Is a retirement visa the only option for living in Thailand for a year?

I wonder what people said before Covid when rates were like 0%. I keep hearing the interest rate story, sorry but those rates are temporary. 2025 probably 3%. The exchange rate is 36.7 if it goes above 37 again I think better to bank 0 baht in a Thai bank. More likely to be 35 next year and maybe 34 in 2026. So the 2 baht increase gets you more than your 5% CD. But it is a gamble. Because if deflates by 2 to 39 you lose money. If after six or nine months you decide you will leave start spending money in your account. Your allow to drop it to 0 baht three months after extension. So, you could pull half out for 6 months and put into CD. But if you renew the 0 needs to be back in account I think 3 months before. You do have transfer fees but my bank only charges $25 which is good for a large transfer. Better to do without agent otherwise getting out of using them is difficult. But the interest excuse seems silly because we temporarily have high rates so everyone is worried about the interest income lost. Plus it is a simple process to do without agent as long as you have time and 0 baht to hold. Me I would gamble and say the $ today will be worth $ next year.