Tag Archives: salary

Jan23

Filing *Korean* taxes…

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Firstly… Why can’t SARS be this easy?   Second:  This was so easy, that I feel like I did it all wrong….. but apparently not.  Thanks to all who posted directions like these before me!  I used them and added screen shots.

A few things before I begin with the really easy easy easy guide to getting your documents for Korean taxes:

  1. I am a public school teacher.  I do not know if hagwon and university teachers have different ( or additional) documents, but you will probably need the same.
  2. Public school teachers:  You will need these documents if you’ve been teaching here for more than two years (i.e. you are in your third or fourth or fifth year)
  3. I am still waiting to hear how much tax I have to pay in, so I unfortunately can’t post about that yet.
  4. I am not a tax guru.   If you have different circumstances, please ask your school to help you, or call the NTS.
  5. As stated, this is for KOREAN tax.  This has got nothing to do with your SARS returns.  As mentioned in the previous post about SARS taxes there is a big difference between these three and where they are important:
  • Residency Certificate / tax exemption:   The document that you have to give to your KOREAN employer to be exempt from paying KOREAN taxes in KOREA.
  • SARS tax filing:   You NEED to do efiling every year, even though your KOREAN income will be placed under the “exempt income” section on your SARS forms.  This is for SOUTH AFRICAN tax.
  • Korean tax: Should be done once you are a tax payer in Korea.  You need the forms below.  You should be paying tax monthly, although it might not be enough once they calculate your actual tax.  This is why some teachers have to pay a lump sum even though they have been making monthly payments.  Put some money away every month for this if you don’t want to pay a lump sum later.

Okay!  You will need these forms to do your Korean taxes.  You need to give them to your school office and they should sort it out for you.  (Just make sure, please don’t barge in saying “Do my taxes.”)

Go to the NTS website.  Click on “Income Deduction Search / Print”.

website

You might have to install Java and run some security programs.  After that, log in with your ARC number.

log in

Use your internet banking certificate (the NPKI one you get on your USB when you get internet banking from your bank) to log in.   Type the same password you use for that.

passwords

Then you will see a page pictured below.   Click on the documents you need (most teachers will print medical expenses, debit card, credit card and cash receipts, but you can make sure by clicking them all.  If there is an amount (that’s not 0) print it. :)

docs print

After printing them all, give them to your co teacher or admin office worker who deals with the taxes.  They should be able to tell you how much you need to pay within a few days.

Hope this is an easy stressful (and cheap) process for all of you!

xx

Sep26

EPIK: Changes in Severance pay distribution.

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Just posting this to keep you updated – a bunch of people haven’t heard of this yet and a few million won makes a huge difference when it comes to winter vacation planning!

According to the EPIK website a new law has been passed and the Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor have restrained the premature cashing-in of severance pay.  Basically, this means that instead of receiving your severance pay after each contract, you will now receive it after you complete all contracts with your current POE.

The bad news?  Our end-of-year-bonus is a bit smaller.

The good news?  When you leave, you’ll get all of these severance bonuses you missed out on earlier.   I’ve heard that severance will be calculated based on your final three months’ salaries, which means that you will get all of those pay checks, at the level you are in your final year.

Here’s a basic breakdown:  (Let’s take average teacher on level 2 salary in Daegu, who stays with Daegu MOE for 2 years and decides to head home.):

In the past:  

End of first contract:

  • Final month’s salary for contract term 1 (2.1M)
  • Severance as a level 2 teacher in a Metro city: (2.1M)
  • Renewal allowance (2M)

End of second (final) year.

  • Final month’s salary for contract term 2 (2.2M – level 2+ now)
  • Severance as level 2+ teacher in a Metro city (2.2M)
  • Exit allowance (1.3M)

Now:

End of first contract:

  • Final month’s salary for contract term 1 (2.1M)
  • Renewal allowance (2M)

End of second (final) year.

