{"id":4385,"date":"2015-04-12T16:02:05","date_gmt":"2015-04-12T16:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/?p=4385"},"modified":"2015-04-19T15:50:19","modified_gmt":"2015-04-19T15:50:19","slug":"sell-your-crap-pay-off-your-debt-do-what-you-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/sell-your-crap-pay-off-your-debt-do-what-you-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Sell Your Crap. Pay Off Your Debt. Do What You Love."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>TED talks are pretty awesome. This one caught our attention because it is reminiscent of the life of an international school teacher.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9XRPbFIN4lk\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Living in your home country, sometimes you can get caught up in materialism. You want to get your own big house. You want to get your own nice car. You want your own cool, huge television in your living room&#8230;along with all the other things in and around your house.<\/p>\n<p>After &#8220;buying&#8221;\u00a0all of those things, though, you might find yourself in some debt, like the guy in the TED talk. Living your life in debt, the credit card companies and banks are taking away a bit or most of your freedom. \u00a0Not the best way to live your life.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/renolauren\/4686579059\/in\/photolist-898WFe-6uehdm-garCu-jexKg8-4wZyRX-akApbh-4ioRXS-5CXfjv-6zuZL8-75Jc7L-7C4Ygf-6J1hpy-7pPx58-6kCG2c-oTrkSX-6iEmc4-a2ccu5-dpcVfP-fo8kpv-oujrJr-ouoDwE-oujroM-od76ZK-od7bdd-ouz2eA-owmwgt-4LEsAF-od7bx1-5iWsxQ-osyQ8y-dJWgYk-oujrbH-ouoDpL-5bkNie-owmwuV-bEm86H-qkqqF-4TDWfc-9c71hU-8epY9K-L6kQ1-MTaKb-89qroY-eJA4dB-2wH9QA-3ncPK-5pJW2u-8ThzSe-9uar8V-5bVgrH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4388\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/sell-your-crap-pay-off-your-debt-do-what-you-love\/screenshot-2015-04-12-17-16-41\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-12-17.16.41.png?fit=1094%2C1098&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1094,1098\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Screenshot 2015-04-12 17.16.41\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-12-17.16.41.png?fit=800%2C803&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-4388\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-12-17.16.41.png?resize=500%2C502&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Screenshot 2015-04-12 17.16.41\" width=\"500\" height=\"502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-12-17.16.41.png?resize=1020%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1020w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-12-17.16.41.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-12-17.16.41.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-12-17.16.41.png?w=1094&amp;ssl=1 1094w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>But as an international school teacher, most of that materialism goes away. Some of us do not want so many\u00a0possessions anymore in our lives. For the more possessions you have, the more you have to move to the next country! Kidding aside, our priorities seem to change to a different path.<\/p>\n<p>There is a shift from wanting to be materialistic to wanting to get\u00a0more experiences; the more experiences, the better! \u00a0We also want more freedom; more freedom to do what we want with our lives. Additionally, we want to go traveling more, to get more of those experiences; to explore the cultures of the world firsthand.<\/p>\n<p>On a foreign-hired benefits package, we are now allowed to be more in control of our money situation. International school teachers are able to pay off those debts that we had in our home countries. \u00a0Furthermore, we can finally start to have some savings that we were not able to do so easily in our home countries. We can now make plans to use our savings to buy those\u00a0big things\u00a0<em>without<\/em> having to be in debt.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4387\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/sell-your-crap-pay-off-your-debt-do-what-you-love\/screenshot-2015-04-12-17-14-39\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-12-17.14.39.png?fit=1280%2C848&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1280,848\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Screenshot 2015-04-12 17.14.39\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-12-17.14.39.png?fit=800%2C530&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-4387\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-12-17.14.39.png?resize=500%2C331&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Screenshot 2015-04-12 17.14.39\" width=\"500\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-12-17.14.39.png?resize=1024%2C678&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-12-17.14.39.png?resize=300%2C199&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-12-17.14.39.png?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Having the freedom to live our lives without always worrying about the bank and credit card companies is a dream that can actually become a reality in the world of international school teaching.<\/p>\n<p>Of course not all international school teachers have the same result when they decide to teach abroad, but many of us do. It all mostly depends\u00a0on what school you work at, in which country and what benefits package you have. \u00a0You also have to set personal and financial goals for yourself\/your family (like the guy in the TED talk). \u00a0Once you have made some goals, you can work hard to achieve them.<\/p>\n<p>****************************************<\/p>\n<p>We have a comment topic on our school profile pages. It is called &#8211; &#8220;<strong>Average amount of money that is left to be saved.<\/strong>&#8221; Knowing this information ahead-of-time will be one of the most important things to know when considering working at an international school. \u00a0Here are a few of the hundreds of comments that have been submitted in that comment topic:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Relative in accordance to lifestyle and discipline with savings. There should be no problem saving 20,000 for those who enjoy their comforts of house cleaners and the weekend visits to Western restaurants. For those a little more attentive to how they spend their money, it is possible to save over $40,000 as a single teacher each year.&#8221; &#8211;\u00a0<a class=\"sschool \" href=\"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/school\/77\/Seoul_Foreign_School\" target=\"_blank\">Seoul Foreign School <\/a><span class=\"scity\">(Seoul, South Korea)<\/span> &#8211; <strong>45 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They match a certain amount of the retirement funds that you put away. I personally save about $800 a month, though I have a wife and two kids to support.