Teaching in Taiwan as a Career, Getting Older, and Finding Work

[steelersman]

What am I doing wrong here? I realise I'm shite with money management, but seriously? Open to suggestions here.

You're not working many hours, although I appreciate that work isn't easy to come by down south.

Agreed. I don't want to come off as critical, but the only time I worked 20 hours a week was the first 6 months of my first year (1998). I did around 30 on average, and up to 40 on occasion through 2008. I gather that hours are not as easy to come by as they used to be, but are there no potential private students from local universities (market for group classes) etc.? Four students who want to improve their speaking can be worth $1000-$1200/hour.

Truth be told, we left because I couldn't handle working for people who had no understanding whatsoever of the English language, never mind the actual language acquisition process (from the buxiban level to the university level).

One does not even need to find work in Taiwan. On can do some online writing or programing in the morning before you go to your buxiban job.

[headhonchoII]

The 30,000 NT$ saved every month now will be worth half in 10 and a quarter in 20 years.

Meh. May as well just fucken drink it out now then. Good thing I have the boy. When he starts working I'll be about retirement age. Maybe I can look after his kids for pocket money.

Edit:

Boy, what are you doing?
I average 13-15 hours a week of teaching (depending on season), plus write 3 articles a month (which adds 7500 to my income) and I'm saving 20 to 30 thou a month, living in my own place, have internet etc.

Sister, what are you doing?
I work 18 hours a week + 2 hours private = 20 hours per week total
Rent = 10k
Kindy = 8k (add 15k every six months)
Utilities = 5k (including cable and ADSL etc)
Food = 10k
Spending money = 5k (odd beer, sweets for the boy, smokes, pizza night, whatever)
Adds up to about 38-40k. I'm lucky if I can save 10k, and even then stuff tends to eat that up some months, like scooter repair or some unforeseen event (bear in mind I have to put cash away for that 6 monthly semester fee mentioned above).
Sure, if I kill the kid and take away my allowance I can add 13k to the 10k for a total of 23k, and if I move into a smaller apartment and eat a bit less I could probably add another 5-7k there. But then I'd never see anyone apart from my work colleagues and the kids I teach, and I'd have to sleep alone. That kid comes in handy in the winter.

What am I doing wrong here? I realise I'm shite with money management, but seriously? Open to suggestions here.

You aren't earning enough like most people in Taiwan who can't save. I only started saving when I earned more. In the West it's often the other way around. So I'd look at boosting your earnings significantly. That means working more hours if you want to stick to teaching English or looking at other earning opportunities or career options. Actually you hardly have anything t lose trying out a different career, you will not drop in income and you can always go back to teaching English.

[bigduke6]

There won't be a retirement for baby boomers.
Either you are rich or you will have to work till you drop dead.
Legalized lethal injection will be another option of course.

The 30,000 NT$ saved every month now will be worth half in 10 and a quarter in 20 years.
You will have to work at the age of 67.

Not if you invest it properly in a retirement annuity/ pension/etc. You can invest half properly and retire no problem and live an easy life.
The problem is not waiting until you are 45 to start.

To Bismark: What are you doing with the 10K? That's the important thing If it is sitting in a normal bank account here not earning 1 or 2% a year then it is wasted.

[headhonchoII]

Says the man given the house and car......annyyyway.

Yes the earlier you save the better you can do and there are funds that should be able to keep up better than that. Plenty of people invested in property in their 20s in the US and Europe over the last 10 years...ouch.
The problem I see now is that the next few years has very significant inflation risks. Look how much the dollar has dropped and could drop a lot further due to the need to inflate debt away. In fact that seems the only option on the table now as the US refuses to raise taxes. Look at the GBP against NTD, dropped 30% in 3 years. If you live in Britain you are only partially insulated as inflation of imported goods and oil will still get you.

[bigduke6]

Says the man given the house and car......annyyyway.

Yes the earlier you save the better you can do and there are funds that should be able to keep up better than that. Plenty of people invested in property in their 20s in the US and Europe over the last 10 years...ouch.
The problem I see now is that the next few years has very significant inflation risks. Look how much the dollar has dropped and could drop a lot further due to the need to inflate debt away. In fact that seems the only option on the table now as the US refuses to raise taxes. Look at the GBP against NTD, dropped 30% in 3 years. If you live in Britain you are only partially insulated as inflation of imported goods and oil will still get you.

If I did not have a car or a house it would make no difference. Firstly I would not bought a car, and secondly rent of 10k a month would really make no difference.

Property is not a vehicle for retirement savings, unless you are expert in the field. Most people who did buy property simply saw it as a way to make some $$ in a relatively short period. I know a lot of people who have seen their balls doing this. If you want to retire with a guaranteed income then you need some type of retirement plan. I know exactly how much I will get a month when I retire adjusted for inflation. It has to be planned by an expert.
Most first year economic textbooks will tell you that the world economy is cyclical anyway. Good/bad/good/bad etc. In the /medium term the $ will improve again, and weaken again and so on.

For retirement you need to be looking at saving in a tailored retirement plan for at least 25 years.