  • Final month’s salary for contract term 2 (2.2M – level 2+ now)
  • Severance as level 2+ teacher in a Metro city x2  (4.4M)
  • Exit allowance (1.3M)

There are some cases where teachers may get their severance checks earlier, for example if you need your severance for a key deposit, it you accept the housing allowance in lieu of provided accommodation.  Your case will be reviewed by the POE though and you would need to submit proof.   Although some of us are mid-contract, these changes affect us all regardless of what your current contract says.    The bonus renewal vacation has also been shortened (boohoo!) to one week instead of two.  This, however, will not affect you until you sign a new contract.  Example: If you are February intake and are currently completing your Spring 2012-2013 contract, you are still entitled to your 10 days bonus renewal vacation.  If you just signed your new Fall 2012 – 2013 contract, you will see that this applies to you.  When you renew next Fall, you will get 5 days renewal vacation, not 10.     Spring intake teachers, please don’t get annoyed and mad if your co-teacher tells you that you are only entitled to one week this winter.  These changes happen so fast, some of us knew about this change before the regional coordinators did!   Be patient.  If they really don’t believe you, ask them to call the POE and check for you.

Hope this helps settle some of the questions that have been floating around regarding the changes in severance pay!   Have a great Wednesday!

xx

Afrikoreaan

May30

Dear SARS, thanks for the freebie! :)

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As most of you already know, one of the benefits of teaching in Korea is two years of tax free income.  There have been many changes and rumors, so here is the low down on getting your tax freebie!

Going through the trouble of getting a residency certificate seems like a lot of extra work.  Let’s face it, with some of the SA public offices — it is.  Luckily for us, SARS has a specialized unit for expats. (woot woot!)

If you get your residency certificate, you can save roughly R7000 in taxes per year.  That’s almost the price of a flight home to visit your family and friends…  Definitely worth it!

Firstly, it is important to know that tax exemption only applies to teachers working in a public school and that you will only be exempt for the first 24 months.  Teachers who work in hagwons, universities or private schools will have to pay tax.  I will comment on that a bit later. The National Tax Office in Korea would obviously need a document from you, to prove that you are, in fact, a South African.  In the past, South African teachers simply submitted a Tax Clearance Certificate from SARS, however in recent years the Korean tax office decided that the TCCs were no longer acceptable.  We now have to submit a Residency Certificate.   SARS didn’t have these documents available, so getting one was such a mission!  Now they do!   :)

Getting a Residency Certificate (RC):

There are a number of ways to obtain this golden document, but I’ll stick to the best way — the free way!    You will need to send an e-mail to the expat unit at SARS.  ( expatriates@sars.gov.za )   You will need to provide them with some information so that they can send you your proof of residency: Personal information:

  • Full names
  • Income Tax Reference number
  • Residential or Postal address in South Africa
  • Residential or Postal address in the other country  -  For this I’m sure you can simply state that you are not abroad yet.
  • Nationality (South African??  Another country?)
  • How long have you been living in South Africa?
  • How long have you been living abroad? – You can just write when you expect to arrive in Korea.
  • Do you have a permanent residence in South Africa or do you rent/lease a home in SA?
  • Do you have a permanent home in any other country?
  • Where do your spouse, children and family live?
  • What is your professional and/or business interest?
  • Do you have any intention of remaining / returning to South Africa?
  • For which tax periods are you requesting this residence certificate?  -  This is usually just for one year!  Remember to get another RC next year!

After sending the information, the SARS expat unit will send your RC via email within a day or two.   They will mail the original to your address.  Be sure to ask them to send it to a family member (especially if you are already in Korea) so your family can then forward it to you.  If you prefer going through a company (remember that this service is not free) I can highly recommend DocAssist.  They are very professional and respond to queries very quickly.  Great service!

What do I do with this thing?

When arriving at your school, be sure to give your residency certificate to the school’s admin office.  They need to give it to the tax office.  Make sure that they understand what it is and make sure they KNOW to give it to the tax office.   There have been instances where the admin had no clue what it was and asked the teacher to pay tax at the end of the year.  This is NOT a train smash.  Even if you only get around to obtaining your RC a few months in, you can get a refund of any money you have already paid.  It’s just easier (and less paper work for your school!)  to give them your RC as soon as possible.  Remember that your co-teacher is not a tax employee.   Do your home work and make sure you know what you should be paying / when / if you should or shouldn’t etc.  If your school insists that you should pay tax and you know you shouldn’t, you are allowed to question it and ask them to contact the tax office to confirm.

RC or not, DON’T forget about SARS!

