"I Don't Send Money to my Thai Girlfriend!"

Published: February 20, 2019 - Reading time: 10 minutes
» Updated: September 2, 2024

Are you involved with a Thai lady that doesn't ask you to send her money? Some men see this as a positive trait in their girlfriends, however, many Thai ladies understand that asking for money from their foreign boyfriend could be seen as a red flag. Whether or not your Thai girlfriend even needs you to send her money will of course depend on her individual circumstances.

Does your Thai girlfriend need money from you?

Without a university degree, or the capital to start a business, it can be very difficult to earn more than the minimum wage in Thailand. If your Thai girlfriend has a good education then she might be able to enter a decent career and earn a good salary.

Does your Thai girlfriend need money from you? The answer to this question will depend on how much money she earns, her lifestyle, whether she has debts or other financial problems, and how many dependants rely on her for support... If a Thai lady has a good education and career, or simply a low-cost lifestyle, then she might not need financial support from you.

At the time of writing, the Thai minimum wage is around 330 THB per day. It can be a struggle to live on such a small amount of money, and especially without support from a spouse. Think about it... Could you live on just 10,000 THB per month (approx.) in a major city? For most of us it would be a real struggle to survive.

Thai women are usually expected to provide for their families, and especially so if they have children that are being raised by their parents. If the lady is earning minimum wage or not much more than minimum wage, it will be difficult to sustain a life for herself, as well as her parents and children.

Thai lady counting money

Of course, many Thai ladies are university educated or entrepreneurial and able to earn excellent salaries. In our experience, it is generally less common for financially well off or 'middle class' ladies to form romantic relationships with foreign men, though it can happen. Some of the Thai ladies most keen to find foreign boyfriends might not be doing so well financially and could benefit from extra support.

My Thai girlfriend doesn’t ask for money

Ladies in Thailand aren't stupid, and many of them understand that asking their newly minted Western boyfriend for money will be seen as a red flag by them. If she is not asking you for money, you need to deeply examine her circumstances and question how she is able to support herself, rather than assume that she will never need support from you. After all, one of the major perks of being with a foreign guy is their ability to help out with money... This is, of course, why a lot of Thai ladies seek out Western men.

If your Thai girlfriend earns enough money to support herself and her family, then there is no reason that she should ask you to help out. However, you will need to really examine your girlfriend’s finances in order to understand exactly how much money she takes home and how much it costs to support herself as well as any of her dependants.

If your Thai girlfriend lives in a city such as Pattaya, Bangkok, Patong, etc, then there is the danger that she could be earning cash on the side through work in the adult entertainment industry. Many women that have regular jobs also “freelance” during the weekends and evenings in order to earn more money. This turns out to be true for many of the Thai women in Pattaya which we investigate for our clients. Without hiring a detective to check the movements of your girlfriend it can be extremely difficult, or impossible in most cases, to find out what she is truly doing when you are not around.

Supporting a Thai girlfriend long term

If your Thai girlfriend is able to get a good education and achieve a university degree for example, then she will have the potential to earn more money than with a basic high school education. Many white-collar jobs in Thailand will require the candidate to have a university degree, or relevant training.

Thai lady standing outside a money transfer booth

If your Thai partner does not have a career or an education which could lead them to a career, then you might choose to support them through education with the hopes that they can earn more money later on down the line.

A popular alternative amongst foreigners is to help their Thai girlfriends setup a business, with the hope that this could lead to them making more money. Whether or not this path is likely to be successful will depend on the type of business that you decide to pursue, and whether your partner is hard working and skilled enough to get a business of the ground. There are indeed many horror stories which you can find online, but there are also plenty examples of Thai ladies setting up successful businesses with their boyfriends or husband’s support and backing.

Thai girlfriend working in a bar

If your girlfriend works at a bar and you're not sending her money, then it's almost certain she is leaving the bar with customers in order to support herself. Don't kid yourself on this... A bargirl's wage is designed to be propped up by accepting bar fines and regularly leaving the bar with customers. In fact, many bars require a minimum amount of 'bar fines' in order for the lady to receive a base salary.

Most of the time when we are asked to check bar girls in this way for our clients, we discover that the lady is keen to leave the bar and earn money. During other investigations we will observe the lady and find out how many customers she is leaving the bar with during an average night or week. The results are often shocking.

Whether or not you are sending your girlfriend money; if she works at a beer bar in Thailand then she is most certainly still accepting ‘bar fines’, and still going with customers to their hotel rooms. Please, don’t delude yourself into believing that she is different. We have been conducting this type of investigation for many years and can say from experience that the vast majority of ladies who work in beer bars continue their activity despite having boyfriends.

This also applies to women working in go-gos, massage parlours in Thailand, night clubs, karaoke bars, and other roles dealing with the public... However, if your girlfriend works a different job, don't think that you're safe either.

Many women in Pattaya who work regular jobs often turn to freelancing in nightclubs to meet with customers in the evening or night time. Other ladies prefer to meet men using hookup apps or online dating, to earn more money and subsidise their incomes from regular jobs. Other women might already be receiving plenty of money from other boyfriends abroad.

Thai go go dancers wearing bikinis

Photo: If your girlfriend works at an a go-go bar or a beer bar then you aren't the only gentleman enjoying her company!

Sending money to a Thai bar girl is not a good idea as you may find yourself falling victim to the classic bar girl scam, where a lady has several men sending her cash on a regular basis… Each of the guys will believe that they are the only man in her life, but the reality is very different. You may read about this scam and think that it could never happen to you – this is exactly what everyone thinks when they are falling victim to a romance scam.

If you decide to support a bar girl, then you should make sure that she stops working in the bar immediately. The claim that "I will work in the bar but not leave with customers" is almost always false.

Ladies perpetrating romance scams might also convince their overseas boyfriend that they are a university student, while in reality they are working in a beer bar or getting wasted every night in a nightclub. Because fraudsters are excellent liars, most victims of the romance scam will never find out what is going on unless they decide to investigate the lady's activities.

Essentially, it should be a cause for concern if your girlfriend doesn't ask for money, unless her finances truly add up. (I.e. she has no dependants, or is able to support her dependents by earning a decent wage). It would be wise to deeply examine your partner's income and cost of living before declaring this to be a positive trait, as she may be concealing other income streams from you. You will need to check whether her story adds up (literally).

Want to learn more about your partner's circumstances and history? We can help to check your Thai girlfriend by running a background check or checking her claims through personal surveillance or our decoy service. Please contact us for a free quote, or continue browsing our website for more free information and insights.

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