Haemorrhaging money and feeling stressed

[Peachy]

Hi everyone,

 

This is the first time I have felt properly stressed since embarking on the process. I know it is the right thing to do but I am finding it hard paying out such large sums of money and it is beginning to get very scary.

 

Visa fee and associated expenses have been covered fine and flights have been factored in, but now I am looking to pay out £7k on shipping our cats (v sharp intake of breath!) and £4k on our possessions it is feeling a little unsettling, to say the least.

 

Handing in my notice on my job was a simple, in comparison to my nervousness paying out for everything. I know that people do warn that it is an expensive business, but it is starting to bite.

 

It is our personal decision to bring cats - and the children would never forgive me if we left them - but am now wondering where costs savings can be made. How much are second hand cars in Brisbane? We have a Citroen Picasso that has done 80k miles, so something in that sort of range.

 

Not expecting much in the way of a response, but anyone who has been there, experienced the monetary stresses and managed, please do reassure me all will be okay!!

 

(and please don't be mean about our decision to bring the cats - yes I know that my stresses are partially of my own making....)

[Bungo]

It is an expensive business, this migrating stuff. Try not to look at it as haemorrhaging money, but rather as an investment in your future.

 

Out of curiosity, how many cats is that costing £7k! Yikes. But I do not query your decision, pets are for life and all that, but equally they will help a great deal with the settling in.

[ceddy]

Hi Peachy, We have been in Brisbane a couple of months now, went through the same stress anxiousness you are describing. We also brought 2 dogs over ( I would not have made the move without them ) and a full 20 ft container.The expense from beginning of process to getting here was extortionate, but ultimately worth it.My husband arrived a couple of months before me with £1000 to his name, he stayed with friends and luckily got a job the same week,rubbish money but atleast it helped him save, He relocated to Brisbane when I arrived, applied for another job and got that, much better pay etc, we stayed with my brother for the 1 st week moved into a house the following week just in time for my dogs to arrive.

On facebook I have joined a couple of the Swap Sell Buy sites, they are closed groups and definitely worth having a look at,where I live people post local activities etc, I often see cars for sale too,they have to put a pic of Rego and Roadworthy up if the car has it, You can buy a good 2nd hand car from what I have seen from around $5000, but obviously that would depend on what you consider a good buy.

[Peachy]

Thanks Bungo!

We are taking 3 cats. Rather unfortunately we added to our family last year - we thought that one of our cats was on the way out so wanted to integrate another so we would always have 2. The new addition has led to a new lease of life in our eldest, which is great but has increased our expenses. I am hoping that having the cats around us will ease the boys into the new environment.

[Peachy]

Thanks Ceddy - that is reassuring to hear. Good idea re Swap/ Sell/ Buy. I have no shame in getting lots of second hand stuff!

[Scotzinoz]

Yes. 4k for our dog. Yes, one dog. Every time I look or speak to someone it's another thousand pounds. The small funds I have available are diminishing rapidly. No one has yet to confirm exactly how much capital I will need to have showing in the bank to justify our move down under but at this rate it might as well be 20 quid, because I'll be lucky if I still have that!!! Lol. They said it wouldn't be easy. They never said it would extortionate!!!

[ceddy]

After all the costs incurred to get us here, we had virtually nothing left in the bank, was a little worrying especially as initially hubby didn't even have a job, but we had a choice of friends or family in 2 different locations to stay with until we got sorted so this was a massive plus. We didn't have to show bank funds or in our case the lack of them to anyone thankfully. : ))))

[Atlas]

Nothing wrong with bringing over your pets, they're part of the family after all When I move I intend to bring very little with me and I'm still fretting about costs and savings so I can only imagine how stressful it is to move a family. Best of luck with it all and I definitely think a lot of bargains are to be had if you look on sites like facebook and gumtree.

[ali]

We brought our Cat ... as my hubby said, we'd had her longer than the children and it would have felt like leaving a family member behind.

 

With the shipping, you have to pay for it - so bring as much as you can which will reduce the expense of having to buy new stuff here.

[Scotzinoz]

That would be good if we did not have to show a great deal of capital! Simply because, I won't have any. Would like my car to come over. It's a non expensive car but like for like is pricey from what I can see. Could it go into a 20 footer with whatever belonging I can fit around it? Getting contradicting responses to this. Empty car, full car, car only etc

Sorry for steamrolling the original post.

