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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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 Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 6:54 am Post subject: |
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| EZE wrote: |
| Squire wrote: |
| EZE wrote: |
| My estimate is around 76,000,000 won after 3 years and 8 months. I've been on the low end of wages 2.1-2.3, but with a relatively high savings rate of way over 50%. |
You sure about that? If you were on 2.3 every month since you started and without taking any deductions into account that would be 101,200,000 in total after 44 months. If some of that time you were on 2.1 it would be less. But even on 2.3 the whole time that's only 25.2 million to live on for almost 4 years, and a big chunk of that money would have gone on tax.
Just realised I'm forgetting renewal bonuses, but even still it barely seems viable |
It primarily has to do with lifestyle. I don't have the expenses some other people have.
My biggest expense by far is food. This one expense consumes the vast majority of money I spend each month. But I almost never eat at restaurants. At the grocery store, I buy vegetables, rice, fruit, eggs and meat. I never buy alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, or juices, but I sometimes buy soy milk for the calcium. I drink tap water, not bottled water. I drink coffee and tea, but I'm thinking about cutting those out just to keep my teeth whiter. I don't eat as much as most teachers. I'm 184 cm, 72 kg.
I don't go to bars. I don't go to nightclubs. I don't go to churches. I don't go to weddings. I don't go to the gym. I don't go to concerts. I don't go to the movie theater. I don't go to Thailand.
I don't have friends here, and I don't hang out with women who expect me to spend money on them. And I don't even marry the ones I do like. I don't have children. I don't keep a pet here.
I don't smoke, chew, or do drugs.
I don't have a water bill.
I don't have a cell phone. I don't have an iPod, an iPad, an MP3 player, a Blackberry, a pager, or any of that.
I spend very little on clothing.
I don't have a car. I walk to work.
I didn't turn on the A/C a single time all summer, not that it would've mattered since it's broken. I don't run the gas as much as most people. I just don't want the pipes to freeze. They did once, so I run it more than I like. My vice is long, warm showers, but they don't run the gas bill up much. |
Geeze, I thought I was bad. Ha ha.
I still use a 2G phone to save money. But am forced to drive because of different work site, but drive LPG. I walk when I can and mostly on weekends.
I use little heat in winter. I pay 60,000 won in winter.
I do use air con a lot though and pay 50,000 electric. Still cheap.
No water bill. Don't go to Thailand on vacation. Instead hang in Seoul for a few days as I rarely go there through the year. International enough for me, I guess. Lol.
I really had to tighten my belt as the bad exchange rate wasn't improving. Took me a couple of years to realize it wasn't recovering though. Going up somewhat now. Had to be cheaper and pay down debts. Sucks that friends who got here 2 or 3 years before me got a good head start on those debts as the exchange rate was better and living expenses use to be much cheaper back then.
Like you I avoid marriage even when women like me. Hopefully, there are no more teachers cut for a couple more years. I should finally be free barring no unexpected surprises. 
BTW, what's 184? 6'2 or more? Seems a large number of the waygooks coming over have all been 6 plus footers the last 2 or 3 years. Kids in high school here getting that way too. |
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optik404
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 7:18 am Post subject: |
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| EZE wrote: |
| Squire wrote: |
| EZE wrote: |
| My estimate is around 76,000,000 won after 3 years and 8 months. I've been on the low end of wages 2.1-2.3, but with a relatively high savings rate of way over 50%. |
You sure about that? If you were on 2.3 every month since you started and without taking any deductions into account that would be 101,200,000 in total after 44 months. If some of that time you were on 2.1 it would be less. But even on 2.3 the whole time that's only 25.2 million to live on for almost 4 years, and a big chunk of that money would have gone on tax.
Just realised I'm forgetting renewal bonuses, but even still it barely seems viable |
It primarily has to do with lifestyle. I don't have the expenses some other people have.
My biggest expense by far is food. This one expense consumes the vast majority of money I spend each month. But I almost never eat at restaurants. At the grocery store, I buy vegetables, rice, fruit, eggs and meat. I never buy alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, or juices, but I sometimes buy soy milk for the calcium. I drink tap water, not bottled water. I drink coffee and tea, but I'm thinking about cutting those out just to keep my teeth whiter. I don't eat as much as most teachers. I'm 184 cm, 72 kg.
I don't go to bars. I don't go to nightclubs. I don't go to churches. I don't go to weddings. I don't go to the gym. I don't go to concerts. I don't go to the movie theater. I don't go to Thailand.
I don't have friends here, and I don't hang out with women who expect me to spend money on them. And I don't even marry the ones I do like. I don't have children. I don't keep a pet here.
I don't smoke, chew, or do drugs.
