Hanoi commuter family saves 10 million VND monthly despite daily bus costs

A woman earning 18 million VND works in Hanoi while living with her husband and two children in the countryside. She travels each day by intercity bus, spending about 2.5 million VND on fares. Her husband earns 9 million VND locally. Together they send 4‑5 million VND each month to the husband’s parents for household expenses, pay for preschool and primary school fees for their children, and maintain two life‑insurance policies worth 29 million VND annually. After covering all expenses, the family saves roughly 10 million VND per month, which they place in savings accounts or use to purchase gold, acquiring about one “chi” of gold every two months. Comments on the shared budget praised the couple’s financial discipline, noting that further savings would be difficult without increasing income, and encouraged them to seek ways for the husband to raise his earnings.