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Is it possible to save money on 2.0-2.3 million won?
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CdnTeacher



Joined: 29 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Mon Feb 03, 2003 6:09 pm    Post subject: Is it possible to save money on 2.0-2.3 million won? Reply with quote

I've read some of the stories on the board. I'm curious to know that if you have to send money to your credit cards and student loans,(say 600.00 cdn a month) is it still possible to save any money while being in South Korea.

I would want to live an ok lifestyle while there. Not extravegant, but compfortable, going out on the weekends etc..
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Guy Incognito
Guest




PostPosted: Mon Feb 03, 2003 6:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

booze has a tendancy to eat up your money fast no matter where you are.
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Jasmine



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Hongkers!

PostPosted: Mon Feb 03, 2003 6:22 pm    Post subject: :o) Reply with quote

If you don't blow it all on alcohol, it's VERY easy to save $ in Korea....especially if you teach privately. In one year, I paid of my $28,000CDN student loan and went to Thailand 3X. 2mil Won is about $2,600CDN. Considering you won't be paying rent, and will only be sending $600 home each month, it looks to me that it would be really easy to save at LEAST $1000. You cann still have fun. Teach some privates and budget! Have fun!
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Circus Monkey



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Location: In my coconut tree

PostPosted: Mon Feb 03, 2003 6:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

But then if you are teaching privates, it's no longer 2.0 to 2.3 million now is it? Everyone's looking for a magic number as to how much one can save but it boils down to a few things:

1) What are your current debts
2) What is your wage (include all sources)
3) What kind of lifestyle do you have
4) What are your future plans

CM
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Zyzyfer



Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: who, what, where, when, why, how?

PostPosted: Mon Feb 03, 2003 9:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I finished credit card payments and started paying back my school loans(slowly), lived and ate well, went out for drinks on weekends, travelled for a month through China and Thailand, went to Japan twice, and still had $4,000 US in the bank at the end of it all.

Of course, I went back to the states for a month, magically spent $3,000, and feel like I'm back to square 1.
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princess



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: soul of Asia

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2003 8:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

True. Going back to the states is a sure-fire way to go through your savings. Some teachers manage to save 10,000 dollars a year in Korea,but me,only 4000-5000 after a year. Why? Shopping,shopping,shopping. Cooking,cooking,cooking. Traveling,traveling,traveling. I can't sit at home and count my money like some foreigners,then be a total !@## to everyone around me because I am miserable for being afraid to spend a cent.
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Bruce Willis



Joined: 27 Jan 2003
Location: HaeundaeBeach. Busan

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2003 9:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

princess wrote:
True. Going back to the states is a sure-fire way to go through your savings. Some teachers manage to save 10,000 dollars a year in Korea,but me,only 4000-5000 after a year. Why? Shopping,shopping,shopping. Cooking,cooking,cooking. Traveling,traveling,traveling. I can't sit at home and count my money like some foreigners,then be a total !@## to everyone around me because I am miserable for being afraid to spend a cent.

Sorry Princess, didn't mean to quote the whole thing, but you are
absolutely right. I also love to shop, love to travel, and love websurfing;
PC Bongs are not so expensive, but I also have that expensive drinking
problem: not with alcohol, I just love those bottles of juices, banana
and strawberry milk, sodas, and of course you should never drink tap
water here, so I've got to buy the water, flavored or otherwise.
Nevertheless, I've found the perfect way to save money here --
just a couple rules: #1: Cut up all your credit cards and don't use them;
pay cash. Buying on credit is just gambling that you'll have the money
to pay for it later;
#2 -- If you can, bring over $1,000 in traveler's checks from home or
buy them at Korean Foreign Exchange Banks. Use that for expenses here,
not your school income. That way, whatever your school or hogwon pays
gets left alone -- maybe 90% or 100% of it. Remember, normally you
have no rent, car insurance, gasoline or phone expense here; food is
cheap compared to Canada/America. To phone home, go buy one of
those $10 or $15 phone cards and you can talk for 3 or 4 hours with
nothing on the phone bill. You have now eliminated 5 or 6 of the major
expenses in America/Canada. In America, the first $75,000 of your
income is tax-exempt if you keep your stay in the USA to less than
30 days for the year. You can travel to any other country as long as you
want. Eliminating taxes, state and federal, by itself will save you 40%
to 50% of your income; if you live in Canada, maybe 60% or more;
I have heard of a math teacher in Canada with a Ph.D. who makes
$140,000 in salary; 75% goes to Canadian taxes; with the other 25%,
he can pay rent, gasoline, food, car insurance, and the phone bill.
If he's got any left over after that, he can start spending on his family.
If you're a teacher in California, #1 -- taxes, #2 -- 8% State Teacher
Retirement System, and then rent ($700-2,000 per month just for a
normal place), gasoline, car insurance, and the phone bill, all put
together will pretty much leave your bank accounts in shreds. Add in
the extra benefit of health and dental insurance deducted from your
check, and good luck -----you're just better off in Japan or Korea
or even Thailand or Taiwan. That, however, is very diifficult if you're
not single, because you're husband or wife is going to be very bored
if they're not teaching; nobody speaks their language, and they can
sit and look at the walls all day: certainly not TV, that's for sure.
So you see, teaching in Asia is just for us losers Rolling Eyes Yeah, right:
let them think that, and all us teachers over here can have all the jobs,
virtually expense free! Laughing Laughing all the way to the bank.
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Canuck87



Joined: 30 Jun 2010

PostPosted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 3:12 pm    Post subject: Re: :o) Reply with quote

Jasmine wrote:
If you don't blow it all on alcohol, it's VERY easy to save $ in Korea....especially if you teach privately. In one year, I paid of my $28,000CDN student loan and went to Thailand 3X. 2mil Won is about $2,600CDN. Considering you won't be paying rent, and will only be sending $600 home each month, it looks to me that it would be really easy to save at LEAST $1000. You cann still have fun. Teach some privates and budget! Have fun!


