Comments on: Obsession with numbers http://www.completewritingsolutions.com/2010/02/obsession-with-numbers/ Premium website content, blog posts, copywriting services, SEO, press releases, freelance writing tips and beyond. Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:14:40 +0000 hourly 1 By: T.W. Anderson http://www.completewritingsolutions.com/2010/02/obsession-with-numbers/comment-page-1/#comment-166 T.W. Anderson Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:26:45 +0000 http://www.completewritingsolutions.com/?p=366#comment-166 Yep, Andrew. It also depends on the wages of the country. For example, wages in Bulgaria very low, but they are new to the EU and have not switched to the Euro yet. The "average" here is around 1500-2000k leva a month, or 1-1.4ishk USD per month, or 12-15k USD per year. But that is offset by the fact that families live together, almost no one rents (everyone has family property that is shared by whomever needs it.), and the cost of living is amazingly low. My wife was reading an article awhile back (forget where) in which it showed that despite the low wages, the cost of living was such that Bulgarians have typically 40% more disposable income than the average American. Just depends on where you live. Yep, Andrew. It also depends on the wages of the country. For example, wages in Bulgaria very low, but they are new to the EU and have not switched to the Euro yet. The “average” here is around 1500-2000k leva a month, or 1-1.4ishk USD per month, or 12-15k USD per year. But that is offset by the fact that families live together, almost no one rents (everyone has family property that is shared by whomever needs it.), and the cost of living is amazingly low. My wife was reading an article awhile back (forget where) in which it showed that despite the low wages, the cost of living was such that Bulgarians have typically 40% more disposable income than the average American.

Just depends on where you live.

]]> By: Andrew Heaton http://www.completewritingsolutions.com/2010/02/obsession-with-numbers/comment-page-1/#comment-165 Andrew Heaton Fri, 19 Feb 2010 04:07:44 +0000 http://www.completewritingsolutions.com/?p=366#comment-165 T.W. Anderson, Perhaps we should all move to Italy! Working 20-25hrs and still being able to save such a high portion of one's income - way to go. Your comments are right on the money. Levels of average income and living expense will vary in different parts of the world. So too, as you point out, does the number of hours which the average person would need to work in a particular week in order to cover basic essential living costs - even within the same occupation group or profession. Given this, there is no one singular figure which every person around the world needs to make in order to afford a basic lifestyle. I recently spent some time teaching English in South Korea, where I found that I was able to save around 40% of my income whilst still enjoying a reasonable standard of living, and was able to return home to Australia having built up a fair amount of savings. But results are completely different for those in exactly the same occupation in neighboring countries. In Japan, teachers earn a higher wage, but from what I am told, living costs are very high and many teachers struggle to save anything at all. In China, on the other hand, teachers earn what I think is a reasonable wage by Chinese standards, but converts to fairly negligible amounts once the teacher in question returns home to any developed country. T.W. Anderson,

Perhaps we should all move to Italy!

Working 20-25hrs and still being able to save such a high portion of one’s income – way to go.

Your comments are right on the money. Levels of average income and living expense will vary in different parts of the world. So too, as you point out, does the number of hours which the average person would need to work in a particular week in order to cover basic essential living costs – even within the same occupation group or profession.

Given this, there is no one singular figure which every person around the world needs to make in order to afford a basic lifestyle.

I recently spent some time teaching English in South Korea, where I found that I was able to save around 40% of my income whilst still enjoying a reasonable standard of living, and was able to return home to Australia having built up a fair amount of savings. But results are completely different for those in exactly the same occupation in neighboring countries. In Japan, teachers earn a higher wage, but from what I am told, living costs are very high and many teachers struggle to save anything at all. In China, on the other hand, teachers earn what I think is a reasonable wage by Chinese standards, but converts to fairly negligible amounts once the teacher in question returns home to any developed country.

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