[headhonchoII]

Who pays rent of 10k/mth for a family unit..only if you live out in the boonies and even then it's not going to be great. Buying a house is a big financial commitment that makes a huge difference. From 30%-50% of couple's income in Taipei just goes to service their housing costs (madness I know but they feel that have no choice, most of the jobs are located in the North and rents are high too).
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/arc ... 2003509049

For the rest of the country properties cost less but still eat up sizeable amount of income due to lower income. I think you misrepresent the situation somewhat. The average cost of a 'house' in Greater Taipei area is probably 7-8 million NTD. How long would it take an English teacher to earn enough money to purchase this, average income of English teachers is probably 700,000 NTD/year, so that's 10 years income not spending on ANYTHING else. Basically if they want to purchase a house or retire they will need the income/assets from spouse and their family.


Of course there is a right time and a wrong time to buy and there is also a huge difference between property costs.
I agree with your premise that economies are cyclical but the problem is what if you get caught in the wrong part of the cycle? What if you get are born in the wrong place?
Say you invest a big lump sum near the top of the market? Or how about you follow the old 'dollar costing average' idea and keep investing as the market is on the down cycle. You'll have to wait for it to hit the bottom of the down cycle and get near the top of the next cycle to even get your money back!
There's a fair element of luck and mostly the big boys have it sewn up like Goldman Sachs who made money by betting against some of their own investors.

Planning ahead and taking advice is a good idea, but I wouldn't put too much faith in the 'experts' either.

[bigduke6]

Who pays rent of 10k/mth for a family unit..only if you live out in the boonies and even then it's not going to be great. Buying a house is a big financial commitment that makes a huge difference. From 30%-50% of couple's income in Taipei just goes to service their housing costs (madness I know but they feel that have no choice, rents are high too).
For the rest of the country properties cost less but still eat up sizeable amount of income due to lower income.
Of course there is a right time and a wrong time to buy and there is also a huge difference between property costs.

I am talking about earnings and retirement as per the OP. If my Taiwanese wife rented an apartment in her name, we could live in a decent one for NT $ 10 000. If I, as a foreigner, rented in my name you can add 50%.

I am simply saying that property is not good investment choice for retirement. As you said, 30%-50% servicing their housing costs is crazy. They are better off renting. They will have to sell their house to retire.

I know a woman back home who bought two houses as investments for retirement. After bonds and living expenses she had zero left at the end off the month. Besides the loss due to the bubble bursting, she got retrenched. Bye bye houses as the rent she got did not cover the bond. If I lose my job or get retrenched, I simply take a premium holiday till I get on my feet again. No loss.

When I set up my retirement plans I saw at least 10 different financial advisers back home. The ones that tried to pressure me got dumped quickly. I really spent time and money doing my homework. I even got an accountant and a lawyer to look at the final policies I chose, which cost plenty. Everyone should be as diligent as me. We are talking about $$ you will need to live on for up to maybe 40 years if you retire at 55 and die at 95 (unlikely, but not impossible).

And for gods sake, don't invest in any retirement plans in Taiwan. The firms here would be illegal in most third world countries let alone first world.

[headhonchoII]

I wonder where you live that you can get a decent apartment for 10k/mth, I live in Taichung which is far cheaper than Taipei and that is not possible for a family in my opinion (I don't agree foreigners automatically pay more, you just have to negotiate that's all). The problem in Taiwan is that a lot of the jobs and decent infrastructure are in the North where decent accomodation is far more expensive. There is a cultural imperative here too to own your own home (like many countries) which puts further pressure on people. The real culprit is of course the government supporting the madness with their ultra low interest rates.

[bigduke6]

I wonder where you live that you can get a decent apartment for 10k/mth, I live in Taichung which is far cheaper than Taipei and that is not possible for a family in my opinion (I don't agree foreigners automatically pay more, you just have to negotiate that's all). The problem in Taiwan is that a lot of the jobs and decent infrastructure are in the North where decent accomodation is far more expensive. There is a cultural imperative here too to own your own home (like many countries) which puts further pressure on people. The real culprit is of course the government supporting the madness with their ultra low interest rates.

You haven't met my wife. She will negotiate until the seller pays us to buy the product he is trying to sell us, or I start swearing and dragging her away. Like a pit bull.

[bismarck]

One does not even need to find work in Taiwan. On can do some online writing or programing in the morning before you go to your buxiban job.

Interesting. Writing what online? Never heard of such opportunities otherwise I would most definitely have done something like that.

You aren't earning enough like most people in Taiwan who can't save. I only started saving when I earned more. In the West it's often the other way around. So I'd look at boosting your earnings significantly. That means working more hours if you want to stick to teaching English or looking at other earning opportunities or career options. Actually you hardly have anything t lose trying out a different career, you will not drop in income and you can always go back to teaching English.

Looks like I do have an opportunity to do just that. Thanks to the kind references of a fellow Forumosan.

To Bismark: What are you doing with the 10K? That's the important thing If it is sitting in a normal bank account here not earning 1 or 2% a year then it is wasted.

Not really sure what to do with it, mate. I'm open to suggestions. Thing is, stuff in the US is probably not open to me, I don't trust the buggers in South Africa, and as I'm naturalizing and will remain in Taiwan forever, I should find something here. Not sure where to even start looking.