Friday, October 07, 2005

Korean vs Canadian Spending



OK, if money, numbers, graphs, statistics and analysis don*t excite you ~ STOP READING NOW!


Preamble
Abstract
Background
Spread Sheet Evolution
Method
Analysis
Categorical Spending
Total Spending
Spending Frequency
Discussion
>>Figures
>>>KOR vs CAN Monthly Spending
>>>KOR vs CAN Total Monthly Spending
>>>KOR vs CAN Spending Frequency

Preamble


Please believe me when I say I used to hate Social Science Research Methods, Statistics and math with a passion. The only part of those classes I looked forward to were the computer labs, where Jerry (one of the strangest guys I ever met) and my girlfriend at the time would spend the entire class cracking up at ourselves and with our strange but lovable female professor. Since this time I have become somewhat of a spreadsheet~statistical~analysis ~junky.

Abstract


This post is going to take and in~depth look at the Cost of Living in Korea versus Canada. While sifting through Dave*s Esl Cafe for days on end, prior to making my decision to come and teach in Korea, one of the questions I came across most often was, **How much money can I save?** No doubt, this was one of the most important questions on my agenda too. At the time there were some good approximations however, I couldn*t find any comparisons based on concrete data. Well, I am now filling this void.

Background


Prior to delving into the exciting world of cost and analysis it is necessary to clarify my life style and spending habits. Do consider that the Canaidian life style I describe is that of a student who had regular summer jobs, thousands in student loans and much~appreciated assistance from his parents. Money is definitely important to me... I*ll simply attribute this to my being a Taurus and Rooster... rather than suggest it had anything to do with my upbringing.

I wouldn*t go as far as to say I am thrifty, or cheep, but I hate wasting money. I*m the guy who will search at least four different electronic stores for a cheaper price on the same product. I*ve actually made Future Shop "Meet and Beat" Staples, "lower advertised price"... on this very optical mouse I*m using!

If I go out for dinner, which was rare because A: I love cooking and B: I think my food tastes much better than the generic dishes BP and Earls serve up, I rather order water with my meal. My old room mate and I could see our breath while writing essays because we would rather wear four sweaters than waste money on heating. I*d save the difference and put it into a pair dirt biking boots or Dj equipment. When I do spend, I pay for quality... I go for the Toshiba DVD player, Asiago Parmesan cheese and Japanese chefs knives.

Spread Sheet Evolution


Over the last three years I have my spreadsheet has never stopped evolving. It tracks my spending on a daily bases across about 15 categories. At the end of each day I simply tally up the bills for each category and punch in the totals. At the end of each month the category totals are saved for that month and the whole process starts over again. As of now, I have 3 years of raw data. Note, each year also contains all 12 original monthly tracking sheets. And tough one might think what a waste of life, the whole process only takes about five minutes a day. As a result, I have a pretty good knowledge about were my money goes.

Method


As I have only been living in Korea for two moths I only had this data at my disposal. November 05 and May 05, were pulled from the Canadian data. These months were selected because they were closest to my average monthly spending. The Korean months, August and September will likely be un~proportionately high as these were **settling in** months that required numerous purchases and a four~day visa run to Japan. To make comparisons possible, all Canadian expenditures were converted into Korean funds at the then current exchange rate of w888.17 WON to $1 CAD – I generally just go with 1000 to 1 when out and about.

Analysis


Categorical Spending




Groceries are generally much cheaper than in Canada, especially when bought from the numerous markets, which line the street to my school. The first month*s shopping was expensive, because the cupboards needed stocking. There really isn*t any food item I hesitate to buy here except beef, because I*d rather burn my money. One of may beautiful things about this country is the fact you can shop at a corner store and not walk out feeling like you were just robbed.

Restaurant spending has tripled, however, there is some interesting rational for this below.

Work costs were only high due to the visa run which included the costs of the train, taxies and visa itself. Fuel and bike costs, which accounted for a significant amount of my spending back home, are no more ~ I love no fuel, but I miss having a bike.

Junk ~ I buy much more of it now, everyday on my way to school, hot, deep~fried dough circles filled with brown sugar and cinnamon...mmmmm, candy and ice~cream. Ironically, I*m in better shape than ever, must be all the walking, yoga and hitting students.

Spending on cloths is high because when I arrived it was so hot I couldn*t ware a t~shirt for more than a day and I didn*t want to be doing laundry every three days. Then my brand~new, overpriced, $80, Winners, "G~Unit" jeans developed a bunch of holes in the ass for no apparent reason. So I decided to go on a shopping spree in Japan!

Home costs are higher because of my fancy new computer chair, kick ass chefs knives and some tools and hardware.

Phone service here is inexpensive and will only get cheaper now that I am using Skype and iChat! The spike in September*s bill is because Koreans also insist on charging those ridiculous connection fees for Internet and phone.

Total Spending




Though my spending has gone up in almost every category over the last two months here in Korea, I actually have spent 25% less than I did in my two Canadian months. Note that the Canadian months also include averaged tuition and monthly rent, two burdens I am now free of. Korean utilities are my responsibility and they cost around $70 month when split between my roommate and I. The previous costs, phone costs and my Japan trip have all been included in the monthly totals.

Spending Frequency




While it was obvious I was spending more money in areas I hadn*t back home, the graphs don't make clear if I am simply paying more for certain things or spending at a higher frequency. The latter is thankfully the case. I messed around in Excel until I learned the **count** function, which conveniently added up how many times I spent money in each category in one month. Restaurant spending is beautiful example. I spent three times more on restaurants here in July than I did in Canada in November, but I ate out eight times more often than I did back home. This means I went to restaurants the equivalent of every other day, sometimes twice a day, which wouldn*t have been accounted for in the frequencies.

I spent in all categories with far more frequency that I did back home and you don*t even need a graph so see this, just look at how bare my Canadian monthly spending sheets are. Transportation is another good example, I*ve taken over 40 cab rides here in the last two months, more than I*ve probably taken in my whole life in Canada!

Discussion


To answerer the question of weather or not you will save money... it really depends what kind of a spender you are. What I can guarantee is that life is far cheaper here in Korea than it is in Canada and most other developed countries. Furthermore, things will only get cheaper as the initial **set~up** phase passes and I figure out where the cheapest lemons can be bought. While my spending has only dropped by 25% or so, my standard of living has increased six fold. I spend much more freely here than I did back home. I order beer with every meal now!

1 comment:

edina monsoon said...

Hah! I was lured into reading this...cos it lookes suspiciously those painful articles you read and try to critise......except it's made me laugh at certain bits. Lemme see..I specially laughed at the statement..."better shape...blah blah blah hitting children"