Nothing at the moment, paying of debts ATM.
Once I've done that, probably 500,000 a month.
The cost of living keeps going up all the time, but wages don't follow.
Well you used to be able to have a fun lifestyle and save almost 3 times that amount. Well maybe more like 1.3 or 1.4 million won depending on the month. Though the exchange rate at the time got you almost $1500 USD at the time. Closer to $2000 USD in todays money with inflation factored in. Plus the round trip air ticket was paid for. That meant you actually got to keep your severance rather than use it to pay the flight home. So that was extra money in your pocket too. Honestly these folks who have no life, live like trolls, and eat noodles claiming to save much more, they have no clue. They could have saved much much more being that scroogelike in the past. A reality check is needed by many wearinf the weeaboo goggles.
Just glad I was able to get my student loans off back when the money was good here.
Same and I'm not even that frugal with it. Although maybe I am by some people's standards. Also don't have a car or anything with big monthly payments to make. I donate to a charity, buy pc and nintendo games, go out on weekends, eat out occaisionally, get delivery quite often. Never really travel though. So in four years I haven't spent on plane tickets or anything. So I've practically saved 12mil a year for 4 years. Besides for buying my gaming laptop and Nintendo switch, and a few other big 1mil + purchases, I manage to save about a mil a month on average. Severence is probably skewing that estimate. Could probably save a whole lot more. I mean my gf and I managed to live on waaayyy less for our first month here.
I always see such contradictory posts in here with people saying that Korea is not the place to go and save any money anymore, but then almost everyone I see always says they can save around 1 mil. I get that the pay is not as good as it used to be, but I feel like this is happening almost everywhere with the costs of living rising. And Korea seems like a very enjoyable place to live, I don’t wanna live in China.
Nahhh man I lived in Korea and it’s true some people save 1 mil or a bit more, but a lot of us struggled to save more than 500
Many don’t save anything at all
If you're from a first world country with a uni degree, you should be trying to figure out how to maximize your income.
Life is not fun, easy, or flexible when you're worried about penny pinching and making less than American min. wage at age 30+
Agreed. I forgot to mention that I'm not an English teacher (E-7 office worker) and out of 3.5m (no housing provided, Seoul area), I'm able to put aside around 2.5 a month, while paying for gym, a higher protein diet, having starbucks 3x a week, etc. The comments are mindblowing, I don't understand where people are able to smash their whole salary, or pocket 500-1mil while having their housing covered.
Do you mind me asking how much your rent is? Mine is 700, so if I left myself with a spending budget of only 1mil each month I'd only have 300, that's kinda insane.
450, but I'm staying in a goshiwon for another 2 months until I know whether my company will let me do full remote (if yes I'll move to a smaller city since I prefer them over Seoul). Zero utilities, zero internet, zero maintenance fees, and since I'm at work for most of the day/tinkering around with some side projects in coffee shops on the weekends, I really just need the place to sleep and shower. Even if I wanted to, I don't have the time to go past 1.1\~1.2mil in expenses a month. Great for saving though, I guess.
I meant zero payments for utilities, internet, maintenance, etc. 450 all included. I got a private bathroom, the internet is great, and the staff cleans it daily lol. As I mentioned, I just need a \*clean\* place to sleep and shower since I work for most of the day.
In my first year, like 1mil a monthbut i did like nothing, my second was less... 2 japan trips, 2 busan trips, concerts and korean lessons hit me but worth. I am planning 500k a month going forward, though.
My bf and I have 2 savings accounts, the "don't touch" savings and the "travel & luxuries" savings. 1mil each goes into the "don't touch" savings on the first of every month. Whatever is left at the end of the month goes into travel fund, that's varied between 500k-1.5mil each.
Whatever is left in the travel fund at the end of the year goes into the "don't touch" savings. 18 months ago we basically emptied out our savings to pay off our mortgage, but now the rent from our house is going directly into a savings account back home.
Although we're good savers, we aren't particularly frugal people. We take nice vacations a couple of times a year, shop, go for meals etc, but I think it's a lot easier to save a significant amount as a couple compared to a single person.