On the date this was posted 2 000 000 won would get you 2,576.00 CAD, however today it is worth 1,728.00 CAD. Which is a pretty big difference if your trying to pay off loans back home.
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tigershark



Joined: 13 Aug 2009

PostPosted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Who is to blame for this travesty that's what I want to know? Who can I channel my anger and agression to?
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retorsion



Joined: 20 Apr 2010

PostPosted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 2:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bruce Willis wrote:
princess wrote:
True. Going back to the states is a sure-fire way to go through your savings. Some teachers manage to save 10,000 dollars a year in Korea,but me,only 4000-5000 after a year. Why? Shopping,shopping,shopping. Cooking,cooking,cooking. Traveling,traveling,traveling. I can't sit at home and count my money like some foreigners,then be a total !@## to everyone around me because I am miserable for being afraid to spend a cent.

Sorry Princess, didn't mean to quote the whole thing, but you are
absolutely right. I also love to shop, love to travel, and love websurfing;
PC Bongs are not so expensive, but I also have that expensive drinking
problem: not with alcohol, I just love those bottles of juices, banana
and strawberry milk, sodas, and of course you should never drink tap
water here, so I've got to buy the water, flavored or otherwise.
Nevertheless, I've found the perfect way to save money here --
just a couple rules: #1: Cut up all your credit cards and don't use them;
pay cash. Buying on credit is just gambling that you'll have the money
to pay for it later;
#2 -- If you can, bring over $1,000 in traveler's checks from home or
buy them at Korean Foreign Exchange Banks. Use that for expenses here,
not your school income. That way, whatever your school or hogwon pays
gets left alone -- maybe 90% or 100% of it. Remember, normally you
have no rent, car insurance, gasoline or phone expense here; food is
cheap compared to Canada/America. To phone home, go buy one of
those $10 or $15 phone cards and you can talk for 3 or 4 hours with
nothing on the phone bill. You have now eliminated 5 or 6 of the major
expenses in America/Canada. In America, the first $75,000 of your
income is tax-exempt if you keep your stay in the USA to less than
30 days for the year. You can travel to any other country as long as you
want. Eliminating taxes, state and federal, by itself will save you 40%
to 50% of your income; if you live in Canada, maybe 60% or more;
I have heard of a math teacher in Canada with a Ph.D. who makes
$140,000 in salary; 75% goes to Canadian taxes; with the other 25%,
he can pay rent, gasoline, food, car insurance, and the phone bill.

If he's got any left over after that, he can start spending on his family.
If you're a teacher in California, #1 -- taxes, #2 -- 8% State Teacher
Retirement System, and then rent ($700-2,000 per month just for a
normal place), gasoline, car insurance, and the phone bill, all put
together will pretty much leave your bank accounts in shreds. Add in
the extra benefit of health and dental insurance deducted from your
check, and good luck -----you're just better off in Japan or Korea
or even Thailand or Taiwan. That, however, is very diifficult if you're
not single, because you're husband or wife is going to be very bored
if they're not teaching; nobody speaks their language, and they can
sit and look at the walls all day: certainly not TV, that's for sure.
So you see, teaching in Asia is just for us losers Rolling Eyes Yeah, right:
let them think that, and all us teachers over here can have all the jobs,
virtually expense free! Laughing Laughing all the way to the bank.


I don't mean to be a nit picker, but nobody in Canada pays 50% income tax, let alone 75%.

Even adding both provincial and federal taxes, the highest marginal rate still does not exceed 50%. The marginal rate of course is always substantially higher than the average tax rate. In your example, somebody earning $140,000 in my province would have be in the 45% marginal tax bracket, but they'd pay at most around $40,000 (and probably a lot less, as they'd probably have tax credits they could use).
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ssulja



Joined: 01 Sep 2009

PostPosted: Sat Aug 07, 2010 4:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

How is it possible to even have 75% income tax without the citizens overthrowing the govt... lol

As a Canadian, I find this kinda funny
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Peter258



Joined: 18 Dec 2009

PostPosted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 2:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm pretty sure that "75%" was just a typo on his part...I hope LOL

I don't see how anyone could seriously believe anyone is paying that much in taxes
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iselynjenniep



Joined: 01 Jul 2010
Location: bundang

PostPosted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 6:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i live comfortably on 1 million won a month...
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greatunknown



Joined: 04 Feb 2010

PostPosted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 1:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Peter258 wrote:
I'm pretty sure that "75%" was just a typo on his part...I hope LOL

I don't see how anyone could seriously believe anyone is paying that much in taxes


They tax you on everything though! Out of my biweekly paycheck theres that huge tax deduction. Then theres the 13% sales tax that we pay with almost every purchase. Then there are things like tobacco, alcohol, gasoline where the price is easily half taxes. Maybe doesn't add to 75% but its A LOT (in canada) But I digress.
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missingasia



Joined: 12 Jan 2011

PostPosted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 12:19 am    Post subject: Dropping Won Reply with quote

Hi Jasmine,

I'm got a contract but I'm shocked to see the response with the shift in the won. Does this basically mean that the saving potential has dropped to next to nothing?

I have a few questions since I'm a first time Korea goer.

Jasmine were you working under the non-tax system (I understand that the rules have just changed and that if you are a US citizen (I'm not) you don't pay tax anyway.
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