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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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 Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 9:53 pm Post subject: |
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womblingfree wrote:
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I seem to remember that my rent was about 48,000 yen a month, then it was always about 10,000 for all my bills. That was an Aeon 'subsidised' apartment.
When I left Aeon my rent went up to 75,000 a month but I was earning 300,000 a month so I could still save the same amount. |
Thanks for the clarification. Most people don't work for AEON, so their rents are closer to the 70,000-80,000 yen/month range (on average). That difference was made up with your higher salary post-AEON, so the numbers balance. Obviously, if you had paid that higher rent and said you saved that much, you would have really had to be a miser. 
G Cthulhu wrote:
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| Your employer should refund most of that when you leave though. You can be certain they get it back from the tax people! |
How do you know that employers get back tax money? I've never heard of this implication before. If a person wants to get the tax money back, he applies to the government, not the employer, who withheld it in the first place. |
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Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 11:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
womblingfree wrote:
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I seem to remember that my rent was about 48,000 yen a month, then it was always about 10,000 for all my bills. That was an Aeon 'subsidised' apartment.
When I left Aeon my rent went up to 75,000 a month but I was earning 300,000 a month so I could still save the same amount. |
Thanks for the clarification. Most people don't work for AEON, so their rents are closer to the 70,000-80,000 yen/month range (on average). That difference was made up with your higher salary post-AEON, so the numbers balance. Obviously, if you had paid that higher rent and said you saved that much, you would have really had to be a miser.
G Cthulhu wrote:
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| Your employer should refund most of that when you leave though. You can be certain they get it back from the tax people! |
How do you know that employers get back tax money? I've never heard of this implication before. If a person wants to get the tax money back, he applies to the government, not the employer, who withheld it in the first place. |
I don't think you do necessarily get the tax back, but it would depend on the country you're from. I know that I will be slapped with a big tax when i leave Japan and I heard that as a Canadian, I WILL NOT get any of this tax money back. However, if i was an American, I could apply and then receive the money back when i return to the US. Sorry, i don't know what the tax is. So tax refunds do depend on your country of origin. |
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Omeo
Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 245
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| Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 10:09 am Post subject: |
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| Do they ask about your debt load when applying for a visa? I have student loans and a credit card to pay off, too, but I'm not worried about it because I have enough money saved up to pay them off every month until I'm making enough to pay out of my teaching paychecks. I can also have the loan payments deferred for a while until I save more and my salary increases. Can I still get a visa if I'm a few thousand dollars in debt? |
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moot point
Joined: 22 Feb 2005
Posts: 441
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| Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 11:27 am Post subject: |
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| No, immigration doesn't much care about your debts. It has nothing to do with them. |
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johncanada24
Joined: 19 Oct 2006
Posts: 119
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
john has a 2-year degree and is 24 years old. He can only get a working holiday visa, student visa, or cultural visa. WHV is good for only 12 months, so let's assume he goes with that. (BTW, NOVA hires people with such qualifications, but I think WHV holders at NOVA can only get PT work. Check into this, john.)
Also, I have heard rumors (red flag disclaimer here) that some people working for NOVA do not even have degrees or legal visas. How that happened is unknown to me, but perhaps they buffaloed immigration with their 2-year diplomas or had fake degrees. I don't know.
On a salary of 250,000 yen/month you will spend about half on basic necessities.
rent 70,000-80,000
utilities 20,000 (seasonal and depending on personal use; utilities are not paid for NOVA apartments)
phone 5000-8000 depending on cell phone or land line and various options
food 30,000-50,000
TOTAL so far = 125,000-158,000 (minus utilities if you work for NOVA)
The remainder from your paycheck (92,000 - 125,000) will go to everything else in life.
Health insurance = 2500 yen/month in your first year with national health insurance (10 times hire after that, but john can't stay that long)
Haircuts
postage and envelopes
souvenirs
cable/satellite TV
long distance calls (and local ones, too, if they go over the option limit)
medical treatment not covered by insurance (30% of your bill)
entertainment (sightseeing, movies, DVD rentals, going out, etc.)
How you play around with that 92,000 - 125,000 is up to you, but I would imagine that it's not hard to use 50,000 of it for a loan if one is that serious.
So, 50,000 x 12 = 600,000 yen in a year. At today's exchange rate, that means about CDN$5600. So, if you can stick around and have similar living conditions and salary, you should be able to pay it off in 3 years. |
Thankyou Gelnski that gives me a much clearer look into what im getting into. By the way my interview for NOVA is Dec th so im getting ready for that.
