I got permission from my wife to share our information publicly.
We spend $20k on rent, $8k on groceries, and $3k on eating out.
I’m working on tabulating a more detailed budget. Will post again soon.
Jeesh! You’ve shamed me.
8k is my budget for pet food. 3k eating out I can do that, but I am one person.
1280 monthly transportation and 499 cellphone bill are heaven sent.
Retirement and extra health insurance take a big chunk out of my salary. Betting on the future…
I blew more than 8k in Costco today. I really need to reassess my outgoings.
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I remember when my Costco budget was 1000 NTD. I got the basics: bread, cheese. It started escalating but I can only partially blame the rising cost of cheese on it.
Guacamole. Beef. Ham. Socks. Bras that fit. More cheese. Fancy veggies.
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Hard to walk in there without blowing through some cash. Usually good value though
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OK, now you’re just bragging. 
Bras? Who needs them?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYNMKZ90jtA&list=PL-LE7XMvV55i5V9iHbkK1bQ54czfhG-Ub
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this where the character of Chewbacca came about, or vice versa?
That is impressive. What city are you in?
Our plan is 50-100K NT per month. And that will likely be without a car. We never lived with a car before in Taipei, but we did have a scooter. It would be my wife, myself, and my son, and he would be home schooled, but with some money spent on activities/ a tutor or 2.
We live pretty frugally in Canada, and never lived a lavish lifestyle when we lived in Taiwan previously. I was curious as to whether or not the cost of living has changed, and it doesn’t really look like it has much.
What do you guys eat with a 8k groceries budget?
Sounds like without a car, renting and no school costs will keep you within your budget.
Just remember teens eat like starved animals. Not sure how yours eats, but most will polish off a single pizza in 5 minutes flat. You have 3 mouths to feed and 3 people to transport, don’t forget that a lot of people on here talking about budgets are living the single life.
I still say get a job at a bilingual private school or international school for 5 years while you do your time on the rock for your APRC. You would make twice what you were planning for and have a stable job + stable hours. 5 years will fly by and in the end you will have more money, better connections should you have to work and a bit of padding on your resume should you need it. Plus, private schools give better attendance, performance and Chinese New Year bonuses than your run of the mill buxiban. Most buxibans give nothing. Food for thought. Best of luck to you and your family!
Also, word of caution…not sure how the Canadian government would feel about someone collecting retirement while still working abroad. Be careful and know your obligations. Taiwan already reports to the USA about bank accounts, not sure if they do the same for Canada.
Hold the boat, I did a search and it seems the Canadian government has no qualms about working while receiving your pension. Good for Canadians!
https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/retirement-planning/working-collecting-pension.html
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Thanks for that. My pension will be taxed at source in Canada. I have done some research already on this, and although the tax situation can be a bit complicated, it is doable.
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At 25 percent for Taiwan. Ecuador is 15 percent.
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/cpp-international/before-apply.html
Good to know. However, this only applies if you do the set rate and don’t file a tax return. It is worth it to file if your pension amount is low enough to get tax back. My payable tax on 30K would be very low - only $1000 or so, around 3.5%, at most double that. It is worth looking into filing still with pensions unless your pension is high enough that it goes above 25% ( or with Ecuador 15%).
I don’t get it. Taiwan is also listed there as having a tax treaty.
As I promised, here is a detailed breakdown of our November expenses:
I’ve included everything we bought. Every item we picked up at the grocery store, down to hand soap. … and organized the data into a nice chart and explained how we stick to a budget in Taipei… for those who want to know how we stick to a $8,000 grocery budget.
Our monthly budget is around $50,000. Exact details are in the above link.
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Not a problem with CPP. With OAS, not a problem if you lived in Canada for over 20 years since the age of 18. He is eligible for both after a certain age (60 for CPP, 65 for OAS).
The Canadian government could give a rat`s ass on whether he is working or not while collecting retirement (people pay into the system and have the choice to retire at 60. If he is out of country, not making further CPP contributions, then working or not is solely his business).
What they do care about is non residency or residency. If he is losing15 to 25 percent in withholding taxes on his pension (and wants to get it back) and if he still maintains ties to Canada such as house, car, RRSPs, etc., he would have to declare himself a resident and pay tax on his Taiwan earnings as well. The other option is to divest holdings in Canada, declare non residency, pay just Taiwan taxes on Taiwan earnings, and take the 15 or 25 percent hit on pension tax. This is where it gets tricky and once he chooses, a destination, it becomes important to chat with an accountant specialising in international taxes, etc.
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Your budget doesn’t include healthcare, or clothes (you do mention a pair of shoes), or travel (do you never go on holiday), or entertainment of any kind other than date night (netflix subscription?, never take your kids out–maybe too young for that–or buy them toys). You also mention leaving things out of your budget like the computer.
If i leave entertainment, travel, my new cellphone, all my clothes, healthcare, etc. out of my budget, then it looks a lot better too 
I’m currently trying to get my monthly spending down. Less milk and cheese at the grocery (really expensive here), trying to find a cheaper apartment, more youbikes and less buses (or maybe even buy a used bike), etc. so I am tracking every little expense and just averaging them out over the year (for example, had to buy a cellphone because I dropped my old one, 5 years old, one too many times). I thought I was living pretty frugally, but not quite at your level 