciate and enjoy everything around us so much these days. Thanks for the love, Sam!
Oh wow! You both ended up paying a lot per month in the states! It’s awesome to see how cheap (and manageable) it is to live in Thailand. I love reading success stories like this and seeing what the breakdown is. Keep it up!
Thanks for the love Rachel. We can’t wait to see you guys here soon!
Good for you guys! We know we’ll end up in SE Asia or Mexico/Central America at some point and are looking forward to a simpler lifestyle.
Thanks, Rhonda. We have also considered Central America. Who knows, we may end up splitting time between the two places one day :)
I can only say “wow.”
Hard to believe when you look around at the cost of living back in VA…two completely different worlds.
This may be the final straw to convince me to move from Canada .. Lol I love Chiang Mai
:) Haha we do too. It always has a way of pulling you back!
Hello again…funny I woke up today to find we were negative $88 in our checking account because AT&T took their cut of $175 for TV and internet. (The phone alone is $201!).. I could dip into our savings account but, oh yeah, I don’t have one. I could go on but you well know the rest of the story. In June I will be heading over looking for a 1br condo. I will be coming alone. Social Security,and 2 small pensions will give me around $2K/month. And when people ask me why I’m going, I think why are you STAYING.!
Oh no! We hated those recurring monthly bills. So glad to be past all of that. To tell you the truth I don’t know if we will ever be able to go back to that madness. All is well over here though, Roger. We look forward to seeing how things play in your journey. Take care.