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August 14, 2005
Make That Teacher's Salary Stretch!
Hello everyone!
Okay, so you won’t become a millionaire teaching ESL, but it is possible to stash a few of those dollars away! As with any type of employment, the secret it to learn how to live comfortably on your salary—or better yet, on less than. Here are a few tips to make sure that your savings account isn’t closed due to inactivity!
•Cook in. You don’t have to eat out every night, you know? Buy a good cookbook and save loads on meals.
•Budget. It’s simply impossible to save money unless you know how much you’re spending. Make a budget and then stick to it!
•Bargain shop. Did you know that the less expensive generic brand grocery store laundry detergent is likely packaged by the more expensive brand sitting to its right? Save money at the grocery store by skipping the brand names, and going for the bargains!
•Buy second hand clothes. Do you desire to wear Ann Klein, Ralph Lauren and Banana Republic, but don’t think you can do so on your teacher’s salary? Try going shopping in a new type of store—a second hand one! There, you’ll find all the latest trends and quality brands—for about a quarter of what you’d pay for them new.
•Travel in the off-season. A lot of teachers—especially those teaching in foreign locations—spend a great deal of their salaries on travel. But by traveling off-season, it’s possible to cut the cost of the trip in half—or less.
How about you--have you picked up any tricks along the way? If so, why not share them your fellow teachers? Drop us a line here.
Until next time,
Michelle
Posted by msimmons at August 14, 2005 07:10 PM
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Comments
I am from America and work in Thailand. It is not possible to cook cheaper than it is to eat at an outdoor restaurant, as long as you eat the local food (Thai food). If you eat western be prepared to go broke. The other good thing about eating out is that you don't need a refrigerator. That saves almost 500 baht a month.
Tips for making money stretch is to do your own laundry and ironing, take the bus instead of a cab, buy from the many markets instead of the mall, and stay away from a cell phone. Once you have a job you don't need one and they have to have money added to them every month or they deactivate the number.
Another idea that works for me is to get an apartment without AC. As hot as bangkok is I bought a couple of fans. They work great and I save at least 1500 baht a month just on electricity plus the extra charge I would pay for renting an AC unit.
Hope this works. I save over 10000 baht per month and sacrifice nothing.
Posted by: Steve Flaherty at September 29, 2005 12:10 PM
Michelle´s comments are excellent but I would like to add a couple. It is easier to save if you have a goal. Maybe enough money to buy a ticket back home so if there is an emergency or you are in a bad situation, you can go. Another goal might be three months salary so you have protection if you are out of a job. Pay off any debts (credit cards or student loans) as soon as you can because you are paying interest at a higher rate than savings accounts are paying you. Don´t pay more than 25% of your income for housing, 15% for transportation or 20% for food. Hmmmm, that leaves 40% for savings and travel. Surprised? Plan your trip back home with stopovers in interesting places or where you have friends to visit. Before I became an ESL Teacher I was a banker!
Posted by: Kathryn at September 29, 2005 04:53 PM
Thanks for this info, I really enjoyed reading it!
Posted by: Hyun Overgaard at January 25, 2010 11:42 PM
