Teaching in Taiwan as a Career, Getting Older, and Finding Work

Work Working in Taiwan
21

[quote=“xtrain”][quote=“tomthorne”][quote=“bismarck”]
What am I doing wrong here? I realise I’m shite with money management, but seriously? Open to suggestions here.[/quote]

You’re not working many hours, although I appreciate that work isn’t easy to come by down south.[/quote]

Agreed. I don’t want to come off as critical, but the only time I worked 20 hours a week was the first 6 months of my first year (1998). I did around 30 on average, and up to 40 on occasion through 2008. I gather that hours are not as easy to come by as they used to be, but are there no potential private students from local universities (market for group classes) etc.? Four students who want to improve their speaking can be worth $1000-$1200/hour.

Truth be told, we left because I couldn’t handle working for people who had no understanding whatsoever of the English language, never mind the actual language acquisition process (from the buxiban level to the university level).[/quote]

One does not even need to find work in Taiwan. On can do some online writing or programing in the morning before you go to your buxiban job.

1 Like
22

Meh. May as well just fucken drink it out now then. Good thing I have the boy. When he starts working I’ll be about retirement age. Maybe I can look after his kids for pocket money.

Edit: [quote=“NonTocareLeTete”]Boy, what are you doing?
I average 13-15 hours a week of teaching (depending on season), plus write 3 articles a month (which adds 7500 to my income) and I’m saving 20 to 30 thou a month, living in my own place, have internet etc.[/quote]
Sister, what are you doing?
I work 18 hours a week + 2 hours private = 20 hours per week total
Rent = 10k
Kindy = 8k (add 15k every six months)
Utilities = 5k (including cable and ADSL etc)
Food = 10k
Spending money = 5k (odd beer, sweets for the boy, smokes, pizza night, whatever)
Adds up to about 38-40k. I’m lucky if I can save 10k, and even then stuff tends to eat that up some months, like scooter repair or some unforeseen event (bear in mind I have to put cash away for that 6 monthly semester fee mentioned above).
Sure, if I kill the kid and take away my allowance I can add 13k to the 10k for a total of 23k, and if I move into a smaller apartment and eat a bit less I could probably add another 5-7k there. But then I’d never see anyone apart from my work colleagues and the kids I teach, and I’d have to sleep alone. That kid comes in handy in the winter.

What am I doing wrong here? I realise I’m shite with money management, but seriously? Open to suggestions here.[/quote]

You aren’t earning enough like most people in Taiwan who can’t save. I only started saving when I earned more. In the West it’s often the other way around. So I’d look at boosting your earnings significantly. That means working more hours if you want to stick to teaching English or looking at other earning opportunities or career options. Actually you hardly have anything t lose trying out a different career, you will not drop in income and you can always go back to teaching English.

23

[quote=“Hamletintaiwan”]There won’t be a retirement for baby boomers.
Either you are rich or you will have to work till you drop dead.
Legalized lethal injection will be another option of course.

The 30,000 NT$ saved every month now will be worth half in 10 and a quarter in 20 years.
You will have to work at the age of 67.[/quote]

Not if you invest it properly in a retirement annuity/ pension/etc. You can invest half properly and retire no problem and live an easy life.
The problem is not waiting until you are 45 to start.

To Bismark: What are you doing with the 10K? That’s the important thing If it is sitting in a normal bank account here not earning 1 or 2% a year then it is wasted.

24

Says the man given the house and car…annyyyway.

Yes the earlier you save the better you can do and there are funds that should be able to keep up better than that. Plenty of people invested in property in their 20s in the US and Europe over the last 10 years…ouch.
The problem I see now is that the next few years has very significant inflation risks. Look how much the dollar has dropped and could drop a lot further due to the need to inflate debt away. In fact that seems the only option on the table now as the US refuses to raise taxes. Look at the GBP against NTD, dropped 30% in 3 years. If you live in Britain you are only partially insulated as inflation of imported goods and oil will still get you.

25

[quote=“headhonchoII”]Says the man given the house and car…annyyyway.

Yes the earlier you save the better you can do and there are funds that should be able to keep up better than that. Plenty of people invested in property in their 20s in the US and Europe over the last 10 years…ouch.
The problem I see now is that the next few years has very significant inflation risks. Look how much the dollar has dropped and could drop a lot further due to the need to inflate debt away. In fact that seems the only option on the table now as the US refuses to raise taxes. Look at the GBP against NTD, dropped 30% in 3 years. If you live in Britain you are only partially insulated as inflation of imported goods and oil will still get you.[/quote]

If I did not have a car or a house it would make no difference. Firstly I would not bought a car, and secondly rent of 10k a month would really make no difference.