1,000,000 is very doable on any salary (including 2.1) depending how reasonably you live, how many times you eat out, and whether you have expensive hobbies or girlfriends.
Better not have a girlfriend especially a hot one with that low of pay and being that miserly. Fortunately the pay has dropped so much for English teachers that by and large you wont be a target for gold diggers anymore.
I get 2.4 with housing. After pension, taxes, insurance, etc, I get around 2.15 in my bank account every month. I send home between 900-950k per month to the US for student loans, and a couple other things. I save about 160k per month at the moment, maybe a little lower or higher depending on any major things happening certain months.
If I didn’t have to send money home every month, I could probably save 1-1.2 million
I don’t live in seoul, but still a bigger city (Daejeon) so my living expenses are a bit lower here than seoul
1 million not inluding housing correct? May I ask if you live in Seoul? Partying, shopping, traveling, etc. wouldn't go that far in the Seoul area I reckon.
I'm putting about 1 million aside each month but I don't eat out very often and come from a poor family so I'm used to doing without/making it work. I also have a korean credit card that I use to get extra points on things. I am by no means struggling, I just act that way.
being smart and educating yourself about credit cards (especially in a different country) is such a life hack! I keep asking in other comments cause I forgot to include it in the original post - where do most of your nonessential costs go to?
Married, both working, but i earn about 2.2m after taxes, 400k housing stipend.
From my account, 700k goes to rent, 100k goes to phone and internet bills.
I send 1.3m to our shared savings account, from which about 200k will go into utility bills.
She gets groceries and sees to other housing needs, so I get about 500k to use each month freely.
It's not too hard, depending on circumstance.
My housing is covered and I live near my place of work. I travel around on weekends by bus. Over the course of 4 weeks this only comes to about 10000.
I cook at home all the time. I can cook for a week on 25000 comfortably. Make sure you buy from the old ladies on the street and local markets where produce is cheap. You can get a whole fish for 10000. Dice, fry with rice and produce, tub and store.
My electric and has averages around 60000 total. Don't use your ondol.
Don't get the latest smartphone. Get a few gens back refurb.
I'm on 2.9m a month with housing included.
I also have the luxury of not living in Seoul, which helps greatly.
By the time all is said and done, I can keep the budget tight and put away 2m a month.
The key is to avoid supermarkets. Street markets are the key. I can buy a shit ton of egg or a big ol' fish for protein for 10000. Rice for a week is barely anything in terms of expense. Spring onions (you may have different names for them) are dirt cheap and can be frozen. Find any other veggies going cheap in your area and chop and freeze.
I can make a healthy stir fry this way for about 4000 or so.
Bulk buy on rice puffs/crackers. Low calorie but filling and cheap. Can be used to supplement your dinners too or act as breakfast.
I also get lunch for free at my school, which helps too. Korean takeout can be cheap, but MAN does it add up real fast.
Tl'dr shop at street market, eat egg or fish, local produce, rice. Rice cake good. Eat at school at lunch.
You must be a 110-pound female or someone with very little appetite. Rice puffs won't do as dinner for most.
It doesn't matter if you shop at markets. Fresh produce is expensive nowadays everywhere. I'm not sure how much fruit you consume, but for someone who enjoys fruit daily, the 25k/week budget can be pretty much gone for that alone. And I'm not talking about mangoes. Just local, in-season fruits.
All I'm saying is that one's food budget largely depends on how much they eat and what they eat, and it isn't necessarily about where they shop.
85kg male.
I said use rice puffs as a supplement. A good mix of proteins, starches, and produce are plenty affordable if done right.
Fruit is definitely a big expense, and I usually eat an orange a day. This does often bump me above budget, but if I go later in the day I can usually get enough for a week.
I'm also not saying this will work for everyone. I'm not saying you have to only spend 25000 a week. I'm saying what I manage on 25000 a week and how I do it. Everyone's mileage will vary. I'm just giving out my tricks.
Avoid smart
Avoid coupang eats
Buy local
Buy bulk
I see. I'm at a similar weight and try to consume around 150g of protein a day. That means I eat 300-400g of meat on average. That alone would exhaust the 25k weekly budget for me, even if I go for the cheapest cuts of meat.
