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[garrya]

I was wondering about the exchange rates. Is it worth to wait for better rates or the pound is constantly getting weaker to  the thai baht?
If the rate is getting low i might do border runs and not exchange my money for visa extension, as my money is in a UK bank, and in cash of british pound. Hopefully  the olympic games will give a boost to the pound.
Any thoughts?

[miksguevara]

if anyone knows for certain what exchange rates are gonna do they would be very rich, the rate for gbp has fluctuated between approx 47.5 and 49 for the last year so wont make a vast difference unless you are transfering thousands...it use to be 68

[garrya]

miksguevara, on 2012-02-15 13:10:09, said:

if anyone knows for certain what exchange rates are gonna do they would be very rich, the rate for gbp has fluctuated between approx 47.5 and 49 for the last year so wont make a vast difference unless you are transfering thousands...it use to be 68

I remember 77 in 2008, that would be great again. Maybe i am a bit greedy but really would like to see a better rate.

[chiang mai]

A couple of reasons to make the exchange now include a new round of QE from the BOE and a likely downgrade by Moody's.

[soi41]

If you live in Thailand, why not move your money to a Thai bank ?

[garrya]

soi41, on 2012-02-15 17:19:46, said:

If you live in Thailand, why not move your money to a Thai bank ?

I have recently moved to LOS this is why i am hesitating about to move funds and exchange it now when the banks give me 47,50 baht for 1 pound. I have no problem with the border runs as the border is less then an hour drive from my place. So it is not urgent to exchange money.

[Banzai99]

garrya, on 2012-02-15 13:46:59, said:

miksguevara, on 2012-02-15 13:10:09, said:

if anyone knows for certain what exchange rates are gonna do they would be very rich, the rate for gbp has fluctuated between approx 47.5 and 49 for the last year so wont make a vast difference unless you are transfering thousands...it use to be 68

I remember 77 in 2008, that would be great again. Maybe i am a bit greedy but really would like to see a better rate.

I remember 36 - 38 in the early 1990's     USD at 25.

Also saw the GBP at 90 due to the 97 crash.

So who knows what will happen...

[12DrinkMore]

I "think" the GBP will resume its slide down this year, but could be wrong.

Putting the 800,000 for a retirement visa in a Thai bank at 3.4% or so tax free is a better return than you'll get on similar UK deposits. I've just claimed back the tax the bank deducted and it all went very smoothly. I moved out of GBP's once I saw the cynical way Merv is out to reduce the GBP's value. Can't see him changing his ways anytime soon.

The border hop process depends on which visa you have. There are maybe limitations on how many border hops you can do, add in the costs of going abroad to get the visa, the border hop costs, the 'real estate' costs of all the extra stamps in your passport (how much does each blank page cost you? Around 200 Baht for a UK passport), and compare it to the ease of visiting immigration four times a year, one passport page. But then you have to add in the costs of the "exit" visa. Aye, tiz a strange system where, once you have a visa to stay for a year, if you want to leave the country for a holiday you need another blasted exit visa.

[monsieurhappy]

garrya, on 2012-02-15 13:46:59, said:

I remember 77 in 2008, that would be great again. Maybe i am a bit greedy but really would like to see a better rate.

In your dreams mate, it barely reached 77 back in 2004.

[chiang mai]

garrya, on 2012-02-15 13:46:59, said:

miksguevara, on 2012-02-15 13:10:09, said:

if anyone knows for certain what exchange rates are gonna do they would be very rich, the rate for gbp has fluctuated between approx 47.5 and 49 for the last year so wont make a vast difference unless you are transfering thousands...it use to be 68

I remember 77 in 2008, that would be great again. Maybe i am a bit greedy but really would like to see a better rate.

Best you can remember in 2008 was 65, unless you have a vivid imagination that is.

[chiang mai]

12DrinkMore, on 2012-02-15 22:30:06, said:

I "think" the GBP will resume its slide down this year, but could be wrong.

Putting the 800,000 for a retirement visa in a Thai bank at 3.4% or so tax free is a better return than you'll get on similar UK deposits. I've just claimed back the tax the bank deducted and it all went very smoothly. I moved out of GBP's once I saw the cynical way Merv is out to reduce the GBP's value. Can't see him changing his ways anytime soon.

The border hop process depends on which visa you have. There are maybe limitations on how many border hops you can do, add in the costs of going abroad to get the visa, the border hop costs, the 'real estate' costs of all the extra stamps in your passport (how much does each blank page cost you? Around 200 Baht for a UK passport), and compare it to the ease of visiting immigration four times a year, one passport page. But then you have to add in the costs of the "exit" visa. Aye, tiz a strange system where, once you have a visa to stay for a year, if you want to leave the country for a holiday you need another blasted exit visa.

