I FINALLY got round to working out my estimated monthly expenses when in Japan... and it is exactly what I thought - I'll need to hold dual jobs. As mentioned in an earlier post, I'm an Independent Contractor and thus will not be receiving regular pay nor any benefits of a regular employee. If I'm able to get regular clients, the amount that I'm supposed to earn is ￥240K (~SGD4K) per month.
A bulk of it goes to paying various taxes imposed on foreigners (I'll elaborate in another post).
Let's break down on where ￥240K (~SGD4K) is divided.
Let's break down on where ￥240K (~SGD4K) is divided.
1) National Income Tax 10% ￥24k (SGD400)
2) Prefectural Income Tax 4% ￥9.6K (SGD160)
3) Municipal Income Tax 6% ￥14.4K (SGD240)
4) National Health Insurance (est. 10%) ￥24K (SGD400)
5) Accommodation Rental & Utility Bills ￥90K (SGD1.5K)
6) Laundry ￥1.5K (SGD25)
7) Transport - ￥300 x 2ways x 25days ￥15K (SGD255)
8) Food (est.￥3K/day x 30days) ￥90K (SGD1.55K)
9) Mobile phone - assuming there's a plan of ￥7.2K (SGD120)
TOTAL Monthly Basic Expenditure: ￥275.7K (SGD4.6K)
10) Additional Unknown Expenses ￥54K (SGD900)
(Eg: Bank charges to maintain an account)
OVERALL Monthly Expenses: ￥329.7K (SGD5.5K)
As you can see, I need an additional of at least ￥120K (SGD2K) per month to survive. Therefore, getting a 2nd job is inevitable. Guess I should start preparing another CV now and to have my degree and transcripts translated to Japanese.
This is not including stuff I have to get during my first month in Japan, like a humidifier and a printer.
The humidifier helps for someone like me born and raised in a tropical climate all year round to prevent myself from falling ill due to the dryness of the climate. The printer is needed for my job since I do not have a desk in the office. If the Guesthouse works on a centralised heating system and if it is not warm enough during winter, I might need to get a portable heater. Additionally, it is still not known how much it costs to maintain a bank account.
The humidifier helps for someone like me born and raised in a tropical climate all year round to prevent myself from falling ill due to the dryness of the climate. The printer is needed for my job since I do not have a desk in the office. If the Guesthouse works on a centralised heating system and if it is not warm enough during winter, I might need to get a portable heater. Additionally, it is still not known how much it costs to maintain a bank account.
After all these, I thought to myself, "How does a Japanese survive living in Japan? Why are things so expensive in Japan?"
Although a 1998 Richard Katz article provided a good analysis on what went wrong with its economy, or rather a political system that shapes the economy (duh, it's the same in most industralised nations), I would like to think it is also partly due to demographic and largely due to the Japanese placing a high value in quality and presentation especially for locally produced products and services.
Almost everything in the world is an art-form: writing, painting, theatre, fashion, food etc. Which country in the world makes such effort in selecting a nice little dish to place some pickled radish; a particular dish for tempura sauce; another dish for some pieces of tofu; a delicate plate for the main dish etc... all just for 1 person having a meal?!
Conversely, there is also the value perception in attaining foreign goods from Europe or the U.S. particularly if there is no domestic alternative - what we call, the snob appeal. A U.S. / German brand of lip balm may cost SGD6 (~￥400), will cost about SGD25 (~￥1.5K) in Japan. It is kinda similar to Singapore. Japanese beauty care & cosmetic label, DHC, is an affordable brand in Japan sold in convenience stores. It is really expensive here with an eyelash tonic (SGD27) costing more than MAC's most expensive mascara (SGD20) and it's sold in drug stores like Watsons.
I figured, in order to survive, I have to find a way to make do with less. Already, I've drafted how many toiletries, reference books, portable HDs and other paraphernalia to bring to avoid unnecessary purchases. One of the most troublesome issues will be to find winter clothing & shoes in Japan. Finding shoes of perfect fit is already an agony in Singapore. I cannot imagine how I'm gonna find U.S. size 7 / 8 shoes in Japan. People tell me I'm pretty big for an Asian female due to my height and bone structure. No surprise there since my parents are taller than I am.
As part of the preparation before and after the move, these are what I shall do:
- Learn to cook my favorite foods. I'm quite sure it'll be extremely hard to find Laksa, Mee Goreng, Beef Rendang, Lontong, Bak Kut Teh. Even if I do find it, it's probably gonna cost a whopping ￥2.1K (SGD35) at a restaurant. - Bring as many clothes, shoes & cosmetics as I can.
- Look out for nearby discount stores such as Daiso.
Daiso sure is making a helluva profit... considering there's even a branch in Mauritius now and in 23 other countries including Singapore. It's the ￥100 (~SGD1.7) store of some Japanese-made & China-made goods.
If you wanna purchase in wholesale quantity, visit this main site: Daiso Japan. For consumers, it's here.
- Look into mail orders such as:
A friend suggested Amazon Japan for it's cheaper deals in books, electronics and computer accessories.
- Find hidden vendors in narrow streets in Japan who might sell cheaper vegetables and fruits.
- Hand-wash all my clothing.
- Have my family and friends mail me vitamins and medicines if it's cheaper in SG than in Japan.
- Sign up with a callback company for international phone calls just in case 3G / WiFi doesn't work and I need to make an emergency call.
Guess I need much imagination to find ways to make do with less. There's no way I'm gonna get a car. A car might be cheaper in Japan, but there's also taxes to be charged. Moreover, parking availability in Japan is more inconvenient and expensive than parking in Singapore.
If you've any experience or suggestions, please do not hesitate to leave a comment! Any info is greatly appreciated as it'll definitely help me in some way or other. Thanks!
*Pictures sourced from Google Images
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