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davemon
Joined: 16 Jan 2011
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 Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 12:28 pm Post subject: Budget Question, how much is enough $$? Can I save? |
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Ok so I have an offer for 2.3M Won/month, paid housing. Curious how much can I expect to "save" on this? I'm placed in Cheongju. Never been to Korea. I am into health/fitness, so I'm particular about my diet which surprisingly is cheaper than drinking sugar drinks and eating snacks. I can eat very modestly and be content.. in the US it is a lot of beans, protein powder (cheap) and frozen veggies and whatever fresh fruit is on sale.
I read 50,000 Won/week for food is too tight, but 100k is very comfy. So I figure at most 100k will be me.
That leaves. 1.9Won/month.
Also I have a 50% health care pay in my contract. But I have health insurance coverage in the US I can pay into as part of a family plan.
Cell/mobile phone?
Commuting expenses?
Utilities?
ROK Health care?
What core expenses am I missing? I'd definitely like to save money and ideally I'd even send some home to help some family members in school.
Thoughts? Any help would be appreciated. |
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rumdiary
Joined: 05 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 12:44 pm Post subject: |
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Korean health insurance is great. A visit to the doctor and prescription medicine will run 5,000-10,000 won.
Hard to estimate commuting costs. Can you walk to work?
Gym memberships are very expensive in Korea compared to the U.S.
Cell phones are pretty cheap. I put 10,000 won on my phone every 3 weeks or so. I don't know about smart phones. |
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rumdiary
Joined: 05 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 12:45 pm Post subject: Re: Budget Question, how much is enough $$? Can I save? |
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| davemon wrote: |
Ok so I have an offer for 2.3M Won/month, paid housing. Curious how much can I expect to "save" on this? I'm placed in Cheongju. Never been to Korea. I am into health/fitness, so I'm particular about my diet which surprisingly is cheaper than drinking sugar drinks and eating snacks. I can eat very modestly and be content.. in the US it is a lot of beans, protein powder (cheap) and frozen veggies and whatever fresh fruit is on sale.
I read 50,000 Won/week for food is too tight, but 100k is very comfy. So I figure at most 100k will be me.
That leaves. 1.9Won/month.
Also I have a 50% health care pay in my contract. But I have health insurance coverage in the US I can pay into as part of a family plan.
Cell/mobile phone?
Commuting expenses?
Utilities?
ROK Health care?
What core expenses am I missing? I'd definitely like to save money and ideally I'd even send some home to help some family members in school.
Thoughts? Any help would be appreciated. |
Why do you want to keep the U.S health insurance? |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 4:01 pm Post subject: Re: Budget Question, how much is enough $$? Can I save? |
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| davemon wrote: |
Ok so I have an offer for 2.3M Won/month, paid housing. Curious how much can I expect to "save" on this? I'm placed in Cheongju. Never been to Korea. I am into health/fitness, so I'm particular about my diet which surprisingly is cheaper than drinking sugar drinks and eating snacks. I can eat very modestly and be content.. in the US it is a lot of beans, protein powder (cheap) and frozen veggies and whatever fresh fruit is on sale.
I read 50,000 Won/week for food is too tight, but 100k is very comfy. So I figure at most 100k will be me.
That leaves. 1.9Won/month.
Also I have a 50% health care pay in my contract. But I have health insurance coverage in the US I can pay into as part of a family plan.
Cell/mobile phone?
Commuting expenses?
Utilities?
ROK Health care?
What core expenses am I missing? I'd definitely like to save money and ideally I'd even send some home to help some family members in school.
Thoughts? Any help would be appreciated. |
On 2.3, if you live a (marginally) frugal lifestyle you can easily save $1000 per month.
If you are a bit freer with your money (spendthrift comes to mind) and like the "better things in life" that can drop down to $500.
Unless you are going to a public school you can pretty much guarantee that you will NOT be enrolled in the NHIC (ROK healthcare). In most hagwans 50/50 health insurance means they will pay 1/2 of your medical costs until you become to expensive to keep or require anything surgical (then they simply drop you like a hot potato).
cell phone = 21k won per month.
no commuting expenses (buses for local travel are cheap 900-2000 won)
utilities run about 150k (officetel)
NHIC (health) 2.8% of salary
pension 4.5% of salary
tax - 2% of salary
Groceries (family of 3) 600k per month
We (as a family) live comfortably on about 1.2 mil per month.
