{"id":7458,"date":"2019-07-26T09:19:38","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T09:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/?p=7458"},"modified":"2024-07-17T02:18:20","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T02:18:20","slug":"how-much-can-international-teachers-actually-save","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/how-much-can-international-teachers-actually-save\/","title":{"rendered":"The ultimate list of international schools for saving money"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many of us think that working as a teacher at an an international school is a way to work and save way more<\/em> money than we used to working in our home countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Is that reality or fantasy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have seen and read many discussion boards, Facebook groups, review websites and published books all discussing this topic, and the reality of this savings potential gets confusing and complicated to understand or predict fully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people state they are saving upwards of USD 60000 a year at certain international schools. Many other people are stating that they are struggling to save USD 1000 or even USD 500 a month working at their international school. Even others state that they are saving USD 0!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, there are many factors at play: Veteran international school teachers state that the more you limit the number of times you go out to eat, and travel during your many vacations, the possibility of saving money is higher. That is obvious, but a large number of us aren’t always willing to do that, at least not in the first few years of teaching abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another main factor for savings potential is the amount of money you are getting in your take-home salary versus the cost of living where you are stationed. Seems like the trend is that fewer schools offer that “amazing salary and benefits package” that we all hear about, and landing a job at one of those schools is getting increasingly difficult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are also many, many other ways to NOT save money while working abroad; many of these factors have nothing directly to do with the school’s salary and benefits package. We have a whole ISC blog series about that here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if one of the main goals of teaching abroad is saving some money, then we need something to help us figure out how it all works and how we can set up an opportunity that will help us actually save.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ISC has done its best to create an online community that can help us figure things out easier about saving money while teaching abroad. Besides the comments that members submit about the savings potential on the school profile pages at their international schools, premium members are also able to compare these comments on savings potential using our unique Compare Schools page on our website. The Compare Schools page<\/a> is really helping prospective teachers figure out exactly how much teachers are saving at those international schools and which school they would prefer working at in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"155595-linebreak\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Luckily, International School Community has a comment topic on our school profile pages related to this topic of saving money while working at international schools. Our teacher members shared what their experience has been working at various international schools around the world. There are a total of 630 comments<\/strong> (July 2019) that have been submitted by our veteran international school teachers in one of the 66 comment topics called – “Average amount of money that is left to be saved.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few of those submitted comments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The ability to save changes each day, and has dropped by 1\/2 this year. With the current inflation rate, I hope to save about $10,000 this coming year…” –
Escuela Bella Vista Maracaibo<\/a> (Maracaibo, Venezuela) – 25 Total Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I would be surprised if you can save any money here. But on the other hand – you get to live on the one of the most beautiful islands in the world…” – Boracay European International School<\/a> (Boracay, Philippines) – 17 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If staff leads a very humble lifestyle it is possible to save your dollars (approximately 23% of salary). The city provides so much to do, and there are so many travel opportunities and so much time given off that many teachers actually struggle to save any money at all…” – Columbus School Medellin<\/a> (Medellin, Colombia) – 53 Total Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“While the money affords a very nice lifestyle in South-East Asia, saving money for a house or retirement in North America or Western Europe is nearly impossible…” – ELC International School<\/a> (Selangor, Malaysia) – 48 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The package is based on the Canadian Dollar, so after you are deducted transfer fees to your bank in the West and you consider the conversion of the CAD to RMB, the savings is minimal…” – Canadian International School Kunshan <\/a>(Kunshan, China) – 43 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many of us think that working as a teacher at an an international school is a way to work and save way more money than we used to working in our home countries. Is that reality or fantasy? We have seen and read many discussion boards, Facebook groups, review websites and published books all discussing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7461,"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":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2161],"tags":[33,832,241,1879,2717,60],"class_list":["post-7458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-comment-topic-highlight","tag-international-teaching","tag-realistic-expectations","tag-salary","tag-saving-money","tag-savings-potential","tag-teaching-abroad"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/money-2724241_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C864&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2flVT-1Wi","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11148,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/the-new-ultimate-list-of-international-schools-for-saving-money\/","url_meta":{"origin":7458,"position":0},"title":"The ultimate 2026 list of international schools for saving money","author":"ISCommunity","date":"July 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you considering teaching at an international school and wondering about your savings potential? The reality can be surprising! While some teachers report saving upwards of USD 60,000 a year, others struggle to save even a few hundred dollars monthly. Factors like salary, cost of living, and lifestyle choices play\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comment Topic Highlight"","block_context":{"text":"Comment Topic Highlight","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/comment-topic-highlight\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/money-2724241_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C810&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/money-2724241_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C810&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/money-2724241_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C810&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/money-2724241_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C810&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/money-2724241_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C810&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4807,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/how-not-to-save-money-when-working-as-an-international-school-teacher-7-earn-a-salary-in-a-currency-which-is-losing-value\/","url_meta":{"origin":7458,"position":1},"title":"How NOT to save money when working as an international school teacher #7: Earn a Salary in a Currency Which is Losing Value","author":"ISCommunity","date":"October 15, 2015","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 "How NOT to Save Money"","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\/2015\/09\/8453271596_313471af73_z.jpg?fit=640%2C525&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/8453271596_313471af73_z.jpg?fit=640%2C525&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/8453271596_313471af73_z.jpg?fit=640%2C525&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3371,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/save-money-working-international-school-teacher-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":7458,"position":2},"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 "How NOT to Save Money"","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":8471,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/save-at-international-schools-anywhere-tip-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":7458,"position":3},"title":"Save $$$ at International Schools ANYWHERE: Tip #1","author":"ISCommunity","date":"August 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"As a career international teacher, I have had to learn the hard way about international school finances and savings. As an established teaching nomad, I have made the conscious choice of forgoing my national teachers\u2019 pension and accepting the reality that when retirement comes, I will be fully responsible. Having\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Save Money Anywhere"","block_context":{"text":"Save Money Anywhere","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/save-money-anywhere\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jason-leung-08IjwcZsNCg-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jason-leung-08IjwcZsNCg-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jason-leung-08IjwcZsNCg-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jason-leung-08IjwcZsNCg-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jason-leung-08IjwcZsNCg-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8580,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/save-at-international-schools-anywhere-tip-4-extravagant-vacations\/","url_meta":{"origin":7458,"position":4},"title":"Save $$$ at International Schools ANYWHERE: Tip #4 (Extravagant Vacations)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"December 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"As a career international teacher, I am happy to continue this series on Save $$$ ANYWHERE! Last month we introduced the avoiding large purchases topic as a way for international teachers to save $$. Helpful Hint #4: Extravagant Vacations The final savings destroyer is extravagant vacations. Now, these are far\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Save Money Anywhere"","block_context":{"text":"Save Money Anywhere","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/save-money-anywhere\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/beach-4388225_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/beach-4388225_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/beach-4388225_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/beach-4388225_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/beach-4388225_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11043,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/are-international-educators-saving-enough-for-retirement-results-from-the-first-global-survey\/","url_meta":{"origin":7458,"position":5},"title":"Are International Educators Saving Enough For Retirement? Results From The First Global Survey","author":"ISCommunity","date":"April 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I don\u2019t join the leagues of journalists suggesting there\u2019s an upcoming retirement crisis. That sort of headline makes great copy, grabs eyeballs, and those eyeballs draw advertising dollars to the highest bidders. But I do know this:\u00a0most international educators retire with less disposable income than the teachers they left behind\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Great Resource"","block_context":{"text":"Great Resource","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/great-resource\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/retirement-3585585_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/retirement-3585585_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/retirement-3585585_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/retirement-3585585_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/retirement-3585585_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}