Just because you’ve been “cleared” on the Korean side doesn’t mean you can forget about your SARS responsibilities.  You won’t pay taxes on income earned abroad (in Korea) if you are out of the country for more than 183 days in a year.   You must, however, still declare this income.  Register for SARS e-filing  online.  Once tax season*  starts, submit your tax returns by selecting the form on your profile (it will be there!) and entering your details and income amount under the exempt income section.  Submit!   About a day or two later, you will receive a statement from SARS.  Check it!  It will most likely show a R0,00 balance.  Then you know you’re in the clear.  Sometimes they may ask you to provide documented proof of your earnings abroad etc.  Best bet would then be to ask on the South African Tax group mentioned below, but it’s not too difficult.

*Filing season will start around 1 July and online submissions will be due by November.  Remember that it will get busier closer to November, so the sooner the better ;)

KOREAN TAXES:

Monthly vs. Yearly tax: 

If you have started your third year in Korea, or you are working at a private academy, you have to pay Korean taxes. Your school might tell you that they’ll deduct your taxes at the end of the year.  If at all possible, ask them to rather take a monthly amount.  It might sound silly, but paying 40,000 or 80,000 a month is fine.  Getting a 1 million won tax bill at the end of the year is not fun.  Also, if you are February intake, you might go to school one fine day in January, with about a week left before your lovely trip to Bali, only to find a huge dent in your salary.  Oh yes, hello there lump sum tax bill! Whoops!   :(  You don’t want that!!  I even asked my school for a pay slip so I know how much I’ve paid.

How much will my monthly tax be?

This is REALLY difficult to calculate.  But possible…  There’s a tax calculator on the NTS website.  I faffed around with it and got an amount a while ago.  It looks like the same amount my co-teacher gave me when I asked him as well, so I think it’s pretty accurate.   There are ways to lower your tax payments.

I’m terrified that SARS will want proof that I actually paid tax in Korea.  I have asked my school to please give me a monthly pay slip.  In Korean, it’s called “Geubyeo-myeong-seseo” (급여 명 세서).   Feel free to use the sample I have posted below.  If you ask really nicely I’m sure they won’t mind giving you one.  It took some time for them to understand why I was asking, but now I just remind my co-teacher after each pay day to please get me another one.

An example of a Korean pay slip. There are more amounts than necessary — this was at the beginning of my new contract so I have bonuses added etc.

Reducing your tax payments:

There are many ways to reduce your yearly tax payment.  I am going to skip the ones that aren’t really relevant to most teachers (for example “Studying at a Korean University”).    Basically, you need to use your cards as much as possible.  When you use your cards, they automatically have a record of your expenditure.   If you spend more than a certain amount of your salary, you are eligible for tax deduction.  Spending cash won’t give them a clear record of this, unless you apply for a tax cash card, which you swipe when using cash.  Unfortunately, I have NO information on this but I will try my best to find out about applying for one.  I even pay my doctors with cards now.  These aren’t just credit cards, any of your check cards will help.  I always have a bit of cash on me for taxis or whatever, but I even buy a bottle of water at Family Mart with my cards.  Unlike South Africa, we don’t pay for swiping our cards — the companies do.  (woot woot!)

When it’s time for you to submit your tax returns, all your receipts will be online (just like the Koreans’!)  Simply go to the Yesone website.  The first tab at the top is for Income Deduction searching and printing.  Click on it.  Log in using your internet banking digital certificate and entering your Alien Registration number and digital certificate password.  Ask a Korean to help you – Click on the headings that you need to print.  Give these documents to your school admin office.  After submitting your documents to the tax office, they will review it.  They will calculate whether or not you owe them money (sometimes our monthly deductions are too low) or if they owe you! (Maybe you paid enough but then after submitting your documents you find that you actually paid too much ;) )  They will let you know how much you owe / how much they owe you.  If they owe you money, it can take about a month to get it.  (This REALLY happens, promise!)

