250000 monthly salary good for tokyo?

i recently had a job offer in tokyo with a salary of 250000 monthly. the company will pay for my travel expenses to and from work and my health insurance. i plan on living in a guest house (or a gaijin house) to cut back on rent.
i also have to pay about $300 u.s. monthly on student loans *groan*.

You won't save anything and won't be going out much because Japan is expensive.

Yeah, you'll barely be scraping it through living from paycheck to paycheck and not being able to go out/enjoy the city at all. Also, I'm assuming that it's 250000 before taxes right?

it's enough to live especially if you will live in a guest house.

despite what the above poster said you WILL be able to save money, because tokyo is expensive but it's not THAT expensive.

just don't go out a lot. avoid izakaya like the plague as they will eat your money up quickly. tachinomiya (stand up bars) are where you need to do your drinking with friends.

groceries are more expensive here but again, they're not THAT much more expensive. your grocery bills will be higher by maybe $100 per month at most (10,000yen per month) if your average bill is 200 or 300$ a month in the states.

Especially if you are just out of college and used to living on a budget, you will be able to save some money on that salary. Some people can blow 250,000 a month easily, others manage to save 100,000 of that or more.

Sample Tokyo living costs:

Guest house rent: 70,000
Cellphone: 5,000-10,000
Groceries: 30,000-40,000
Transport (not work): 3,000
Socialising: the sky is the limit here, but if you go out once or twice a week or so and drink moderately at the cheaper places: 10,000- 15,000
Eating out: See above
Clothes etc: 10,000
Personal care (vitamins, haircuts etc):
5,000
The national health insurance fees are very low in the first year so won't make a dent in your budget.

As long as you don't go crazy with shopping, eating at restaurants or socialising you will save money, even after paying your loan installment.

When I first came to Japan I paid off my $13,000 loan in just over a year and went overseas twice for short trips- the yen was at similar levels then to what it is now. Right now it is about 97 to the USD, which is great for you once you start earning yen but may not last.

The list above can be cut nearly in half if you know where to shop and what to do (I know it was only a sample list).
I never spent 40,000 a month on groceries, but I'm the person who's out at the super at 12:30am for the 30~50% sales, and purchase other items at 100yen stores (perfectly fine products).

If you drink a lot and pay for other's drinks it will run 10,000 even for twice a week, I don't drink so this has never been a problem.

Never spent 10,000 yen on clothes monthly, if you're someone who does this then you'll never save money anywhere in the world.

Did I mention 100yen shops? Amazing amount of good materials for household and personal use. I'm not asshamed to say that I have work ties that are from 100yen stores. =)
I guess you can put me into the category of being able to save some, then spend more. Just depends on how you live.

John, I easily spend around 10,000 on clothes monthly, and somehow I manage to save money! I don't have a particularly high salary either. I agree with you that it is possible to spend less than I stated above, I was giving mid-range expenditure, not super-frugal but not very spendy either.

hey guys thanks for all the answers, and hopefully it's answering other people's questions. they're really helping me breathe a little easier. yea i don't intend to spend a lot of money on needless things or at kabuki-cho :P. now i'm trying to find a good guesthouse with a private room. any suggestions?

here is a guest house it is in saitama. I have stayed here it is very good.
http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/i/hanata/index.html

250 000 suddenly looks a whole lot better with recent exchange rates.

250 000 is not a whole lot but fairly typical for an english teacher - yes, you can save and have some fun, too.

i, too have stayed at the above gueust house but it is in the middle of nowhere (depending on where you work).

these guys were quite good

interwhao.com

Coincidentally I lived at Guest House Hanata way back in 1996- the best thing about it is that each room has its own bathroom, or they did then anyway, I suppose it's possible the layout has been changed.

As above, it is really in the middle of nowhere- 30 minutes walk from a minor station, and I really wouldn't like to go back and live in that area. I had a lot more fun when I moved to more lively areas in Yokohama and Tokyo, but it's probably not a bad place to base yourself while you get to know Japan.

Wow, I just wanted to thank the poster and the people who responded to this thread, this was definately very informative. Thank you so much.

so how much would i have after taxes? that's also important. and can anyone include city taxes (if applicable).

You won't pay city/resident taxes until you have been in Japan more than a year. Then it will come to about 8 percent of the previous calendar year's income.

Income tax (deducted before you receive your salary) should be around 5 percent.

so only 5% the first year on your gross, then 5% plus 8% (13%) every year after the first?

Yes, but then you have to take the national health insurance deductions into account too, and your tax rate may be different depending on income and your residence status.

I make slightly more than 250,000/month. And I also have to pay loans, about the same amount, a little less.

You won't be totally destitute living in Tokyo; it's doable, but it can be a pain. I've saved a decent amount of money, but not great.

I pay supercheap rent, but my apartment is only 16.5 sq m. I walk to work. I cook and don't eat out pretty much at all. I live near a 100 yen shop, and several supermarkets, so I don't feel my food budget is overly high.

It depends on how much money you want to save as to whether you can make it on 250000/month. I have zero benefits, so I try to save everything I can for my own retirement funds, etc. So, I don't have a phone, I haven't bought new clothes in about a year, CDs, etc.

There are plenty of free things to do in Tokyo, so I am enjoying myself. But there are limits, and you'll probably be living paycheck to paycheck.

I wouldn't wanna live in Tokyo without a salary of twice that. It is quite stressful, and getting outta town is crucial.

You probably won't want, nor need, a car in Tokyo, but you'll wanna keep every 'sen' for visiting elsewhere.

I used to live in Tokyo, Saitama and Nagasaki. You're salary will get you much more in Nagasaki.

actually now I'm living in a guesthouse in Yokohama. i spend 60,000 on rent, 3500 on telephone, and about 30000 on food so i have plenty of money leftover. It can be done with budgeting
thanks for everyone's replies

Hey, while I'm an exchange student in Kobe right now. I know that Tokyo is more expensive than it is here, but seriously, if you live smart, you can totally do it. And if living in Japan is something you want to do (rather than just for the job), then do it, because the experience can't be measured by value. So long as you can sustain yourself, you'll be fine.

Cook your own food, or if you're buying prepared food from groceries, buy during ''time service'' hours. That's the time when stores want to get rid of stuff before the store closes.

Also, shop the ''too ripe'' baskets. Those are the items considered to have been on the shelf for too long. Depending on what, and with proper storage, I've kept things up to two weeks after buying from that batch.

100 yen shop IS your best friend. Shop multiple stores if you've the time.

Anyway, there are countless ways to save money, you just have to be determined to do it.

Btw, don't get a gf if you don't have to, they's expensive xD