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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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 Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 11:09 pm Post subject: |
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| EZE wrote: |
| 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. |
Thanks, I'm getting there. I had modest credit card debts and other back home debts too. I let the credit cards spiral out of control after being here for 3 or 4 years. Interest on those eat you alive and pile up over time. Partially my fault there. Belt tightening it was after this. During Oct and Nov, my gas and electric should be the sae as you as I need neither air con nor heat. I do spend occaisonally to get myself set up for hobbies like biking, photography, etc as someone mentioned. But, have tried to be more frugal as time goes on. Provincial public school scales and rising won has and will help signifigantly. (That part can't be underestimated.) |
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KimchiNinja
Joined: 01 May 2012
Location: Gangnam
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 11:30 pm Post subject: |
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| EZE wrote: |
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. |
I've known plenty of eccentric people who like a certain lifestyle (an architect who didn't even have a cell phone), still that's impressively extreme.
Most people get pawned by the whole "being a consumer" thing. So even though they make plenty of money, 20yrs later they have nothing to show for it (meanwhile the 1% got wealthier off the 99%'s consuming/debt). Me, I'm an anti-consumer; aggressively dislike "stuff". |
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Lucas
Joined: 11 Sep 2012
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| Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 11:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Most people get pawned by the whole "being a consumer" thing. So even though they make plenty of money, 20yrs later they have nothing to show for it (meanwhile the 1% got wealthier off the 99%'s consuming/debt). Me, I'm an anti-consumer; aggressively dislike "stuff". |
I'm the same, my apt has my laptop a few plates/clothes and my cardboard.
That's all I need. |
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atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 12:02 am Post subject: |
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| edwardcatflap wrote: |
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| If only I didn't like women so much. |
True, I guess it's pretty essential for that |
I was speaking in more general terms there and not just about having a smart phone. |
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atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 12:03 am Post subject: |
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| Lucas wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Most people get pawned by the whole "being a consumer" thing. So even though they make plenty of money, 20yrs later they have nothing to show for it (meanwhile the 1% got wealthier off the 99%'s consuming/debt). Me, I'm an anti-consumer; aggressively dislike "stuff". |
I'm the same, my apt has my laptop a few plates/clothes and my cardboard.
That's all I need. |
I figured you for a massage chair since you're toting all that OCC around all day.  |
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Lucas
Joined: 11 Sep 2012
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 3:43 pm Post subject: |
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| I figured you for a massage chair since you're toting all that OCC around all day. |
I'm the king of the ajumma's in my area, they fight to massage me. Sometimes I get a cheeky hand job or gummy BJ too.  |
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EZE
Joined: 05 May 2012
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| Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 7:27 am Post subject: |
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| optik404 wrote: |
| 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. |
If it's an emergency, I'm too far away to be of any meaningful help in a short time frame.
| edwardcatflap wrote: |
| 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. |
Yeah, I really hate cell phones. I actually had one for a week or so in 2013 until my apartment got burglarized and my cheap cell was one of the only things stolen. The theft was the best possible scenario because in the short time frame I had the phone, everyone else expected me to answer it immediately. It was a pain in the ass. No more than a day or two after I gave my cell number to my boss, I went by the bank on the way to work and made it to work on time. My boss was freaking out asking where I had been. I double checked my watch and the clock on the wall and didn't know what she meant. I was on time and asked her what was wrong. She said she called and I didn't answer. I told her I went by the bank on the way to work. She said, "But I called your cell phone and you didn't answer." I shrugged and said I left it at home. She had sent her business partner by my apartment to check on me because I hadn't answered her call. I was thinking WTF. Then I got home either that day or a different day and had messages on my phone from a lady I've been kicking it with for years. I called her and she was upset, wanting to know why I hadn't answered the phone. I told her I had been working and had just gotten home. Just like my boss, she couldn't wrap her mind around the idea that a person would leave their cell phone at home.
