Korean Job Discussion Forums

Oreovictim · Joined: 23 Aug 2006

This question is for all of you out there who have been doing this ESL thang in Korea for a while.

How much money did you save in one year?

Canadian Club · Joined: 12 Aug 2006

I have been sending home 1.2-1.3 a month, but I don't actually SAVE that money, it goes to my student loan or to pay off my credit card (which I use to buy clothes and stuff here).

So I stash zero won/year. Next year, maybe I'll get out of debt, but who knows.

flotsam · Joined: 28 Mar 2006

Last year I did $36,000 and that was with buying drinks for that savage _*_ 6 times a week.

Oreovictim · Joined: 23 Aug 2006

My fellow foreign coworker also has one heck of a student loan. I think that he said that he owes $30,000 or $40,000 and that he pays $1,000 a month on it.

Fortunately, my only debt is my $4,000 student loan. My monthly installments are $71.00. The interest rate is 6%, and since I won't see that kind of interest on a savings account, I'll definitely pay off my loan.

I will see paycheck #1 in about two weeks.

denistron · Joined: 21 Oct 2006 Location: Busan

When I started I saved about 800,000 a month. These days I save about 1,800,000. I've been here about a year and a half. Took me a while to figure out how to save more and so on.

jlb · Joined: 18 Sep 2003

I'm on a budget because I also have a student loan...about 17 000 cad.

My plan that's working out pretty decent so far is:

Pay=2.3 mill

Tax/pension/bills/internet/medical, etc=200 000 or so

That leaves me 2.1 mill/month for fun and saving

I budget 100 000 a week for food and entertainment and clothes or books or whatever I need.

Send home 1.7 mill (about 2000 cad)

So by the end of the year, I should have about 26 000 cad. I'll probably go on a trip somewhere and spend 1000, so I'll say about 25 000 for the year.

Does this all make sense?

blaseblasphemener · Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 12:52 am Post subject:

jlb,

I'm the same as you. I have a couple privates on the same day, and that's what I live on. I send home my pay every month. My first year, I was in a mad dash to pay off my credit cards, while also making student loan payments on a 26,000 debt. Also went out almost every night. AFter the first year, there was no credit cards, so I paid off 15,000 in student loans, bought a laptop, etc.

Third year, invested 10 grand in my brother's IPO, and am saving 2,000 cdn a month.

robot · Joined: 07 Mar 2006

by the time i finish my first contract in march, i should have enough for a downpayment on a house in vancouver.

ROBT.

Oreovictim · Joined: 23 Aug 2006

Robot -

Down payment on a house, eh? I'm planning on doing the same thing. If the honeymoon phase doesn't die away, then I'll probably stay here for a few years. Yep, it would be cool if I saved enough to buy a small house or a condo.

ChopChaeJoe · Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Location: Seoul

I can't save for crap. I did get my year's bonus and haven't blown that on opium or russian hookers yet.

Luckily, I don't have a private (that's illegal), so I can maybe save that much more money in the future.

I did pay off mmy credit cards. As for my student loans, meh. I figure if i keep making the minimum payment, after 10 years i may be eligible for debt forgiveness with the plan i'm on.

Homer · Guest

Its been a long time but before the baby we saved about 40 000-50 000 cad a year.

We also bought a house back in Canada a few years ago and put it on a 10 year morgage. It will be paid off in a few years as we are renting it out and it is paying for itself.

By myself, I could save about 2 to 2.5 million per month or a little more depending on my consulting contracts.

My wife started working again so we are back to our pre-baby savings level.

My first year and some I saved nothing because I paid off my student loan.

blaseblasphemener · Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 5:25 am Post subject:

Homer · Guest

It really depends what he means by downpayment!

It could be as little as 20 000 CAD.

It could be more.

Maybe he (or she?) has a spouse and they saved on 2 salaries.

There are many possibilities.

I paid off my student loan in a year and 5 months or so.

I knew a guy fro Edmonton who saved big time in his one year here but he was a cheap donkey. He lived on about 400 000 won and always managed to live off others through free meals at the school and other such penny pinching. He stayed home everynight and spent nothing. He lived like a hermit but he saved...not my kinda life but hey!

twg · Joined: 02 Nov 2006 Location: Getting some fresh air...

poet13 · Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 6:22 am Post subject:

I send home 1.6, but I live on next to nothing. This is my second marriage, and I never knew the joy of sacrifice until I met this lady. I guess it's not fair to say I ahve a pension and the rent from an apartment in the US. Total savings, something more than 3K/month.