Property is not a vehicle for retirement savings, unless you are expert in the field. Most people who did buy property simply saw it as a way to make some $$ in a relatively short period. I know a lot of people who have seen their balls doing this. If you want to retire with a guaranteed income then you need some type of retirement plan. I know exactly how much I will get a month when I retire adjusted for inflation. It has to be planned by an expert.
Most first year economic textbooks will tell you that the world economy is cyclical anyway. Good/bad/good/bad etc. In the /medium term the $ will improve again, and weaken again and so on.

For retirement you need to be looking at saving in a tailored retirement plan for at least 25 years.

26

Who pays rent of 10k/mth for a family unit…only if you live out in the boonies and even then it’s not going to be great. Buying a house is a big financial commitment that makes a huge difference. From 30%-50% of couple’s income in Taipei just goes to service their housing costs (madness I know but they feel that have no choice, most of the jobs are located in the North and rents are high too).
taipeitimes.com/News/biz/arc … 2003509049

For the rest of the country properties cost less but still eat up sizeable amount of income due to lower income. I think you misrepresent the situation somewhat. The average cost of a ‘house’ in Greater Taipei area is probably 7-8 million NTD. How long would it take an English teacher to earn enough money to purchase this, average income of English teachers is probably 700,000 NTD/year, so that’s 10 years income not spending on ANYTHING else. Basically if they want to purchase a house or retire they will need the income/assets from spouse and their family.

Of course there is a right time and a wrong time to buy and there is also a huge difference between property costs.
I agree with your premise that economies are cyclical but the problem is what if you get caught in the wrong part of the cycle? What if you get are born in the wrong place?
Say you invest a big lump sum near the top of the market? Or how about you follow the old ‘dollar costing average’ idea and keep investing as the market is on the down cycle. You’ll have to wait for it to hit the bottom of the down cycle and get near the top of the next cycle to even get your money back!
There’s a fair element of luck and mostly the big boys have it sewn up like Goldman Sachs who made money by betting against some of their own investors.

Planning ahead and taking advice is a good idea, but I wouldn’t put too much faith in the ‘experts’ either.

27

[quote=“headhonchoII”]Who pays rent of 10k/mth for a family unit…only if you live out in the boonies and even then it’s not going to be great. Buying a house is a big financial commitment that makes a huge difference. From 30%-50% of couple’s income in Taipei just goes to service their housing costs (madness I know but they feel that have no choice, rents are high too).
For the rest of the country properties cost less but still eat up sizeable amount of income due to lower income.
Of course there is a right time and a wrong time to buy and there is also a huge difference between property costs.[/quote]

I am talking about earnings and retirement as per the OP. If my Taiwanese wife rented an apartment in her name, we could live in a decent one for NT $ 10 000. If I, as a foreigner, rented in my name you can add 50%.

I am simply saying that property is not good investment choice for retirement. As you said, 30%-50% servicing their housing costs is crazy. They are better off renting. They will have to sell their house to retire.

I know a woman back home who bought two houses as investments for retirement. After bonds and living expenses she had zero left at the end off the month. Besides the loss due to the bubble bursting, she got retrenched. Bye bye houses as the rent she got did not cover the bond. If I lose my job or get retrenched, I simply take a premium holiday till I get on my feet again. No loss.

When I set up my retirement plans I saw at least 10 different financial advisers back home. The ones that tried to pressure me got dumped quickly. I really spent time and money doing my homework. I even got an accountant and a lawyer to look at the final policies I chose, which cost plenty. Everyone should be as diligent as me. We are talking about $$ you will need to live on for up to maybe 40 years if you retire at 55 and die at 95 (unlikely, but not impossible).

And for gods sake, don’t invest in any retirement plans in Taiwan. The firms here would be illegal in most third world countries let alone first world.

28

I wonder where you live that you can get a decent apartment for 10k/mth, I live in Taichung which is far cheaper than Taipei and that is not possible for a family in my opinion (I don’t agree foreigners automatically pay more, you just have to negotiate that’s all). The problem in Taiwan is that a lot of the jobs and decent infrastructure are in the North where decent accomodation is far more expensive. There is a cultural imperative here too to own your own home (like many countries) which puts further pressure on people. The real culprit is of course the government supporting the madness with their ultra low interest rates.

29

You haven’t met my wife. She will negotiate until the seller pays us to buy the product he is trying to sell us, or I start swearing and dragging her away. Like a pit bull.

30

Interesting. Writing what online? Never heard of such opportunities otherwise I would most definitely have done something like that.

