Rupert Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 how much ? ......joking arent you ? Why would she be joking? Is nobody allowed to have expenses that are any lower / higher than yours or something? :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 how much ? ......joking arent you ? Why would I be joking? Believe me I wish it was under $2000. Im in bed now so don't have the working out in front of me, but outgoings I know for sure are. House Insurance $350 per month Health Insurance (family) $280 per month Mortgage $2000 Electric $320 per month School Fees x 3 (Catholic School) $1000 Car insurance x 3 cars $210 Mobiles x 3 $180 Car Rego x 3 $180 Internet and phone $100 Foxtel $120 Gas $25 Prescriptions $150 Council Tax $200 Water $35 Karate $300 Car Service/Maintenance $200 Fuel $400 Pool Maintenance $100 School Extras/Scouts/Cadets - $100 Consultants etc ? So that's $6250 without food or cleaning materials, holidays, clothes etc Obviously we are currently paying for my sons car and mobile which will hopefully stop this year. We had solar and tarrif 33 installed so I hope this will reduce the electric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakeboard1980 Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 It would be interesting to see a breakdown of the ones that spend over 10k. I just wish I had that much in the first place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 It would be interesting to see a breakdown of the ones that spend over 10k. I just wish I had that much in the first place I suppose the majority would be rent or mortgage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunbury61 Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 Why would she be joking? Is nobody allowed to have expenses that are any lower / higher than yours or something? :confused: that amount is ridiculous ......not on a personal level against the poster ......but is that seriously the cost of living for a family in oz now ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 that amount is ridiculous ......not on a personal level against the poster ......but is that seriously the cost of living for a family in oz now ? I have listed everything I can remember, the cost of living in the tropics with 3 children is expensive. The house insurance in Melbourne for us was $65 per month up here in a Cyclone prone area surrounded by rainforest it's so much more, but WE CHOSE to live here. Also the rates are probably nearly double to what we paid in Melbourne as is electric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerberus1 Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 that amount is ridiculous ......not on a personal level against the poster ......but is that seriously the cost of living for a family in oz now ? It is what it is for us. Clearly a couple with no children, no health issues, living in a property which is cheaper to insure (not in a cyclone area) running just 1 car and living in a part of the country with a more temperate climate will have entirely different outgoings to us. (Cost of living for us in Melbourne was quite a bit less than it is now we're in Cairns) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunbury61 Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 I have listed everything I can remember, the cost of living in the tropics with 3 children is expensive. The house insurance in Melbourne for us was $65 per month up here in a Cyclone prone area surrounded by rainforest it's so much more, but WE CHOSE to live here. Also the rates are probably nearly double to what we paid in Melbourne as is electric sorry m2m no offence intended .............like cairns by the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 sorry m2m no offence intended .............like cairns by the way No offence taken, I had the same reaction as you when OH worked it out, except I think I used a few swear words Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 that amount is ridiculous ......not on a personal level against the poster ......but is that seriously the cost of living for a family in oz now ? We are higher than that as a couple, mainly through cost of rent in Sydney. Yes it is an expensive place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rikyuu Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 (edited) without adding it all up, our combined income is about $5k so I reckon we spend about $4000-4500pm, renting, family of 4. We have to keep costs down as much as possible, like food, holidays, cars, no health insurance, public schools etc. Seems like I'm in the wrong occupation, but too late to change now. Edited September 24, 2012 by rikyuu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rikyuu Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 75000 is not a lot of money wherever you live in oz, granted some places are cheaper than other . Wouldn't stand a chance in perth with a family on 75000 a year, your be back on a plane within a year, if not sooner no it's not and I have to support a family of 4 on $72k, 20km outside of Melbourne CBD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BENS0N Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I had heard it was pretty hot up there, I dont think I could cope with the heat up North $85000 less 22% tax = $66300 take home ,divide that by 52 weeks, gives you a takehome pay of $1275 a week, x 