My Single-Person Assignment Is Over!! Here’s a Breakdown of Our Household Expenses

Expenses Incurred While Living Away from Home on a Work Assignment

I had been living in Okinawa on a solo work assignment since April 2019

The Start of a Double Life with My Family Living on Miyako Island

While living apart takes a toll on my mental well-being,

the financial burden of monthly expenses is also significant

A double whammy ( ；∀；)

Fortunately, my assignment in Okinawa

is set to end,

I decided to take another look at the expenses I’ve been incurring so far.

Let’s take a look at how much each item cost

For details on the costs associated with moving from Saitama,

please see here

Rent + Parking Fee

The first thing that comes to mind when a single-person transfer is confirmed is this expense

Where to live—and, if you use a car, parking.

In my case, since I planned to fly home to visit my family,

I rented an apartment near the monorail

Rent was a bit higher within walking distance of the monorail,

I figured taking the monorail would be

so I chose a place near the monorail.

If I left my car at Naha Airport for 24 hours,

it costs 1,600 yen

If I go home on Friday and return on Sunday,

even if I pick up the car after exactly 48 hours,

it’s 3,200 yen.

If you visit your hometown four times a month,

that’s 12,800 yen!

Since longer trips home cost more than that,

it’s a bit pricey for me

Now, regarding the all-important rent plus parking fee:

a 1K apartment built 4 years ago, a 5-minute walk from the station,

the rent is 45,000 yen and parking is 6,000 yen.

This is starting to sound like a real estate ad, isn’t it? (laughs)

Maybe because I lived in Saitama for so long, I thought it was cheap, but

but when I mentioned it to my friends in Okinawa, they all said in unison,

"That’s expensive!!"

"

And no wonder—

Depending on how old the building is, a 1K apartment

rent in the 30,000 range plus free parking

is actually quite common.

That’s Okinawa for you—a car-centric society.

Well, even so, in my case, I think choosing the monorail

was the right choice.

Since my workplace provides a rent subsidy,

it doesn’t actually cost me 51,000 yen,

it’s still a waste of money as a monthly expense

—it’s actually a expense that really takes a toll on our household budget.

Gas, water, and electricity bills

These, too,

these expenses become a significant burden.

They typically cost twice as much as when living with a partner.

In my case, I want to lower my fixed costs, and since I’m a big outdoor enthusiast,

I’ve adopted a lifestyle that minimizes the accumulation of possessions

I managed to lower my electricity bill

The only appliances in my room are

just a computer, a printer, and a digital piano.

Other than that, there’s the built-in gas dryer (whisper

I wash my clothes by hand

I get my groceries from the neighborhood supermarket

I don’t watch TV

At night, I use a lantern charged by solar power as much as possible

My coworkers and friends think I’m a weirdo. Haha

But I think my electricity bill is ridiculously low

It’s not the season for air conditioning,

even in the summer, my bill never went above the 2,000 yen range

And the lowest bill was in December.

It was pretty much just a room for sleeping. Haha

I think the fact that I kept the circuit breaker turned off most of the time because I didn’t have a fridge

a big factor.

However, since I like cooking and taking baths,

my water bill averaged 1,300 yen per month,

and my gas bill was around 3,000 yen

Even so, I think keeping my total utility bills in the 5,000-yen range

still fairly low, I think.

Commuting Costs

This is the one

This expense was the biggest burden for our household!

Even for a single-person transfer within the same country, if you go home frequently,

I think this is where the biggest expenses come from

For trips between Okinawa and Miyako Island,

you have no choice but to fly,

it inevitably ends up being quite expensive.

Fortunately, since my workplace operates on a schedule that’s almost exactly according to the calendar,

I had purchased an “Early Bird” ticket covering almost the entire year.

Even so, it costs over 500,000 yen a year.

Just to go home…

In my case,

my kids are still young—and they’re twins—

, so I was going home almost every week.

Thanks to that, I did manage to become a JGC member, though. lol

As for these costs,

it depends on whether you have kids and their ages,

I think it varies depending on whether you have children and their ages,

it’s expected to be equivalent to—or even exceed—rent.

It’s nothing to take lightly

The benefits for me

Not only mentally,

it was a year that took a toll on me financially as well.

However, I’m truly grateful that it was over in just one year.

And there were also benefits to being stationed away from home

Both 1 and 2 are related to family, but

being apart from them made me realize even more

and truly appreciated my wife

I also realized how limited the time I have with my children is,

and I realized

I want to keep this feeling in mind

I want to make sure I never forget this feeling

On remote islands, in particular, students often move to the main island of Okinawa as early as high school.

When that happens,

we’ll only be able to spend 15 years together from the time they’re born.

I think that’s a feeling you just can’t imagine in a big city.

Time with our children is limited.

As for the third thing—immersing oneself in a passion—

something parents simply don’t have time for

I feel terrible about this toward my wife (shaky voice)

breakdancing, which I’d been away from for many years

reading, and playing the piano

A 1K apartment

It was a year where I felt like a college student again. Haha

The fourth one came at just the right time

I’d been planning to get my JGC status once I returned to my remote island

Since I could easily earn it based on the number of times I went home over the course of a year,

I was really lucky to be able to wrap up my solo assignment in just one year

Going forward, since I won’t have those expenses anymore,

I’ll be able to use that money

I’ll focus

with the money I’ll save

To everyone out there on a solo assignment:

Since every beginning has an end,

let’s keep doing our best (>_<)

Thank you for watching until the end!