Job Discussion Forums

muffintop · Joined: 07 Jan 2013 Posts: 803

I don't know how anyone can live on that little. I don't really doubt Choudofu but...I just can't see it. In my eyes the lifestyle required to spend so little would be a dreary one at best. No women, no going out, no family.....

When I was single here I would easily blow through 7k/month without doing anything extravagant or special. Now with a wife and baby the amount hasn't really changed too much. I need about 8k to cover my nut.

I took dates to cheap BBQ's....now I take my wife to inexpensive restaurants though we only eat out maybe 2x a week at most. I smoke but I smoke the cheapies...7RMB/box. Baby eats about 3k/month in formula and that was more or less what I was spending on dates when I was single I guess.

My wife is Chinese and I let her handle our money. She gives me an allowance of 1k a month. I do not need to buy food or cigs or beer or anything with that (unless I'm out without her); it's just money I can spend on whatever and it's never enough. I think I spend close to 1k on taxis alone in one month and taking taxis is not a common thing for me at all.

I can't fathom how anyone could live on so little though of course it is possible.....but at what cost? For me the cost would be too great, for others perhaps not. That said, I save about 8-15k USD/year but it certainly isn't solely on a Uni contract. Where I live the Uni's pay about 4-5k for 16ish hours and this is not in some backwater town with a low CoL. My butt won't even roll out of bed for that.

I earn on average over 30k USD a year....I am happy with the amount my family saves. In the US I was earning nearly double but was saving FAR less. I traded quality of life for that......I think most of us traded away quality of life in many respects to be here.

cormac · Joined: 04 Nov 2008 Posts: 768 Location: Xi'an (XTU)

johntpartee · Joined: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 3258

Shroob · Joined: 02 Aug 2010 Posts: 1339

Saving is certainly possible, it all depends on your standard of living and what you define as necessary in life. In about 15 months in China I was able to save enough to pay for an MA and a year living in Blighty with money to spare, as well as over 3 months travelling in China.

There was another thread that discussed monthly expenses in the 'Off topic' section of the China forum. I won't embarrass myself by what I said there, but needless to say I lived frugally. But..that's just my way of life.

cormac · Joined: 04 Nov 2008 Posts: 768 Location: Xi'an (XTU)

cormac · Joined: 04 Nov 2008 Posts: 768 Location: Xi'an (XTU)

Interesting. I hadn't realised I was so crazy in my spending. I do spend over 3/4 my salary on rent, food, relaxation, dating, and the remainder i save for my yearly trip home, or extras like study and/or major outlays. Im also paying mortgage installments but usually my tenants cover most of it although there are the occasional hickups.

I went through a period after a painful breakup where I didnt go out at all, ate cheap food nearby, and kept quiet. I saved a lot during this period. And then I spent most of it when I went home for the holiday.

I think the problem with this kind of topic is that it really comes down to your lifestyle, your income, working hours and location. If youre working all the time, youre going to save most of it. Ive found that when I have more free time, my spending tends to increase.

BTW, normally I dont spend 300 per night 3 nights a week, but I have more free time than usual (most people headed off for the last month before the next semester) and i'm also going through a rather heavy period of dating right now. Wink

bestteacher2012 · Joined: 22 Aug 2012 Posts: 160

cormac · Joined: 04 Nov 2008 Posts: 768 Location: Xi'an (XTU)

I think it's also worth considering how long you've been in China and your level of Chinese language. Generally I pay a little more than Chinese people or FTs who speak the language. I can't haggle for clothes, gifts, or even for food so i usually end up paying a bit more. My foreign friends who speak good Chinese can usually get things for quite a bit less than me. With food it's not much of a difference but it does add up over a year.

While I have been here a few years, I can remember when I wasn't comfortable with buying Chinese food alone in restaurants and in smaller stores... (Not that long ago) And invariably that meant hitting the western import stores (which rack up costs) and eating western food in restaurants.

Bestteacher2012... Excellent post.

johntpartee · Joined: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 3258

choudoufu · Joined: 25 May 2010 Posts: 3325 Location: Mao-berry, PRC

MisterButtkins · Joined: 03 Oct 2009 Posts: 1221

I don't see how anyone who is even trying to save can spend over 3k a month. If you are really trying to save, you should be under 2k a month. Doesn't matter what city you are in, you can get by on 2k a month if you know what you are doing.

Not including rent, of course.

I spend 1500-2000 a month. I can see getting up to 3k in a bigger city, but more than that, I think you're not really trying very hard to save.

Most foreigners who spend all their money and then complain about how it's hard to save are blowing cash in one of the following ways:
(1)Buying foreign products
(2)Going to the bars all the time and not pre-gaming
(3)Eating out at nicer restaurants every night
(4)And this is a big one - buying stuff at the wrong places, for the wrong prices. Figure out where the working-class locals buy stuff and go there. Fancy shopping malls are where rich Chinese buy stuff. Also, farmer's markets are great.

El Macho · Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 200

Here's a good thread about saving. My advice is to get online banking and at the start of every month put money into a CD. CD's in China pay well…even seven-day call accounts are paying 1.25%.

While working in Beijing, my wife and I spent 4,000-6,000 RMB each month. Our apartment was provided for us, just had to pay for water and electricity. Pretty much everything else was discretionary spending.

I feel we lived pretty well. We bought quite a few imported groceries (organic milk, cereal, cheeses, pesto, crisps, etc), ate out quite a bit, and used a mix of taxis and public transit. I've also got more clothes than I know what to do with now.

muffintop · Joined: 07 Jan 2013 Posts: 803

For many...saving money isn't a goal worth bending their lifestyle/comfort around. It's just what happens when you have money left over at the end of the month.

I pretty much fall into that latter category. I do try to keep expenses down to a reasonable level though. Apparently I fail but I am not guilty of any of the sins listed by MisterButtkins. I am a street BBQ kind of guy and I usually buy my beer in a bag.

Wife does her grocery shopping at a normal supermarket and at a farmer's market across the street from our house. Roughly 2500/month if we mostly cook ourselves though I have a rather meat heavy diet.