Yana Li School of Business Administration / 22 (ERICA)
Most of my allowance goes to food, such as eating outside. Also, I spend my money on clothes and sometimes on visiting places in Korea. Instead of a fully planned trip, I visit nearby places when I have time. When planning some big expenses, I try to reduce my daily expenditure to save money. For example, I went on a trip to Japan recently, so I saved money before the trip and spent less after. I have also covered some parts of Korea during the winter vacation. I spend most of my allowance on traveling because I am not bound by part-time job hours.
Jung Ha-ram Department of Cultural Anthropology / 22 (ERICA)
Currently, I have a part-time job on weekends. I work at a clothing store in Ansan Fashion Town, so I get both pocket money and part-time income that I can spend. But even if my monthly pay comes in, I do not separate it from my pocket money nor put it into a savings account. I usually use up all my income. Since I live in a university dormitory, I spend most of the money on food and drinks when I hang out with my friends. Also, my interest in clothes makes me spend more money on shopping.
Ruphi Kang Department of English Language and Literature / 21 (Seoul)
I planned to earn money by getting a part-time job so that I could spend money on what I want. For instance, I am interested in buying clothes, watching volleyball and football matches, and hanging out with friends. Therefore, I always ended up using all my income early, with no money to save. It is difficult to sacrifice things I want because the more I buy, the more I desire. This desire motivated me to start an additional part-time job. By making this choice, I now have spare money that I can save. I started from saving five percent of my income, but now it has increased up to 50 percent.
Elena Cools Department of Global Management / 22 (Seoul)
As a foreigner, I am allowed to have only one single bank account. So naturally, it is a bit difficult for me to have an appropriate overview of my spending since the trace for my income and expenses is all mixed. One thing that helped me a lot was to pay all my bills with rent, SIM card, and electricity on the same day. This way, it is easy for me to know how much money I have left to spend for food and other things. On the other hand, if I want to save money for something, I face difficulties with how much I am saving since I cannot open a savings account. My solution was to take out the money I wanted to store in cash and keep it somewhere in my house. Once I am ready, I will put the money back on my check card and use it. This habit left me without worrying if I could afford food. These are some tips that helped me manage my money.