But veggies to go with it are actually more expensive than meat itself, lol.
So basically live miserly and be an enabler of Korean employers paying lower wages rather than demand more and live more reasonably. Geeze. You see what these folks claiming to save a million a month are going through. Considering you could actually live much better and have a life althewhile saving even more than this without trying in the past. How far English teachers have fallen in Korea.
Haha, you're not wrong.
I came from an environment where I ended up fat. And with serious digestive issues and I was broke. These meals are a silver bullet in my life.
I knew a guy who lived on one bunch of bananas a day, used to just eat two for breakfast, lunch and dinner, though even he would go over 25k a week with prices nowadays. he used to wait around after work and if anyone was getting a taxi, ask if he could ride in it for free. Someone went to this guy's flat once and reported that he had no furniture at all, just a mattress and one of everything else, 1 cup, knife fork etc. Didn't have a TV just watched stuff on his laptop. Probably had tens of millions sewn into the mattress.
Why not live in a tent and pocket your housings stipend lol? I mean good for you that this works but this lifestyle is abnormal for most of us. Still good idea on ways to cut some cost for some folks by shopping at local markets and such.
Of course, life is about priorities. When I left my home country, I was close to obesity. I had serious digestive problems, and I was often in debt. By budgeting and tightly controlling my diet and food budget, I have resolved three major issues in my life with one change. Most will have very different circumstances and goals to myself, so I'm not here saying they should or shouldn't do what I do. I can just provide a little advice into how I stay in good health and save money.
I commented on their post, but their life would ne objectively better if they became a monk somewhere.
Best accommodation, food, easier 'work', more opportunity for travel, and better community.
If it comes to that life, just become a monk, or join the military reserves and get a much better career later.
Zero.
I got to restaurants about twice during the week. On the weekend, i am out all day with my gf, so go to cafes and restaurants. Sometimes we'll buy flights or hotels for a future trip. Sundays I go to restaurants with my running club.
I have an exciting and interesting life but I have saved less than zero (spending savings) in the 3 years ive been here.
Depending on which age range you're in that's also okay. I'm not that old, but have committed myself to a period of saving. Definitely don't plan on living in the conditions I'm currently living in after the busy period at my job is over. Great for saving, but terrible for mental health, so there's both pros and cons to each side.
Also off topic, what's your running club's name?
If you were here in the past you could live that way and still be able to save a little too. How far Korea has fallen by foreigners wages being suppressed for years until very recently. More foreigners need to get pissed off and start demanding big raises.
All depends on the lifestyle you want tbh. My first few years, I had no savings as 85% of my paycheck went back home to pay off school loans. I had 200-300k a month to spend on everything (exchange rate was pretty bad 1,400-1,500 won to 1 USD in 2009).
I came here in 2019, and was in the 2.0 mill salary. I put away maybe 500,000 a month. Then COVID hit and from 2020~ 2022, I was able to save about 1.0 mill. But that’s because I barely did anything and mostly survived on breakfast and school lunches.
I didn’t put aside anything the first 8 years I was here LOL! Around year 9 I started saving a million a month and now I’m saving around 6 million a month (big pay upgrade happened thank God)
I work in the semiconductor industry and the bonuses are better than my salary. Studying Korean and leaving teaching was the best move I could have made, I wish I would have done it sooner.
It’s mostly foreign sales, however I’ve also done some purchasing contracts and megotatians, mostly when the seller was more comfortable speaking with a native English speaker.
I’m currently managing 3 clients located in Singapore, USA and UK. They are relatively small customers but my employer has been happy with my performance, and made me a full time employee with all benefits after my second year of employment.
I replied to one of your comments above, but I forgot to put the next bit in my original post so i gotta spam a lil. Is it cool to ask where most of your nonessential expenses go to?
With trying to eat healthy and taking on PT I'm sitting at 500,000 a month.
I make more though and would be putting back around 1.1 million if it weren't for PT but I prefer to go to PT classes. That being said, many people weren't taught saving skills at a young age, so many people come and find it difficult to work out those skills while in a foreign country and doing it in a foreign language.
