How much of your salary goes for rent?
By Canteen
@Canteen (592)
China
December 17, 2010 1:22am CST
I'm in Beijing, China. My salary is 424 US dollars, working as a travel agency operator. and the house rent is 220 US dollars. you can see about half of my salary goes for rent every month. Besides, the house i rent is in the coutryside, far away form downtown. it takes 1.5 hours by subway from home to workplace . that's why i bought a Sony PSP. 
if i want to rent a house near my workplace, then it's not worth half of my salary , it's all my salary.
the CPI of China is crazy crazy, the rate of a countryside house is at least 1515 dollors per m². that's to say, if i want to buy a 50 m² house wih this salary, it takes 15 years, as long as there's no payment & bill. i should eat nothing, drink nothing, sleeping on the street, working as a machine, then 15 years later i can afford a small house. lol
so how about you? i'm quite curious how much of your salary goes for rent. Am i the poorest guy? maybe i'm. haha
if i want to rent a house near my workplace, then it's not worth half of my salary , it's all my salary.
the CPI of China is crazy crazy, the rate of a countryside house is at least 1515 dollors per m². that's to say, if i want to buy a 50 m² house wih this salary, it takes 15 years, as long as there's no payment & bill. i should eat nothing, drink nothing, sleeping on the street, working as a machine, then 15 years later i can afford a small house. lol
so how about you? i'm quite curious how much of your salary goes for rent. Am i the poorest guy? maybe i'm. haha1 person likes this
7 responses
@bird123 (10632)
• United States
17 Dec 10
I have always been told one should never pay more than 1/3 of your salary toward housing. Also consider, if you are buying a house, you gain equity over time while the rent is money lost forever. In time, you can own a house never to pay rent again. How would it be never having to pay rent?? On the other hand rent will just keep going up and up over time. The property owner is the one who wins. That's why people rent property. Question is: which side of the fence do you want to be on??? Me? I'm a property owner. If you are having trouble finding property affordable, remember, there is always a fixer-upper out there no one wants. Fixing it up a little at a time is a great way of gaining on the purchase.
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (98834)
• India
23 Jan 13
The property owner does not always win. :) I mean...out here, we have flats that fetch rent of about 18000 pm. The rent when I came here, almost 10000 (10,500 to be precise). Effectively, the rental increase is at the rate of 7 percent per annum..approximately. In a country where inflation was in double digits, it is a negative cash flow, especially if municipal taxes, interest on home loans, and repairs and maintenance are considered. However, the saving grace is, it is positive for immediate cash flows, as repairs and painting works are necessary only when the tenants change, and there is a nominal tax advantage for interest as well as principal home loan repaid. Even municipal taxes entitle the person to tax rebate. The biggest advantage is only capital gains.
@nicajoice (188)
• Philippines
17 Dec 10
Hi! I am from the Philippines and I earn around 420US dollars a month. I pay around 66US dollars for my rent but some months ago, I used to pay double. I was just able to save because I am now sharing my apartment with two other people. It is indeed very frustrating to spend half of your salary to something you won't even call your own.
It's a good thing that here in my country, owning a house is possible maybe in five years time. ;)
1 person likes this
thank you so much for sharing with me. :)
@dodo19 (47082)
• Beaconsfield, Quebec
19 Dec 10
I don't think that it's just happening to you. I am a student living in Canada. I get some government loan, and almost half goes towards the rent for my apartment. Luckily, my parents help out a little. I really appreciate it, because I wouldn't be able to live on only what I'm getting from my government loan. It just wouldn't be possible. So, I can really understand how you feel. And my husband and I are in a pretty poor situation, much like you and a lot of other people.
@joygracia (1325)
• Philippines
17 Dec 10
Before we moved to our new house we rent a house for about 20 years and if we sum it all up, we could have lived in a Mansion if it wasn`t spent for the rent. Its really a big deduction to saving when renting. Good thing we were able to have a new home and currently living on it for 2 yrs. Although its small but at least its ours.
1 person likes this
@toniganzon (72285)
• Philippines
18 Dec 10
And I thought everything in China is cheap!!! Well, when I was working before, 25% of my salary goes to rent. Good thing that a friend offered to me a rent-to-own house. Even though it's a little expensive, it will be mine in the future anyway, so better to get this house than rent one. The good thing is even if I'm not employed now, I managed to get myself an earning which is way too higher than my salary before. 
1 person likes this
@rog0322 (2829)
• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
18 Dec 10
Hi Canteen,
I live in the countryside, a small industrial town down south of the Philippines. The house rent here is also getting higher due to the influx of factory workers. A 250 sq.meter house can also cost almost a months salary for a common worker (PhP 5,000 to PhP 7,000) so they'll have to opt for a small boarding room that's cheaper.
Acquiring a house and lot may be a little bit harder than it was then twenty years ago when lots here are almost at giveaway prices. I have a family now and I am still living in our old ancestral home that I have managed to expand to accommodate my family. Having a house of my own is still a dream to be realized, I know not when.
Compared to your situation, you are far better off really.
@danishcanadian (28953)
• Canada
18 Dec 10
I receive $1,040 a month, and I pay $628 a month in rent. I also pay the phone bill and my cellphone, and my husband pays for food, internet, cable, his cellphone, and a few other things. We end up putting the same amount each into the household, and we both earn pretty much the same income.
