Mentioned this before, THB is getting close to my cut off point...

[Butch]

As per the title, I had a cut off point to where, if the THB drops to a level against the sterling I won't visit or take a holiday there. If I remember it (my cut off point) was 41 THB to the £1 or thereabouts, maybe perhaps 42 baht.

I've decided that if it drops to the 41 -> 42 area, then I'll not visit until it perks up a bit.

My reasons are that the value just doesn't seem to be there for me at that kind of rate. It's also a bit of a psychological barrier as well, and while a few baht difference won't really matter, over a 3 week period , I feel it compounds and actually does make a difference.

We all know it is possible to still have fun and not spend a fortune in funtown, but that is at a sacrifice of...fun. When a half decent meal for 2 plus drinks can come in at 3000 baht upwards, it begs a question as to where the value actually is.

There are 2 elephants in the room, one being that it's a change of Govt in the UK and their fiscal policy not being conducive to better rates, and the other Thai elephant in the room being one we can't talk about, but all I'll say is that I don't think the Thai baht is worth the value it claims to be worth.

We shall see. I hope I am wrong on this, and more than happy to be so.

[boydeste]

If you follow the trends over the years you can clearly see that when ever we get an improvement, it gets pegged back. 

This time it has gone into free fall,  because as well as them flexing their reserves, the natural trend has been down at the same time.

Everything considered,  the baht should be on it's ass methinks, but it's miraculously strong against all currencies. 

Go figure!

[Smiler]

2 minutes ago, boydeste said:

If you follow the trends over the years you can clearly see that when ever we get an improvement, it gets pegged back. 

This time it has gone into free fall,  because as well as them flexing their reserves, the natural trend has been down at the same time.

Everything considered,  the baht should be on it's ass methinks, but it's miraculously strong against all currencies. 

Go figure!

Yep, I also monitor US Dollar and Euro performance against the baht - its certainly not just the Great British Pound that is weakening. 

[Lirchenfeld]

It is still way better than 5 years ago....

 

and if you look at over a 10 year periode it is currently average.

 

Danish proverb: No reason to paint the Devil on wall.

Chart source: xe.com

Edited September 16, 2024 by Lirchenfeld

[latour82]

4 hours ago, Butch said:

As per the title, I had a cut off point to where, if the THB drops to a level against the sterling I won't visit or take a holiday there. If I remember it (my cut off point) was 41 THB to the £1 or thereabouts, maybe perhaps 42 baht.

I've decided that if it drops to the 41 -> 42 area, then I'll not visit until it perks up a bit.

My reasons are that the value just doesn't seem to be there for me at that kind of rate. It's also a bit of a psychological barrier as well, and while a few baht difference won't really matter, over a 3 week period , I feel it compounds and actually does make a difference.

We all know it is possible to still have fun and not spend a fortune in funtown, but that is at a sacrifice of...fun. When a half decent meal for 2 plus drinks can come in at 3000 baht upwards, it begs a question as to where the value actually is.

There are 2 elephants in the room, one being that it's a change of Govt in the UK and their fiscal policy not being conducive to better rates, and the other Thai elephant in the room being one we can't talk about, but all I'll say is that I don't think the Thai baht is worth the value it claims to be worth.

We shall see. I hope I am wrong on this, and more than happy to be so.

I am eating normal Thai food, cost around 100 bath, it is 20 Danish Kroner, should the price rise up to maybe 25 Danish kroner,it is still very cheap,compared what i give in Denmark, there is it around 1000bath, 200 Danish kroner,  my hotel room is 1000 bath, a night 200 Danish kroner,it is a good room compared with Danish prices 5000 bath, 1000 kr for a standard room, to say Thailand is expensive is madness 

[Stillearly]

 

3 hours ago, Butch said:

 

 

There are 2 elephants in the room, one being that it's a change of Govt in the UK and their fiscal policy not being conducive to better rates, and the other Thai elephant in the room being one we can't talk about, but all I'll say is that I don't think the Thai baht is worth the value it claims to be worth.

We shall see. I hope I am wrong on this, and more than happy to be so.

Sterling has actually faired pretty well since the GE was called in May and the new Government was elected ...

 

It's the previous chaps that devalued GBP with the Brexit vote and then Truss tried to crash the economy ....

 

I find things in Thailand are still relatively cheap , it's only the "nightlife" costs that have gone up significantly over the years ...  hotels , travel , food etc is still reasonable 

 

[lazarus]

Too expensive?

Stay home.

. . .

[latour82]

That means on my 2025 journy, there will be no more British visitors,so Pattaya will be quiet?

 

[Horizondave]

Was getting 43.95 on Wise an hour ago. Don't give up just yet lol

[john1000]

Depends what you want out of life. Mid to late sixties, you change lifestyle if your realistic about life.

Not just Thailand, but spending freely where I imagine travel would feature prominently for the majority, is something that maybe possible for only for a limited time free of issues.

A few quid here and there shouldn't be a big deal. Definitly not a reason to sit at home and have the odd day trip in the UK😨

[coxyhog]

Glad I sent £5k when it was 46.something

[Siam Addict]

Highest I ever got was about 70 Baht and lowest was 38 Baht to the £. I recall when it went into free fall about 15 years ago I said if it drops below 50 that was it.