&#8221; &#8211;\u00a0<a class=\"sschool \" href=\"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/school\/784\/KIS_International_School_%28Bangkok%29\" target=\"_blank\">KIS International School (Bangkok) <\/a><span class=\"scity\">(Bangkok, Thailand)<\/span> &#8211; <strong>61 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As a family of four on a single salary we managed to save about $20,000 USD in two years. However, it all depends of course on how frugal you are. Traveling in Japan is wonderful but trains and accommodation are expensive.&#8221; &#8211;\u00a0<a class=\"sschool \" href=\"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/school\/994\/Hiroshima_International_School\" target=\"_blank\">Hiroshima International School <\/a><span class=\"scity\">(Hiroshima, Japan)<\/span> &#8211; <strong>64 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TED talks are pretty awesome. This one caught our attention because it is reminiscent of the life of an international school teacher. Living in your home country, sometimes you can get caught up in materialism. You want to get your own big house. You want to get your own nice car. You want your own [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[51],"tags":[2093,2090,29,989,2091,2092,1879,287,603],"class_list":["post-4385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video-highlight","tag-explore-the-world","tag-freedom","tag-international-school","tag-life-of-an-international-school-teacher","tag-materialistic-things","tag-more-experiences","tag-saving-money","tag-traveling","tag-traveling-around-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-12-17.16.41.png?fit=1094%2C1098&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2flVT-18J","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3371,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/save-money-working-international-school-teacher-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":4385,"position":0},"title":"How NOT to save money when working as an international school teacher #3: Send money home every month (Mortgage, College Debt, etc.)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"May 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"We all hear about the big possibility of saving money while working at international schools, but the reality is that many of us don't save much of any money. \u00a0So, why aren't these international school teachers saving money? How NOT to save money when working as an international school teacher\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;How NOT to Save Money&quot;","block_context":{"text":"How NOT to Save Money","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/how-not-to-save-money\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/DSC_9710.jpg?fit=1200%2C726&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/DSC_9710.jpg?fit=1200%2C726&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/DSC_9710.jpg?fit=1200%2C726&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/DSC_9710.jpg?fit=1200%2C726&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/DSC_9710.jpg?fit=1200%2C726&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":774,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/traveling-around-almaty-kazakhstan-the-life-of-an-international-school-teacher-is-good\/","url_meta":{"origin":4385,"position":1},"title":"Traveling Around: Almaty, Kazakhstan (The life of an international school teacher is good!)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"June 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Traveling Around: Almaty, Kazakhstan Can you relate? \u2022 Seeing locations in a city that the Amazing Race teams did a challenge at. \u2022 Noticing how amazing it would be to live next to a majestic range. \u2022 Buying souvenirs that you normally wouldn't buy because you are trying to make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Traveling Around&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Traveling Around","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/traveling-around\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/06\/dsc_9646.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4537,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/traveling-around-istanbul-turkey-the-life-of-an-international-school-teacher-is-good\/","url_meta":{"origin":4385,"position":2},"title":"Traveling Around: Istanbul, Turkey (The life of an international school teacher is good!)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"June 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Traveling Around:\u00a0Istanbul, Turkey Can you relate? \u2022\u00a0Walking around in a non-tourist area and using the GPS on our phone to navigate the hilly streets and alleys and at times the uneven sidewalks and roads. \u2022 Trying to fit\/blend in while also observing the locals at the same time, then having\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Traveling Around&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Traveling Around","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/traveling-around\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/DSC_2336.jpg?fit=600%2C399&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/DSC_2336.jpg?fit=600%2C399&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/DSC_2336.jpg?fit=600%2C399&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":94,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/video-highlight-rick-steves-the-value-of-travel-tedxrainier\/","url_meta":{"origin":4385,"position":3},"title":"Video Highlight \u2013 Rick Steves: The Value of Travel (TEDxRainier)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"January 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"After spending 4 months a year for the last 30 years living out of a suitcase, Rick Steves reflects on the value of thoughtful travel. Sharing lessons learned from Iran to El Salvador and from India to Denmark, Steves tells why spending all that time and money away from home\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Video Highlight&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Video Highlight","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/video-highlight\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3351,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/new-survey-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":4385,"position":4},"title":"New Survey: Where are you traveling during the summer break?","author":"ISCommunity","date":"May 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"A new survey has arrived! Topic:\u00a0\u00a0Where are you traveling during the summer break? It's what every teacher is (un) patiently waiting for right now...the summer break! \u00a0So many weeks, so many places to visit! 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