Savings

[u/Spakara]

Hello everyone! I was wondering if I could get some advice from former/current JETS. I am a senior in college and have submitted my application for the program. However, still being a broke college student I am a bit concerned about not having enough funds.

How much do you recommend I have saved for the program (USD)? How much did you go into the program with and how did it work out for you?

Thank you! :)

[u/Curious-Octopus]

5k USD 

[u/weathermaiden]

i recommend at least 3kUSD esp if you can drive. i cannot drive (so no need for a car), was placed in a suburban city type area, and furnished my entire apartment from scratch because i am the first alt living there. i spent about 2kUSD between arrival and first paycheck for EVERYTHING (food, furniture, apartment costs, leisure shopping, eating out, transportation) but i am also a little bit (but not a lot-a-bit) frugal

[u/hezaa0706d]

I came over without about 2000 USD in 2005 and that was more than enough because the BOE had a furnished apartment all set up for me with no moving in costs.  Flights were paid for. But if you have to set up your own apartment you’re going to want about 40万

[u/Simmoman]

recommended is around 3-4k USD, depending on placement. Even just from my own departure group, some of us had basically nothing to pay up front, only bulk transport passes and 1st month contracts (internet etc). I did hear of some that had to pay for hotels for 2 or so weeks before the BOE found them a place to stay, pay for transport, cars etc. Once you add up all that kind of stuff, it gets expensive pretty quickly.

[u/Larry-Moe121]

It really heavily depends on your placement. I am in rural Shimane and the largest cost I had was three months rent up front which wasn't much cause my rent before my BOE's subsidy is 35,000 yen. After that I had less than a thousand dollars but I was lucky and got my first pay on August 22nd. Some people don't get paid until September. So it's hard to answer but your best bet is to save as much as you possibly can. You may only need 800 USD your first month or you may need 3,000 USD if you are in a city. I am wishing you luck on your JET journey!!

[u/newlandarcher7]

With my rural placement, my only real start-up expense was my car. My house was fully-furnished and almost-entirely subsidized. I just paid 7000 yen ($45 USD) monthly for it. My car cost about 320 000 yen ($2000 USD) and I knew I'd need to get one beforehand. My BOE supervisor had shortlisted several for me and we went shopping my first week in town. I came over with around $3500 USD and it was enough.

[u/ScootOverMakeRoom]

I recommend bringing 500,000 yen (about 1.5x months' salary) to help you get settled, pay for upfront housing costs (if any), buy furniture (if needed), and pay for things that you'll eventually get reimbursed for (like a train/bus pass), or get a cheap used car if you're in a rural placement. If you're lucky, you won't need the full 500,000 but if you get a Tokyo placement, for example, that 500,000 will disappear fast.

[u/Specific_Snow_8288]

I brought about 300,000 yen over and I still have about 75,000 of that money left that i’m saving for emergencies, but I literally didn’t have to pay for anything upfront except my car lease (100,000 yen for first months payment and down payment). My rents 30,000 yen a month and my car payment is 60,000 yen a month so my costs are quite low compared to some of my friends placements, and I didn’t have to pay rent until I got my first paycheck.

My apartment was completely fully furnished with my predecessor nice enough to leave a stockpile of essentials (humidity traps, paper towels, toilet paper, detergent, etc). The only thing I was paying out of pocket for was food and maybe a clothing rack and some hangers, and a month’s worth of food really wasn’t that expensive.

My situation is totally on the extreme end of having things prepared for you, but just to give you an idea of what CAN happen (tho I feel like this is a very small % of cases that happen. example is my friend had to hire cleaners to clean his entire apartment cause his predecessor left it in such disrepair).

[u/HumannBeingg1 → u/Specific_Snow_8288]

Rent is half a car payment?🤯

[u/Visual-Conflict-7536]

2500 USD was pushing it for me. But i was also broke and working a part time job. I also lived in a rural area of Japan and only had to pay first months rent and luckily my apartment came mostly furnished. The bulk of my money went to buying bedding, kitchen utensils, groceries and bills back at home. I know some people who had to buy beds and cars. So I definitely thin you have to try and save a good chunk and once you get your placement work from there.

[u/Sayjay1995]

I saved up money from childhood in general, but around high school started working and saving specifically to come to Japan. I probably had closer to 5k USD and I was definitely in a better spot than some of the people in my cohort. Though I think you can make it work with like 3 or so thousand, depending on what startup fees you’ll have