Daily expenses

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
#1

Without resorting to instant noodles for every meal, what do you think is a reasonable amount of money to spend in a week for a frugal person? I think that comfortable living is possible on 2000nt, if you don’t go to nice, sit-down-and-order restaurants and don’t go to the bar.

That works out to almost 300 a day - maybe 200 on food and a hundred left over for incidentals like a beer or a few egg tarts or something.

Of course this leaves out rent and transportation :moped: costs…

If you’re dirt poor, I think that spending 150 a day is possible - maybe even less. Anyone with experience?

#2

[quote=“mixedvegetables”]Without resorting to instant noodles for every meal, what do you think is a reasonable amount of money to spend in a week for a frugal person? I think that comfortable living is possible on 2000nt, if you don’t go to nice, sit-down-and-order restaurants and don’t go to the bar.

That works out to almost 300 a day - maybe 200 on food and a hundred left over for incidentals like a beer or a few egg tarts or something.

Of course this leaves out rent and transportation :moped: costs…

If you’re dirt poor, I think that spending 150 a day is possible - maybe even less. Anyone with experience?[/quote]

Yeah, when my SO was going to the local market and buying 4 trays of 20 dumplings for 160nt we were eating a meal for 2 for 40nt.

So, if you go with local food you could live incredibly cheap. I just purchased lunch for 60nt and my breakfast was probably 70nt because it has a lot of fresh fruit content.

I do the beer thing as well. But, good beer, Boddingtons etc. 65nt x 1 Local cans are heaps cheaper.

Evening meal of fish from Geant. 60nt and salad with the beer.

My meals and beer would stretch to 300nt but if I was on a budget I think I could live on 150nt a day for food and drink.

#3

At my poorest point I still spent 1500 a week. I couldn’t walk into a convenience store and not buy anything.

I knew a guy who couldn’t bring himself to spend a penny more than necessary. He only drank water from the MRT. He had a 1.5 L bottle that he kept refilling. Same bottle the whole time I knew him (over a year). He drank nothing else. He ate instant noodles and 7-Eleven 12nt biscuits all the time. Wouldn’t buy laundry soap. Just hand-washed everything in the bathroom. I think he had only a few pairs of underwear, too. He’d wash a pair and attach it to the fan to dry so that he would have some for the next day. And he was making tonnes of money, too. I never saw him before 9pm because he just worked all the time.

Must be an “Economy” gene.

#4

I like local food. I average abuot 300 a day for food, coffee, and transportation.

#5

I give myself a 500 a day budget. And I eat out and at home. But I can’t go to high end places. Besides I like cooking for myself, so I wouldn’t go to a high end place when i can do it better :wink: and I like the bing dangs and the bbq places.

You have to work out a budget. If you want advice then let me know , I would like to offer advice if you want it. Also, buying foreign food here can rack up a bill so you have to think about what you really want.

#6

I spend around 200NT per day on daily necessities.

I would say that anything over $350NT per day is getting into the “I have expensive tastes” area.

Budgeting your money is very important here.

#7

D.B. wrote [quote]I would say that anything over $350NT per day is getting into the “I have expensive tastes” area. [/quote]
Wow, the first time someone has referred to my drinking Taiwan Beer as an “expensive taste.”

#8

Sure you can “live” on 200NT per day, but for how long. If you are serious that this is all you can budget daily for more than a month you will (a) go crazy (b) have no friends – who wants to go out with someone who can only nurse one beer © find a place that takes foreign blood plasma for money.

Seriously I have had friends move to Taiwan or Japan who were making really good money(service engineers in the high tech industry) and lived frugally (no where as poor as you are talking) and every week or couple of weeks would spend big money on wine, women, more women and then maybe a good cut of red meat or just something you can only buy at Jasons.

They could afford to do so but it meant their plans of saving a big wad in a year or two was no where near as realistic as they dreamed. But they had a significant buffer. It sounds like you don’t.

#9

Wow, the first time someone has referred to my drinking Taiwan Beer as an “expensive taste.”[/quote]

My budget does not include booze even though it should be classified as a daily necessity. :slight_smile:

Splurging for me is going to McDonald’s and spending over $100NT for lunch.

Money should be hoarded and only grungingly given up. :uhhuh:

#10

[quote=“mikehs”]Sure you can “live” on 200NT per day, but for how long. If you are serious that this is all you can budget daily for more than a month you will (a) go crazy (b) have no friends – who wants to go out with someone who can only nurse one beer © find a place that takes foreign blood plasma for money.

Seriously I have had friends move to Taiwan or Japan who were making really good money(service engineers in the high tech industry) and lived frugally (no where as poor as you are talking) and every week or couple of weeks would spend big money on wine, women, more women and then maybe a good cut of red meat or just something you can only buy at Jasons.

They could afford to do so but it meant their plans of saving a big wad in a year or two was no where near as realistic as they dreamed. But they had a significant buffer. It sounds like you don’t.[/quote]

I have another budget for partying. Why?

[color=red]Because partying is serious fucking business.[/color]

#11

Including going out, I probably spend about $1,000/day on average (I’m not rich, I’m just really bad at budgeting). It’s entirely my fault - I don’t cook anything at home at all, ever, and probably eat at Western bars / restaurants more often than Taiwanese places. And then there’s the beer.

#12

And…? AND???

Life here without beer is not worth contemplating.

#13

There is usually a converse law of economics applies.

The more money you have the less you are likely to be spending big on daily stuff.

#14

[quote=“Durins Bane”]

I have another budget for partying. Why?

[color=red]Because partying is serious fucking business.[/color][/quote]

Especially if you ‘ekkin’ around with “J” :smiley:

#15

Let’s see:

Breakfast:

granola type cereal with organic yoghurt: 35NT + soy milk = 45
2 pieces kiwi: NT20
banana = 10

breakfast = 75

Lunch: niu rou mian = NT160

Dinner
homemade greek lentil soup with feta cheese = NT80
German bread NT20
apple NT20
(normally would have a salad or corn/asparagus) NT40

Dinner = 160

Total= 395

Had I made my own lunch as I usually do probably a hundred less. Throw in coffee and a beer or two a day and some more fruit and juice and I guess I average 300-450 a day. Seems about right. And I sure ain’t going hungry or denying myself anything or, gasp, gasp, eating local.

#16

I spend like 0 dollars a day, but I eat expired foodstuff at work (I work at a convienence store) so I have little food expense. I spend something like 2-300 on holidays on food and maybe a few thousand to 10’s thousand of NT on weird stuff (guitar amps, computer stuff, what have you)

#17

[quote=“Muzha Man”]Let’s see:

Lunch: niu rou mian = NT160
[/quote]

A beef soup for 160 NT?! What else comes with it?

#18

Wow. I assume you mean boxed meals that are a couple of hours overdue…?

#19

[quote=“Elanna”][quote=“Muzha Man”]Let’s see:

Lunch: niu rou mian = NT160
[/quote]

A beef soup for 160 NT?! What else comes with it?[/quote]

Feelings, my dear. Lots of feelings. :wink:

#20

I reckon, honestly, that if you are a big nose living here and you are counting the pennies then there is something seriously wrong with your salary.
I haven’t thought about my expenses for three years, and I have money falling out of my extremeties.
If you earn less than 80K per month you should change jobs or go home.

Some days the only thing that keeps me sane is the knowledge that I am rich [color=blue]here.[/color]