4 weeks =$5100 per 4 week period If you had expenditure of $6000 a month, that is where you would have a $900 shortfall each month Dont like to jump on an old post but Sapphire your calculations are incorrect. You are basing a month on 4 weeks which is not accurate and only happens in Feb. So if you are going to use a monthly comparison you need to divide $66,300 by 12 therefore having an income of $5,525 and having a shortfall of $475 a month (not the $5100 you have stated) To get to $66300 you have used 22% (works out roughly on a single wage) but if that is the total wage for two people and is split up to a wage if $35,000 and $50,000 then the tax would only be around $12,000 meaning $73,000 per year. Then divide this by 12 for each MONTH the monthly take home is $6083 meaning a surplus of $83 dollars a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinsmom65 Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I almost fainted when I saw how much some posters were spending. I look back and remember how much I used to spend when I lived in Australia. I know that the rent took half my pay, we spent about $1000 a month on food, electricity ran anywhere from $300 to $600 every two months. My cost of living has gone down now I am in Canada. My monthly outgoings for everything from mortgage to food is approx $2800 and that is for a family of 4. Our wages are lower here though, my OH and I have a combined income of $90,000. Cheers Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I think the main thing to be taken from this thread is that expenditure increases/decreases to match income. Most of the posts in here--including my own breakdown of our expenditure--say more about that than about the Australian cost of living! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogian Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 (edited) Many times on this site I have been shot down in flames saying you need to earn over 100000 a year and proberly 120000 to have a nice life style. Looking at many people's outgoings I'm not wrong, what many people have not mentioned is a holiday . Yes we live in the sunshine but its nice to get away and even more importantly how about a trip home to see loved ones.....? Family of 4 would cost around 10000 return . Lot of money to save with nothing left at the end of the week/month. Or do you just never return. So who's saying you don't need 100000 plus now....? I'll hold my hand up and say that, from our point of view, earning $100K + a year is way above what is needed to have a great lifestyle here whilst also being able to save $x K per year for a trip to the UK, however, I will add that what people need will depend on a number of factors, including where you live, how many kids you have (or don't), loans you have / need (or not) etc. From where we stand currently, a salary of $75,000 (before tax) would be ample, but in saying this I will point out that there are just 2 of us (currently) living in a 3 bed house and the only loan we have is for the house. We have a baby on the way though so am told by the wife that things will have to change when it comes to our current spending.....I'm assured by her though (she's a whiz with budgets and, dare I actually say this (and in public ?!) I trust her with what she's telling me...), that, if I stop one nasty habit (cough...) and cut down by around 50% on another habit (slurp!), all will be good, our lifestlye wont change one bit (other than mine a little!) and we wont spend anymore that we currently do now each month (see my earlier post in this thread for a breakdown). So, when the baby comes along and, including a trip to the UK each year if we wanted to do it (for the first few years anyway), for our circumstances, we'd still only need to be earning $75K before tax. Edited September 24, 2012 by frogian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul1977 Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I'll hold my hand up and say that, from our point of view, earning $100K + a year is way above what is needed to have a great lifestyle here whilst also being able to save $x K per year for a trip to the UK, however, I will add that what people need will depend on a number of factors, including where you live, how many kids you have (or don't), loans you have / need (or not) etc. From where we stand currently, a salary of $73,000 (before tax) would be ample, but in saying this I will point out that there are just 2 of us (currently) living in a 3 bed house and the only loan we have is for the house. We have a baby on the way though so am told by the wife that things will have to change when it comes to our current spending.....I'm assured by her though (she's a whiz with budgets and, dare I actually say this (and in public ?!) I trust her with what she's telling me...), that, if I stop one nasty habit (cough...) and cut down by around 50% on another habit (slurp!), all will be good, our lifestlye wont change one bit (other than mine a little!) and we wont spend anymore that we currently do now each month (see my earlier post in this thread for a breakdown). So, when the baby comes along and, including a trip to the UK each year if we wanted to do it (for the first few years anyway), for our circumstances, we'd still only need to be earning $73K before tax. I take my hat of to you as I could never live on that, I'm in the same