I don't have a water bill.
I don't have a cell phone. I don't have an iPod, an iPad, an MP3 player, a Blackberry, a pager, or any of that.
I spend very little on clothing.
I don't have a car. I walk to work.
I didn't turn on the A/C a single time all summer, not that it would've mattered since it's broken. I don't run the gas as much as most people. I just don't want the pipes to freeze. They did once, so I run it more than I like. My vice is long, warm showers, but they don't run the gas bill up much. |
Your life sounds terrible. I can understand the unnecessary items like an ipad, ipod, etc, but having no friends must get real old.
Curious what someone like you does in their free time. |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 7:20 am Post subject: |
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Downloading is free? Ha ha.
Better find some hobbies that don't cost money. I bike, dable in photography, etc myself. But still need to meet folks to grab a beer once in a while. Can't be a total troll. Lol. |
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optik404
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 7:23 am Post subject: |
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I'm all for staying in and downloading some movies, but have no friends must get lonely.
And how does a working adult get by without having a cell phone? Unless you're retired or independently wealthy like KimchiNinja.
Even biking and photography requires a small investment up front and maintenance over time. |
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Roman Holiday
Joined: 22 Sep 2014
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 12:18 pm Post subject: |
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| You've got to save money. But you've also got to live. Korea need not be purgatory. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 3:17 pm Post subject: |
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I don't have friends here, and I don't hang out with women who expect me to spend money on them. And I don't even marry the ones I do like. I don't have children. I don't keep a pet here.
Like you I avoid marriage even when women like me. Hopefully, there are no more teachers cut for a couple more years. I should finally be free barring no unexpected surprises. |
I don't know where you guys get the idea that marriage to a Korean has to be a drain on your finances - maybe propaganda on here. If I you find the right girl (either from a rich family, or in work and not predisposed towards buying useless designer crap) you'll be better off financially in the long run. Plus you get the visa that allows you to do extra work. Unlike in the west the wedding can actually net you a profit instead of being prohibitedly expensive. Of course you'd have to change your ways a bit, as no woman likes a tight arse. |
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EZE
Joined: 05 May 2012
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 6:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Weigookin74 wrote: |
I use little heat in winter. I pay 60,000 won in winter.
I do use air con a lot though and pay 50,000 electric. Still cheap.
No water bill. Don't go to Thailand on vacation. Instead hang in Seoul for a few days as I rarely go there through the year. International enough for me, I guess. Lol.
I really had to tighten my belt as the bad exchange rate wasn't improving. Took me a couple of years to realize it wasn't recovering though. Going up somewhat now. Had to be cheaper and pay down debts. Sucks that friends who got here 2 or 3 years before me got a good head start on those debts as the exchange rate was better and living expenses use to be much cheaper back then.
Like you I avoid marriage even when women like me. Hopefully, there are no more teachers cut for a couple more years. I should finally be free barring no unexpected surprises.
BTW, what's 184? 6'2 or more? Seems a large number of the waygooks coming over have all been 6 plus footers the last 2 or 3 years. Kids in high school here getting that way too. |
This month, my electric bill was 12,780 and my gas bill was 8,410. I was almost tempted to turn on the gas last night just to get my laundry to dry faster. It's taking a week for anything to dry. My clothing rack is loaded full, so now I have shirts, pants, a blanket, and a pillow case hanging from the corners of cabinet doors. It's starting to get ridiculous. 
It's 6'1". I don't know how many millions of additional won it would cost each year to buy the food that it takes to get as big as some people are, especially buying it at restaurants, but I don't want to find out.
Good luck on getting rid of the debts. It looks like you're making a lot of progress. I imagine you're steadily gaining momentum, being able to apply the money you're saving on lower interest payments onto the balance.
| optik404 wrote: |
Your life sounds terrible. I can understand the unnecessary items like an ipad, ipod, etc, but having no friends must get real old.
Curious what someone like you does in their free time. |
It's important for each individual to do what he or she enjoys. When I was a kid, I had to go to religious temples. I was miserable. When I was in my 20s, I went with my buddies a couple of times to nightclubs. I didn't enjoy them. It's just not what I enjoy doing. Many people enjoy those types of places and they should continue going. But it's not my idea of a good time.
I enjoy reading, exercising, playing basketball at night, watching college football games on the weekend on Skype with my dad, cooking, listening to music or podcasts while I cook, eating what I've cooked, investing, sleeping, taking long showers, watching movies and documentaries on YouTube, etc. These are the things I genuinely enjoy doing. It's the lifestyle I enjoy. I know it's not for everyone, but it's good for me as an individual.
