How much will/did you save? (How much do you spend a month?)

I messed up my first few years here and now trying to save for a future wedding. I'm able to send home about 1mil-1.5 mil a month, but school loans are annoying. I contribute about $500 a month to maying them.

I messed up my first few years here and now trying to save for a future wedding. I'm able to send home about 1mil-1.5 mil a month, but school loans are annoying. I contribute about $500 a month to maying them.

If you don't mind me asking, is that $500 to your student loans out of the 1.0 to 1.5mil a month you send home, or are those separate?

My time is coming to an end here so I'm going to be sending home significantly more, keeping just enough to pay for bills, food and milk. I suppose 1.6 out of 2.3 isn't so bad, though I could push it further.

Burning money doesn't seem fun to me anymore, so I'll be good.

People who claim to spend less than 1 million Won a month without trying and while still having fun confuse me. Perhaps their definition of 'fun' involves drinking cups of tea and crocheting?

Well, I spend around a million a month even with a car. What's your definition of 'fun'?

Traveling, going out at least once a week, eating out whenever you feel like it, hanging out in cafes, seeing shows, and also shopping for whatever you want in clothes, western food, electronics, etc.

I don't understand how many on this forum are able to save 1 million a month or send home 1-1.5. From my 2.1 million a month, I only take home (after utilities and tax) around 1.9 on a good month and usually 1.6. Am I being screwed over on utilities or something? Also food is expensive here and travel expenses in Korea add up too :(

Each month I take home almost 2.2 million.
I send 1 million home to pay student loans, storage bill, credit cards, etc.
My korean phone bill is about 90,000-100,000 a month
Utilities are about 120,000
Internet is about 35,000
I spend about 300,000-400,000 (maybe less)  a month on food (I never cook, why bother, I'm crap at it anyway)
Subway and taxi travel might be 50,000 a month (that seems high but it's hard to tell)
Medical expenses could range from 20,000-200,000 a month

Everything else is just miscellaneous. As you can see, once I get that one million transferred home, I really don't keep close track of the rest of my budget. I've never come close to running out of money by the end of the month. 2 weeks before payday, I've got about 500,000 in the bank. All my bills are paid. That's just money to burn.

Also, I don't drink, so that saves some money. However, when I go out with my boyfriend and his Army buddies on the weekend, I usually throw in like I drank. A lot of them don't have much money. I make more than some of them. So I pay more than my share when some of them are broke. It all works out.

I don't understand how many on this forum are able to save 1 million a month or send home 1-1.5. From my 2.1 million a month, I only take home (after utilities and tax) around 1.9 on a good month and usually 1.6. Am I being screwed over on utilities or something? Also food is expensive here and travel expenses in Korea add up too :(

What does your utility bill say? Mine are rarely over 130,000, except for one month when I used the ondol too much and it was almost 200,000.

My tax and pension is over 100,000 but less than 200,000. If you make 2.1 but only take home 1.6, where is the rest going? Look at your pay stub.

I've been here many years, and seem many people come and go.

One of the common themes that crops up time and time again is the "I save 6 million per month" thing.

The truth is that a few teachers actually make that one month out of the year if they have like 3 jobs, or if they're working a lot of OT during summer/winter while getting paid their regular working wage on top of that. 

Then there's the "Oh, I work in Daechi-dong" crowd that expects you to think they're special because they teach rich peoples' kids.  It's quite pathetic, really -- as if we should be impressed that their kids are richer than the ones you teach?  This is some sort of accomplishment?  These will also take one month of wages out of the year and declare or imply that's what they make every month. 

With the exception of the extremely rare (and usually, Korean) teachers who are TOEIC experts, or some F-visa-types working very hard all of the time, people are just not making these wages much.  And if they are doing so -- as a general staff member -- while not being an F-visa, they are probably working 7 days a week in illegal situations.  And again, these wages are temporary.

The average teacher here plugs away at around 2.1 to 3.5 monthly, and that's it.  Maybe they'll get a little OT, or work some vacation camps to temporarily bump their wages.  A lot of the rest of it is putting on airs / blowing smoke.

People who claim to spend less than 1 million Won a month without trying and while still having fun confuse me. Perhaps their definition of 'fun' involves drinking cups of tea and crocheting?

Well, I spend around a million a month even with a car. What's your definition of 'fun'?

Traveling, going out at least once a week, eating out whenever you feel like it, hanging out in cafes, seeing shows, and also shopping for whatever you want in clothes, western food, electronics, etc.

I do pretty much all that but don't hang out in cafes much and spend less than a million.  I guess having a consistent routine and hobbies like working out, counting my beans, hiking, beaching, fishing, etc. saves me money.

