How To Survive Until The Next Trip To LOS

[manarak]

why don't you take an advisor taking his share on the part of your investement's total return that is above the risk-free rate?

basically, if the portfolio makes 15%, he will take about 30% of (15-3)% => 3.6%, and you still make 11.4%.
If the portfolio makes under 3% => nothing!

[mardhi]

This question has come up a lot and while it does not affect me as I am already here 24/7 it does make me think about how I would have handled it if things had been different. Just my very simple perception is that the expats who do best, tend to live outside of whichever area they choose to live in. That means you have some costs that are lower and some that are higher. The key in my opinion is to get the balance right. The guys I see who live for example in Pattaya seem to split into the two camps as I describe above. if your coming for mid length periods at a time, probably central location is better, as it reduces your need to have your own car (forget a bike in the Suburbs - fastest way to early grave) and the costs that go with it. So upside is convenience - downside is the 'draw' of nightlife all the time. being further out tends to limit the 'visits' to 'must-do' occasions. Apart from its history of balcony jumpers - I would think somewhere like View Talay 1&2 in Jomtien is a good half way house - probably cost you 12-25,000b month for a studio/one bedroom nicely furnished pad with ADSL, telephone, cable TV etc. You cant overlook the details of how much it will cost you to live but my emphasis is on quality of life more than the pure cost.

I hardly go out anymore - probably once every two weeks is normal but I know if I lived in the centre of town the draw would be too much - out everyday and spending a fortune. Lots of guys I know have a balance and focus on lower cost outside places - personally thats not my style, but I can understand how it makes a lot of sense for some. I'd rather just not go out than go out and watch every penny. So to me, things like Cable & satelite TV are important as is a good Internet connection. Also I would not want want to live in a 4000b month room - it would drive me crazy (or more crazy than I am). I know guys who have great townhouses in suburbs, excellent quality of life and while they enjoy the scene - it does not rule them. I also know guys who jump in and party 24/7 - everyone is different but the key is to assess what you would want to do, make some budget plans and then determine what it would take to pull it off. the only word of caution I would add is that costs in Thailand are going UP continually - you must budget for price increases - cost of rice for example has risen by approx: 60% over the last year despite actual farmers getting LESS for the rice harvest.

Cheers
mardhi

[deepthroat]

great info guys, thanks much

No one has any info on transporting pets to LOS from USA?

[pacman]

It is out of the question to be freighting two cats across the world twice a year.

Leaving aside the cost, have you checked the quarantine requirements? I doubt that once your cats had been in Asia they would automatically be allowed back into the US. It is certainly the case here in Oz.

While you don't have to have your loved pets put down, you will need to live without them in LOS. I suggest the Kitten Club may be one place you can find relief for your pussy woes.

[deepthroat]

Ah yes... I should have thought of that myself.

The quarantine issue I mean - not the HORRID pun. But I sorta knew I was opening myself up for that, talking about taking pussies to LOS.

I guess what I need to look into is renting my house with the mother-in-law unit to someone that's pet friendly that will include letting my cats have the run of their portion of the house as part of the rental agreement... that's an extra pain but probably the simplest way to deal with it.

Ok, no big deal, a lot can happen between now and then anyway.

[PigDogg]

Here's a website that my be useful for u DT.

http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/index.php

[PigDogg]

(mardhi @ Feb. 27 2010,12:38) your own car

Most Westerners enjoy the freedom that owning a car provides.

Having lived in Manhattan for over 20 years, I much prefer being walking distance, baht bus, distance, or subway distance of wherever I normally go.

And too me it's freeing not to worry about oil changes and parking though in the burbs parking's not an issue. And with no car, then I won't be driving drunk.

It's always a temptation to go out, but I'm doing so less and less and enjoying quiet evenings.

[PigDogg]

(manarak @ Feb. 27 2010,12:22)
why don't you take an advisor taking his share on the part of your investement's total return that is above the risk-free rate?

basically, if the portfolio makes 15%, he will take about 30% of (15-3)% => 3.6%, and you still make 11.4%.
If the portfolio makes under 3% => nothing!

Problem with this scheme is that in encourages the portfolio manager to take excessive risks with your money.

[deepthroat]

Just a quick update to let you know I'm not being a lazy bastard!  

Ok, I am lazy, and some would say I'm a bastard. But you know what I meant.

I met with the "financial planner" last week. We began by talking about his services, fee structures, commissions, etc. He said he normally works as a commission salesman, and sells funds from American Family. My alarm bells went off, as American Family is primarily an insurance company. Does he sell insurance? Yup.

One suggestion I would make to anyone considering looking for financial planning - don't go to an insurance agent. They know annuities and insurance. They don't typically know that much about investments (and annuities are NOT investments, no matter what they tell you!)

He also said he could work on fee only, but would charge 1.5-2% of the entire portfolio per year. If I had $500,000 to invest, the fee would be around $7500. Yikes! But for that, he would make all the investment decisions.