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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| 500,000 won to 1,000,000 won should be pretty easy to do, unless you really like partying. |
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davemon
Joined: 16 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 6:32 pm Post subject: Re: Budget Question, how much is enough $$? Can I save? |
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Keeping my US coverage bc if I get cancer or some other horrible disease I would eager fly home and know I wont have any shenanigans. If I get cancer in ROK I don't want t find out first hand how some contract I signed is unenforceable, or otherwise useless. Also I have never been to korea so there is an outside chance I will hate it and.come home, i'll be glad I didn't abandon my US ins in that instance too. Always so much harder to get enrolled than it is to drop. My thoughts for fwiw.
Also I need to reread the contract... I get 50/50 I think... so reading comments it looks like they will drop me when I really need it.
| rumdiary wrote: |
| davemon wrote: |
Ok so I have an offer for 2.3M Won/month, paid housing. Curious how much can I expect to "save" on this? I'm placed in Cheongju. Never been to Korea. I am into health/fitness, so I'm particular about my diet which surprisingly is cheaper than drinking sugar drinks and eating snacks. I can eat very modestly and be content.. in the US it is a lot of beans, protein powder (cheap) and frozen veggies and whatever fresh fruit is on sale.
I read 50,000 Won/week for food is too tight, but 100k is very comfy. So I figure at most 100k will be me.
That leaves. 1.9Won/month.
Also I have a 50% health care pay in my contract. But I have health insurance coverage in the US I can pay into as part of a family plan.
Cell/mobile phone?
Commuting expenses?
Utilities?
ROK Health care?
What core expenses am I missing? I'd definitely like to save money and ideally I'd even send some home to help some family members in school.
Thoughts? Any help would be appreciated. |
Why do you want to keep the U.S health insurance? |
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davemon
Joined: 16 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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| I don't party much at all. I don't do gyms and have maintained living like a miser since undergrad, so it really sounds like I can commit myself to sending 500-600 home... and pocketing abt 400 and still living, which is pretty sweet. I don't want to be a shut in but I don't get drunk and actually dislike unnecessary expensive material things. If not getting drunk means helping family at home go to school without working two jobs, well this decision is easy to make. |
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eat_yeot
Joined: 11 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 10:53 pm Post subject: Re: Budget Question, how much is enough $$? Can I save? |
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| davemon wrote: |
| Keeping my US coverage bc if I get cancer or some other horrible disease I would eager fly home and know I wont have any shenanigans. |
Unless they don't cover you internationally. |
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DaHu
Joined: 09 Feb 2011
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| Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:51 am Post subject: Re: Budget Question, how much is enough $$? Can I save? |
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| eat_yeot wrote: |
| davemon wrote: |
| Keeping my US coverage bc if I get cancer or some other horrible disease I would eager fly home and know I wont have any shenanigans. |
Unless they don't cover you internationally. |
Just fly home and say you've never been anywhere. They can't track you if you don't tell them anything. |
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eat_yeot
Joined: 11 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:04 am Post subject: Re: Budget Question, how much is enough $$? Can I save? |
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| DaHu wrote: |
| eat_yeot wrote: |
| davemon wrote: |
| Keeping my US coverage bc if I get cancer or some other horrible disease I would eager fly home and know I wont have any shenanigans. |
Unless they don't cover you internationally. |
Just fly home and say you've never been anywhere. They can't track you if you don't tell them anything. |
Help! I've been hit by a bus! Drive me to the airport! |
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cyui
Joined: 10 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 8:27 am Post subject: |
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| Budget out $300/month, do regulartory compliance on the rest and return home with 150,000 tax free dallors at the end of 3 years.. |
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davemon
Joined: 16 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:13 am Post subject: |
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| cyui wrote: |
| Budget out $300/month, do regulartory compliance on the rest and return home with 150,000 tax free dallors at the end of 3 years.. |
Not sure I catch your meaning here about regulatory compliance? But I'm not making 50k/year total, let alone being able to walk away with that. |
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cyui
Joined: 10 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 4:46 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, that might be too risky of an investment. Try Currency Time Deposits'
( 25% return rate). Bascially, compliance just means they are regulated by the Federal Goverment ( but not necassarly taxed on foreign market dallors) |
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DaHu
Joined: 09 Feb 2011
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| Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 5:05 am Post subject: |
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| I'm confused. |
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cyui
Joined: 10 Jan 2011
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