When it hit 38-39 Baht I finally looked at my spending and cut back on Lady Drinks and the odd short time. I spent too much time worrying about a couple of Baht than enjoying myself.

Now, I would prefer it closer to 50 Baht than 40 Baht but as I bought my flight earlier this year when it was 46 Baht I will just have to pray for a miracle in November.

[CampariO]

I will soon be returning from a vacation in Germany and Greece. Everytime I visit Germany, I am shocked how expensive (certain) things have become. Others are now similar priced as in TH as their prices dropped in Germany.

My buddy invited me and Mrs. CO to a dinner of 4 in the center of Frankfurt. The bill came over 200€ and he left a tip of 20. I told him that I usually have a dinner in TH for the amount he tipped.

Greece is also not cheap. Cocktails starting from 10 €, dinners are 25-50€ for the two of us. Nothing fancy, 2 mains and a couple of beers or a caraffe of wine. I hardly spend more than 1000 Bt in Thailand for the same (except when wine gets served, which is cheap in Greece.)

A scoope of icecream 2.5 Euro? 😲

Don't get me started about hotel prices.....

[Aqualung]

24 minutes ago, CampariO said:

I will soon be returning from a vacation in Germany and Greece. Everytime I visit Germany, I am shocked how expensive (certain) things have become. Others are now similar priced as in TH as their prices dropped in Germany.

My buddy invited me and Mrs. CO to a dinner of 4 in the center of Frankfurt. The bill came over 200€ and he left a tip of 20. I told him that I usually have a dinner in TH for the amount he tipped.

Greece is also not cheap. Cocktails starting from 10 €, dinners are 25-50€ for the two of us. Nothing fancy, 2 mains and a couple of beers or a caraffe of wine. I hardly spend more than 1000 Bt in Thailand for the same (except when wine gets served, which is cheap in Greece.)

A scoope of icecream 2.5 Euro? 😲

Don't get me started about hotel prices.....

Hotel prices in certain tourist places in the UK are eye watering. 

I've just returned from Cornwall in England and I payed £660 for a 4 night stay in Carbis Bay. Nice hotel mind. 

Our first choice of a short 4 night break was Edinburgh. Even Premier Inns  there were way to expensive. 

[richy65]

Thailand is still good value for hotels. My first visit was 50 baht to the pound so it was depressing when it was under 40 baht in 2019. I'll still keep visiting though.

[Phantom51red]

Everytime a money thread comes up,good as they are i think back to secrets board ,a similar thread when a former member chang fai said he hopes it goes to the low 30s to the £ ...it never did ,maybe hit around 37 at that time,still value to be had.

It's definitely true about the nightlife ,that emptys yer wallet faster than the uk taxman.

Stopped drinking for 2 years while in pattaya,not to be thrifty but health reasons,I always had cash left at end of each trip,still went to the odd massage ,abd fly visit to soi 6,but had a gf who also didn't drink.

There's living beyond yer means and living well under them,still can have fun,better than being in the cold uk.

 

[Phantom51red]

35 minutes ago, Aqualung said:

Hotel prices in certain tourist places in the UK are eye watering. 

I've just returned from Cornwall in England and I payed £660 for a 4 night stay in Carbis Bay. Nice hotel mind. 

Our first choice of a short 4 night break was Edinburgh. Even Premier Inns  there were way to expensive. 

Feck ye,europe aswell,stayed in plenty in Spain for around 70 a night,a similar room in Los prob £10.

Stayd in barcelona 1 night last year after leaving the boat in tarragona,85 quid ,fs,TV wasn't much bigger than 13inch,laptop screen,such a small room the cat was safe,prob 8 quid in Thailand,,location was outside sants train station where I caught train to Montserrat was only reason to stay there.

[Yessongs]

  Alright a recent trip to Tokyo, this was dinner one evening....Mahi Mahi for wifey, I had the Coconut Shrimp with fries and Cole Slaw and a Corona Beer.....tipping is not allowed there and believe me when I tried several times, they politely declined. This all came to $2,970 Yen=704 Thai Baht.

Does this seem like alot to you guys? I thought it was very fair really, like all of the places we had dinner at. 

Now the hotel (Tokyo Dome Hotel) was pricey per say, yes there were many cheaper hotels there, but in my opinion given what all was on offer there, a good value, not great, but good. For me over the years, hotels seem to be my biggest expense overall and they seem to have gone up more than most of my other expenditures.......flights, dinners, entertainment etc. seem to be as a general rule, pretty fair....yeah OK my opinion of course. 

No one blasted me for spending $10,000 Yen = $2,400 Thai baht for my bottle of Japanese Whiskey to share with my gal in Roppongi. Again, I thought, it was a fair price overall for the expeience. 

I know some of you are like me these days, that being, we are all closer to 70 then 60...we are retired, and not sweating all of the small stuff these days like the Thai Baht dropping to our respective currency...sure we all want it to be higher, but I just deal with it these days and want to have some fun for as long as I can you know? 