People who claim to spend less than 1 million Won a month without trying and while still having fun confuse me. Perhaps their definition of 'fun' involves drinking cups of tea and crocheting?

Well, I spend around a million a month even with a car. What's your definition of 'fun'?

Traveling, going out at least once a week, eating out whenever you feel like it, hanging out in cafes, seeing shows, and also shopping for whatever you want in clothes, western food, electronics, etc.

Do you have time after all that to join my fraternity?

I haven't saved as much as I had hoped, but I paid off my loan with 6 months of being here (it was only 3.5K$) and have travelled and done various things in Korea.

I am planning on getting LASIK tomorrow, so that will be 1.2million won not saved, but...seeing without glasses or contacts! The rest of the summer will be spent saving until I go home, and then maybe come back once I do what I need to do back home/travel Europe to visit friends.

People who claim to spend less than 1 million Won a month without trying and while still having fun confuse me. Perhaps their definition of 'fun' involves drinking cups of tea and crocheting?

Well, I spend around a million a month even with a car. What's your definition of 'fun'?

Traveling, going out at least once a week, eating out whenever you feel like it, hanging out in cafes, seeing shows, and also shopping for whatever you want in clothes, western food, electronics, etc.

Do you have time after all that to join my fraternity?

The fraternity of heroes? You are Nick Fury?

My first year i saved up $8,000 total - this is my second year and i'd like to hit $10,000 asap and then just take it easy for the rest of my time here

Best case scenario is that exchange rates don't tank and i reach my goal in around 8 months, sooner if i don't leave the country on my holiday. Right now i take home slightly more than 2.1 after taxes, utilities, etc.

I'll count my bills paid back home(taxes) as savings even though it's really not but I think some others have been counting it?

Anyway, my first year I didn't save anything.  My 2nd year I got back what my employer owed me and between that and one months pay I got 11 million Won in one month.  The next 8 1/2 years I've paid 20 thousand in bills, sent back 37 thousand to my accounts and have about 45 million Won in the S. Korean bank(s).  If I leave this year I'll have about 20 million Won as a good by present(severance/pension) while saving another 6 million Won in 6 months then cashing in(exchanging) I should be at about 120 thousand in 10 years.  20 + 37 + 51 + 20 - 7 million Won(estimated exchange rate loss/conversion from Korean Won to dollar) = $121 thousand dollars.  But, I'll probably stay at least 1 more year.

If you shut yourself in you can save a lot. But then again what's money without some fun memories.

I'll count my bills paid back home(taxes) as savings even though it's really not but I think some others have been counting it?

Anyway, my first year I didn't save anything.  My 2nd year I got back what my employer owed me and between that and one months pay I got 11 million Won in one month.  The next 8 1/2 years I've paid 20 thousand in bills, sent back 37 thousand to my accounts and have about 45 million Won in the S. Korean bank(s).  If I leave this year I'll have about 20 million Won as a good by present(severance/pension) while saving another 6 million Won in 6 months then cashing in(exchanging) I should be at about 120 thousand in 10 years.  20 + 37 + 51 + 20 - 7 million Won(estimated exchange rate loss/conversion from Korean Won to dollar) = $121 thousand dollars.  But, I'll probably stay at least 1 more year.

You are making 11 million won per month?

I haven't saved as much as I had hoped, but I paid off my loan with 6 months of being here (it was only 3.5K$) and have travelled and done various things in Korea.

I am planning on getting LASIK tomorrow, so that will be 1.2million won not saved, but...seeing without glasses or contacts! The rest of the summer will be spent saving until I go home, and then maybe come back once I do what I need to do back home/travel Europe to visit friends.

How did it go? I had my eyes 'fixed' in 2011 and no problems, so far (fingers crossed).

You are making 11 million won per month?

I think they were indicating that their pay was backlogged.  So while they received 11 million in one month, the period worked was much longer.

I've actually have no savings as of yet however I did pay off 8,000 euros and will have around 3,000 euros in savings... I'd actually have more than that but I'm renewing so my severance will roll over to next year.... I'm hoping to have in total at least 15k when I finish my 2nd year and hoping to have around 20k..... I make around 3mil a month as I do a bit of extra work in conjunction with my school (all legal)........ Also I live in the country so it's much easier to save money!!! :)

I spend roughly 750,000 in a month. I spend about 450,000 on all my bills, food, and transportation. I use 300,000 as discretionary income and I wire the rest of my cash to America. 300,000 may not sound like much, but I don't drink at all and I don't eat out (unless I'm doing so for social reasons), and I've already traveled around Korea and partied like crazy so I'm no longer interested in all that. So 300,000 is enough to enjoy my weekends. So I'm saving well over $1000 every month.