Thai people have reduced their spending to survive the country's economic difficulties, a belt-tightening exacerbated by political and social fears, according to the result of a survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll.
The poll was conducted on 1,174 people throughout the country from Nov 19-23.
Asked how they have saved money, 69.38% said they have reduced unnecessary expenditure on items such as travel, shopping, parties and luxury goods; 40.47% are spending more time at home and cooking their own food; 22.85% are making a budget and keeping an account of their expenses; 21.23% are buying goods only during sales promotions; and 19.60% are doing extra jobs to supplement their incomes.
The respondents were also asked how they are reducing the amount they spend on the so-called four requisites -- food, housing, clothing and medical care.
For food, 62.83% said they are cooking their own food and cutting down on eating out; 37.59% said they spend a certain amount of money on each meal; and 23.46% said they eat only the food they need for each meal and keep the rest in boxes.
For housing, 65.63% said they use electricity and water economically; 39.35% keep household appliances well-maintained; and 15.77% rent a cheap house or share a house with friends or relatives.
For clothing, 54.34% said they do less shopping and buy only during sales promotions; 40.16% said they wear old clothes or exchange clothes with friends or siblings; and 16.71% buy second-hand clothes.
To reduce medical costs, 60.12% said they exercise regularly and take an annual health examination; 32.36% use state welfare or social security entitlements for medical care; and 28.07% eat sufficient quantities of all five essential food groups.
Asked what expenses they cannot avoid, 63.52% mentioned transportation costs such as train and bus fares; 50.80% cited medical costs; 24.79% cited various kinds of instalment payments for items such as houses, cars and credit cards; 20.79% mentioned children's tuition fees; and 18.66% cited so-called "social taxes" for events such as weddings, funerals and religious rites.