Looks like I do have an opportunity to do just that. Thanks to the kind references of a fellow Forumosan. :thumbsup:

Not really sure what to do with it, mate. I’m open to suggestions. Thing is, stuff in the US is probably not open to me, I don’t trust the buggers in South Africa, and as I’m naturalizing and will remain in Taiwan forever, I should find something here. Not sure where to even start looking.

31

You haven’t met my wife. She will negotiate until the seller pays us to buy the product he is trying to sell us, or I start swearing and dragging her away. Like a pit bull.[/quote]

Lucky you :slight_smile: .

32

Bismark,

Believe it or not, the financial and banking system in SA is one of the best in the world. It always has been. You can check this online. With all their faults those old Afrikaaners knew how to run an economy better than anyone else in the world and the reserve bank was seen as an ideal central bank throughout most of the world.

I remember when Volkskas bank went in around 2001. I had some money there. It was under curatorship when the first rumours of a run started. Got my cash back within days.

Not sure if you need to be a citizen to invest there or in other countries? You should check it out. If you go with a firm such as Liberty Life you will be safe and earn a double digit return. Anything is better than leaving it a bank account. You do have a kid which is an important retirement package here though.

I dread the day the in laws move in more then an eternity with Beelzebub and all his hellish minions!!!

33

[quote=“bigduke6”]Bismark,

Believe it or not, the financial and banking system in SA is one of the best in the world. It always has been. You can check this online. With all their faults those old Afrikaaners knew how to run an economy better than anyone else in the world and the reserve bank was seen as an ideal central bank throughout most of the world.

I remember when Volkskas bank went in around 2001. I had some money there. It was under curatorship when the first rumours of a run started. Got my cash back within days.

Not sure if you need to be a citizen to invest there or in other countries? You should check it out. If you go with a firm such as Liberty Life you will be safe and earn a double digit return. Anything is better than leaving it a bank account. You do have a kid which is an important retirement package here though.

I dread the day the in laws move in more then an eternity with Beelzebub and all his hellish minions!!![/quote]
I still have permanent residence status there, but the problem isn’t investing money in SA, it’s getting it out and taxes.

34

[quote=“NonTocareLeTete”][quote=“Vannyel”][quote=“steelersman”]If one doesn’t have a family they should be able to save 20,000-30,000 a month. That is even with drinking on the weekend. Actually, it is easy to earn money here, the only problem is that most of the work is not very interesting or motivating.

Maybe I will make another attempt to go back to the U.S. in May 2012 when my contract is up.[/quote]

You are assuming that one only wants to work and not have a ‘normal’ life. I work one job and have no intention of giving up my after work hours for another job. If I wanted to do nothing but work and get drunk every weekend, I could have stayed in the U.S.

Since the average cram school, university/college pays less than NT$60,000 a month, you are saying I should be able to save NT$20,000~30,000 or over 1/2 my monthly salary? Sure, if I don’t want to live in my own apartment – just rent a room, eat oily lunchbox meals three times a day, don’t have a motor scooter and live within walking distance of where I work, don’t have a computer or ADSL, steal my clothes from the donation boxes on the streets, never go back to the U.S. to visit my family, don’t buy any books, don’t have a hobby, etc.[/quote]
Boy, what are you doing?
I average 13-15 hours a week of teaching (depending on season), plus write 3 articles a month (which adds 7500 to my income) and I’m saving 20 to 30 thou a month, living in my own place, have internet etc. My hobbies (surfing, reading) are cheap or free, I borrow/trade books (helps I brought a suitcase full from the states) and only buy shitty night market clothes. Don’t drink much either. Anyways, yeah, you can save money here! Easier than in America, in my experience, and working less.[/quote]

Well as I said, I want a normal life. I teach 20 hours a week, in the office at least 4 hours a week, spend as much time grading papers, preparing course work, etc. as I do teaching. So I am working 40 plus hours a week and am limited by contract to accepting outside work. I am not complaining, this is the job I wanted and I am content. You are right, I don’t count my NT$1 and if I want something I buy it, I don’t call around and ask friends if they can lend it to me. My average pay is less than yours, but not by much. I buy my books because I want to read things I am interested in not just want is available. My clothes are not from the night market because they don’t have my size and that cheap material makes me sweat more, but by the same token they are not high end name brand stuff. I am glad you have managed to save up so much money – it is expensive to go back to the university in the U.S. Good luck!

35

[quote=“bismarck”][quote=“bigduke6”]Bismark,

Believe it or not, the financial and banking system in SA is one of the best in the world. It always has been. You can check this online. With all their faults those old Afrikaaners knew how to run an economy better than anyone else in the world and the reserve bank was seen as an ideal central bank throughout most of the world.

