Well I am gonna cut to the chase, I have a car here that I don’t wanna get rid of but I am gonna graduate soon in time for 2024 JET Program. Is it worth it for me to go into the Program and continue paying off my car at home ($814 monthly), is it even possible with the wage you receive as a JET?
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Right now the Jet salary is around $25,000 when exchanged for American dollars. Do with that what you will.
It’s not really worth it for a couple of reasons.
1. Is someone going to use / start the car and keep it in running condition.
If yes then can they pay a little into the maintenance and bills?
If not, your car will have problems when you get back.
2. Every situation is different really applies to this.
If you don’t travel, go to enkais (sometimes you HAVE TO attend and depending on the school it could be a simple $30 to a flipping $250 overnight stay. My school loved expensive shit) and don’t eat and drink out you’ll be able to do the payment. It’ll be a very boring year or two.
If you actually want to experience Japan and see places and eat the food you most likely won’t have $800 every month for the bill. (Exchange rate in mind). It’ll be tight specifically if you end up in a place where your income is not enough due to Japan bills.
Why don’t you want to sell the car?
Personally, I would be very anxious about making enough to cover that bill and whatever other costs may be associated with my placement. You do you, but I’d be uncomfy with that
It’s possible if you get placed in a rural area. You’ll have bills, but the rent can be really cheap like 200$ a month. The thing is, it might not be that comfortable. If possible I would try reducing the payment rates or find someway to Eliminate that payment if possible.
Will someone take care of the car while you are away?
I would recommend selling your car. The exchange rate of yen to dollars is pretty bad right now, so if you want to send $800 worth of yen, you’ll be losing a lot of money in the exchange. For this reason I’m trying to pay off all my debt before I go back to Japan, so I don’t have to send money back. You’d basically be sending back half your monthly income just to pay for a car you’re not using.
Hell no.
You wanna be miserable while you’re here and be unable to afford to do anything? Keep paying that 800+ car payment. If mom and dad can bail you out, that’s the only way you come out of this getting what you want which is to keep the car.
How many months is the loan payment period?
Why do you want to keep paying for a car you won’t be driving for at least a year, sinking a substantial part of your paycheck that you could be using towards savings / actually enjoying your life here?
Tbh it sounds really weird to intentionally saddle yourself with *responsibilities* while doing JET. You might as well get a real teaching job instead!
Isn’t that like a third of the JET salary?
No, that’s moronic hah. Get rid of the car or don’t do it yet.
OP, I checked to see what other things you are posting about. You just passed some CompTIA tests. If you invest three years in developing these skills AND studying Japanese, you will be able to come to Japan and make twice as much money as a JET while also continuing a career.
You will also be able to continue enjoying your car.
It’s very dangerous to think about sending money back home regularly, because you have no idea what the exchange rate will be like. It’s already kind of rough converting yen to dollars, depending on what kind of dollars, but who’s to say what will happen in the future. It could get far worse, or it could get better, but either way you’re taking a giant gamble.
Many years ago when the exchange rate fluctuated from strong to relatively weak, many people had to leave the program before the otherwise would have, because they couldn’t pay off their student loans. For example, they were here 2 years and they wanted to say three but they couldn’t afford that extra year anymore.
Because the exchange rate is so awful, I wouldn’t recommend doing this. The cost of living in general in Japan is lower than in America, but there are a lot of things that will affect how much money you’re able to send back home – a big one being the kind of travel you’ll want to do while you’re teaching here.
I had the same plan to save up money while working here, and it’s been really difficult. I lose so much in value in sending money home that I’ve totally changed the structure of how I go about it (I do it way less, like once every three months, I’ve kept the amount flexible but mostly lower).
Living in Japan on the JET salary is a relatively good life, if not a little tight at times, but with big expenses like that, which demand regular payments, I wouldn’t recommend funding them from here.
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ok since no one has asked: what kind of car is this o_o
That doesn’t sound like a good idea at all. That would be like double the cost of rent
My advice: sell your car, or don’t come to Japan
JET participants receive an average of ¥3.36M per year, which works out to around ¥230K ($1669) per month after taxes and insurance. This means that even if you receive the average salary, after covering your car paymen, youre left with only ¥117K ($855) for your remaining expenses. Even if you choose to live in the smaller cities where rent is lower, you’ll still have to choose the cheapest food and clothing to save money, and traveling might not be an option unless you’re comfortable with roughing it out under a bridge at night.
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My car at home costs my 380 usd plus the 100 for insurance every month. I don’t see how unless you get a lucky placement with rent at 20,000 yen a month where it’s feasible to pay your bills back home and the ones here in your first year without being a bit of a penny pincher and that ruins the experience. Also the yen is so weak right now and there no clear forecast if that will change, so you’re getting less USD… So I’d say, sell the car or don’t come until you pay the car off first. Unless you have someone who can help supplement your income.