How Much in Living Expenses Do Salaried Workers Need in One Year?

Standard annual living expenses for a 35-year-old male came to 7,560,000yen
The Denki Rengo (Japanese Electrical Electronic and Information Unions) (membership: 150,000) has recalculated its standard annual living expense figures. It last calculated the figures five years ago. Standard annual living expense refer to the amount of money needed for a male worker to pay for household necessities in 10 categories including food, accommodation, clothing, medicine, and education...etc.

The model used by the Denki Rengo adopted the following assumptions:

Age 25: Living aloneSingle and living in a 1DK rented apartment
Age 27: Married and living in a 2DK rented apartment
Age 30: First child (boy) born
Age 35: Second child (girl) born and purchases a 3DK apartment
Age 40: Both children attending public elementary school
Age 45: Children attending public high school and junior high school
Age 50: Children attending private liberal arts university
Age 55: Children living separately have left home

The model also assumed that the wife will use a maternity leave system and will continue working after childbirth, both husband and wife will attend English lessons for self-enlightenment, and the family will own a cell phone and a PC. They will also own a car and a dishwasher and will own a house 60-90 minutes away from central Tokyo.

According to the calculations, standard annual living expenses were as follows (rounded off to the nearest 10,000yen):

Age 25: 3,020,000yen
Age 27: 5,050,000yen
Age 30: 5,860,000yen
Age 35: 7,560,000yen
Age 40: 7,700,000yen
Age 45: 8,170,000yen
Age 50: 9,320,000yen
Age 55: 6,110,000yen

The figures were expected to peak at age 50 and fall by age 55, when their children will be living separately.

Denki Rengo also calculated standard annual living expenses using a separate set of assumptions: only the husband works, the children's education is paid only through high school, the family lives in an apartment rented through the Housing Corporation, and some luxuries such as a piano and digital cameras are not bought. Under this assumption,the living expenses were 4,820,000yen at age 35, peaking at 5,670,000yen at age 45, and falling to 4,250,000yen at age 50.

In both assumptions, expenses cover consumption only; they do not take into account taxes or social insurance payments.