I remember when Volkskas bank went in around 2001. I had some money there. It was under curatorship when the first rumours of a run started. Got my cash back within days.

Not sure if you need to be a citizen to invest there or in other countries? You should check it out. If you go with a firm such as Liberty Life you will be safe and earn a double digit return. Anything is better than leaving it a bank account. You do have a kid which is an important retirement package here though.

I dread the day the in laws move in more then an eternity with Beelzebub and all his hellish minions!!![/quote]
I still have permanent residence status there, but the problem isn’t investing money in SA, it’s getting it out and taxes.[/quote]

SA has a tax treaty with Taiwan see: sars.gov.za/home.asp?pid=3919

[b]If you pay income tax in Taiwan you have no liability in SA.

I was back in SA for 6 years. SARS came after me as I did not file an IRP5 for those years. Told them I was in TW, gave them a copy of my Visa’s, entry and exit stamps and ARC. They did not even ask for my Tax Records from Taiwan.
Getting it out is easy. You are allowed to take out R 2 000 000 a year if you meet the following criteria:

In order to be eligible for the Travel Allowance, you need to be either a permanent resident of South Africa, whether or not you are recognised as a citizen, or you need to have resided in South Africa for at least five years and are now emigrating permanently to another country.

Generally speaking if it is a pension it is payable anywhere without restriction.
[/b]

36

[quote=“bismarck”]
Sister, what are you doing?
What am I doing wrong here? I realise I’m shite with money management, but seriously? Open to suggestions here.[/quote]
Quit buying the lad sweets that’s terrible for him :wink:

Okay I haven’t even worked it out before so lemme do that here.
teaching income: 48,000 (I forgot about my private- I teach at least 16 hours a week- and one of my jobs pays 800 an hour)
Writing income: 7,500
I also get freelance editing jobs for academics trying to get their papers published in English language peer reviewed journals- I did it for a friend once and she’s been spreading my name around- I’m getting a lot of business from that these days but that’s pretty much just this month, so I dunno let’s add 3000 a month for that and that’s pushing it.
so total income 58,000

expenses:
Rent: 7000 (I live in the boonies so it’s cheap for a huge place- love my place!)
utilities (plus phone n internet) 2,000
train pass: 1,600
So that’s 10,600 and shit I have no idea where the other 9,400 go. I usually just withdraw 20,000 when I get my paycheck and sometimes have to withdraw more. I cook for myself most days because I feel that the most food here is of dubious nutritional quality (I like fresh veggies) but I think cooking for myself is actually more expensive. Out here, we don’t have a lot of western restaurants either. And heck, the town I live in is so isolated we don’t even have a 711, so there’s nothing I can spend money on here. Taipei’s super expensive. Every time I go there for a night to go dancing or whatever I’m always shocked by how much I spend.
And I don’t like spending money. It makes me feel kind of wasteful. I grew up in a single parent household so never got an allowance so I guess I kind of learned how to have fun without spending money.

37

:notworthy: I can see how that’s doable for a single person, but not so much for a single parent. I guess I could find morning kindy work which would rake in about another 20-25 000 a month allowing me to easily save 30-35k a month, but it would only be a matter of time before I killed someone if I did that.

I have thought about getting a cheaper place (I pay 10k rent) and even in Tainan city it is possible to get a good place, even a house for 6 or 7k if you look around hard enough. I reckon I’ll have to do a strict budget and see where I can save more. I’d like to get it up to 20k+ in the future. If nothing, this thread has given me a lot to think about.

38

Bismark,

You might look for a writing job or some other job online. Most jobs will pay via pen pal.

Just an idea of how you can earn more without teaching kindergarten.

39

I guess if you look at it from a yearly perspective you really only make about 25,000 - 30,000 a year here on a good year. You could almost compare that to an entry level or below job.

So how is it that I seem to save more money here? I think one post was most accurate. There doesn’t seem to be much of a life here for people. After 3 years here I find Taiwan a pain in the ass just to go out and do anything. I would rather skip the crowds then go out and enjoy my life. Anyone else have this feeling. I think that leads to greater savings but is it worth it I don’t know.

Thanks everyone for the replies it seems I have a better idea of the choices I have to make. It makes it even more difficult when you throw a beautiful sweet girl into the mix as well. I guess I should be lucky to even have these hard choices to make and be grateful.

40

SB - quite honestly, its a matter of living within ones means.

Once you can do that, you just adjust accordingly. Life becomes OK…then heads towards good.

Good Luck to Ya.