position as you other than my little lad is 2. I need at least 40000 more , but then we live in WA where you can pay 16 bucks for a beer and 30 bucks for fish and chips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippy79 Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I think that the biggest factor on the out going cost is where you live.... paying $400 a week rent in cairns or harvey bay, or paying $800 a week in sydney/perth, paying $300 a month electricity in FNQ ( air-con ) or $100 a month in melbourne..... Hats off to guys living on +/- $3k a month.... Thank god were looking to live in Qld :daydreaming: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogian Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 (edited) I take my hat of to you as I could never live on that, I'm in the same position as you other than my little lad is 2. I need at least 40000 more , but then we live in WA where you can pay 16 bucks for a beer and 30 bucks for fish and chips Mate, that just goes to show the different cost of living in the various states and places here in Oz (most you'd pay for a beer in a pub or bar here is around $9, generally $7, but more often a bit less - when I say this I'm talking about a pint). If you are happy to do so it would certainly be of interest to me (and probably others reading this) to see where the major differences lie (I'm guessing mortgage/rent?), so any chance you could post a breakdown of your expenditure (excluding savings for a hol back to the UK) in a format along the lines of that which I posted earlier in this thread? If not, no worries mate and all the best! Edited September 25, 2012 by frogian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheArmChairDetective Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 What a very interesting thread, well done Kate. I found it interesting that until Frodian brought it up, no one seemed to include the internet in their costs. Looking at the "outgoing are cheaper in the uk" argument, As a family of two my outgoings are just short of Kate's when converted to AUS Dollars and I only have two vehicles and our mobiles are PAYG. One thing about budgeting is that you only do it once you realise that your outgoing exceed your income but I believe that almost everyone lives above their means so in one sense it is a shame that the poll didn't also include a "and what percentage of your income are your outgoings"button. That I suspect is where the eye opener would be for some, and I include myself in that :-) The most interesting answer though from a "sticky beak" perspective was the Over 10k per month answers. I mean, what are you earning and what lifestyle are you living to achieve that sort of spend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogian Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 What a very interesting thread, well done Kate.I found it interesting that until Frodian brought it up, no one seemed to include the internet in their costs. Looking at the "outgoing are cheaper in the uk" argument, As a family of two my outgoings are just short of Kate's when converted to AUS Dollars and I only have two vehicles and our mobiles are PAYG. One thing about budgeting is that you only do it once you realise that your outgoing exceed your income but I believe that almost everyone lives above their means so in one sense it is a shame that the poll didn't also include a "and what percentage of your income are your outgoings"button. That I suspect is where the eye opener would be for some, and I include myself in that :-) The most interesting answer though from a "sticky beak" perspective was the Over 10k per month answers. I mean, what are you earning and what lifestyle are you living to achieve that sort of spend? Well said mate! I agree, "outgoings" are what you spend each month on what is needed to live a great life here, not what you actually spend 'cos of wants and fancies. I honestly say that with no disrespect at all to anyone who's reading and fully understand that the cost of living here does vary considerably dependent on personal situation, where you are living etc. I've seen others say they came here to "live the Oz dream" but find it too expensive - in general, dreams don't come cheap, so in going from normal life to dream life there may need to be a shift in what will be spent each month. Wonder if any of the people who say this have tried to live that same dream in an alternative place in OZ to where they are, or anywhere else for that matter (UK included, forgetting about the weather factor!)? Hadn't ever given a thought before now about what I used to spend each month in the UK but have just worked it out – on average $3000 per month (at current exchange rate for my 2006/2007 spending….when I was single). Almost 6 years on my outgoings are $1500 more each month than they were back then when I was in the UK, but there are 2 of us, we live in a lot nicer house than I had there, we have two cars rather than one and we have a far better lifestyle, great weather etc. And I reckon that if I take inflation into account I’m probably only spending around $1000 a month more than I was in the UK 5 years ago – can’t complain at that! Food for thought…………..but I’m reet good where I am so wont be moving back anytime soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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