A few final hints and tips:

  • As mentioned before, use your cards as much as possible!
  • Calculate (roughly) how much your tax will be before deductions.  Calculate what your monthly payment should be.  If your school only takes half of that from your salary save the rest!  Put some money in a separate bank account so that you won’t get  a huge surprise when tax season comes around.   If you don’t have to pay anything extra, well then you’ll have more spending money for your next vacation!
  • Remember to ask for pay slips!
  • DON’T FORGET YOUR SARS E-FILING!
  • Remember to apply for a new residence certificate when you start your second year in Korea.
  • National Tax Office help line: for foreigners: 1588-0560   or  02-2076-5711
  • National Tax Service website in English, click here.
  • For any questions regarding South African Tax (SARS) feel free to check out the Income Tax Basics for South Africans in Korea group on Facebook.
  • Download the English Korean Tax guide here.

* A big thanks to everyone who contributed to this blog post.  I found a LOT of information on the SA in SK Facebook group and the NTS website.

Jan20

I need a dollar, dollar, a dollar, that’s what I need ♪♫

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You need to bring “survival money” with you for your first month in Korea.   You will have orientation for about 2 weeks and then start your new job.  If you are coming to Korea in February, you will only be paid at the end of March — after your first teaching month.  This means that you will need money for 5-6 weeks.  It sounds like a long time, but here’s the bonus:

  • You will be fed at orientation, so you ONLY need money for things like socializing and buying international calling cards during your first two weeks.
  • Once you start teaching, you will get a big (and I mean BIG) lunch at school every day.  Sure, you might not like Korean food yet, or not be used to it, but it keeps your belly full.  Which means you won’t have to spend too much on groceries.

The average teacher will come to Korea with US$1000.   If you are not going to go out drinking fancy cocktails every night, this is definitely enough.  Be smart about where you eat / what you eat / what you buy during your first month and you’ll probably have some spare cash by the time that first fabulous payday arrives.  If you eat and drink cheap (500cc beer: $2  vs. cocktail $8) you will be okay!  Don’t go to Outback Steakhouse because you miss meat.  A steak on a lunchtime special will cost you at least $20.  You can have Korean BBQ (called Samgyeopsal) for about $5 each.  Don’t worry about gaining or losing weight the first month.  If you eat noodles for a week before you decide to be adventurous, then so what.

How should I bring $1000 to Korea?  Please note that this is my personal opinion. :)

It is not possible (or super difficult) to get Korean Won in South Africa.  You need to bring USD and exchange it to KRW in Korea.  The best way is to bring some USD in cash and keep the rest as travelers cheques.   There are other options, but here’s what I don’t like about them:

  1. Bringing $1000 in cash:   Sure, Korea is super safe and crime is low, BUT you are not sharing a university dorm with 300+ Koreans.  You are sharing a university dorm with 300+ foreigners from all over the world.  Criminal checked or not, I think bringing $1000 in cash is just plain stupid.   Also, if you exchange $1000 at the airport, you will receive:  a)  a bunch of 50,000won notes (20+ of them) which none of the store owners would want to accept. It’s like buying a wilson toffee with a R200 note.  or b) a staaaash of 10,000 won bills.  Seriously I paid my laptop (1,200,000won) with 10,000 won bills once. It’s not fun.
  2. Using your credit card from home:  Possible, if you have one – Impossible if you don’t.  I went to the bank to apply for one before I came to Korea.  With the new credit act, they don’t allow us to travel to countries with our credit cards for such a long period of time anymore.  :(  Something about racking up a huge bill and never returning to South Africa… Also, you won’t want to buy the Wilson toffee with your credit card either…  It’s not a completely bad idea bringing your SA credit card, but be sure to bring some cash too.  Be sure to have enough money in SA to cover your credit card bill at the end of the month so that you are not pressured to figure out how to transfer money home so soon after your arrival.
  3. Using your debit card from home:  Dooooon’t!!!  ABSA will charge you R40 per withdrawal — that is IF you can find an ATM that accepts your card. (More on this – check #4)  Cards from home should be chipped.  Some teachers have had major issues with “old” cards that were not chipped.  Sometimes they also block your card when it has been used abroad – as a security measure.
  4. Travel cards, like Rennies / Bidvest / Travelex:  No. No. No. No. No.   As I said, my opinion, but this is probably the worst of the lot.   Global ATMs are not on every street corner and even the Global ones don’t always accept the cards.  Your best bet for a “global” ATM would be convenience stores (Family Mart, GS25 or 7-Eleven) but this is not always guaranteed. I think my boyfriend and I tried about 8 different “global” ATMs before we found one that accepted his Rennies card.  A close friend of mine used his Bidvest card at the local E-mart.  He bought a whole lot of things for his apartment.  When he checked his Bidvest balance online, the amount (just over $300) had been deducted twice.  Unfortunately, the E-mart records show that they only received payment once.  So that $300+ is floating somewhere to this day.  $300 x 2 is a lot if you only brought $1000!

