For someone who has been in Thailand on a Multiple Entry Tourist Visa (METV) less than 6 months each year, for the last couple of years, that has now turned 50 years and now can fulfill the financial requirement for a Non Immigrant Visa:

1) If planning on going to Thailand again (for around 5 months), is a Non Immigrant Visa (based on age) a better option than the METV, in the sense of minimizing the risk of denied entry for staying too long/often on a Tourist Visa etc.? Or any other way that one is better/worse than the other?

2) If the financial requirements cannot be fulfilled again at some point in the future, when going to Thailand again, could it be difficult to get a METV at that time, when having had a Non Immigrant Visa before?

Thanks in advance!