I don't feel like I'm missing out on much, because it's pretty much how I was raised. Even though I'm only 38, my dad was born during the Great Depression and the USA was under war rations when my mom was born. Growing up, those of us at school with old parents were wearing $10 shoes while the kids with young parents were wearing Air Jordans. It was a whole different mentality, a generational gap. You see the same thing in Korea. The savings rate used to be so high, even in the 1990s. But as each generation has gotten further removed from the crushing poverty of the 1950s and '60s, the savings rate has plummeted to the point that household debt is a major problem despite good incomes that would've seemed completely unfathomable to Koreans just a few decades ago.
| optik404 wrote: |
| And how does a working adult get by without having a cell phone? Unless you're retired or independently wealthy like KimchiNinja. |
If I was a real estate agent, I'd buy a cell phone. But I'm just an English teacher. I don't deal with customers directly. I just teach their kids. |
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optik404
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 6:34 pm Post subject: |
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Sounds like you're content with your lifestyle. More power to you. Sorry if I came off judgy.
But the no phone thing I just can't grasp. What if there's an emergency back in your home country and someone needs to reach you. I know people are way too dependent on phones these days, but it's wild that a relatively young person in 2014 doesn't have a cell phone. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 7:07 pm Post subject: |
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| But the no phone thing I just can't grasp |
I reckon the no friends or girlfriend would bother me more than the lack of a phone.
I didn't have my own phone for most of my time in Korea and what people don't seem to realise is for every hassle that creates, it eliminates a lot of hassle too. The way people have to constantly check whether their phone's powered or not, whether they'll notice if it vibrates, whether they forget to turn it off during meetings at the cinema etc... the way they flap if someone phones them up when they're in an awkward situation. Plus there's the fact that once you are known to have a phone people expect you to answer it all day every day and often get annoyed when you don't |
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Adam Carolla
Joined: 26 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 8:09 pm Post subject: |
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| KimchiNinja wrote: |
| wooden nickels wrote: |
| Now, years later, we own a 71 Pyoung apartment in a nice neighborhood in Southern Seoul. We own a school, but are leasing the building. We have several well divercified retirement accounts. Still, debt free. |
Bankers hate you. 
Nice work. |
Just for posterity, trust this guy as much as you'd trust a pedophile with your child. |
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atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 8:46 pm Post subject: |
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| edwardcatflap wrote: |
| Quote: |
| But the no phone thing I just can't grasp |
I reckon the no friends or girlfriend would bother me more than the lack of a phone.
I didn't have my own phone for most of my time in Korea and what people don't seem to realise is for every hassle that creates, it eliminates a lot of hassle too. The way people have to constantly check whether their phone's powered or not, whether they'll notice if it vibrates, whether they forget to turn it off during meetings at the cinema etc... the way they flap if someone phones them up when they're in an awkward situation. Plus there's the fact that once you are known to have a phone people expect you to answer it all day every day and often get annoyed when you don't |
Yes, I avoided getting a cell phone for a long time for some of those reasons, plus some of the people I was working with were constantly trying to change the schedule and if they could have reached me by cell phone they would have been making changes on a daily basis.
There's a lot to say for living a simple life. If only I didn't like women so much. |
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PRagic
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 9:05 pm Post subject: |
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| I can't remember, but I paid cash for my Master's degree, got married, and managed to buy a chunk of property for 150K while still having a decent lump-o-coin in the bank. It must have been enough to keep me motivated to stay as it has been over 15 years since that 5 years ended lol. |
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PRagic
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, as Wooden Nickles inclined, the debt free thing is a major factor. I had zero debt when I moved over here in my mid-late 20s (Army service=coin for college), so our savings and investment accounts skyrocketed given the whole DINK factor.
I agree with EdwardCatFlap about the marriage to K women perception, too. It's not always a drain, and it's not always a nightmare. My wife crushed it as a business woman, had her own company, and retired at 45. No joke. She's not from a wealthy family, but she's not uber materialistic and is a savings and investment fiend. I freely admit that I married out of my league in more ways than one lol... |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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| If only I didn't like women so much. |
True, I guess it's pretty essential for that |
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KimchiNinja
Joined: 01 May 2012
Location: Gangnam
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Adam Carolla wrote: |
| KimchiNinja wrote: |
| wooden nickels wrote: |
| Now, years later, we own a 71 Pyoung apartment in a nice neighborhood in Southern Seoul. We own a school, but are leasing the building. We have several well divercified retirement accounts. Still, debt free. |
Bankers hate you.
Nice work. |
Just for posterity, trust this guy as much as you'd trust a pedophile with your child. |
Yes, I'm sure future generations of web surfers will thank you for adding these pointless negative comments to everything Edward. |
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