How Are Postechians Spending Their Money?
How Are Postechians Spending Their Money?
  • Reporter Chung Yu-sun
  • 승인 2013.04.10 16:31
  • 댓글 0
이 기사를 공유합니다

From Mar. 20 to 28, both undergraduate and graduate students were asked to participate in a survey called “Postechian’s Economic Awareness.” As a small incentive, among those who participated, a few were to be given Burger King Coupons through random selection. The survey asked students’ gender, year of birth, income, percentage of spending on certain categories: savings, and their purpose for savings. A total of 651 students responded, but only 561 responses were used; if the percentage of spending did not add up to 100%, the data was neglected.
From the data, most students (38%) receive spending money (including earnings) in the range of 400,000~ 590,000 KRW per month, and 200,000~ 390,000 KRW was the second highest response (17%). Although most Postechians replied that they did not save (40%), among those who do save, 100,000~ 190,000 KRW was the common range for savings. An interesting trend was that there was some correlation between the amount of income, and the amount of savings. Students who earn higher income have higher tendency to save. But as the  income went over 1 million KRW, there was a drop in data. This may be due to expenses on family and children for graduate students. Another interesting aspect was that there was no gender inequality in income distribution. However, female students tend save their money more than male students do. While 24% of female students responded that they do not save, 43% male students replied that they do not. Students were also asked whether they saved for a particular purpose. Among all the participants, only 32% of Postechians had a particular purpose. Interestingly, as the age group increased, the percent of those who had a purpose for savings increased. The top three reasons for savings are for travel, marriage, and housing.
In terms of expenses, 50% of postechians?income is spent on food. Ten percent of their income was usually used for clothing, transportation, and cultural programs each. Some students commented that the percentage choice was too large, while others claimed that the given categories were too limited. Some categories that the students requested are fees on cellphone and liquor.
Professor Daniel Suh (Graduate Program for TIM) mentioned that although it is good for students to save, that should not be their primary goal. The income that the students earn is not enough for a great amount of savings. Some further analysis on where the money is placed such as in the stock investments, bank or to families might have enhanced the evaluation of Postechian’s economic awareness. Moreover, some limitations in the survey, such as no distinction between undergraduates, and graduates, or between married, and unmarried hindered the evaluation of the data. For students, it is best to keep money in a high liquidity form, meaning that students should be able to easily withdraw their money for precautionary reasons. Prof. Suh claimed, ?he essential expenses for college students include education, room and board, and some allowances for cultural activities and personal care. If a student spends no personal money for the essential expenses for education and basic living expenses, it is an enviable situation."

This article was written with the help of Prof. Daniel Suh (Graduate Program for TIM).