Soooo the winner is??  Travelers’ cheques.   They might be old fashioned but it was sooo easy.   I brought about $300 in cash and $700 in travelers’ cheques. (If I remember correctly it was recommended by TeachKorea at that time… not too sure…)   The $300 was more than enough to cover my time at orientation as well as the first week or so in my apartment.  My co-teacher took me to the local bank (ask for a big one in your town) where I deposited the travelers’ cheques (in USD) into my Korean bank account (in KRW).   Kapish. Done. Finish. Klaar.  Mari had money.

EPIK will help you set up your bank account at orientation.  We got Nonghyup Bank (NH) accounts when I first arrived, some other intakes got KB accounts and last year they got KEB accounts. (Note there’s a difference between KB and KEB!)  I still cheer for KEB, but if they don’t give you KEB accounts at orientation and you really want a KEB account, you can always still open the NH one just so you know you have an account to transfer your travelers’ cheques to once you finally leave orientation.  If you are in a smaller city you might not have a KEB bank close by, so then at least you have some kind of bank account.  I’d suggest making a day trip to one of the bigger cities with a KEB branch if you still want KEB banking.  Definitely worth it!

As for cheap living during your first month: walk, walk, walk.  You will get to explore your city / town better this way and $2 taxi every day will add up.   If you want to eat, EAT KOREAN.  If you’re scared of eating Korean, eat instant noodles, fruits, salads etc.   Here’s a short list of cheap meals from Korean restaurants (kimbap shops) that aren’t “scary” if you want to try it.  It’s a really really simple list and definitely not the best dishes on the menu, but they are easy to pronounce and aren’t spicy or weird or “I don’t know wtf I’m eating”… :

  • “Chamchi kimbap” is kimbap (almost like Korean style Maki rolls) with tuna and a liiiiittle bit of mayo.  It’s NOT raw fish.  If you like sushi this will be pretty good too.  +- $2  (not spicy)
  • Bulgogi is marinated beef.  Usually they serve it as a stew with rice. (I forgot the name, but if you say bulgogi they will probably know what you mean)   (not spicy)
  • “Mandu” is a good snack food.  Dumplings, usually stuffed with glass noodles, green onion and some meat. (not spicy)
  • “Dolsot bibimbap” is a traditional Korean meal.  Rice topped with lots of veggies in a stone pot with an egg on top.  It’s not spicy, but the red sauce, called Gochujang, is.  Sometimes the gochujang is already added, other times they bring it separately.
  • Donkassu is pork cutlet.  Usually served with some rice and a bit of a salad (coleslaw or fruit). Not spicy.
  • Cheese donkassu (pork cutlet with cheese, same as above… duh.)
  • Ramen = instant noodles.  Cheese Ramen = instant noodles with cheese. duh.

I hope this answers most of your questions! If not, feel free to comment!    (PS: ABSA travelers’ cheques include travel insurance!)

xx

Nov3

…On being a Millionaire

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It’s awesome staring at the ATM screen after your first paycheck – even better when you update your bankbook and the millions are forever printed… “Ladies and Gentlemen, I am now a millionaire.”   (You fail to mention that bread costs a few thousand though.. of course :) )   The question is .. Can I really save my millions?

The average teacher here will start on a level 2 salary of 2.2 million won.  This varies, depending on where you’re placed, how many schools you’re working at, whether or not you live in a rural town etc.  If you *live* in a rural town you will get 100,000won extra.  Note that if you live in the city but work rural, this *does not apply to you*.  If you are working at 2 schools, you will also get 100,000won extra.  For 3 or more schools you will receive 150,000won extra.  So best scenario, you’re living rural and working 3 schools, then you’ll get your base salary + 100,000won rural allowance + 150,000won extra schools allowance.  (nice-uh!)

