10 Steps Before You Go to Thailand. Step Two - Finances

2.  Budgeting The Trip

DISCLAIMER.  The following is general travel advice and in no way represents legal advice, does not solicit legal advice, and does not form any attorney-client relationship with any reader whatsoever.  Reminder:  I am NOT YET A LICENSED ATTORNEY and am NOT giving legal advice in this post or on this website.

Personally, I saved the money in advance and will live off of a savings account while in Thailand.  When saving money for the trip, keep in mind how much you should actually be saving by creating a realistic budget plan.

Here is a basic overview of the categories you can use to plan your budget:

Sample Budget Sheet

Item	Cost	Total
	Travel/One-Time Expenses
Plane Tickets1	____
Visa Fees2	____
Travel Insurance3	____
Immunizations4	____	____
	Bills/Monthly Expenses
Credit Cards5	____
Phone/Data Usage6	____
Transportation 7	____
Food8 Entertainment9	____ ____
Training Camp10	____	____
Totals

1.  Plane Tickets.  The standard low-end rate for a round trip ticket runs about $1200 from California.  The cheapest way to plan it?  Make all of your arrival/departure dates on Tuesdays.  Check out Kayak for cheap airfare.

2.  Visa Fees.    Visa Fees may or may not apply.  Staying less than 30 days + have a current U.S. passport + have a return plane ticket?  U.S. citizens carrying a tourist passport and in possession of an onward or return airline ticket do not require a visa to enter Thailand. The passport must have at least six months validity remaining to be allowed entry.  Upon entry, Thai immigration officials will place an immigration stamp in the passport permitting a 30-day stay in Thailand if arriving by air or a 15-day stay if arriving by land.  Planning on staying longer than 30 days?  You'll need to pick from among various Visa options.  For more information on Thai Visas, visit the U.S. Embassy site.  Visa processing fees generally range from about $30-80 but are subject to change, so stay up to date with the Royal Thai Consulate office that will be processing your Visa application.  The Consulate has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Honolulu, among others.  The website does not offer a comprehensive list of Consulate locations, but it's a good place to start.

3.  Travel Insurance.  You typically have an option to purchase travel insurance along with your plane ticket for an additional $100 or so.  You can, of course, always shop around for different travel insurance.

4.  Immunizations.  Depending on your immunization history and whether your health insurance will cover the cost of "non-routine" shots for travel, the immunizations for Thailand can run from $150 to $900 or more (the cost of Rabies or Japanese Encephalitis shots are OBSCENELY EXPENSIVE no matter where you go).  If you are insured, start by talking to your primary physician.  If you are not insured, start by Googling local travel immunization services in your area and shop around for a competitive price.

5.  Credit Cards.  Unfortunately, credit card companies won't stop billing your debt just because you're going abroad.  You can suspend a lot of bills while you're gone, but keep in mind that credit cards will still need to be paid.

6.  Phone/Data Plans.  Most plans don't offer good international rates in my experience.  The cheapest option is to suspend your service while abroad and use the abundant free wifi of Bangkok to communicate or just buy calling cards/prepaid plans from a provider in Thailand.

7.  Transportation.  Good news.  Between buses, tuk-tuks, and taxis, public transportation in Thailand is both abundant and cheap.  The low end of getting around Bangkok should run about $5-10 per day, but plan on paying more if you're going long distances in taxis or making a lot of trips to different parts of town.  See more about the Bangkok transportation system here.

8.  Food.  Also good news.  Food ranges from the super cheap street food to five star dining.  The low end is probably $5-15 per day.  For more on this topic, see Migrationology's website.

9.  Entertainment.  This really depends on how much you plan to screw around when not training.  Plan which activities you know you can't live without (example: $250 visit to the Tiger Temple Tour outside of Bangkok) into the budget.  Between all of the free sightseeing (temples, markets, etc.) and the cheap nightlife, staying entertained on a budget really isn't much of an issue.

10.  Training Camp.  This one depends entirely on the factors discussed in step one.  Reminders: check out the camp websites, shop around, try to negotiate with the camp/gym owner for a better rate.