Again, that is not what I want. It turns out I was wrong to think I wanted a Financial Planner - what I really wanted is what his true forte is - an accountant!

He is going to review my portfolio, savings, investments, expenses, and income streams after tax season and get back to me in early May with some projections of what my expected income stream could be if I retire in 2, 3, or 5 years based upon my current projections and assets. That way I have a better idea of what I can expect, and he'll give me some ideas of what I can do to easily increase those numbers. He thinks it will take about an hour of numbers-crunching and he charges something like $125 an hour so it's money well spent.

He also is a loan broker so we talked about current interest rates for home loans -vs- commercial real estate loans.

One immediate outcome of that meeting was that I've put $5k into a Roth IRA for the 2009 tax year. I thought I already put too much into my 401k to be able to do this otherwise I'd have been doing it every year, but he reassured me that I can do this based upon my income. Beginning at age 51 I can start putting $6,000 into it every year, and it will be tax-free when I withdraw from it at 62.5 years of age (since the money is put in on an after-tax basis, unlike a traditional IRA or 401k which is tax-deferred). Once I established the Roth IRA I put the money into Ford Motor.

On a related note, I'll mention that my current favorite investments are still APPLE and FORD. I put money into both of these in December. APPLE is up 16% in 3 months, and FORD is up 28% in the same time period.

Anyhoo, I met with a real estate agent yesterday, and will be going out next week to look at duplexes and houses with Mother In Law units in them. The plan is to fix up my condo a bit (need a new dishwasher and new counters) and put it on the rental market, as well as purchasing a 2nd home with a MIL unit that I can live in and rent out. Hopefully the 2 rental units will return enough in income to pay the mortgage on the 2nd home. At this point, the numbers aren't clear but I think it will be possible to earn a little income from this scheme, and put me into a much nicer place than I currently live. Hold it for 5 years and the real estate market should come back enough to put me into profits either as rentals or from selling, either way it's a good investment.

Meanwhile, my boss has assigned me a bunch of new accounts as one of our experienced guys is retiring, and we've taken on a brand new line that he wants me to head up. So I'm currently even more valuable to the company than I was only 2 months ago. I'll give this a go for a year or two, and hopefully should see a substantial boost to my income that can only speed up the process of being able to "retire" from the company.

Last but not least, my side business (selling music and memorabilia on the internet) is up 22% year to date over last year.

More to follow. At this point, I don't think the numbers will reveal that I can retire in comfort immediately, but I should be well on the road to retiring at or before 55. Until then I'll have to make do with one or two annual LOS trips.

[Steff]

Good to hear you are moving forward with what seems to be a reasonable and rational plan. I too am beginning the same process and will know within a few months what my position is. My goal is to get a retirement visa and live in LOS for at least 6 months a year. I hope to be able to do this within 18 to 24 months. We'll see how things transpire. I wish you the best of luck in achieving you goals.

By the way your directions to Star of Light were impeccable. Thank you. I went there on March 06 and asked for Rabbit. I was going to buy her a drink on your behalf but unfortunately she was not working that day. I had a drink and engaged a sweet gal for about 30 minutes. I have a very funny story about the place but it is a story I will share with you at another time. I hope to go back there sometime during the last few weeks in May. Perhaps I can buy Rabbit that drink for you then.

Kind regards
Steff

[deepthroat]

Thanks Steff! Would LOVE to hear the story, share it here if you like or otherwise I'll wait until you feel ready...

And please do keep me/us updated on your progress. I think this thread would be a great place to see others discussing the logistics of their "retirement to LOS" as we can all hopefully benefit from each other's experiences both good and bad. Since most of us are newbies on this topic it would be great to pool our experience, strength and hope here.

I've heard that the American owner of Star of Light has died, and his Thai wife is going to sell or shut down the business.

[manarak]

I've heard that the American owner of Star of Light has died, and his Thai wife is going to sell or shut down the business.

Damn - this is seriously bad news.

[manarak]

(PigDogg @ Feb. 28 2010,16:29)

(manarak @ Feb. 27 2010,12:22)
why don't you take an advisor taking his share on the part of your investement's total return that is above the risk-free rate?

basically, if the portfolio makes 15%, he will take about 30% of (15-3)% => 3.6%, and you still make 11.4%.
If the portfolio makes under 3% => nothing!

Problem with this scheme is that in encourages the portfolio manager to take excessive risks with your money.

true, but he is an advisor, not a power of attorney, so any transaction would have to be approved beforehand by the account owner anyway.

[Steff]

Here's a thought: Since we all have such a profound deep affection for the place we should buy it. This might be a good start to our collective futures in LOS. What does anyone figure the business is worth and what would be involved wit absentee farlang ownership?

[deepthroat]

Q: What's the best way to become a millionaire owning a bar in Bangkok?





A: Start with 2 million!