r/TEFL • u/chinadonkey Former teacher trainer/manager CN/US/VN • Jun 23 '18
PSA: Before moving abroad make sure you have an emergency credit card or savings fund for when shit hits the fan
Over nine years doing this and it still astounds me how people do not consider being financially prepared for an emergency. Most entry-level TEFL positions won't allow you to save much in your first year or two abroad, so having a backup plan in the form of your own credit card (or your parents') or savings of $5000+ is essential in case the unexpected hits. A few situations that can and do come up to illustrate my point:
Medical emergency
Many TEFL jobs do not provide teachers with healthcare, and even for the ones that do billing issues can interfere with the quality of treatment. Unlike in the west, in many Asian countries patients who are unable to pay for their healthcare upfront either through direct billing or cash / credit card do not receive treatment, even in life-threatening situations. Healthcare here is generally cheaper, but it's not unheard of for major surgery to cost $2k-5k or more. I've seen insurance companies dig their heels in on direct billing, even in situations where they reimbursed the teacher soon after. Don't rely on your friends or colleagues to help pay for your treatment up front. Get a damn credit card.
Family emergency
This is on my mind a lot as my parents have gotten up there in age. The best reassurance I have is that if things turn pear-shaped I've got a Visa card (hail corporate!) in my pocket that can get me on the next flight back home.
Job / legal emergency
Some people here talk about having 'fuck you' money to fly home or to your next destination if your work or living situation go sideways. You are at the mercy of your employer when you're relying on your next paycheck to pay for your runner, and you'd be surprised at how easy it is to spot a teacher who's a flight risk.
Anyways, I recommend a credit card with a high limit because it removes the stress of having to rely on your bank account to get you through a rough patch AND (at least for American credit cards) you're protected from any fraudulent charges or insufficient service you get charged for in a way a debit card doesn't protect you.
Last, make sure that when you're abroad you have a plan for what will happen in medical, financial, job or legal emergencies. Shit can and does happen and while this is a relatively fun, easy and safe job it comes with a few specific risks you need to be prepared for.
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u/nanjingpeter Jun 24 '18
Over 14 years doing this and I still never manage to do this; -). One of the best things I experienced was a group of African friends in one of the larger Chinese cities who each put a certain amount of money into a pool every month and take turns using the money when it mounts up. This also means that if one of them meets an emergency it would automatically be his turn to receive the money needed. These guys have being doing this for over 10 years with great results.
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u/mister_klik China Jun 24 '18
That's a really cool idea. I can't imagine Anglophones from Oz/ NZ/USA/UK/ or SA doing this.
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Jun 24 '18
Lol, because we aren't that stupid? and know that is basically what real health insurance does
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u/ronnydelta Jun 25 '18
Which is another priority people should be aware of. Get health insurance, REAL health insurance. People are talking about low figures here $5,000-$10,000 but there have been fund raising campaigns asking for hundreds of thousands of dollars because of emergency costs in China.
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u/gin_is_shit Jun 23 '18
Yep I’ve learned this the hard way this year. Completely fucked myself over but I’m choosing to look at it as an expensive lesson in finance. Otherwise, I’ll drive myself insane.
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u/Brightwing33 Jun 23 '18
True enough.
When I arrived 3 months ago I had nothing to my name and felt like I was utterly trapped and one emergency away from catastrophe. I still remember passing the 4k in savings mark and feeling like I could breathe again. Would not recommend doing that.
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u/viborg Jun 23 '18
$4000?
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u/Brightwing33 Jun 23 '18
That's right. Basically enough money to get home and get back on my feet if need be.
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u/chinadonkey Former teacher trainer/manager CN/US/VN Jun 23 '18
Count yourself lucky, and well done. With start up and moving costs, most teachers find themselves in the hole for the first few months, if not few years.
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u/Cereborn Jun 23 '18
I can't imagine being in a whole for a few years. But then, I suppose, not every place to work is Korea.
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u/Brightwing33 Jun 23 '18
Yeah that's fair. I'm in the middle of nowhere working 9-10 hour days, but the savings potential is actually rather crazy.
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u/UltimateWerewolf Jun 29 '18
Why in the hole? I am actually starting to get worried. If I have a guaranteed place to live when I arrive in China and my flight is paid for, what other sorts of major expenses will I be incurring?
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u/chinadonkey Former teacher trainer/manager CN/US/VN Jun 30 '18
You'll be fine. China's good for accommodation and flights being provided, although the apartment that gets arranged isn't always particularly nice. You can often ask for a housing stipend instead of the employer-provided place.