Pleaaaase understand that this is my personal budget.  Or at least the one I try to keep for as long as I don’t have PMS and buy chocolates and things that make me feel better… like wine.  I live in a small city. I live in a small but nice apartment.  I have free internet and TV.  You might live in a mansion.  Or in the sticks…with expensive internet. Or you might have to chop wood and boil your own hot water.  I don’t know. So just go with this, ok? :P

Health insurance:

Your school will deduct about 70 000 won for health insurance (medical aid).  Don’t complain about it!  The health insurance in Korea is amazing!  And what kind of medical aid can you get in South Africa for R500 these days?  I have never paid more than R70 for a doctors visit PLUS antibiotics for 5 days.  I remember my first visit to the doctor + meds cost me SO much! R15!!!!!  :P  sirriaaas, just pay the health insurance.

Transportation:  I commute to school with my co-teacher, so that’s free… You should offer to pay some money for petrol.  Mine refuses, so I buy him a big box of fruit every now and again.  Some teachers walk to school, others take the bus, others pay petrol money for a car pool.  It really depends.  I take the bus back from school on Tuesdays and Fridays and it’s 1,500 a trip, so that’s 3000 a week. (R18 big whoop!)

I visit my boyfriend every second weekend.  I usually take the train for 3,000won and then a local bus for 1,500 (4,500 total).  If I’m feeling lazy, I’ll take the bus (6,000won and a taxi 8,000won = 14,000won)  So my monthly travel costs to my bf and back would be max 56,000won a month.

Food:

This is really easy for me… Most mornings I get up too late to have breakfast. When I do have breakfast, it’s usually eggs or yoghurt.  I have lunch at school.  Most teachers pay about 30 000 won a month for school lunch.  Mine is free, because I’m at 4 schools, so they can’t be bothered dividing 30,000 by 4 and paying 7,500 into each school’s account.  I’m really keen on salad, and I can make a mean chicken salad for like… 2000 won, which works out about 8000 in a week (Monday – Thursday).  I do the same with pasta or fried rice, or stirfry.  I’m really cheap. lol. If you eat Korean, a decent meal can be 5000 won.  If you want to eat steak and snazzy Nigella food, you’re gonna pay more.  On weekends I spend 30,000won in total. (And then I eat goooood food with my boyfriend.)  So my food shopping is never more than 50,000 a week.  Add in cleaning products and a few coffee shop visits a week, 100,000 won max. (400,000won a month)

Bills bills bills…

My gas bill is never more than 14,000won. (Average about 8,000).  This will go up in the winter, because we use the underfloor heating.  My electricity bill is usually 7000won (yeah… R35 whoooop) and this also goes up when we use the aircon in summer, but it’s never been more than 20,000won.  My cellphone is on pay as you go (20,000 a month??) and I have a tablet pc on contract for about 60,000 a month.  That’s it.  (Bills :  95,000 won… let’s make it a hundred :)  )

Other shenanigans… 

I send a lot home for savings and I keep some in a separate account for traveling while I’m in Korea.  When it gets cold I go on a crazy shopping spree and buy R1000 of warm clothes because I convince myself that I will die without it.  In summer I do the same,  cause I believe that people can melt.  I have an awesome date night with my boyfriend every month, where we splurge and go to a nice restaurant and polish a bottle of NICE wine (not the PMS wine).  Some months I go all out on camera equipment.  The one thing though, is that I never use my SA savings.  I’ve decided on a set amount and I send it home every month.  It’s like paying another bill for me.    If you do that and you have an account for some traveling money while in Korea (this includes summer vacation Thailand trips!!!) it’s really not difficult living with the rest.

On this post my expenses are about 600 000 and that’s after being lazy for an entire month and taking the taxi to my boyfriend.  That leaves the average teacher with about 1.6 million won.  Partying doesn’t have to be expensive either.  I can easily have a good time with 50 000 won on the weekend.  To be honest you can get drunk on 3,000 won if you really want to.

My point is just this: It’s easy to save money.  Just eat smart, travel cheap and skip the $8 shooters.  Think twice about what you’re buying.  Try to save money where you can.  Do you REALLY need your underfloor heating on or would an extra blanket do the same thing.  If you think about what you’re spending you can easily save R7000-R10,000 a month.

:)   Happy saving!