Five ways of saving money when you are teaching in China
Different foreigners come to teach english in China for different purposes. Some would like to earn money and pay the loan. Here are some tips. Hope it helps.
- Find extra work
Usually almost private training centers don’t allow their teachers to find extra work, including private tutoring, during the contract period. So you may find work in public schools, international schools or universities, especially those who don’t request you to stay in the office the whole day. Therefore, you may try to find some extra work during your free time, as long as you can arrange everything well. Private tutoring, summer camp and recruiting models for a school, this kind of jobs are available everywhere.
- Choose to work and live in a smaller city
Most foreigners like to work and live in a metropolitan city like Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou. It is a perfect experience for sure, and easier to make friends with people from their own countries, but why do you come to China if you don’t want to immerse in Chinese culture and know Chinese people? Besides, to live better in a big city costs a lot. Your monthly salary may be high, but if your employer doesn’t offer housing, it is not easy for you to find a comfortable apartment below 3000rmb or 4000rmb in cities like Shanghai, Beijing. Beijing could cost more to find a house more than 40㎡. Schools in big cities prefer to provide housing allowance or a shared apartment. Even though they provide free apartment, the pay of 20000rmb couldn’t compare to the pay of 15,000 in a smaller city. In bigger cities, different kind of things attract you to spend money. If you want to save more money and live more casually and comfortably, working and living in a small city is a wise choice. Some smaller cities could even offer a higher pay than those expensive cities.
- Live like a local Chinese and immerse you in their life.
I believe foreigners know how much a general Chinese staff earn. Their pay in medium-sized cities is usually between 3,000rmb and 5,000rmb per month. However, they still need to repay the loan or raise their children. This means if you behave like a Chinese, cook every day, eat at Chinese restaurants and use Chinese products, you don’t need a lot of money. Western foods and drinks and everything is obviously more expensive in China. Since you have decided to teaching and live in China, why not immerse you in their life and learn more about Chinese food culture? why not try the way Chinese live? That can not only help you understand better about the country and the way of their life, but also help you save a lot of money.
- Work overtime at the school you will work for
Some schools could offer overtime pay for overtime work, and it is usually mentioned in the contract. This avoids the trouble of trying to find a part-time esl job somewhere else, and this pay is usually higher than what you earn by hour.
- Try to avoid some unnecessary expenses
This one may not be as exciting as the other points on this list, but it’s an important one. Luckily, as mentioned earlier, the cost of living in most Chinese cities is very low. You can still eat meals out with friends almost every day, go to parties, and enjoy lots of beer and fun times. Restaurants and street foods are very cheap in China, some bars and night clubs charge very high prices for beers and meals. You can also limit your expenses by buying yourself a bicycle. Taxis are of good value in China, but the costs still add up. If you can ride your bike to class or take a bus to work every day instead of taking a taxi, you’ll save a lot of money in the long run, plus you’ll get some exercise.
In conclusion, China is an affordable country and you can live extremely comfortably, while putting some money away for future travels. No matter where you decide to cut back your spending,one item you shouldn’t scrimp on is your apartment. This will be your home for a year and you’re going to want to be comfortable. If you want to save $10,000 or more teaching in China, you can use the tips above to help you on your way. While we did list a few spending restrictions, there’s no need to limit your lifestyle completely. Teaching in China is an amazing experience and you should spend some money and treat yourself to an incredible life while you’re there.