let's take a look at the various components..
While the approximately 3.6million yen that we receive each year is post-tax income, payments towards the National Health Insurance, pension plan and employment insurance still have to be made from this sum, and the amount that has to be forked out is rather significant, if not staggering.
Depending on the health insurance premium, about 35,000yen/month has to be paid, and the contribution to the pension plan is 6/1000 of your salary. These two work out to about 12.3% of the monthly post-tax income; 37,000yen; or, at the exchange rate of SGD1 = 130yen, about $400/month. However, depending on the website in question, the amount of these additional insurance and welfare payments have been 40,000-50,000yen/month, or 13.3-16.6% of the income!
On to savings. Considering that all Singaporeans working in Singapore have a total of 36% of their income safely tucked away in their CPF account* earning a small interest (note that bank accounts in Japan are close to, if not actually, 0% accounts, according to this: (http://www.gaijinpot.com/banking.php) EXCLUDING their personal savings beyond this 36%, i thought that i should, at the very least, try to save 36% of my salary to reduce the discrepancy in savings between me and my peers working at home.
Then, to approximate what my brother gives my parents each month, i'll have to put aside about 10% of my salary for them. Add all those three percentages (taking the lowest percentage contribution of 12.3% to insurance and social welfare), and you get an astounding 58.3% of your salary - gone!! This means only 41.7% left for daily expenditure and leisure/entertainment, or 125,100 yen.
(I don't actually have to repay my student loan (thank goodness for scholarships!), but if I were to pay off $1000 per month for a 27-28K loan for my undergraduate studies, that'll be 25.6% of my salary! I'm thinking that perhaps i should act as if i have to pay off a student loan and save lots of money each month.. cos if i do that i'll then have 28K in savings which is quite a tidy sum!)
And i haven't even started talking about the cost of living** in Japan. As i'm in Osaka City itself, i expect costs to be sky-high. The estimates for rents that I've seen online are sooooooo high that just thinking about it makes me depressed.. on this site (http://www.japaninc.com/node/2115), a 2-bedroom apartment was quoted to cost 85,000 yen in rent per month, and i'm hoping a 1DK would be much cheaper... according to an example breakdown of expenditure of a person living in a medium-sized city featured in the JET video that i received, rent was already 60,000 yen/month! note: that's HALF of the 125,100 yen i have left post-insurance and savings!! and that guy is only living in a medium-sized city!! :(:(
To summarise:
| Salary received | 100% |
| Insurance, pension, etc | 12.3% |
| Minimum amt to give parents | 10% |
| Savings (to make up for lack of CPF contribution) | 36% |
| Amount of money to spend on rent, utilities, daily expenses, entertainment, etc | 41.7% only (125,100 yen) |
as for other costs quoted on this site (http://www.japaninc.com/node/2115), utilities and internet etc cost the writer 20,000yen, and food WITH CAREFUL PLANNING came up to 60,000yen. these are Tokyo prices, but i think they probably can be used in reference to Osaka too? if these can indeed be used as a guide, looking at the figures, food and rent could very well use up all the money i have left, even when i'm trying to be frugal!
this means only one thing - that i definitely wont be able to save 36% of my salary per month. hence, in monetary terms, i'll certainly be worse off than all those singaporeans who work in singapore! and take note that i havent even factored in stuff like entertainment, travelling and leisure!! :S :S
so looking at all these.. well maybe i'm being overly anxious and all, but i'm now really doubtful regarding the claim that JETs are paid enough to cover average living costs and accumulate some savings.. In the video for JETs, the hosts actually said that the salary received is more than enough to live in Japan, but guess how much the two people whose breakdowns were given saved each month?
a measly 44,000 yen, or $572!!!!
i certainly do NOT think this supports the above assertion at all! and the examples were meant to reassure us, not freak us out by how little you may actually have left after everything has been spent and paid for.
well just look at me.. i haven't even received my contract, and i'm already offering some *ahem* comments regarding JET.. :P
*:
my friend hit the nail on the head by commenting that because my employer doesnt contribute to CPF, my salary actually isnt all that high, especially after factoring in the insurance contributions, cost of living in Japan and the fact that unlike my peers, i will not receive bonuses (at least i dont think i do since there has been no mention of this) or increments so long as i'm on the programme. i think these monetary matters will feature significantly when i decide whether to extend my contract or not. while i intend to stay at least 2 years - cos i dont think 1 year is quite enough to learn about teaching, Japan and to improve my Japanese - the realities of life must be taken into serious consideration if i were to extend beyond 2 years...
** some useful links regarding living costs in Japan:
http://gojapan.about.com/od/dailylifeinjapan/a/costlivingtokyo.htm
http://www.relojapan.com/cost/index.html
http://boards.bootsnall.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/448097925/m/45900141416
http://www.ikjeld.com/japannews/00000414.php
http://www.japaninc.com/node/2115
http://neilduckett.com/cost-of-living-in-japan/
For more about banking and saving money in Japan: http://www.gaijinpot.com/banking.php
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