I have called about part time work for college degreers with a WHV.
I"ll report that when i call them shortly.
thanks again Glenski! |
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Mosley
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Posts: 158
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| Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 8:31 pm Post subject: Take this advice to the bank.... |
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To the OP: Want some gold-plated advice from a guy who's done JET, Nova and teaching in South Korea? And who LOVES Japan? Look, if financial gain in a relatively short period of time is your priority then FORGET Japan and head for Korea(or, Taiwan, from what I've heard). Your problem in working in Korea stems from not having a full degree. I've met teachers in Korea working illegally and "getting away with it" but I DO NOT recommend that route.
There ya go bud. Take this advice to the bank.... |
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BedTiger
Joined: 22 Aug 2006
Posts: 55
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| Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 11:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Sorry guys I just have to make a comment. I did work a year and a half in Japan so I know what I am talking about. Who in gods name wants to work all this overtime to save 500-700$ ?! Not going out, not buying anything this is crazy...listen to yourselves...what kind of "culture" are you going to experience besides the "work till you drop culture" of Japan while tryng to save a small amount of money. I am working in Vietnam and I make $2000 a month and live well on 500$...that includes, rent, maid, phone, eating out everyday, motorbike, etc. If you need to save money and want to enjoy life a little there are much better places than Japan. |
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Sweetsee
Joined: 11 Jun 2004
Posts: 2302
Location: ) is everything
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| Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 4:04 am Post subject: |
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| Nice! Like to get some of that. |
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shetan
Joined: 09 Jul 2005
Posts: 1
Location: New Zealand
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| Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 4:33 am Post subject: You could think about Korea |
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Really easy to save money...
Basic job is $2000 USD including free rent...
you can save about $1000 per month and still live well...
You could go to Japan after 1 year...
If your not sure.. Do a winter English camp for 1 month and check it out..
you can get about $3000 for the month...
something to think about anyway.. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 12:37 pm Post subject: |
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shetan wrote:
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Do a winter English camp for 1 month and check it out..
you can get about $3000 for the month... |
Um, do you have just a few more details on this? |
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johncanada24
Joined: 19 Oct 2006
Posts: 119
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
shetan wrote:
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Do a winter English camp for 1 month and check it out..
you can get about $3000 for the month... |
Um, do you have just a few more details on this? |
I would be VERY VERY interested in a camp where do i find this? can you be more specific??
I love camping and I've also had experience with this back at home with children. That rules please ! more information  |
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womblingfree
Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 826
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| Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 10:21 pm Post subject: |
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If you're at an eikaiwa you will be earning at least $2,500 a month, be paying ridiculously low taxes and probably not be enrolled in the national social security tax system. Your expenses such as rent and bills will not be more than $1,000 and may well be less.
That leaves you with $1,500 to eat, party and save.
Saving is not a problem unless you're bringing up a family on that salary. |
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Toosey-Jay
Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 28
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| Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 12:34 am Post subject: |
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Depends how big your debts are!
.
Last edited by Toosey-Jay on Sun Dec 10, 2006 1:45 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 12:42 am Post subject: |
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womblingfree wrote:
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| If you're at an eikaiwa you will be earning at least $2,500 a month, |
In terms of American dollars, this is not exactly true. The words "at least" need more defining, mostly because of the fluctuating exchange rate, which goes from 100 to 130. It seems to hover near 120 more than any other, so at that rate, a "standard" paycheck of 250,000 yen is US$2083. To make US$2500, it would have to be extremely low (100). Moreover, I wrote standard in quotation marks because that's another factor. For 15-20 years, people could get 250,000 practically all the time, and sometimes 270-280K, but in the past couple of years, salaries have dropped to ridiculously low levels, like 170,000 - 200,000, and that would obviously affect your take-home in dollars. I wouldn't plan on "at least $2500" at all.
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| be paying ridiculously low taxes and probably not be enrolled in the national social security tax system. |
The low taxes will come only in the first year, as will low (2500 yen/month) health insurance if you are on the national health plan, but both will go up after that. Health insurance will go up tenfold.
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| Your expenses such as rent and bills will not be more than $1,000 and may well be less. |
I'm sorry to be so picky, but "may well be less" also needs qualifying. Yes, it could be in certain cases, but the way this is written, it seems that it is always so. Rent may be 80,000 (or higher, depending on where you live), and utilities plus phone will be pretty close to 20,000 to 30,000, depending on season and personal use. If you have a cell phone and a land line phone, it will definitely be closer to the upper end of that range. Live in a rural area, and your bills or rent could be lower, of course. |
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