Whilst I agree with the sentiment I'm somewhat nervous that the Pound may not fall that much further, THB has it's own set of worries currently not the least of which is that huge ammount just transfered to the BOT books, it makes is look like the Thai version of the UK's QE. I reckon that GBP has still got some downside left but THB looks like it has more.

[garrya]

chiang mai, on 2012-02-16 08:48:27, said:

garrya, on 2012-02-15 13:46:59, said:

miksguevara, on 2012-02-15 13:10:09, said:

if anyone knows for certain what exchange rates are gonna do they would be very rich, the rate for gbp has fluctuated between approx 47.5 and 49 for the last year so wont make a vast difference unless you are transfering thousands...it use to be 68

I remember 77 in 2008, that would be great again. Maybe i am a bit greedy but really would like to see a better rate.

Best you can remember in 2008 was 65, unless you have a vivid imagination that is.

yes, you are right, my memory cheats on me, maybe this is the effect of the beers drunk in the last few years

[tomallison]

12DrinkMore, on 2012-02-15 22:30:06, said:

I "think" the GBP will resume its slide down this year, but could be wrong.

Putting the 800,000 for a retirement visa in a Thai bank at 3.4% or so tax free is a better return than you'll get on similar UK deposits. I've just claimed back the tax the bank deducted and it all went very smoothly. I moved out of GBP's once I saw the cynical way Merv is out to reduce the GBP's value. Can't see him changing his ways anytime soon.

The border hop process depends on which visa you have. There are maybe limitations on how many border hops you can do, add in the costs of going abroad to get the visa, the border hop costs, the 'real estate' costs of all the extra stamps in your passport (how much does each blank page cost you? Around 200 Baht for a UK passport), and compare it to the ease of visiting immigration four times a year, one passport page. But then you have to add in the costs of the "exit" visa. Aye, tiz a strange system where, once you have a visa to stay for a year, if you want to leave the country for a holiday you need another blasted exit visa.

One can obtain 3.4% interest on GBP's in an Offshore account, with the funds locked in for 1 year. You say you can obtain 3.4% interest on THB, this in an account which can be used for a retirement extension, and you can also claim back any tax paid on the interest. I am not aware of these facilities, must do more research. However, having all my funds in THB does appeal to me.

[12DrinkMore]

tomallison, on 2012-02-16 15:16:53, said:

One can obtain 3.4% interest on GBP's in an Offshore account, with the funds locked in for 1 year. You say you can obtain 3.4% interest on THB

3.4% at SCB for a 10 month deposit

http://www.scb.co.th...sit-en-55-9.pdf

Quote

this in an account which can be used for a retirement extension

Yes.

Quote

and you can also claim back any tax paid on the interest.

Yes, just need to pop down the tax office at the end of the tax year, get a tax ID, and have the young lady fill in the form to claim the tax back. Took all of 30 minutes. The cheque arrives in the post four weeks later.

[tomallison]

12DrinkMore,

Thanks for taking time to reply. Info appreciated.

[billd766]

garrya, on 2012-02-16 13:58:38, said:

chiang mai, on 2012-02-16 08:48:27, said:

garrya, on 2012-02-15 13:46:59, said:

miksguevara, on 2012-02-15 13:10:09, said:

if anyone knows for certain what exchange rates are gonna do they would be very rich, the rate for gbp has fluctuated between approx 47.5 and 49 for the last year so wont make a vast difference unless you are transfering thousands...it use to be 68

I remember 77 in 2008, that would be great again. Maybe i am a bit greedy but really would like to see a better rate.

Best you can remember in 2008 was 65, unless you have a vivid imagination that is.

yes, you are right, my memory cheats on me, maybe this is the effect of the beers drunk in the last few years

Here are 2 graphs I did for the GBP/THB exchange rates for 2000 to 2004 and 2005 to 2010.

Read the first one and weep as I do.

 5 year trend 2000 to 2004.xls   31K   4 downloads

 5 year trend 2005 to 2010.xls   31K   5 downloads

[garrya]

thanks, bildd, for this detailed demonstration of the trend

[billd766]

garrya, on 2012-02-17 16:22:13, said:

thanks, bildd, for this detailed demonstration of the trend

My pleasure.

Nice to look back at but a pita while I was doing it.

I won't tell you when I did my retirement planning but I still cry myself to sleep sometimes.