I was initially upset my apartment got burglarized, but whoever stole that damn phone did me a big favor. Now, I just check my e-mails or facebook and don't have to deal with intrusive calls and people expecting me to be at their beck and call RIGHT NOW every second of every day. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2014 2:02 am Post subject: |
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| Yep, it's very liberating. Of course every now and then some minor inconvenience occurs, like you end up going to the wrong place or fail to meet someone etc..that could have been avoided by you having a phone but I think it's still worth it. People managed OK before. |
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motiontodismiss
Joined: 18 Dec 2011
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 7:46 am Post subject: |
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| Two years into my corporate job and saved 47 million. Not including the 10 million deposit on my apartment and my severance and pension. |
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mysterious700
Joined: 10 Mar 2006
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 9:48 am Post subject: |
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Hadn't been on here in a long time. Korea used to be good, but declined. It's ok, but not exceptional like it was before. I was smart enough to get out. I slugged it for a couple of years during the recession years before realizing it wasn't worth it. (I was hoping the recession would be temporary, but it seemed to drag on and on and on.) I went home and got a TESOL and then went to China. I see the Korean exchange rate tanking again? Sure glad I got out when I did and didn't get trapped.
In China, you make a lower wage, but have a cheaper cost of living. Plus you often get asked to teach extra. Many places outside the coastal cities give accomodation and pay utilities and you get free meals with the schools. In Korea, it was at the point I was only putting 7 or 8 hundred bucks a month with the terrible exchange rate and expenses. In a good month, I can put almost double that away here. In a bad month, it's still over 1 k a month.
If Korea's the next Japan, then what will there be there in 5 years? If I were a young person back home, I'd skip Korea and jump straight to China. You can get in on things and get in while the getting's good. |
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Died By Bear
Joined: 13 Jul 2010
Location: On the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 10:33 am Post subject: |
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| EZE wrote: |
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. |
Damn! What do you do? Surf the internet all day and night, read and watch T.V.? Do you have a T.V., or is the ten year old computer you're using your T.V.?
Do you have a camera? Please tell me you like photography...
It's true though - so many people, especially in Asia, are caught up in this notion that success in life is measured in financial and professional achievements and material acquisitions. It's hard as hell to step back and see the fallacy. We should be able to measure our life by the moments in our day. |
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Lucas
Joined: 11 Sep 2012
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 2:57 pm Post subject: |
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| If it's an emergency, I'm too far away to be of any meaningful help in a short time frame. |
(I hope this never happens to you)
But think about the loved one who's desperately trying to contact you if something bad does happen.
Yeah, i'm sure you check your email every morning - so it's only a 10 hr delay max, but 10 hours is a VERY long time when a loved one wants to hear your voice/tell you something urgent. |
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PRagic
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 3:57 pm Post subject: |
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Pretty much have my cell phone for 3 reasons:
1. Contact with better half (we don't maintain a land line at home)
2. Calls for consulting work
3. Emergencies
The office knows not to call. My fiends know where to meet on Fridays.
Life is simple and that's just fine. |
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Roman Holiday
Joined: 22 Sep 2014
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 4:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Died By Bear wrote: |
| EZE wrote: |
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. |
Damn! What do you do? Surf the internet all day and night, read and watch T.V.? Do you have a T.V., or is the ten year old computer you're using your T.V.?
Do you have a camera? Please tell me you like photography...
It's true though - so many people, especially in Asia, are caught up in this notion that success in life is measured in financial and professional achievements and material acquisitions. It's hard as hell to step back and see the fallacy. We should be able to measure our life by the moments in our day. |
Good point! Korea was good to me financially through the years 2006-2011, but I found it a bit of a tough grind in other ways. So I stepped back to smell the roses and it wasn't long before I was writing poetry. After a few years of recuperation, I'm ready for another tour of duty. I like to think I'll be a bit more resilient next time round. 
Last edited by Roman Holiday on Sun Nov 23, 2014 11:11 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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TheMeerkatLover
Joined: 26 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 6:03 pm Post subject: |
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| About 300,000,000 won give or take. |
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