[Scrutineer]

"How much are second hand cars in Brisbane?"

 

About four cats.

[akiralx]

I never considered bringing out cat, not on cost grounds, but because the trip could be too traumatic. He was fostered out to a nice acquaintance couple with a larger house and garden and is thriving, probably thinking 'why the hell wasn't I allowed to live here years ago...'

[northernstyle]

That would be good if we did not have to show a great deal of capital! Simply because, I won't have any. Would like my car to come over. It's a non expensive car but like for like is pricey from what I can see. Could it go into a 20 footer with whatever belonging I can fit around it? Getting contradicting responses to this. Empty car, full car, car only etc

Sorry for steamrolling the original post.

 

i decided to ship my car, it is in a 20 ft container; they build a frame around it, then pack all your belongings. i suppose the size of the car depends on how much stuff you can pack. i have a hyundai 130 and a 2 bedroom apt contents packed and sailing on their way to sydney. due to arrive 28th april, all being well.

[Guest]

You're obviously well on your way so there is no point me being the harbinger of doom but you have quite a lot more expenses ahead of you, there will almost certainly a period of no income between leaving work in the UK and starting in Australia so you will need to factor in living expenses for that period - if you don't have a job lined up then you will need to budget for 3-6 months. It is always heartbreaking when someone has to leave Australia because they have not found work and all they have left in the bank is enough money for a flight home.

 

Unless you have friends/family to stay with you will need to book temporary accommodation for at least a month and that tends to be rather expensive - look on Stayz but I would be thinking about $5000 for a month.

 

To secure a rental you will need a months rent up front and a months deposit so around $4000

 

As well as buying cars don't forget you'll need Rego (tax) and Insurance - make sure you take evidence of your no claims as some insurance companies will accept it.

 

You'll also have a 'big shop' when you get there - it's amazing how toiletries, cleaning products, basic store cupboard foods (salt/pepper/spices etc.), cling film/ tinfoil etc. all add up. They have 'pound shops' in Australia too so in your jet lagged haze don't just head to the supermarket for those kind of things.

 

Take every last possession that you can squeeze into the container - even a mop bucket costs to replace! If you do need cheap household/kitchen stuff and the pound shops can't provide then Target and Kmart are both good.

 

If you need furniture then Super A Mart are very cheap - no idea of the quality, probably not great but it would be a start.

 

Garage sales are very popular and with so many migrants coming and going lots of furniture and household stuffs changes hands, check out Gumtree too.

 

As I said no point me being a harbinger of doom but from the decision to migrate to being settled in a rental we haemorrhaged £70k - that did include a reccie on a Premium Economy round the world ticket and as I had my own business it became harder to commit to work as we didn't quite know when we would get our visa and we would have to move quickly when we did as it was a 457 so I didn't work for about 8 months and of course the bills still have to be paid. We had the money and didn't try to save, we wanted an easy and positive experience especially for our son but with hindsight we wasted a lot.

[Que Sera Sera]

Are you allowed 3 cats in Brsbane? I thought there was a limit of 2? I thought I read that somewhere?

[Marisawright]

Are you allowed 3 cats in Brsbane? I thought there was a limit of 2? I thought I read that somewhere?

 

The limit is three without a permit, or up to ten if you apply for a permit.

[Marisawright]

 

This is the first time I have felt properly stressed since embarking on the process. I know it is the right thing to do but I am finding it hard paying out such large sums of money and it is beginning to get very scary.

 

Does this mean you didn't do a budget before you started? Now that IS scarey. As Lady Rainicorn says, the money you spend before you leave is only part of what it will ultimately cost you. There are a lot of other costs you'll incur when you arrive, such as

 

- temporary accommodation for at least a month;

- rental bond (one month's rent) plus one month's rent up front;

- registration and insurance for the car - I'm not sure how much insurance will cost if you can't get full allowance for your No Claims bonus.

- replacing all the stuff you didn't bring (toiletries, pantry staples, kitchen utensils, etc etc)

- buying household essentials to keep you going until your container arrives (towels, bedding, crockery, maybe an airbed, etc )

- do you have a job to go to? If not, you should allow for about 3 months out of work - jobs are no easier to get in Australia than they are in the UK.

 

This is a good thread to look at if you haven't done a budget yet.

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/household/196492-cost-making-move.html

[ceddy]

My brother shipped his car over in the same container as his personnel belongings and some furniture, the car was a convertible but he still filled it with what he could. That was 15 years ago, not sure if regulations will have changed or not, but talking to shippers will advise.

