There’s plenty of coverage for this – but it all boils down to what are your ties at home that you have to pay for ? And what do you want to accomplish doing being in Japan ?
JET ALTs get paid well to live off of a JET salary in Japan, meaning your salary will let you have a pretty cushy life while here with some variables in rent / commuting but over all well covered.
If you are looking to turn that salary back into home currency, then not so much.
For example I’m an American – with student debt. Before the drop in yen I was saving between 1/5th and 1/4th of my paychecks to my savings. ( Using it for student loans / CC / general saving etc. ) Now with the drop I have to send about 1/3rd to match that…. While that same money holds the same weight in Japan – to send it back to the states I have to live a little thinner. ( This only equated to a 500 – 750 dollar monthly deposit into my American account. )
Meaning 2/3rds of my once monthly check is what I have to pay rent, bills, and the upfront travel costs to get to work before I’m reinbursed.
I live in a major city where rent is higher – without a car.
It’s doable to save… But I for sure don’t have the wiggle room many other placements do for travel and game centers and etc… All depends on how you want to live while here.
Yes it’s more than possible but some scenarios are easier than others.
If you can manage your finances in your own country, you’ll be able to save money doing JET.
I’ll be going home next year with around ¥5,000,000, or around $35K USD given the current exchange rate
I have a fairly rural placement with nice but old BOE housing, so I can save quite a lot. That said, I don’t spend much on eating out -maybe ramen or izakaya once a week- or shopping. Dropped the gym in favour of running and cross country skiing (about £2 per session). Travel is probably my biggest expense and I budget around £100 per month for that.
Everyone here grows a lot of veg and rice, so my grocery budget is minimal at the moment! I do think carefully about using heat and aircon but so far bills have been very reasonable. Biggest expense by far is my car lease but it’s very convenient. It also gives me peace of mind in case of any problems in the snow, which is pretty brutal on cars.
The basic summary is: it depends on a lot of factors including
1. Where you live. This has an impact on your rent and transportation costs
2. Financial obligations. If you have students loans, an expensive medical conditions, or have a family to support, that obviously costs money. With the yen tanking in value, expenses back in your home country have become (will continue to become?) more expensive to pay.
3. Your lifestyle. If you travel a lot, party a lot, etc. You can quickly find your money dwindling.
If you live in a rural area, don’t have financial obligations, and live a modest life style, you can save quite a lot of money. If you live in a large city and have a family, or student loans, you may find yourself living paycheck to paycheck.
I think what I was told at my pre-departure orientation was about right:
1. Save
2. Pay student debt or send money home
3. Travel
4. Go out
Basically you get about 2 of these. Maybe 1 if your placement is super expensive. You can do the others a little bit too but probably not as much as you want.
Just to give some perspective, the JET salary is pretty much bang on average for full time workers in their 20s in Japan. [source (sorry it’s all Japanese)](https://doda.jp/guide/heikin/age/) It’s also by far the best salary of any English teaching job, besides some private schools.
Cost of living (especially housing) in Japan is generally considerably lower than most western countries. Also consider that most JETs live in rural areas with cheap rent. Some receive subsidised or even free housing, and commuting costs are paid by your employer. Most JETs I know, including myself, have been able to live comfortably, travel regularly and save a significant portion of their take home pay (usually about 40% a month for me) You might find it a bit tight if you’re in Tokyo with the higher cost of housing, supporting a partner/family, or you have to send a lot of money home, especially with the current exchange rate. But other than those 3 situations, the JET salary is a really comfortable salary for a young single person in Japan.
Don’t do this job for the salary. Do it to have fun.
So I travelled, ate out, paid student loans, and eventually ended up saving more money than those who didn’t have to pay student loans. You need to be smart with spending the money you are earning. The salary is pretty decent for someone who just graduated out of university.
10 comments
There’s plenty of coverage for this – but it all boils down to what are your ties at home that you have to pay for ? And what do you want to accomplish doing being in Japan ?
JET ALTs get paid well to live off of a JET salary in Japan, meaning your salary will let you have a pretty cushy life while here with some variables in rent / commuting but over all well covered.
If you are looking to turn that salary back into home currency, then not so much.
For example I’m an American – with student debt. Before the drop in yen I was saving between 1/5th and 1/4th of my paychecks to my savings. ( Using it for student loans / CC / general saving etc. ) Now with the drop I have to send about 1/3rd to match that…. While that same money holds the same weight in Japan – to send it back to the states I have to live a little thinner. ( This only equated to a 500 – 750 dollar monthly deposit into my American account. )
Meaning 2/3rds of my once monthly check is what I have to pay rent, bills, and the upfront travel costs to get to work before I’m reinbursed.
I live in a major city where rent is higher – without a car.
It’s doable to save… But I for sure don’t have the wiggle room many other placements do for travel and game centers and etc… All depends on how you want to live while here.
Yes it’s more than possible but some scenarios are easier than others.
If you can manage your finances in your own country, you’ll be able to save money doing JET.
I’ll be going home next year with around ¥5,000,000, or around $35K USD given the current exchange rate
I have a fairly rural placement with nice but old BOE housing, so I can save quite a lot. That said, I don’t spend much on eating out -maybe ramen or izakaya once a week- or shopping. Dropped the gym in favour of running and cross country skiing (about £2 per session). Travel is probably my biggest expense and I budget around £100 per month for that.
Everyone here grows a lot of veg and rice, so my grocery budget is minimal at the moment! I do think carefully about using heat and aircon but so far bills have been very reasonable. Biggest expense by far is my car lease but it’s very convenient. It also gives me peace of mind in case of any problems in the snow, which is pretty brutal on cars.
The basic summary is: it depends on a lot of factors including
1. Where you live. This has an impact on your rent and transportation costs
2. Financial obligations. If you have students loans, an expensive medical conditions, or have a family to support, that obviously costs money. With the yen tanking in value, expenses back in your home country have become (will continue to become?) more expensive to pay.
3. Your lifestyle. If you travel a lot, party a lot, etc. You can quickly find your money dwindling.
If you live in a rural area, don’t have financial obligations, and live a modest life style, you can save quite a lot of money. If you live in a large city and have a family, or student loans, you may find yourself living paycheck to paycheck.
I think what I was told at my pre-departure orientation was about right:
1. Save
2. Pay student debt or send money home
3. Travel
4. Go out
Basically you get about 2 of these. Maybe 1 if your placement is super expensive. You can do the others a little bit too but probably not as much as you want.
Just to give some perspective, the JET salary is pretty much bang on average for full time workers in their 20s in Japan. [source (sorry it’s all Japanese)](https://doda.jp/guide/heikin/age/) It’s also by far the best salary of any English teaching job, besides some private schools.
Cost of living (especially housing) in Japan is generally considerably lower than most western countries. Also consider that most JETs live in rural areas with cheap rent. Some receive subsidised or even free housing, and commuting costs are paid by your employer. Most JETs I know, including myself, have been able to live comfortably, travel regularly and save a significant portion of their take home pay (usually about 40% a month for me)
You might find it a bit tight if you’re in Tokyo with the higher cost of housing, supporting a partner/family, or you have to send a lot of money home, especially with the current exchange rate.
But other than those 3 situations, the JET salary is a really comfortable salary for a young single person in Japan.
Don’t do this job for the salary. Do it to have fun.
So I travelled, ate out, paid student loans, and eventually ended up saving more money than those who didn’t have to pay student loans. You need to be smart with spending the money you are earning. The salary is pretty decent for someone who just graduated out of university.