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Little too late?

Bravemouse

後輩
28 Jun 2014
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How much money is enough in Japan?
After my last two visits i can honestly say it's never enough for me (I went crazy shopping on my vacations), but this time i'm moving there on a working holiday and have my first job set up and my second one in the works.
I don't have to pay for my living such as rent, food, trips with the family and fare to get to where i need to go.
After the lengthy and long process of insurance coverage, visa payments, tickets, stuff needed for my trip ect the prep pretty much had bled me dry, not to mention christmas presents i bought for my family before i go. When i got a suprise visa stament for 300 bucks today i realized i will be going to japan with 1,000 bucks in my pocket and my credit card which i don't want to dive into unless i have to.
I'm not worried about over spending i'm just worried about pop up costs while i'm there, do you think i'm going to screw myself over with the little amount i have saved?
I still haven't gotten my sim card for my phone and where i'm living i won't need a rail pass for at least three months due to where my job is.
 
It sounds like you have the basic human essentials of food, shelter, and clothing nailed down. Everything else is either optional or can be put off until after payday. Just try to control your urges to engage in compulsive purchases of things you don't need so your host family will think you a blessing rather than a burden.
 
Just found out i don't owe the 300 and still have a paycheque coming for me :) Yeah that's what i thought, i have my bases covered but it's so hard for me not to indulge in shopping when it comes to Japan. I find myself blowing a 100 bucks for a few hours at crane games or Lawsons for Magazines.
 
Are these people you're going to be staying with relatives?
 
No, people who hired me as an aupair.

Then all the more make sure you control your impulses and live within the boundaries of your agreement regarding salary, room and board, etc and don't cause them to have to bail you out because you went overboard pumping your money into stupid crane games. I'll share with you the words of wisdom my father shared with me almost forty years ago regarding pinball machines...."Watch out for anything that backs its aśś up to the wall when you feed it".
 
I don't have to pay for my living such as rent, food, trips with the family and fare to get to where i need to go.
Will you have to pay for the setup costs for the housing? That could be 2-5 times a month's rent. I suspect you'll be living with the people you work for, so you may not need to pay those things, but just checking. Also, be very, very careful about living with any couple! I would not feel comfortable moving across the world to move in with an employer.

You'll have to pay for health insurance premiums, about 2500 yen/month for the first year, then ten times that thereafter.
You will probably have to get a phone and pay for the installation (~10,000 yen) and monthly fees (3500-8000 yen/month depending on options).
After 3 months, will your job require traveling to places, like the supermarket, by train or subway, and who pays for that?

it's so hard for me not to indulge in shopping when it comes to Japan. I find myself blowing a 100 bucks for a few hours at crane games or Lawsons for Magazines.
Then you might find yourself blowing even more here.

i'm moving there on a working holiday
Legally, you have to pay 20% tax on that. Calculate that into take-home pay.
 
Sounds like you have a great experience. And because it seems that all of your basic living expenses are covered by your employer, and you get a salary, the rest is down to you. We all have to control our spending urges and I'm sure you'll be able to manage it just like the rest of us.

You said you will be working as an au pair and then hoping to get a second job as well. I'm not really sure about the working visa situation in Japan anymore because it's been so long since I worked there, but if you are on a working visa sponsored by your employer are you allowed to take another job? And does your employer know that you won't be working full-time and plan to take a second job? As long as you have these issues sorted I think it's a great opportunity. There's so much to be said for living and working in a foreign country. Good luck.
 
I think she's on a working holiday visa, which has limitations on the number of hours that can be worked each week. I'm curious how one would fit a full-time live-in position into compliance with those hours and can't imagine it leaving any left over for a second job.
 
Did you mean work visa or working holiday visa? She said she was coming with the latter, which can be part-time or full-time. It wasn't clear whether she was planning to change from WHV to a work visa for the second employer, but I suspect she wasn't going to change visas.
 
Did you mean work visa or working holiday visa? She said she was coming with the latter, which can be part-time or full-time.

I was mistaken about the working hours restriction. I'd still love to hear what the working arrangements are, though; I have no idea what being an au pair entails. I always thought it was a sort of live-in nanny for kids and wonder how that allows for even much free time at all, much less time to take on a second job. Also curious about the way wages, insurance, tax reporting, etc get handled. If the employers aren't deducting for her up front and she has a habit of letting money run through her fingers she could end up with a nasty surprise.
 
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