Personal Finance for English Teachers Abroad
If you’re looking for an easy, low prep ESL class, look no further than news articles. They are ideal for one-to-one classes, small groups, and larger group settings. You can also find something for nearly every level. Read on to find out the best ways that you can include news articles in your ESL classroom.
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Finding ways to earn extra income is not a new concept to most people, from the Millennial “side hustle” to Dave Ramsey inspired “Dave Jobs,” every generation has its own methods for creating new sources of income. This isn’t any different for the auxiliar de conversacion. Here are 3 tried and true methods for earning a bit of extra money while teaching abroad, and one bonus way to start earning extra income before you even move abroad.
According to CNN Money, 44 million Americans have a side job. Many people need these jobs just to keep up with their regular bills. One benefit of teaching English in Spain, is that you can avoid such inflated bills, since the cost of living is so much lower than many of our cities back home. As an auxiliar, you shouldn’t NEED extra income just to get by, but it can really help improve your travel opportunities. Extra income can also be used to pay down debt back home.
Creating a budget can be very overwhelming – especially when you’ve just moved and you don’t know what your expenses will be. I’ve definitely been there. When I arrived in Spain in 2015, I came with $2000 as my starter budget, but without a plan in place, I blew through over half of it before receiving my first paycheck. If I could do it again, what would I do differently? This is what I recommend for incoming auxiliares de conversacion.
I would begin by creating a budget using the 50/20/30 Rule. Here’s how it breaks down:
So how would it look for an auxiliar creating a budget based on this plan?
There’s just something romantic about the idea of a road trip. From watching American classics like Thelma and Louise, to reading books like On the Road by Jack Kerouac, the inspiration is everywhere.
But, believe it or not, I have never actually been on a road trip in America. Although I would love to step back in time on Route 66, road trips in America are often very long and very expensive.
In Spain, on the other hand, you’ve got a variety of cities and landscapes all within a relatively small country. The entire country is slightly smaller than Texas, after all.
Ever since I was old enough to be in school, I’ve looked forward to that glorious time of year when the last bell rings and I’m finally free. Now, as a teacher, I feel the same yearly excitement. The freedom to kick back and do absolutely nothing has arrived.
But then something inevitably happens partway through the summer. That something is called the Summer Slump. According to Urban Dictionary, the Summer Slump is “A period during summer in which a person performs inefficiently due to the excessive amount of free time on there hands.”
The truth is, an abundance of free time can become overwhelming. Maybe there’s nothing you specifically have to do, so you don’t feel bad bingeing on your favorite television programs. That’s fine. I feed my addiction through ORORO TV (Note: if you subscribe through my link, you and I will both receive a discount). But when you come up for air, you often find yourself feeling disoriented, and maybe even a little unmotivated to do anything about it.
When you find yourself slipping into the Slump, and you’re so bored that you can’t even bother to do anything about it, it’s good to have a plan in place to pull you back out. Here’s my plan:
Do you love where you live? A lot of people don’t, and that is why they travel. They’re trying to find whatever is missing back home. Unfortunately, what is missing isn’t always external. I am now a huge proponent of slow travel, but I haven’t always been. I’ve still got  these big goals to see the world, and a scratch off map that sits beside my bed, but I’m no longer in a hurry. Because I love where I live.
One of the first travel goals I set for myself when I decided to move to Spain was to visit every province in the country. There are 50. To date, I have seen 18, but don’t let me fool you. I had a head start. You see, when I studied abroad in Santander in 2009, I had already crammed 7 of them into a 2 month period. The other 11 have been over a year and a half. Which visits do you think have been more meaningful?
Time is Money. This is a well-known concept that many of us have heard throughout our lives. But what does it mean?
For me, it draws up the image of someone tapping their foot, looking at their watch, and sighing impatiently. It implies the need to hurry up. Or maybe someone gives it to you as an excuse as to why they don’t have time to spend with you, thus enforcing that they can’t slow down. Time is MONEY, after all.
But wait. Slow down. I promise, you’ve got time for this. What if we’ve been misinterpreting this age-old proverb all along? What if instead of thinking that time is MONEY, we start to realize that TIME is money. This changes everything.
My name is Melissa, and I love teaching English abroad. Why? For me, teaching is a natural extension of a love of learning, and teaching English abroad allows me to really see the world—not just on holidays or in retirement.
Maybe you’re a teacher yourself, but your summers never seem long enough and your budgets never stretch far enough. Or perhaps you’re thinking about becoming a teacher, but you’re not sure if it’s really for you. Maybe you have no idea what to do, and you’re looking to spend a year or two  learning about yourself. All of these are great reasons to try teaching English abroad.