Job Discussion Forums

[Iloveamma]

I was just reading in another post that coming to China was not good for saving money?

This is very opposite to what all other TEFL teachers write on blogs and other web-sites.

How much money should I plan to arrive in Zhuhai with to get started?

And how much do you save every month. How much do you earn?

[nomad soul]

See http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=115523

[Iloveamma]

Thank you....but I would love to get ideas from others also.
I have seen that one previously.

[nomad soul]

Savings is subjective and is based on numerous factors like education, years of experience, teaching situation, location, living expenses, family status/dependents, employer benefits, etc. Besides, newbies aren't likely to get paid what seasoned teachers earn. This is why you're seeing contradictory info. There's no one-size-fits-all teaching situation nor are EFL teachers cookie-cutter clones of each other.

It's best to state what you feel you realistically need to save each month (i.e., your monthly personal spending habits and financial obligations/debts vs the amount you expect to put aside). Moreover, in addition to startup costs to cover your visa expenses, airfare, ground transportation, lodging, meals, phone charges, and such, you need to factor in an emergency fund.

[HeidiHector]

I guess the most important factor is your lifestyle. A good gauge is how much you yourself have been able to save back home (or so far). Have you been able to keep housing costs, including all related costs, below 1/3 of your income? (Generally no for me before moving to China since I lived in NYC but yes after the move.) How often do you buy new clothes? (Almost never for me.) How often do you eat out? (A lot in my case since I see it as a way to socialize and keep in touch with people.) How do you commute? (I don't drive and the subway/metro is usually reliable.)

Granted, if you live in an expensive area and you teach, you won't have very much to work with, but many people who see their incomes progressively grow don't have any savings to show for it simply because of lifestyle inflation. Case in point: I know quite a few people who moved to the Middle East from the New York and Boston to work (in our field among others) because the salaries are higher and are tax-free, yet many complain about actually saving less than before even though housing is heavily subsidized by their employers because there is too much temptation and pressure to shop (to be fair, there isn't much else to do there anyway) since everyone is one-upping one another and to hire help to do house chores since all of the locals do it. So they have the double whammy of living in a place (such as Abu Dhabi or Qatar) with the same cost of living as NYC or Boston without the habits of being careful with their money, which they did have before moving away because "New York/Boston is expensive". Little things add up.

One thing I have always found helpful is to "Pay Yourself First". Set aside 10-15% of your income right off the bat into another account so that you don't even see it (and thus won't miss it). I didn't buy it when I first heard of it, but I tried it and I was surprised by how quickly it added up. If you could, challenge yourself and start with 20-25% and see if you can manage. My experience has been that this is very realistic in China, even when one travels during breaks, since the other costs are so low. (I mean, think about it, the local teacher in Beijing makes about 9-10k and she does okay.)

Cheers!

[I have not talked in specific numbers since I don't want to set off another pointless argument about how my salary is a fantasy or fairy tale.]

[LarssonCrew]

This year I saved about 60% of what I made.

Next year I plan on saving my entire base salary and living off the private route [already been offered more hours than I can handle]. I therefore am in the position of thinking that if I want to treat myself to a new computer, I need to put in the legwork myself to save it, whereas if I only want to teach 4 hours privately a week I need to find a way to live on 4800.

I honestly think lifestyle is vital. I spend almost nothing apart from groceries, taxis, eating out, with the occasional movie thrown in, however I have budgeted 40,000 for my travel this summer [5 1/2 weeks], so that's a solid amount to be throwing away.

[JeremyDay]

In Tianjin you can easily save 10,000 RMB ($1452) a month. That would be 2,000 RMB for taxes, 2,000 RMB for food, and $2,000 RMB for rent (with a 16,000 RMB salary). Milelage may vary depending on how you drive and where you drive.

It isn't impossible to save $20,000 a year for a newer teacher. Starbucks could put a strain on that goal.

I would arrive with 4 x your rent amount and 1 x your net salary. I might also bring escape funds. For example, in Tianjin, I would bring 2000 RMB ($290 roughly) (rent) x 4 ($1160) and 14000 RMB ($2030) (net salary) and 8000 RMB ($1160) to leave. $4350!!!

The world isn't always perfect. We can't always have all the cushion that we should have. Bare minimum $3000 (without gambling too much). This number eliminates some of the reserve salary.

You could lower this number if your school provides a starter loan or a free apartment or if you KNOW that you can make it work.

[LarssonCrew]

I agree with Jeremy about most of his post with regard to how much to bring.

Find a school that provides accommodation, that saves a lot of hassle.

But really, 2000 for taxes [nothing you can do]

2000 for rent [ok possibly]

2000 for food...damn. I spend 500 a week on groceries for me and my wife and that's not that much food. Plus we eat out, maybe I spend 3200.

Then there is entertainment and other things. Cinema, travel, taxiing around the city, any sports, gym

Plus everyday bills, electricity, community fee [normally 2 yuan per square], mobile phone bill, gas, water, internet in your apartment. That probably adds up to like 600 or 700 a month.

[Jmbf]

This is very subjective as others have mentioned. Even on a basic university salary you could be able to save a decent amount over time if you are very frugal. See the poster 'lionheartuk' as an example.

On the other hand you have posters with a very good income who are able to save very little. It's all dependent on lifestyle choices in addition to a few other factors.

I myself have a very good income but spend nearly 100% (and sometimes over 100%) of it on regular costs of living expenses. Luckily my wife also works so we are able to bank her salary.

[Hatcher]

The amounts are wide and varied...

I make 40,000 RMB per month on ave.. and I save 25,000

[Volver]

I am in Tianjin and in a bad month I save only $2,000 per month. For a good month, I can save $3,000+. I don't work all that hard and I most certainly don't spend a lot. The school pays for my housing and I do most of my own cooking. Side jobs help me save a lot and I will probably take on more of those this year.

This will be my 6th and last year in this dump.

V

[getbehindthemule]

You're going to get a different answer from everbody as people's situations are different. Hatcher's 40k salary is quite interesting but pretty irrelevant, as no new teacher will be on this!
I didn't come to China for the money. I left a decent paying career job in my home country for a gap year which has turned into four. I'm surprised what I can save from an average salary (with housing allowance) here in Shanghai. Utilities and transportation are ridiculously cheap when compared to my home country.
I get fully paid holidays (3.5months) so this is a huge factor when you talk about savings.
I save 6k/month without being frugal. If I took on the private work that I've been offered and didn't go out to Western places at weekends I could double my savings. At the moment I prefer to enjoy a good lifestyle and have free weekends though. I can't complain as I travel and get out of the country 1-2 times per year on my salary also. If I had kids or bills back home to pay things would be very different though!

[Elicit]

I save all of my main job's salary and live off the part-time gig. I guess this is the easiest way for me to budget and get the hard earned dosh out of the country.

[Iloveamma]

[Iloveamma]