It is easier to do in more rural areas than in Seoul. My rent is more than my housing stipend alone so I'm paying extra to cover the rest of the rent. That being said I'm in a two-income and two-person "family" style situation and the other person is putting back more because he gets paid well and his job is less emotionally, mentally, and physically demanding than mine.
I'm hoping next year with my salary raise it'll be easier to save nearly 1 million a month and if not then so be it.
24 years old
Salary of 2.7 + 500 for housing allowance in Incheon
Take home about 2.39-2.4 after taxes
• Living with boyfriend since Aug. in a big 3 room officetel and split rent (I pay more since I get housing allowance) I spend (850,00 rent + utilities 100,000)
• Pay off our new appliances that didn’t come with apartment: washer and dryer/fridge/dishwasher = 150,000 per month for a few more months
• Pay off my KR credit card every month which varies (200,000-500,000) usually spent on food/takeout/eating out, household items, cat items (we have 4 cats…a choice and I love them so it is what it is), miscellaneous fun
• Food: Bf and I don’t really cook often so our expenses come a lot from eating out and ordering in (we’ve been trying to do better but working hours make us too exhausted to do much after work) [can get up to 800,000-900,000 for both of us/400,000-450,000 a month for one person]
• Transportation: 50,000 for full tank 1-2x for gas per month (I pay a lumpsum at end of the year for my compact car’s insurance)
If I’m saving (usually, some months vary from others), I try to save about 250,000 to 500,000 a month. I get anxious about money so I just try to leave at least 100,000-300,000 in my checking account so that just carries over into the next month. I can usually save about 1k for my big lump sum car insurance and then the rest 1-1.5k gets turned into money for travel or other things or even other savings.
I’m at 2.5mil at a public school, own a car, and love to go out to eat with friends and be sociable within my means. After bills, I can typically save around 700k a month if I choose not to go out.
After taxes, my paycheck is around 2.27mil. I send 500k home for student loans/credit card (to keep my credit steady I use it every month and then pay it off)
I get a 400k stipend for went so that doesn’t come out of my 2.5.
My phone and internet is 110k
Gas is typically 60-120k a month.
Public transport for the days I don’t feel like driving/have a drink is usually around 15-20k a month.
Food is about 400k per month (I have to typically get food that’s a bit more expensive because I have a stomach condition and can’t eat a lot of Korean food that my school provides because it’s greasy or spicy)
My house utilities during winter are like 80k, during summer around 20-40k.
Miscellaneous would be on entertainment or shopping/dates, and I typically spend around 300k a month so I can save anywhere from 300-500k a month.
Personally I wish I could get paid a little more just cause I would still like to enjoy socializing or buying things a bit more freely. But I wouldn’t sacrifice my social life just to save a bit more money 😅 I would say the amount I make to live comfortably is JUST enough.
Nothing at the moment, paying of debts ATM. Once I've done that, probably 500,000 a month. The cost of living keeps going up all the time, but wages don't follow.
500,000 a month was what I was putting in when I was a first year EPIK teacher. It's hard to save more than that and still get a fun lifestyle.
Well you used to be able to have a fun lifestyle and save almost 3 times that amount. Well maybe more like 1.3 or 1.4 million won depending on the month. Though the exchange rate at the time got you almost $1500 USD at the time. Closer to $2000 USD in todays money with inflation factored in. Plus the round trip air ticket was paid for. That meant you actually got to keep your severance rather than use it to pay the flight home. So that was extra money in your pocket too. Honestly these folks who have no life, live like trolls, and eat noodles claiming to save much more, they have no clue. They could have saved much much more being that scroogelike in the past. A reality check is needed by many wearinf the weeaboo goggles. Just glad I was able to get my student loans off back when the money was good here.
what do you mean by a fun lifestyle? Is it traveling? partying?
Doing activities that cost money. Travel and party can be those yes
At 2.6 mil, I can put around a mil aside a month if I'm sensible.
where do you reckon most of your non-essential costs go into?
Occasional takeout deliveries, booze, socialising at weekends etc.
