Job Discussion Forums

[balvarez]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post after lurking for a little while.

My question involves how close I am on my estimated expenses.

I will be attending a Aeon interview at the end of March and in case I am accepted for a position I want to make sure that I have my expenses down so that I don't end up going into debt while I live in Japan. I understand that expenses will vary for each person depending on their wants and desires. Overall, I own and spend much less than the average American so I think I can hit the lower range of my estimates but my background in Accounting makes me create wider estimates just in case. The cities I'm most interested in living in are Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo in that order, though Osaka and Tokyo could fall off the list completely and Kyoto will probably stay as number 1.

Pay 270,000
Rent 40,000 - 55,000. 55,000 is the definite max as Aeon subsidizes the rest, but I've heard some people spending less depnding on where they live. My guess is that Kyoto will be closer to the max.
Food 45,000 - 65,000. I don't eat much and will probably make breakfeast at home, eat out for some lunches and dinners so I think 1,500 yen a day is reasonable, though I also picture myself eating out at some nicer places from time to time thus the higher amount.
Utilities 7,000 - 15,000. I've seen big swings on this one from different people. Some people seem to have low amounts while others pay twice as much. I don't use a whole bunch of energy at my current house and I'll be by myself in a small apartment so I think I can hit the lower range though I understand some times of the year it can be higher.
Phone 2,000 - 7,000. I think I may stick with a prepaid phone for a little while as I don't think I'll talk much on the phone though I may use email a lot. For long distance calls back to the states I'll be using skype.
Internet 3,000 - 7,000. I don't really know how much I'll spend here. From reading on this site and others I think I am pretty good on that range though.
Health Insurance/Pension Insurance 30,000. This is a definite amount as it's what Aeon's website states.
Withholding taxes 13,500 - 16,000. This is one area where I can be completely wrong on. I based that off of 5% or 6% of my income. I have already done my mock Japanese income tax as if I made 3,240,000 for the year and I know how much taxes I would pay, but I have no idea on how much they would actually withhold from my check. My research seems to indicate somewhere in the 5%-10% range.

Thank you ahead of time for everyone that contributes.

[Glenski]

You seem to be pretty accurate with the figures.

Of course, there may be additional expenses.

Hair care (if you don't cut/perm/dye yourself)
Health care (prescriptions? eyeglasses/contacts?)
Subscriptions for magazines/newspapers/TV channels

Basically, you will spend about half your salary on basic necessities and have the rest to use on everything else in life.

[kathrynoh]

Just for reference with the energy figures, I live in a share house with 2 other people and our bills are around 15,000 yen maximum (ie now in the middle of winter) total. That's for a large house that's very old and takes a lot of heating so I think you'd have to be going crazy with the power usage to get anywhere near 15,000 for one person in an apartment.

[Angelfish]

Check the gas for the place you're living. I've lived in two "City Gas" apartments and the gas bills were quite reasonable. But the current place I'm in uses LP gas, which costs a bloody fortune (14,000 a month for two people taking showers and cooking - we don't even use the gas heater)

[balvarez]

Thank you very much for the replies. I feel better knowing that I'm pretty close on my figures. I'll start working on those additional expenses probably starting today. Luckily when it comes to medical bills I currently spend nothing. I rarely get sick (once in the past 5 or so years and that was a mild flu) and I don't use glasses. A hair cut though I'll definitely have to include and I may end up getting something like Hulu or Netflix while I'm over there and just use a VPN program to get around the fact that I'm not allowed to use them outside of the US.

Thanks for the input on the energy cost also. I thought 15,000 would be high for one person as that would be very high over here also unless someone is just wasteful with their energy use. I'll definitely check and see if I'll have city versus LP gas as that may kick up towards the higher end of my estimates.

If anyone working for Aeon has any direct knowledge on these figures then I'd be glad to read about them. Especially when it comes to the withholding amounts and size of your apartment (though I understand this will vary).

[seklarwia]

[gwynnie86]

What about public transport? If you have spare time and want to explore Japan (I never understand people who DON'T want to) then there are those costs to think about. Mind you, about the food estimate you've worked out... I buy enough groceries to cook breakfast and dinner for myself almost every day and it comes to about 3500 a week for me... the average cost of a modest meal is 1000, but if you have drinks too of course the bill shoots up. One thing that I didn't anticipate was ending up at izakayas with a group of friends/co-workers and being expected to pay an equal share of the bill (regardless of what I ate/drank)... this can sometimes come to 5000 or more for one night. Oh and... don't accidentally wander into a hostess bar, those things start at 5000 an hour or something ...
I know people who work for AEON and they seem fine for money. The thing that most of them struggle with is finding spare time to do anything, so I hope you can manage your time well!

[balvarez]

I will definitely put some money aside in case of sickness, though I have to say I wasn't expecting your meds to have cost such a little amount for everything you had to buy. I will have the government insurance so I'm happy to hear about that price you paid. I've heard and read about the lower cost of health care throughout the world so I guess I should have expected it, but honestly that still caught me off guard.

For work, public transport will be reimbursed as long as my work place is further than 1.5 km from my home I believe. I will definitely try and find time to explore Japan as that is one of the main reason why I want to come here, but I will only travel as much as my savings will take me. Luckily I am good with my money and time so that should help out.

I have to admit though that the part that you mentioned about having to split a bill evenly doesn't make me to happy. I believe that everyone should pay for whatever they spent, but I guess that's just going to have to be one of the cultural changes that I get used to. That's good to know ahead of time at least. I'm not a huge drinker, though I must admit that I do enjoy going out for drinks once every month or two so I think I can budget that accordingly.

Thank you for the additional input as these things give me a few more things to think about and factor in for my possible cost.