| Make a budget of what you want to / can spend | | | | than 6.000 THB. |
| Before you go you should first budget what you | | | | Toilet items |
| can spend. The main things you will have to spend | | | | You cannot really save a lot on toilet items, but it |
| money on are: | | | | might pay to shop around. Shampoo or |
| 1. Accomodation and utilities | | | | toothpaste might be a lot cheaper in Carrefour |
| 2. Food and beverages and toilet items | | | | then in Big C or vice versa. You should also look |
| 3. Sports | | | | for promotion articles. Toilet articles are often on |
| 4. Transport | | | | promo and these promo activities can offer you |
| 5. Insurance | | | | great discounts. You should be able to keep your |
| 6. Laundry | | | | monthly bill for toiletteries at around 1.000 THB |
| 7. Visa extensions | | | | Sports |
| 8. Internet and telephone | | | | It depends what sports you plan to practise but |
| For the sake of this article we consider a monthly | | | | your monthly expenses for sports can be as little |
| budget of 35.000 THB which is really not much. | | | | as zero. If you go for a daily jog at the beach |
| Accomodation and utilities | | | | and for a swim in the sea every night you will |
| When you arrive in Pattaya it might be wise to | | | | stay fit but it will not cost you. If you want to |
| check into a hotel first, because it could take you | | | | join a gym you might be able to sign up for |
| a couple of days or even a week before you find | | | | membership if you stay in Pattaya for a very |
| a cheap place that offers good value. | | | | long time. Tony in Walking Street offers one year |
| Once you are settled in your hotel you should go | | | | membership for as little as 4.000 THB. If you only |
| out and explore the town. Quite a few cheap | | | | stay for a couple of months it might be better to |
| deals can be found in central Pattaya (Klang) | | | | pay per session (90 THB). Don't buy any water or |
| behind or on Soi Buakhao, in the village or in Nirun. | | | | drinks before you go because you can get it for |
| You should check if there are supermarkets (Big | | | | free. So lets say if you go to the gym 3 times |
| C) or food markets nearby. You should also | | | | per week you will spend around 1.000 THB on |
| check how far the entertainment area's and | | | | sports per month. |
| beaches are and other locations you plan to | | | | Transport |
| frequent. If you don't do that you might end up | | | | If you want to get around cheap you should try |
| spending less on accomodation but this could be | | | | to walk as much as you can. Pattaya is very |
| offset by higher cost of transportation. | | | | compact and most places can really be reached |
| Ask Thais if they know cheap good value | | | | on foot. If you want or need to take transport |
| accomodation | | | | you better stick with the songthaews or Baht |
| The more time you spend looking for cheap | | | | busses that you see everywhere in Pattaya. |
| accomodation the more likely you will find a good | | | | They are blueish pickup vans and one trip is just |
| place but it might be easier and faster if you | | | | 10 Baht and nothing more. Lets assume you need |
| know some good Thai people who live in Pattaya. | | | | 2 round trips a day on average. Your monthly |
| It is more than likely that they can help you to | | | | transportation bill will be 1.200 THB then. |
| find a place for a very low price which still offers | | | | Insurance |
| good value. I did this once and i found a furnished | | | | This is not an item you should try to save too |
| place for as little as 3500 THB per month with | | | | much on because you might regret it later. I |
| very good utilities. | | | | cannot advise on packages but medical insurance |
| Water and electricity | | | | should be covered at all times. If you plan to buy |
| You should ask the landlord if the water and | | | | a motorbike or car you will also need a car |
| electricity is included in the monthly rent. If not | | | | insurance with liability coverage. My insurance |
| you should ask how much they charge per unit. It | | | | package costs me 2.500 THB per month. |
| should not be more than about 5 THB. Don't | | | | Laundry |
| forget to check the room thoroughly (while the | | | | You should try to find a laundry service that |
| landlord is present) before you decide to take it. | | | | offers a set rate of 10 THB per item (big or |
| If you use the above mentioned tactics you | | | | small). Then you can choose a package for lets |
| should be able to find a place for about 5.000 THB | | | | say 300 items. Each time you send your dirty |
| including utilities.food and beverages | | | | pieces they will be added off the total until you |
| There are quite a couple of ways to save on | | | | are at 0. This is generally cheaper than the normal |
| food and drinks. One way is to go native. This | | | | laundry services, because these services charge |
| means only eating at foodstalls on the street and | | | | more for big items such as pants (15 or 20 THB). |