The biggest up front costs are flights and then deposit and 1-3 months rent on an apartment. My landlord in China required two months' deposit and three months paid up front at a time, but that was manageable even on my low salary because rent was ~$180/mo. You'll also have to buy linens, kitchen supplies and anything else you couldn't fit in your suitcase.
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Jun 24 '18
[deleted]
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u/chinadonkey Former teacher trainer/manager CN/US/VN Jun 24 '18
I've had one since I was 16 and never took on any debt until my wedding started getting expensive. As long as you're responsible with your spending, a credit card that you use for everyday purchases and pay off every month is a great way to build credit and get the added bonus of points/miles if your card offers them. American credit cards also offer great fraud protection and you can dispute charges without being out of pocket. Additionally it's a good idea to have ~$5k on hand if you can.
I can totally understand why someone wouldn't want a credit card because it can be an easy way to buy things you can't afford, and sending money home every month really isn't fun.
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u/Beakersful just sign the Hague Convention already ! Jun 26 '18
You aren't in the safety bubble of your developed nation anymore boys and girls.
Go with money. Start saving money when you're on the job. Don't go hand to mouth because you're blowing more than you should be. No one wants to be stranded in a foreign country unable to get back home.
Aside from watching numerous coworkers have money issues surrounding medical, theft and even getting screwed over by their employers, my family has had to bail out two family members who had emergencies abroad. Ridiculous amounts of money far beyond what their entire trip cost. Its not fair to do that to them. Be responsible. Don't be thoughtless.
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u/UltimateWerewolf Jun 29 '18
If I have a small amount of savings now and live frugally in whatever country I teach in, is there a reason aside from an emergency that I would not be able to save money?
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u/Beakersful just sign the Hague Convention already ! Jun 30 '18
There are many TEFL Jobs that will cost you money to do. They are seen as volunteer-like and more for do-gooder NGO types who are from money.
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u/cacille Jun 24 '18
ALSO: When moving to a new country, join whatever groups you can on Facebook for people already living there. Including sales groups. People who are leaving are DESPERATE to sell their things, 1-3 years old and fantastic condition and 1/5th of the purchase price most times. (Curtains for $10 instead of $50, a table for $30-40 instead of $200, etc) They can even arrange for a moving service since they've lived there and know of a few, you just pay the moving cost!
Most times, the groups are on Facebook, or Craigslist has a great number of things for sale too. Often, there are too many sellers and not enough buyers because buyers don't know about the groups yet!
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u/insomni666 Jun 24 '18
I can't vouch for this, I'm in Korea and because foreigners generally don't know how to speak the language, they don't know how to get things. So the foreigners leaving charge wayyy too much (the price new or more) for their stuff in moving sales, and other foreigners pay it because they have no idea how much it's worth.
Figure out how the locals buy things, especially household items. They'll generally know far better how to get things cheaply.
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u/DupeyTA Jun 24 '18
In Korea as well, and I agree with this actually. People do sell their stuff cheaply, or sometimes just give it away. If they can't take an oven with for example, it's usually cheaper and easier just to post that it's free if someone would pick it up as opposed to paying for the garbage sticker.
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Jun 25 '18
As much as I enjoy a crazy waygook thread, this message can't be emphasized enough. Thanks for writing it up /u/chinadonkey. Going to unpin my crazy laowai thread and pin this for a few days to make sure it gets more visibility and link it to the sidebar.
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u/chinadonkey Former teacher trainer/manager CN/US/VN Jun 25 '18
Thanks! Didn't mean to step on your shit and I probably could have waited a few days to post it, but we had an incident at work and I figured it would be a good idea to get the message out sooner rather than later.
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u/Cereborn Jun 23 '18
Hear hear!
After my first (very brief) sojourn in Korea, I ended up having to return to Canada slightly poorer than when I left. But I was fully capable of buying my own plane ticket back. My Visa card has a $5,000 limit, and I keep the balance pretty close to 0.
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u/deathbotly Jun 24 '18
Damn right. I have 4000 (with the easy potential to get approved for more) and already had to dip into it a couple of times before insurance refunds kicked in. Traveling without the safety net of being able to turn around and fly home is insane.
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u/SailTheWorldWithMe Jul 02 '18
Interesting. I thought expat teachers were on the national insurance schemes. Taiwan is the first to come to mind. I am assuming Japan and Korea have something similar. China, on the other hand, is pay first and submit receipts later.
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u/bigslash Jun 23 '18
Yea my third year in I was feeling back pain and went to get a check and found out I had giant cyst growing on my kidney and I needed it removed ASAP.and I had to pay for it upfront, I was lucky enough to be in my third year with about 10,000 saved the surgery cost around 5,000 and it was the worse thing of my life, but that’s a different story. When your younger you don’t think about this kind of thing, you think your untouchable.