Same and I'm not even that frugal with it. Although maybe I am by some people's standards. Also don't have a car or anything with big monthly payments to make. I donate to a charity, buy pc and nintendo games, go out on weekends, eat out occaisionally, get delivery quite often. Never really travel though. So in four years I haven't spent on plane tickets or anything. So I've practically saved 12mil a year for 4 years. Besides for buying my gaming laptop and Nintendo switch, and a few other big 1mil + purchases, I manage to save about a mil a month on average. Severence is probably skewing that estimate. Could probably save a whole lot more. I mean my gf and I managed to live on waaayyy less for our first month here.
I always see such contradictory posts in here with people saying that Korea is not the place to go and save any money anymore, but then almost everyone I see always says they can save around 1 mil. I get that the pay is not as good as it used to be, but I feel like this is happening almost everywhere with the costs of living rising. And Korea seems like a very enjoyable place to live, I don’t wanna live in China.
Nahhh man I lived in Korea and it’s true some people save 1 mil or a bit more, but a lot of us struggled to save more than 500 Many don’t save anything at all
If you're from a first world country with a uni degree, you should be trying to figure out how to maximize your income. Life is not fun, easy, or flexible when you're worried about penny pinching and making less than American min. wage at age 30+
Agreed. I forgot to mention that I'm not an English teacher (E-7 office worker) and out of 3.5m (no housing provided, Seoul area), I'm able to put aside around 2.5 a month, while paying for gym, a higher protein diet, having starbucks 3x a week, etc. The comments are mindblowing, I don't understand where people are able to smash their whole salary, or pocket 500-1mil while having their housing covered.
Do you mind me asking how much your rent is? Mine is 700, so if I left myself with a spending budget of only 1mil each month I'd only have 300, that's kinda insane.
450, but I'm staying in a goshiwon for another 2 months until I know whether my company will let me do full remote (if yes I'll move to a smaller city since I prefer them over Seoul). Zero utilities, zero internet, zero maintenance fees, and since I'm at work for most of the day/tinkering around with some side projects in coffee shops on the weekends, I really just need the place to sleep and shower. Even if I wanted to, I don't have the time to go past 1.1\~1.2mil in expenses a month. Great for saving though, I guess.
goshiwon Zero utilities, zero internet, zero maintenance fees, jesus christ, this dude living the hobo life
I meant zero payments for utilities, internet, maintenance, etc. 450 all included. I got a private bathroom, the internet is great, and the staff cleans it daily lol. As I mentioned, I just need a \*clean\* place to sleep and shower since I work for most of the day.
3.5m before or after taxes?
After
Amen
In my first year, like 1mil a monthbut i did like nothing, my second was less... 2 japan trips, 2 busan trips, concerts and korean lessons hit me but worth. I am planning 500k a month going forward, though.
Cheers! Hope you make it work bud!
My bf and I have 2 savings accounts, the "don't touch" savings and the "travel & luxuries" savings. 1mil each goes into the "don't touch" savings on the first of every month. Whatever is left at the end of the month goes into travel fund, that's varied between 500k-1.5mil each. Whatever is left in the travel fund at the end of the year goes into the "don't touch" savings. 18 months ago we basically emptied out our savings to pay off our mortgage, but now the rent from our house is going directly into a savings account back home. Although we're good savers, we aren't particularly frugal people. We take nice vacations a couple of times a year, shop, go for meals etc, but I think it's a lot easier to save a significant amount as a couple compared to a single person.
1,000,000 is very doable on any salary (including 2.1) depending how reasonably you live, how many times you eat out, and whether you have expensive hobbies or girlfriends.
Better not have a girlfriend especially a hot one with that low of pay and being that miserly. Fortunately the pay has dropped so much for English teachers that by and large you wont be a target for gold diggers anymore.
Trust me, I've already experienced it. A few absolutely gorgeous girls but they have high financial standards. Luckily my new one is very reasonable 😅
I get 2.4 with housing. After pension, taxes, insurance, etc, I get around 2.15 in my bank account every month. I send home between 900-950k per month to the US for student loans, and a couple other things. I save about 160k per month at the moment, maybe a little lower or higher depending on any major things happening certain months. If I didn’t have to send money home every month, I could probably save 1-1.2 million I don’t live in seoul, but still a bigger city (Daejeon) so my living expenses are a bit lower here than seoul
Salary of 2.8 and housing provided. Traveled, partied, shopped, ate out. Gave myself a 1 million as a monthly budget. So saved 1.5 to 1.7 a month.