| drinking water and tea during the day. If you do it | | | | These services offer less for socks (5 THB). |
| this way you will probably not spend more than | | | | What i always do is, i wash my underwear and |
| 150 THB per day maximum, about 4.500 THB per | | | | socks myself. The rest i have washed by the |
| month. This is not for everybody however, it | | | | laundry service. This way i save very much on |
| takes time to get used to a Thai diet and you | | | | laundry. My monthly laundry bill has never been |
| might not get all the nutrients you require. | | | | over 500 THB. |
| Furthermore if you like to exercise (weightlifting, | | | | Visa extensions |
| swimming, jogging etc) this diet might not be | | | | If you stay in Thailand longterm you will have to |
| sufficient. | | | | extend your visa. The best thing to do is to get a |
| 5 high value meals for 6.000 THB per month | | | | tourist visa which entitles you to stay for 2 |
| Lets assume that we want to keep a healthy | | | | months with an option to extend for one month |
| dieet. We love to eat Thai food once or twice a | | | | at 1900 THB. You can extend your tourist visa in |
| day but the other 3 meals of the day (we do lots | | | | neighbouring countries like Laos, Cambodia or |
| of weightlifting) should be Western style health | | | | Malaysia. You should budget about 2.500 THB per |
| meals. | | | | month for visa extensions. |
| We should not go to Western restaurants in | | | | Internet and telephone |
| Pattaya because they are expensive and we | | | | Internet |
| want to stay on a tight budget. Luckily there are | | | | I always take my laptop with me which has |
| lots of big supermarkets (Tops, Big C, Tesco | | | | Wireless Lan. There are hotspots all over Pattaya |
| Lotus, Carrefour) in Pattaya offering a whole | | | | (sometimes you even get a signal on the beach!!) |
| range of Western food items. The first thing we | | | | so if you are clever you can keep your monthly |
| should do is getting a discount card at those | | | | bill for internet at 0 THB. |
| supermarkets. With this card we can get | | | | Telephone |
| discounts on many food items such as | | | | The only way to go is to get a prepaid telephone |
| vegetables, bread, diary products, fish and meat | | | | card and try to limit your calls as much as you |
| products. Vegetables, Bread, yoghurt, milk, fresh | | | | can. Using SMS is a lot cheaper so try to stick |
| fried or grilled fish and meat items normally get | | | | with that as much as you can. My monthly |
| heavily discounted at the end of the day, but you | | | | telephone bill is about 700 THB. |
| can only get them at discounted prices when you | | | | Entertainment |
| show your card. | | | | What we spend so far is 5.000 for accomodation |
| So we should shop for meat, fish and diary items | | | | and utilities, 6.000 for food and beverages, 1.000 |
| at the end of the day. We might be able to find | | | | for toilet items, 1.000 for sports, 1.200 for |
| good deals that last us a couple of days if we | | | | transport, 2.500 for insurance, 500 for laundry, |
| stick them in the fridge. Top it all up with some | | | | 2.500 forvisa extensions and 700 for telephone |
| cheap canned kidney beans or other high carb | | | | and internet. This is a total of 20.400 THB. This |
| products and you will have 3 very cheap but | | | | means that there is 14.500 THB left for |
| healthy Western style meals each day for as little | | | | entertainment during the day and night, because |
| as 40 Baht each. Don't forget to stock up on | | | | our budget was 35.000 THB. |
| water and some fruit juices because you cannot | | | | This is more than enough to enjoy some daytime |
| drink the tap water. | | | | activities (go to the pool or beach in Jomtien, the |
| A lot of fruit is also important. I always advice not | | | | zoo, cinema etc) and also enough to sample the |
| to buy fruit in the supermarket but at the Thai | | | | nightlife. You will probably not be able to go out |
| markets. The fruits there are generally more | | | | every night but quite a few times a week wil |
| fresh (you can pick what you want yourself) and | | | | certainly be possible. |
| a lot cheaper. | | | | Conclusion |
| The other 2 meals will be Thai meals. We can pick | | | | If you use common sense and look for bargains |
| from hundreds of street stalls where they serve | | | | you will be able to live on 35.000 THB per month |
| warm meals such as fried rice or fried noodles. | | | | and probably less if you don't go out too much. |
| You can also opt for boiled noodles or other | | | | You won't have to deny yourself much, just |
| foodstuffs from food vendors. There are | | | | decide wisely where you spend your money on |
| unlimited options for finding Thai food in Pattaya | | | | because a lot of things in Pattaya can be had a lot |
| at 40 Baht a meal. If you use this strategy your | | | | cheaper with consideration and some clever |
| monthly food and beverages bill will be not more | | | | thinking. |