Korean Job Discussion Forums

jacl · Joined: 31 Oct 2005

Or invest it and lose all of it.

harryh · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: south of Seoul

On average, over the last four years, I've managed to save about $600 a month.

But, I haven't always kept the purse strings tight, as I've bought a computer, MP3 player, home gym, stereo etc along the way, in addition to having a couple of nice overseas vacations.

animalbirdfish · Joined: 04 Feb 2004

Wanna save?

Get yourself a Korean wife. In my experience, they can be the most frugal creatures on earth. God knows I save more now that I'm married, simply because of my wife's thriftiness and the increased accountability.

(Oh, and you can get an F2, which really increases your earning potential).

Mr. Pink · Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Location: China

Homer · Guest

a) 50% is a good target to have.

b) Don't just save it, invest it.

c) Be careful about extravagant claims on here of "I am making 12 million won per month and saving 11.9 of it...its a cakewalk"... Laughing

Some are also married and have two salaries but still post savings as if they were they own only...slightly misleading.

The basic fact is that your saving rate will depend completely on the life choices you make here and what you consider to be a happy medium between enjoying your life and saving.

I have know teachers who lived on 400 000 won per month but they cheaped out at everychance they got, hardly left their appartments and basically lived in a cave. Others partied they butts off and got hammered a few times a week and left having saved next to nothing...it varies greatly. The place where you work (large city vs smaller) will also affect your savings rate.

Hater Depot · Joined: 29 Mar 2005

It's important to decide how much you want to spend, then draw up a weekly budget and stick to it. It depends to some extent on how much you like to cook, and to a large extent and on how much you like to party. I lived happily on 850,000 a month last year and wound up saving the equivalent of $12,000. My big splurge was a trip to Taiwan. My main sources of entertainment were renting movies, studying Korean, going to free or low-cost temples and museums, and having a few drinks at a local bar on the weekend.

Hanson · Joined: 20 Oct 2004

I knew a guy (Chinese teacher at my previous uni) who spent 400,000w/month and saved the rest.

That being said, I've also known people who party their a$$ off and don't save a penny.

My first year, I saved 3,000$-4,000$Cdn, but I really had a great time - although I'm a bit foggy on the details!

5+ years later, I'm married with a baby and I save about 60% of my salary (granted, it's more than I earned previously) and my wife doesn't work.

It's all about choices.

Of course, I'm going to put a huge dent in that savings by going to my home country for 2 months this summer...

Homer · Guest

Hanson,

You guys flying to Canada this summer?

If so, pm me...I may be able to point you in the direction of affordable airfare...I flew that route with my wife and baby last year too...

Cheers

poet13 · Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 2:18 pm Post subject:

ah, Homer. i have a wife and baby also whom family wants to meet this year. we would be going to the toronto area. If you have a link that would be applicable in six months or so, would be delighted if you could either post it here, or PM me.
thanks

Hanson · Joined: 20 Oct 2004

Hey, Homer and poet,

I booked my tickets a week and a half ago with whypaymore.co.kr. We got a great deal, paying 1,174,000w round-trip per ticket to Montreal, taxes incl. For my daughter (under a year old) it'll cost 380,000w only. The only problem is that it's a milk run, stopping in Tokyo (Narita) and NY (JFK). It'll take almost 24 hours air-time.

Thanks for the offer anyway, Homer, and if you have a better deal, I'd certainly be interested in knowing about it for next time... Cheers!

James1 · Joined: 03 Feb 2006

I make around 3 mil. However, I also have experience. It is really not all that hard. I work a little more than the average esl teacher, but it is worth it?

basically, I can save around 2.5 a month. In a year that will be 30,000 USD, and yes I am cheap, I dont go out a lot but I still live a confortable lifestyle.
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Again is the extra work worth it?

If you make 2.0 mil and save 1.0 mill a month you save around 12,000 a year. It will take a teacher like that 2 years to save 24,000.

Again, that is 24,000 in 2 years, compared to 30,000 in 1 year.

Also, I do reinvest all this money. I invest in stocks that get %5 interest.

Homer · Guest

Hanson thats a pretty good deal man.

We flew home last year with our 6 month old son...he slept for the better part of 9 hours on the plane...pure bliss!

How old is your kid? Depending on age, weight and size you could perhaps reserve a baby bassinet on the plane. This requires you guys get specific seats...pm me if you want to know more.

Cheers

Hanson · Joined: 20 Oct 2004

Yeah, that's what we did in February when we went to Australia to visit my wife's family. We booked the bassinet seats ahead of time and it worked the treat. The bassinet weight limit was 10.3 kg, and our daughter (8 months old) is about 9.5 kg now, so I think we'll be ok with the bassinet again.

You're right, the bassinet rocks. Our daughter (Jeez, I'm sounding more Korean by the day!) slept almost the entire flight - thank Buddha!

Sorry to hijack...