Gaybutton wrote: ↑Tue May 03, 2022 1:03 pm
Fortunately for me, I can handle the increases, as I believe most reading this board can do, but I'll be damned if I know how minimum wage Thais are managing to do it.
I asked Jai (my much smarter better half) the same question. He said most Thais are now changing the types of food they buy avoiding the high price spikes - tend to be growing more in their gardens now - and sometimes are forced to eat less. There used to be 3 pork stalls at our local market - and now there is only 1 because the prices went up so much. Grilled chicken is selling like hot cakes.
On another note: Americans drawing Social Security received a fabulous 5.9% COLA this year, and according the financial guru's in the U.S. the next increase (Jan 2023) will be the same or possibly even more due to inflation not improving. That will certainly offset the increase in pork.
Dodger wrote: ↑Tue May 03, 2022 3:19 pm
On another note: Americans drawing Social Security received a fabulous 5.9% COLA this year, and according the financial guru's in the U.S. the next increase (Jan 2023) will be the same or possibly even more
Sadly for me the UK pound appears to be weaker against the Baht, so no benefit for us at all. 42.7 Baht to the pound today. I really long for the 56 Baht to the pound that I got before the vote to leave the EU.
The only one that interests me is the TT rate because that is the rate I actually receive. However, I always get an even better rate when my money arrives via Wise.
This morning, June 17, 2022, the TT exchange rate - which is the rate I usually receive - hit 35 to the US dollar. This is the first time that rate has been reached since February 1, 2017 - nearly 5½ years ago.
I'm not going to try to guess where the exchange rate is going from here or how long these better rates will last - but I know what I hope . . .
Gaybutton wrote: ↑Fri Jun 17, 2022 9:19 am
I'm not going to try to guess where the exchange rate is going from here or how long these better rates will last - but I know what I hope . . .
Same, same.
It sure would be nice to see 35 hang around for a while...or even get better.
For Americans living in Thailand who are drawing Social Security benefits there's more to celebrate. They're saying the COLA for 2022 will increase by around 8.6% to help offset inflation in the U.S.
I don't even bother trying to figure out how the experts predict foreign exchange rates...but the U.S. dollar is somehow staying afloat in the middle of the worst inflation they've seen in an epoch - and at the same time Thailand's businesses are finally starting to pick up and their currency gets weaker. Go figure!
Dodger wrote: ↑Thu Jun 23, 2022 2:34 pm
For Americans living in Thailand who are drawing Social Security benefits there's more to celebrate. They're saying the COLA for 2022 will increase by around 8.6% to help offset inflation in the U.S.
That would certainly be nice. I haven't seen anything about that. If it happens, do you have any idea when that is supposed to start?