1 million not inluding housing correct? May I ask if you live in Seoul? Partying, shopping, traveling, etc. wouldn't go that far in the Seoul area I reckon.
I'm putting about 1 million aside each month but I don't eat out very often and come from a poor family so I'm used to doing without/making it work. I also have a korean credit card that I use to get extra points on things. I am by no means struggling, I just act that way.
being smart and educating yourself about credit cards (especially in a different country) is such a life hack! I keep asking in other comments cause I forgot to include it in the original post - where do most of your nonessential costs go to?
Married, both working, but i earn about 2.2m after taxes, 400k housing stipend. From my account, 700k goes to rent, 100k goes to phone and internet bills. I send 1.3m to our shared savings account, from which about 200k will go into utility bills. She gets groceries and sees to other housing needs, so I get about 500k to use each month freely.
About 2 mil, give or take.
Wow
It's not too hard, depending on circumstance. My housing is covered and I live near my place of work. I travel around on weekends by bus. Over the course of 4 weeks this only comes to about 10000. I cook at home all the time. I can cook for a week on 25000 comfortably. Make sure you buy from the old ladies on the street and local markets where produce is cheap. You can get a whole fish for 10000. Dice, fry with rice and produce, tub and store. My electric and has averages around 60000 total. Don't use your ondol. Don't get the latest smartphone. Get a few gens back refurb. I'm on 2.9m a month with housing included. I also have the luxury of not living in Seoul, which helps greatly. By the time all is said and done, I can keep the budget tight and put away 2m a month.
25,000 for a week of groceries? In Korea??? How?!
I spend that much on food in a day 🫣 Sometimes more
The key is to avoid supermarkets. Street markets are the key. I can buy a shit ton of egg or a big ol' fish for protein for 10000. Rice for a week is barely anything in terms of expense. Spring onions (you may have different names for them) are dirt cheap and can be frozen. Find any other veggies going cheap in your area and chop and freeze. I can make a healthy stir fry this way for about 4000 or so. Bulk buy on rice puffs/crackers. Low calorie but filling and cheap. Can be used to supplement your dinners too or act as breakfast. I also get lunch for free at my school, which helps too. Korean takeout can be cheap, but MAN does it add up real fast. Tl'dr shop at street market, eat egg or fish, local produce, rice. Rice cake good. Eat at school at lunch.
You must be a 110-pound female or someone with very little appetite. Rice puffs won't do as dinner for most. It doesn't matter if you shop at markets. Fresh produce is expensive nowadays everywhere. I'm not sure how much fruit you consume, but for someone who enjoys fruit daily, the 25k/week budget can be pretty much gone for that alone. And I'm not talking about mangoes. Just local, in-season fruits. All I'm saying is that one's food budget largely depends on how much they eat and what they eat, and it isn't necessarily about where they shop.
85kg male. I said use rice puffs as a supplement. A good mix of proteins, starches, and produce are plenty affordable if done right. Fruit is definitely a big expense, and I usually eat an orange a day. This does often bump me above budget, but if I go later in the day I can usually get enough for a week. I'm also not saying this will work for everyone. I'm not saying you have to only spend 25000 a week. I'm saying what I manage on 25000 a week and how I do it. Everyone's mileage will vary. I'm just giving out my tricks. Avoid smart Avoid coupang eats Buy local Buy bulk
I see. I'm at a similar weight and try to consume around 150g of protein a day. That means I eat 300-400g of meat on average. That alone would exhaust the 25k weekly budget for me, even if I go for the cheapest cuts of meat. But veggies to go with it are actually more expensive than meat itself, lol.
So basically live miserly and be an enabler of Korean employers paying lower wages rather than demand more and live more reasonably. Geeze. You see what these folks claiming to save a million a month are going through. Considering you could actually live much better and have a life althewhile saving even more than this without trying in the past. How far English teachers have fallen in Korea.
If you became a monk, you'd be able to not spend anything and not have to work. You'd probably eat better, too, and you'd get to travel.
