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Q: What is your weekly budget?
I think I should save more, but I don't really know what I should be spending.
This is for 1 person for first tier city, just living costs... What do you guys budget?
Rather than asking what other people budget wouldn't you be better just looking at your own income versus expenditure? If you think you should save for but aren't then the obvious comment is that you personally are spending too much.
Do yourself a quick calculation. List all your normal monthly outgoings (rent, utilities, transport, food shopping, lunches, etc). Add in what you think you spend socializing. Add it all up & compare it to your monthly income. Then see what is left.
Reason on you can't ask others is that you have no idea of their income so can't judge if their outgoings are high or low in comparison.
Shining_brow:
There's no real need to do that.... OP knows how much is made during the month... and also knows how much is left before the next pay.. hence, there's their 'budget' :)
The bigger question comes down to where it's all going. Rent is fixed, gas, water and electricity have paper bills (or a card) - so those are easy to calculate. A grocery shop at a supermarket gives a receipt, so there's that expenditure in an accurate figure. So, once all those are taken out, s/he can see how much is spent on other stuff (restaurants, drinks, transport, massage parlours, KTVs). And then, adjust accordingly (if desired)
xiaoxiongmao:
Exactly! I live on campus so I spend maybe 300RMB a week... if that
Two people, in Suzhou, for one week
* rent => 575 RMB (serviced appartment)
* electricity + water + gas => maybe 15 to 20 RMB
* food => 200 to 300 RMB (restaurant included)
We could eat for cheaper, if we needed to save money. We pay for a gym, forgot how much it is.
My rent including utilities is about 3000. Other expenses including food, going out, miscellaneous stuff is about 3000. So I spend about 6000 per month.
my wife confiscate all my salary and does not give me any pocket money. so my budged is 0000,00 
))
About 4000 for rent and bills
About 700 a week for groceries.
About 500 a week on restaurants and stuff.
About 400 a week for gas and ect.
So around 10K a month i guess on a slower week.
Nessquick:
400 a week for a gas? You kidding? We don't spend that much in a year
mike695ca:
Its a car, people spend way more than that. Luckily i live close to work.
Rather than asking what other people budget wouldn't you be better just looking at your own income versus expenditure? If you think you should save for but aren't then the obvious comment is that you personally are spending too much.
Do yourself a quick calculation. List all your normal monthly outgoings (rent, utilities, transport, food shopping, lunches, etc). Add in what you think you spend socializing. Add it all up & compare it to your monthly income. Then see what is left.
Reason on you can't ask others is that you have no idea of their income so can't judge if their outgoings are high or low in comparison.
Shining_brow:
There's no real need to do that.... OP knows how much is made during the month... and also knows how much is left before the next pay.. hence, there's their 'budget' :)
The bigger question comes down to where it's all going. Rent is fixed, gas, water and electricity have paper bills (or a card) - so those are easy to calculate. A grocery shop at a supermarket gives a receipt, so there's that expenditure in an accurate figure. So, once all those are taken out, s/he can see how much is spent on other stuff (restaurants, drinks, transport, massage parlours, KTVs). And then, adjust accordingly (if desired)
xiaoxiongmao:
Exactly! I live on campus so I spend maybe 300RMB a week... if that
I spend 4500 for rent monthly (180sqm luxury decoration and very well furnished in a brand new upper end residence in downtown), ~1000 every 3 months for bills (living in water rich Guangdong), groceries 300~400 per week, restaurant ~300, transportation ~60 for taxis and bus.
Of course I could spend much more but what would be the purpose?
I spend about 2,000 a month. My apartment is free. Isn't much to do in this one horse town except go out for dinner, go to the bar or go to KTV. If I go to Shanghai or Suzhou then I'll blow 10,000 in a couple of days pretty easily. I figure if you're saving somewhere around 8,000 - 10,000 a month then you are doing quite well. I'm sure that if I lived somewhere where I had the ability to buy foreign goods freely then I'd save much less.
rent..................2700
strata .............. 250
parking............100
water ...............100
electricity.......1000
gas ..................100
internet ..............50
china TV ............50
food ................4000
china soc. sec. 430
bc medical .......375
vpn .......................70
life ins...................70
smokes ..............350
tea & entertain...300
more food ..........400
sat TV ..................300
lawyer ................2000
somebody please tell me how much this adds up to..... I just don't believe my total... and it is monthly, not weekly.
xiaoxiongmao:
Wow! Do you have any money left at the end of the month? You need to move to a cheaper city and find a job that pays for your rent, internet, TV, medical, and gives you a better food allowance or feeds you. You spend 4400RMB a month on food??? What are you eating?
BHGAL:
what the hell do I need money left over for? expect my casket to be empty of cash when I croak. my life long dream was and is to die broke, owing a bank a million dollars .. so far, I owe them (BANKS) xxxxxxxx $$$$$ racking it up BABY!!!
In a Tier 2 city the missus and I spend about 6,000-7,000 per month (2,000 on rent, a couple hundred on utilities, the rest on groceries, restaurants, shopping etc.). Could spend a lot less and could spend a lot more. We're comfortable.
When I think about budget, I think - 1900 for Rent, and about 4000 for everything else - per month. Seems to work. though I'm fairly I spend much less than that (except, I spend more when I travel, and then I also get reimbursements... so it can get confusing).
Tier 2 city with little to buy and rent paid by the school; we spent about 7-8,000 a month, mostly on food, drink and entertainment, with the odd weekend away. With two incomes, we saved about 100,000rmb in eight months. Could have saved more, but didn't want to stress over mony. China provides enough stress.
Strangely a lot of people mention that they have to pay for their rent by themselves, almost all of the teaching jobs in the classified section of this website cover rent or provide free housing.
djoksi2001:
Has it ever occurred to you that teachers might actually choose/discuss what kind of contract they would want? Usually a bump in the pay occurs if you do not want to use their accommodation... They can then use their language capabilities to look for a house through the countless estate agents who will all try to rent out to you the same apartment. It's amazing really, freedom to look for your home you actually want.
Strangely a lot of people mention that they have to pay for their rent by themselves, almost all of the teaching jobs in the classified section of this website cover rent or provide free housing.
Shining_brow:
Cos normally, the "free housing" sucks, and the amount 'covered' gets you about half of the quality you'd be looking for.
Per week: 625 (Studio - A little on the small side)
Traveling (Metro/Bus): 50
Restaurants / Going Out: 250-700
Groceries: 40
I'd say about 1200 a week, reg.
GZ
i get every weekend 500 rmb out of the atm, so I guess thats all we use.
at the end of the month some extra ~250 for bills come it.
For our living (2 ppl) we spend around 2250-2500 a month.
my rent is paid by company
guess will be much more if i buy a car next year 
but riding that freaking ebike while its -10 degree sucks balls
i get every weekend 500 rmb out of the atm, so I guess thats all we use.
at the end of the month some extra ~250 for bills come it.
For our living (2 ppl) we spend around 2250-2500 a month.
my rent is paid by company
guess will be much more if i buy a car next year
but riding that freaking ebike while its -10 degree sucks balls
50 rmb a day, 1500 a month, + rent 1300 a month + bills 500 a month.
3300 a month in Wuhan.
I live in a smaller Tier city, and spend about 3000 RMB per month for me and my wife including rent and all the utilities... perhaps even less.
It depends on your lifestyle. I don't really go out and drink at bars or eat out too much because... I make better drinks at home ordering the ingredients off Taobao and so does my wife and she is an awesome cook (can even make western food really well).
Soon it will be even less when I move into my own apartment for monthly expenses.
