Monthly Expenses

These will be my estimated monthly expenses as an English teacher in Matsuyama:*

(*this data is only an estimate based on personally conducted research, advice from friends living in Japan, advice from an English teacher in Matsuyama and the information given by my sponsoring company)

270,000¥ (monthly income)
- 27,000¥ (10% income tax)
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243,000¥ = roughly about $2,430USD
- 30,000¥ (national health insurance/pension)
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213,000¥
- 55,000¥ (rent)
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158,000¥
- 10,000¥ (utilities)
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148,000¥
- 40,000¥ (food)
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108,000¥ = roughly about $1,080USD left

* Those are the absolutely necessary expenses!*

Moving on...

108,000¥
- 4,500¥ (cellphone bill; 60 minutes of talk time with email/internet plan and rollover minutes)
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103,500¥
- 5,000¥ (internet; expensive estimate)
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98,500¥
-30,000¥ (entertainment, leisure, shopping)
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68,500¥

So, if I am not missing anything, I should spend about 201,500¥ a month and have a remainder of 65,800¥. Leaving room for miscellaneous costs, I hope to save 50,000¥ a month (about $500USD) and have 600,000¥ at the end of the year + the bonus of 80,000¥ = 680,000¥ or about $6,800 USD. I know this is realistic because a former teacher was able to save close to $20,000USD. However, this teacher did not dine out, travel or party much. That kind of savings is at the extreme end of the spectrum and I hope to fall somewhere in between. I hope this helps the planning process for some of you who are going to be teaching English in Japan.

I will update these estimates as it becomes relevant. Until then, I bid you safe travels!

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