One way to get 20k in 2 years for low income earners.

Hi all. I just got approved for the forum. Been reading it a while and looking at people in a similar situation to me ( small amount of savings ). If you are lower end of town with savings, you might consider teaching in China.

I was working in country Victoria, doing community work. Loved the work, but financially, dead end street. After a family cancer ordeal, was broke. Each time I got close to ten grand, something would come up.
I knew I needed to save quickly to at least get a deposit, or some money to invest. I decided to teach abroad, and it has been a very good decision.

Australia is harder to save in these days. rising rents, energy bills ( see attached graph ) all work against you when you are earning around 40k a year. Someone on one of these forums here said " It's expensive to be poor" and that's exactly right. You just about get to a deposit and you need to go to the dentist or your car breaks down.

So to anyone in the situation I was in, would recommend teaching ESL or whatever you can manage in China for a few years. You can save really well and will have an interesting time. I now have 62k ( 4 years saving here ) and that's more than I have ever saved in my life. The caveat is you will need a degree. All the best people. If anyone has specific questions about teaching in China, happy to post some links to job sites, or just google them. I'm 43, so if you are at a similar age, and feel in a corner, don't give up.

 

..or you could study and get a higher paying job here. Or do a trade - there's plenty of 'dumb' tradies I know on double the money I'm on, and I'm on 6 figures.

 

How much would esl make in china? Not a major city. How countryside? 40k is below average wages. No kidding its hard to save.

 

Yerp, tradies are paid spectacularly well here. A labourer in Sydney can earn 100k a year. No degree, no qualifications.

 

Is that on any site?

 

6 days, yes.

 

I totally agree that you can save money (a lot of money!) from doing ESL in Asia or Europe. I know. I did it.

One of the problems with living overseas and teaching ESL though is that at some point you probably have to move back. That costs money and it takes time to get back into a job. If you are younger it's not really a problem, but the older you get the more difficult it becomes.

To anybody who thinks they can't save 20k in 2 years on 45-50k in Oz... you can. Absolutely 100%. It just takes a little bit of persistence and re-training on how to look at living and making sure your wants haven't become you needs. Some/Many Australians are spoilt and take a lot of things for granted to be honest.

 

That doesn't go far in Sydney. It's a false economy to work somewhere just because the wages are slightly higher but the expenses are massively increased.

 

To take it one step further, when I was an uneducated labourer not so long ago, (on 50k not 100k), I was earning an extra 5k profit/week on eBay not long after starting.
It’s super easy to make lots of money in Sydney, no need to get a degree and move overseas for work.
Hard work no doubt but you really can’t say there’s no opportunity around otherwise you haven’t looked.
Thinking it’s hard is just a limiting attitude.

 

Thanks. That's an option too. Not sure about trades. The only guys I know who are in trades are trying to get out of it.

 

See your points. I am saying there are opportunities, abroad, for those who may not have thought of it.

You can make quite a big tax free income. You have a main job and then do tutoring. I don't teach English but I used to.

Thanks. That's an option too. Not sure about trades. The only guys I know who are in trades are trying to get out of it. Honestly it was cheaper for me to move here than it was to move to Sydney. Schools have dorms where teachers live. No rent...
And the only people I know who live in Sydney don't recommend moving there without a big financial reserve. My company ( Australian ) that I worked for in China gave me 2 months salary in advance. That was very useful at the time.

 

Define big income. 50k, 70k, 100k, 200k? If saving 15k a year is a big deal for you, we might have different ideas of whats big.

 

Your own teaching business here? 10k per month Australian is not unrealistic. But usually you need business partners or to be married. Yeah managing to save 20k ( actually I think I managed to save that in my first year here ) is a big deal for me and I don't mind saying so. I think it is for a lot of normal Australians. The average deposit you need for a small unit is probably around 40K+ now.

 

Why is it tax free?

 

See your points, well played. Missing out on Super is a problem too. I like your optimism regards saving 1/3 of your salary on 40k a year. Ever tried to do it? That would really depend on being single or not, where you live and a heap of other things.

 

Private tutoring I am talking about. Kids after school and such. If you are a foreign resident for tax purposes, it's yours.

 

I come from regional Vic. So actually you can still get a small unit for 220-250kk here. Not Sydney obviously.

 

You know where you are? This is Property chat dot com dot au! We only deal in millions, passive incomes of 100k (net), gardeners, business class flights, eating out 3x times per week, 1x international and 2x domestic holidays per year!

 

Uber to make extra income.

If working Friday night Saturday and Sunday
You should make $800-$1000

 

Agreed. If you are in your 40s and you're still only earning $40k as a teacher I think you really need to up-skill yourself. Even in Tassie, first year out you should be earning more than this (reference my friends who were 1st year out of their degree last year).

If you can find ways to improve your salary and take notes of your expenses I would say that you should be able to get by on a budget of $20k and ~$35k for a couple per year. I've been on this budget in Canberra and Sydney for the past few years.