Baht Continues to Weaken

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Undaunted
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Re: Baht Continues to Weaken

Post by Undaunted »

When I was given the option to annuitize one of the IRA trading accounts 10 years ago it was fixed at 5.25% and remains fixed at that rate which was quite high compared to the rates since, as for the monthly payout thank god it is denominated in USD and not GBP.
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Jun

Re: Baht Continues to Weaken

Post by Jun »

The buying power of the USD is 77.5% of what it was 10 years ago, in the US. That's with relatively low inflation.

Anyone owning an annuity with a period of high inflation or for a few decades can suffer much worse.

On the other hand, thanks to exchange rates, you're getting about 25% more THB than 10 years ago.

I found one web site which says prices in Thailand are only 9.5% higher than 10 years ago. Although some things have been the same price for as long as I've been coming to Thailand, the figure still seem suspiciously low.
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Undaunted
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Re: Baht Continues to Weaken

Post by Undaunted »

Jun wrote: Wed Sep 28, 2022 10:25 pm The buying power of the USD is 77.5% of what it was 10 years ago, in the US.
As I live full time here in Thailand I couldn’t care less about the buying power of the USD in the U.S. but am thoroughly enjoying its buying power here.
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Re: Baht Continues to Weaken

Post by Dodger »

Undaunted wrote: Thu Sep 29, 2022 12:14 am
As I live full time here in Thailand I couldn’t care less about the buying power of the USD in the U.S. but am thoroughly enjoying its buying power here.
Ditto.

The exchange rate just went over 38 THB to the USD.

Keep going baby!

Do I hear 40?
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Re: Baht Continues to Weaken

Post by Rocket »

Jun wrote: Wed Sep 28, 2022 7:10 pm In the UK, annuities have tended to be poor value and the inflation indexed ones are particularly poor value.
I agree annuities are terrible products. The best way to keep up with inflation or beat it is with stocks.
A mutual fund will certainly outperform an annuity over the long run. Annuities cap your gains. In the USA the stock market is still up over 50% over the last three years.

Insurance companies are only allowed to sell a few financial products and they love selling annuities. Big fees and poor performance.
I tried talking my friend out of buying one. He was invited to a free dinner and the representative put about 80% of his money into an annuity. My friend was worried about the other 20% being placed in mutual funds. The rep said we need the mutual funds to make money from the stock market,lol.

Also , the 50 or so pages of explanation is purposely complicated , making it almost impossible to understand. If one doesn’t understand what they’re investing in, they probably shouldn’t invest in that product. Also they penalize you if you want to withdraw your money early. My friend has to wait eight years to take any money out or suffer a penalty.

I listen to Dave Ramsey, a respected financial adviser on the media. He also , besides annuities, hates whole life insurance. Better to get term insurance, just like it’s better to get a diversified mutual fund instead of an annuity.

I suppose as one is older there’s less harm in buying an annuity, as the market conceivably could stay down for a longer period of time, say 10 or 15 years. And you might not live long enough for the market to recover.
Jun

Re: Baht Continues to Weaken

Post by Jun »

Rocket wrote: Fri Sep 30, 2022 12:24 am Also , the 50 or so pages of explanation is purposely complicated , making it almost impossible to understand.
Financial advisors should generally be ignored. They're interested mainly in their own fees and ensuring they can't be sued.

I once did a pension transfer from a Defined Benefit scheme to my Sipp, after one former employer offered a large bribe to move the money. The law requires me to take financial advice. So I took their free financial advice, knowing I was going to do my own.
Essentially it was 60 pages of bullshit and even that only explored the risks of moving the money, with no comparison at all with the risks of leaving the money where it is. So 60 pages for half a job.

My own analysis was done in Excel and fitted on one A4 sheet. That included consideration of risks for leaving the money where it is, which included inflation indexing for a deferred pension capped at 3%.
I moved the money to my SIPP.
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Re: Baht Continues to Weaken

Post by billyhouston »

Years ago people used to sell Non-Profit Whole of Life policies in combination with an Annuity to people who were dying. They were known as 'back-to-back death bed' policies. It was a means, in the UK, of removing funds from one's estate for taxation purposes.
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Re: Baht Continues to Weaken

Post by Undaunted »

Dollar to baht forecast into the future: https://longforecast.com/usd-to-bht-today-forecast
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Re: Baht Continues to Weaken

Post by Gaybutton »

Undaunted wrote: Tue Oct 11, 2022 10:01 am Dollar to baht forecast into the future
I'm usually wary of exchange rate forecasts because it never seems to work out that way. But I sure hope this forecast happens that way. If the exchange rate gets into the mid to high 40s per US dollar and stays that way for years, I certainly will be happy. It has been many years since we have seen rates like that.
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Re: Baht Continues to Weaken

Post by Dodger »

Undaunted wrote: Tue Oct 11, 2022 10:01 am
Dollar to baht forecast into the future: https://longforecast.com/usd-to-bht-today-forecast
Wow!

It's time for a new motorbike.

That's me I'm talking about. I know you've already had at least six in the last 2 years... :P
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