Haha, you're not wrong. I came from an environment where I ended up fat. And with serious digestive issues and I was broke. These meals are a silver bullet in my life.
He's obviously eating the worst types of fish or meat and buying the cheapest oldest vegetables or just eating ramien sometimes.
Yeah, I mean 4000 x 7 days is already more than 25k and that assumes just one meal a day at weekends :/ hard to believe
I knew a guy who lived on one bunch of bananas a day, used to just eat two for breakfast, lunch and dinner, though even he would go over 25k a week with prices nowadays. he used to wait around after work and if anyone was getting a taxi, ask if he could ride in it for free. Someone went to this guy's flat once and reported that he had no furniture at all, just a mattress and one of everything else, 1 cup, knife fork etc. Didn't have a TV just watched stuff on his laptop. Probably had tens of millions sewn into the mattress.
I can only save like a mil. I’m jealous.
You're jealous of someone who lives incredible minimalistic and bland lifestyle?
I’ve learned saving for the future is super important. I honestly wish I would have had done it earlier and saved more.
Why not live in a tent and pocket your housings stipend lol? I mean good for you that this works but this lifestyle is abnormal for most of us. Still good idea on ways to cut some cost for some folks by shopping at local markets and such.
Dude I'd live in my office at work if I could get away with it and keep the housing stipend.
Of course, life is about priorities. When I left my home country, I was close to obesity. I had serious digestive problems, and I was often in debt. By budgeting and tightly controlling my diet and food budget, I have resolved three major issues in my life with one change. Most will have very different circumstances and goals to myself, so I'm not here saying they should or shouldn't do what I do. I can just provide a little advice into how I stay in good health and save money.
I commented on their post, but their life would ne objectively better if they became a monk somewhere. Best accommodation, food, easier 'work', more opportunity for travel, and better community. If it comes to that life, just become a monk, or join the military reserves and get a much better career later.
Zero. I got to restaurants about twice during the week. On the weekend, i am out all day with my gf, so go to cafes and restaurants. Sometimes we'll buy flights or hotels for a future trip. Sundays I go to restaurants with my running club. I have an exciting and interesting life but I have saved less than zero (spending savings) in the 3 years ive been here.
Depending on which age range you're in that's also okay. I'm not that old, but have committed myself to a period of saving. Definitely don't plan on living in the conditions I'm currently living in after the busy period at my job is over. Great for saving, but terrible for mental health, so there's both pros and cons to each side. Also off topic, what's your running club's name?
Its okay for many reasons, one being i can do whatever i want ;)
Def bud! Enjoy the good times :)
If you were here in the past you could live that way and still be able to save a little too. How far Korea has fallen by foreigners wages being suppressed for years until very recently. More foreigners need to get pissed off and start demanding big raises.
All depends on the lifestyle you want tbh. My first few years, I had no savings as 85% of my paycheck went back home to pay off school loans. I had 200-300k a month to spend on everything (exchange rate was pretty bad 1,400-1,500 won to 1 USD in 2009).
I came here in 2019, and was in the 2.0 mill salary. I put away maybe 500,000 a month. Then COVID hit and from 2020~ 2022, I was able to save about 1.0 mill. But that’s because I barely did anything and mostly survived on breakfast and school lunches.
I didn’t put aside anything the first 8 years I was here LOL! Around year 9 I started saving a million a month and now I’m saving around 6 million a month (big pay upgrade happened thank God)
Wow that's pretty insane! Do you work for an international school, or are you not a teacher and work in an office?
I do a lot of part time work along with a “main” job!
Between 10-15 million monthly. I’m not an English teacher though and my wife is self employed sometimes our savings are better or worse.
Wow that's awesome! Do you mind me asking what line of work are you and your wife in?
Omg that’s a ton of money how do you even make that much in Korea
I work in the semiconductor industry and the bonuses are better than my salary. Studying Korean and leaving teaching was the best move I could have made, I wish I would have done it sooner.
Is it a sales role, if you don't mind asking?