I came over on a 189 visa, no proof of funds were needed for this , I am not certain but think it's different for some other visa's

[Quinkla]

Emigration is a hugely expensive process. There will be plenty of poor decisions along the way but you can't know at the time which ones they are and if you dwell on it you drive yourself mad.

 

People are right that the expenses continue when you arrive and you feel constantly like you are earning way less than you are spending. You see others around you with their nice houses, expensive cars and full supermarket trolleys and you wonder how they do it. But then, when you've been there a while something just clicks and you find you are OK. But the process of getting there - perhaps a year or two - can be very hairy.

 

My top tip would be to realise that your shipping container will take 8 weeks to arrive. Try to minimise the things in the container that will need to be replaced before it arrives (e.g. kitchen utensils, cutlery, pillow cases, etc. Take as much of that in your suitcase, and leave a lot of the clothes for the container. You can wear the same two or three outfits on constant rotation for 8 weeks.

 

As for cars - they are expensive in Australia but if you ship a car, what would you drive for 8 weeks when you arrive?

[Paul1Perth]

7K to ship cats.:eek: The cats wouldn't be coming, no matter how upset the kids got. There are plenty of cats here.

[starlight7]

You can get good secondhand furniture very cheaply here so I wouldn't be bringing huge amounts over. When we came, over 40 years ago, I left our cat behind and still regret it to this day because she only lived 6 months afterwards and pined for us. So if I had my time again I would DEFINITELY bring puss!!

[Shellybingobingo]

It is scary the money it costs ...still costing us now 2:5 yrs in lol ....if you can afford ya cats bring them ...they will help u settle ....second hand cars depends what ya want ...they not cheap like uk though . If u ask me this whole process we have hemorrhaged money ...and it isn't a investment in our future ...I wish I'd of stayed put ...but u live and learn . Them who come yrs and yrs ago yep without a doubt settled and established ....for some it is better who come now for others not so ...not really . I'm sat here on a Friday night eating salad ...and watching nottinghill ...not my ideal Friday frolicks ! Haha but u do what u need to do ! Hope it doesn't cost u too much more !

[Que Sera Sera]

We got through £10,000 getting here and starting from scratch no furniture shipped. This was nearly 5 years ago but certainly not anywhere near £70,000. We bought second hand furniture of really good quality at garage sales and a few new pieces of ok quality from Famtastic Furniture, Pine Discout Warehouse and Furniture Spot. We bought kitchen items really cheaply from KMart, very cheap quilts and bedding too. We've mostly replaced everything now with good stuff but it sufficed for a few years. If you ship a car don't forget all the added shipping costs and tax's. Not just a case of throwing it in. My OH did have two job offers before we even came out though which obviously was a massive help. We bought an old Daewoo for $4000 which we sold a year later for $4000, when we bought a new car for cash we had saved during that year. I didn't work out of choice, waiting for our son to start high school. It can be done on a budget if you're frugal and sensible.

[fifi69]

Like QSS says....you can buy mega cheap here, just to get you through.

 

We came with more or less zilch, but OH did have a job to go to. That job was v average pay and had to support a family of five.

 

We lived with boxes as furniture and slept on a mattress on the floor for at least the first six months.

 

It Didnt matter, we had a ball, living off Coles $5 dollar mince, you can make a lot of different meals lol.

 

If you work at it, it will all come good in the end

[Guest]

We got through £10,000 getting here and starting from scratch no furniture shipped. This was nearly 5 years ago but certainly not anywhere near £70,000. We bought second hand furniture of really good quality at garage sales and a few new pieces of ok quality from Famtastic Furniture, Pine Discout Warehouse and Furniture Spot. We bought kitchen items really cheaply from KMart, very cheap quilts and bedding too. We've mostly replaced everything now with good stuff but it sufficed for a few years. If you ship a car don't forget all the added shipping costs and tax's. Not just a case of throwing it in. My OH did have two job offers before we even came out though which obviously was a massive help. We bought an old Daewoo for $4000 which we sold a year later for $4000, when we bought a new car for cash we had saved during that year. I didn't work out of choice, waiting for our son to start high school. It can be done on a budget if you're frugal and sensible.

 

£70k was ridiculous but I struggle to see how anyone could do it was £10k - surely visa fees and flights come to almost that? And you then bought a car for $4k.