Ravipas Chaloenchansa,
CFA, CFP®
Thailand
Finance & Retirement
The life comes first.
Financial planning
for
life in
Thailand
begins with
the life,
not the budget.
The plan’s job is to keep that life going: this year, in ten years, and later still.
Financial planning in Thailand
A monthly budget is one page of the plan.
The rest is what happens over time.
This page sets out how the financial side of a long-term life in Thailand fits together: what the money is for, what comes in and goes out, how that changes over the years, and what has to stay flexible. It is a place to start, not financial, investment or tax advice.
Start with the life you want to fund
What is the money for?
Before any figure, describe the life. The plan can only be as good as that description.
The home
Where, and in what kind of home?
The everyday
At what standard of ordinary life?
The people
Who shares it, and who depends on it?
The life
Understanding your income
What comes in.
- Work or business
- Pension
- Portfolio and other assets
- Other income
Which of these would continue whatever happens?
Planning your spending
What goes out.
- Home
- Daily life
- Healthcare
- Travel
- Larger expenses, now and then
Which of these change as you get older?
Neither list is complete. What matters is how they relate.
Planning across the long term
The plan has to work
now,
and still work
much later.
Costs, income and needs all move over the years. A plan is a view of how they move, not a single figure.
Now
What do you have, and what does life cost today?
Settling in
What does the move itself cost, and what changes in the first years?
Established life
What does an ordinary year cost once life has settled?
Later life
What changes when care and help matter more?
Healthcare and future costs
Healthcare deserves its own line in the plan, and its own look further ahead.
Ask what care and cover cost now, and how both may change as you get older.
Currency and financial flexibility
Where the money
comes from,
and where
the life is spent.
If your income and savings are in one currency and your costs in another, movements between them become part of the plan. So does how quickly you could reach your money.
Where the
money is
Earned and held
Where the life is
Currency
- Which currencies are your income and savings in?
- Which currency are your costs in?
- What would a large move between them change?
Liquidity
- What could you reach within days?
- What is tied up, and for how long?
- What would you rather not have to sell?
Housing and location
Where you live
shapes most of the
rest of the plan.
Rent or buy, city or coast, staying put or keeping the option to move: each choice changes what the plan has to carry.
Hua Hin
- Bangkok
- Chiang Mai
- Phuket
Rent or buy
Which keeps the options you want open?
City, coast or hills
What does each ask of the budget?
Moving later
Could you change your mind, and at what cost?
Bringing the plan together
The plan is what holds
the two together.
Above the line, the life. Beneath it, what pays for it. A financial plan is the working connection between the two.
The plan
The life
- Home
- Healthcare
- Travel
- Family
- Everyday life
- Later life
The money
- Income
- Investments
- Assets
- Savings
- Liquidity
- Currencies
Expert contributor
Ravipas Chaloenchansa,
CFA, CFP®
Thailand
Finance & Retirement
Professional credentials
- CFA® charterholder
- CFP® professional
The questions a long-term financial plan may need to connect
The life you want
Where, how and at what standard do you want to live?
Cash flow
What comes in, what goes out, and what changes over time?
Assets and investments
What do you already have, and what role does each part play?
Healthcare
How do medical and insurance costs fit into the wider plan?
Housing
Buy, rent, or keep the option to move later?
Currency
Where are income and assets held, and where are costs paid?
Liquidity
What needs to stay within reach for emergencies or opportunities?
Later life
What changes if the plan has to last decades, not years?
Family and legacy
What responsibilities or estate questions exist?
General information, not personal financial advice.
Our experts
Our experts contribute to Thailand Ready content and guidance within their respective areas of experience and professional background.
Ravipas Chaloenchansa,
Noppakun Sasipibool
Thailand
Insurance
Ravinun Poovatanakul
Thailand
Tax & International Tax
Lattapon Chaloenchansa
Thailand
Visa & Relocation
CFA®, Chartered Financial Analyst®, CIPM®, and GIPS® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.
CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ are trademarks owned outside the U.S. by Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. Thai Financial Planning Association is the marks licensing authority for the CFP marks in Thailand, through agreement with FPSB.
Where to start
Three guides to read next, and the hubs that sit beside this one.
Start with the life. Build the plan around it.
Tell us what you are planning. We’ll help you see what the plan has to cover.