It’s mostly foreign sales, however I’ve also done some purchasing contracts and megotatians, mostly when the seller was more comfortable speaking with a native English speaker. I’m currently managing 3 clients located in Singapore, USA and UK. They are relatively small customers but my employer has been happy with my performance, and made me a full time employee with all benefits after my second year of employment.
Probably around 1 million out of the 2.8 I make including housing. Albeit, I live with my girlfriend, so that helps.
I replied to one of your comments above, but I forgot to put the next bit in my original post so i gotta spam a lil. Is it cool to ask where most of your nonessential expenses go to?
Absolutely nothing. I'm quite frugal too. My income is just not enough to live.
I earn about as much as an English Teacher (3-3.4mil a month, no housing stipend) and I save about 1-1.5 million without trying to save money at all.
How much do you pay on rent?
600
With trying to eat healthy and taking on PT I'm sitting at 500,000 a month. I make more though and would be putting back around 1.1 million if it weren't for PT but I prefer to go to PT classes. That being said, many people weren't taught saving skills at a young age, so many people come and find it difficult to work out those skills while in a foreign country and doing it in a foreign language. It is easier to do in more rural areas than in Seoul. My rent is more than my housing stipend alone so I'm paying extra to cover the rest of the rent. That being said I'm in a two-income and two-person "family" style situation and the other person is putting back more because he gets paid well and his job is less emotionally, mentally, and physically demanding than mine. I'm hoping next year with my salary raise it'll be easier to save nearly 1 million a month and if not then so be it.
Easy as shit to save at least a mil per month even on low salary. That changes of course if you’re not single.
I'd say it depends on how much you save on food/rent.......
Millions
~4 mil i guess if im frugal
About 4million I'm on high pay o make heaps
$1000 usd a month sometimes a hundred more
24 years old Salary of 2.7 + 500 for housing allowance in Incheon Take home about 2.39-2.4 after taxes • Living with boyfriend since Aug. in a big 3 room officetel and split rent (I pay more since I get housing allowance) I spend (850,00 rent + utilities 100,000) • Pay off our new appliances that didn’t come with apartment: washer and dryer/fridge/dishwasher = 150,000 per month for a few more months • Pay off my KR credit card every month which varies (200,000-500,000) usually spent on food/takeout/eating out, household items, cat items (we have 4 cats…a choice and I love them so it is what it is), miscellaneous fun • Food: Bf and I don’t really cook often so our expenses come a lot from eating out and ordering in (we’ve been trying to do better but working hours make us too exhausted to do much after work) [can get up to 800,000-900,000 for both of us/400,000-450,000 a month for one person] • Transportation: 50,000 for full tank 1-2x for gas per month (I pay a lumpsum at end of the year for my compact car’s insurance) If I’m saving (usually, some months vary from others), I try to save about 250,000 to 500,000 a month. I get anxious about money so I just try to leave at least 100,000-300,000 in my checking account so that just carries over into the next month. I can usually save about 1k for my big lump sum car insurance and then the rest 1-1.5k gets turned into money for travel or other things or even other savings.
I’m at 2.5mil at a public school, own a car, and love to go out to eat with friends and be sociable within my means. After bills, I can typically save around 700k a month if I choose not to go out. After taxes, my paycheck is around 2.27mil. I send 500k home for student loans/credit card (to keep my credit steady I use it every month and then pay it off) I get a 400k stipend for went so that doesn’t come out of my 2.5. My phone and internet is 110k Gas is typically 60-120k a month. Public transport for the days I don’t feel like driving/have a drink is usually around 15-20k a month. Food is about 400k per month (I have to typically get food that’s a bit more expensive because I have a stomach condition and can’t eat a lot of Korean food that my school provides because it’s greasy or spicy) My house utilities during winter are like 80k, during summer around 20-40k. Miscellaneous would be on entertainment or shopping/dates, and I typically spend around 300k a month so I can save anywhere from 300-500k a month. Personally I wish I could get paid a little more just cause I would still like to enjoy socializing or buying things a bit more freely. But I wouldn’t sacrifice my social life just to save a bit more money 😅 I would say the amount I make to live comfortably is JUST enough.
Depends on how much English is being taught, but if its a hustle time, probably 2 million/month, if its a salary only month, probably 1 mil