Costs of living in Japan (and on your own) and the value of time

I started logging data of living expenses in Japan since I arrived and now, 9 months later, here's a little something for me to show what living expenses in Japan look like. Click on the image below for a close up.
Currently the Canadian dollar is really strong at the moment meaning that $1 is equal to 100 yen. Over 9 months of living in Japan I have logged 1,136,142 yen worth of expenses. Factoring in the exchange rate, I've spent $11,261 CAD living on my own. On average, I've spent about $1,231/month. Just as a note, my real average is lower than this because I have included a trip to Taiwan in these expenses that ran me about $1,000 bucks for a week.

What have I learned from this data? Well on average, I am spending on average about $10 a day on food (this is with eating out nearly everyday since I can't find the time to cook as often anymore) and that rooming fees cost me about $160 a month (but that is because of the really cheap rent). I will be expecting this cost to increase by $200~$300 when I move out, thus reducing the amout of "disposable" income I will have to play with.

With this information in mind I am able to guess that it costs about $16,000 ish/year to live on your own somewhat comfortably (I could say that my living conditions are pretty comfortable). Just remember that I'm talking about after tax dollars here. Given that Canada (depending on your tax brackets) can hit tax ranges from 40% and 50% (as a guess), you're going to have to earn about $27,000/year (at 40% tax). Take this figure as a bare minimum since you're not saving any money into your bank account. Now, if you're looking to save some cash in your bank acct, say something like $500/month or $6,000/year, then you're going to have to earn $10,000/year extra at 40% tax. In total, you're going to have earn about $37,000/year (pre tax at 40%) under these conditions.

There is a great advantage to learning how to manage finances like this and that is knowing what NOT to buy. Just recently, a friend of mine is returning home to France and has a car to unload. The asking price is exceptionally cheap (read: $600 for the car). After adding insurance, tax, parking and gas over a 2 year period, I calculated that a car would run me an additional $200 bucks a month in costs. Suppose that you are currently saving $500 a month with your current income, you would realize that after buying a car (in this calculation, I didn't include the cost of just buying the car!) that your disposable funds would decrease by 40% (or say by about half!).

I have to say, I was very enticed by the purchase since I'm riding on a scooter through chilly winter air (in wind, rain, snow and more). Wouldn't it feel nice to ride in a car, that's heated, that can carry friends and large goods etc etc? For what it's worth, for all the time I spend travelling outside, taking a ball park 40% loss to disposable income isn't worth it. That's how the math works out.

There is more to this information than just knowing how to make purchases, but knowing how much you need to make (and as a result, what kinds of jobs you should aim for). The math from here on in to figure out what kind of wages you need to achieve say a $37,000/yr life (assuming a 40 hour work week) is about $18/hour. Compare that to what many malls pay university students (ie. In Japan, kids are paid $6~$7/hour for working in stores).

To be honest, it hurts to see people paid that low (and this is turning into another essay but I will continue a little further) because if you think of it like this, suppose that you want to make $100 bucks for a pair of new shoes. Ignoring tax, you're going to have to work 17 hours to get enough for that pair of shoes. Tell me, do you want to work 17 hours for a pair or shoes? I'd try to make my own if that were the case-- I'd come out with a pair of shoes and come out with the ability to make shoes. If there was something that we as people were never taught, it's how to value time.

With knowing how to value time, you also learn how to value yourself. Because if you want a basic $37,000/year life you're going to have to ask yourself "what can I do to bring $18/hour (or more) of value to people?" If you don't know how to answer this question, you'll be working for $7/hour for the rest of your life. *Value your time*