[Zeb]

16 hours ago, Butch said:

As per the title, I had a cut off point to where, if the THB drops to a level against the sterling I won't visit or take a holiday there. If I remember it (my cut off point) was 41 THB to the £1 or thereabouts, maybe perhaps 42 baht.

The US $ has been strong in recent times and this has had the effect of weakening many other currencies.

But with the FED looking at possibly 2 rate cuts in the short term other currencies might regain some of their losses.

There are local issues that effect individual currencies as well as cross currency matters when we convert into say Baht  - but the influence of the USD is also there to some extent as well.

...

The U.S. dollar is weakening ahead of Fed rate cut. This will determine what happens next.

The need for a larger cut from the Fed would point ‘toward growth concerns and economic trouble ahead,’ says analyst Joe Tuckey

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-u-s-dollar-is-weakening-ahead-of-fed-rate-cut-this-will-determine-what-happens-next-3be23528

[Lemondropkid]

Thailand's Commerce Minister urging the central bank to cut interest rates- baht too strong. 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2866597/bot-urged-to-reduce-interest-rates?tbref=hp

 

[Glasseye]

On 9/16/2024 at 3:35 PM, Butch said:

As per the title, I had a cut off point to where, if the THB drops to a level against the sterling I won't visit or take a holiday there. If I remember it (my cut off point) was 41 THB to the £1 or thereabouts, maybe perhaps 42 baht.

I've decided that if it drops to the 41 -> 42 area, then I'll not visit until it perks up a bit.

My reasons are that the value just doesn't seem to be there for me at that kind of rate. It's also a bit of a psychological barrier as well, and while a few baht difference won't really matter, over a 3 week period , I feel it compounds and actually does make a difference.

We all know it is possible to still have fun and not spend a fortune in funtown, but that is at a sacrifice of...fun. When a half decent meal for 2 plus drinks can come in at 3000 baht upwards, it begs a question as to where the value actually is.

There are 2 elephants in the room, one being that it's a change of Govt in the UK and their fiscal policy not being conducive to better rates, and the other Thai elephant in the room being one we can't talk about, but all I'll say is that I don't think the Thai baht is worth the value it claims to be worth.

We shall see. I hope I am wrong on this, and more than happy to be so.

 

I have always banked on 30 to 1 US. Anything over I consider gravy. Rarely does it dip below 30 and when it does it doesn't stay there long. Actually in 25 years can only remember twice when it did.

[Glasseye]

14 hours ago, CampariO said:

I will soon be returning from a vacation in Germany and Greece. Everytime I visit Germany, I am shocked how expensive (certain) things have become. Others are now similar priced as in TH as their prices dropped in Germany.

My buddy invited me and Mrs. CO to a dinner of 4 in the center of Frankfurt. The bill came over 200€ and he left a tip of 20. I told him that I usually have a dinner in TH for the amount he tipped.

Greece is also not cheap. Cocktails starting from 10 €, dinners are 25-50€ for the two of us. Nothing fancy, 2 mains and a couple of beers or a caraffe of wine. I hardly spend more than 1000 Bt in Thailand for the same (except when wine gets served, which is cheap in Greece.)

A scoope of icecream 2.5 Euro? 😲

Don't get me started about hotel prices.....

 

Yeah, when I see prices for a shitty hotel back in the States I quiver. Car prices... forget about it. Insurance... fcuk me. Cost to get a new exhaust system installed.... just kill me.

As Laz said. "Can't afford it, stay home"

I am becomming more budget conscious lately. But there has to be a reasonable flexibility within a budget and not worry about some things you have no control over (like currency fluctuations).

If such things are on ones mind then that is a red flag that maybe the time is not right (which is a good thing). It means if you can wait a bit longer to add to the fund and the worry later will be much less.

Sometimes though, you just have to pull the trigger and make the best of it.

[Glasseye]

5 hours ago, Lemondropkid said:

Thailand's Commerce Minister urging the central bank to cut interest rates- baht too strong. 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2866597/bot-urged-to-reduce-interest-rates?tbref=hp

 

 

Yep they are doing a bit of proping up, which can bite them. The economy here is acutally pretty precarious at the present (IMO).

Their indvidual debt levels are through the roof. Yet, they want to keep rates low to stimulate.

I think a lot of folks will not be able to get new credit looking ahead. So rates won't be an issue if they can't get the credit. Unless they don't have a fixed rate on their current credit (I don't know the percentages on that). But.... if they go up too much there will be a lot of folks losing their big shiny pickup trucks or fancy Chinese electric cars.

[Glasseye]

20 hours ago, fang said:

I found a 1br suite in Chiang Mai 800 baht with pool and gym. Place was super nice. There's a great restaurant in the Old City and typically we eat 4 dishes plus drink each costs us 550 baht. Bolt fare costs 80 baht each way. All so cheap.

 

I pay around $400/month rent for what I consider a fairly nice house in a nice hood. Try finding that in the States or UK. Can't even get a dilapidated trailer for that.

[john1000]

15 minutes ago, fang said:

Yeah great value. The most expensive thing is a greedy woman. Stay away from them. 

What in Thailand?

🙂