Anything is possible Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Hi guys, My hubby has received his offer letter this weekend woo hoo (we are a family of 4 and heading for Western Sydney)...... I have already done alot of research into costs and stuff, but am just wondering if anyone out there has an answer for me to any hidden costs that I have missed. But most importantly does anyone know what costs we would be looking at for the connect of utilities for: Water Electricity Gas Phone Internet Costs I have found so far are per month (are these OK?) I know car, rent, etc getting as part of package so doesn't really come into things at this stage. Phone & Internet 200.00 Mobile 50.00 Housekeeping 1,000.00 Electricity 200.00 Fuel - Oil or Gas 115.00 Home ins 30.00 Water 60.00 School Stuff 170.00 I am hoping i have over budgeted for Life Cover 200.00 I am hoping i have over budgeted for Other Transporatation 100.00 We have to get back to them to accept (hopefully) very soon as start day is only a few months away.... Argh scary.... Thanks so much in advance on any replies....... :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanUK Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Hello, Most of your figures are reasonable if not a little high. Phone and Internet seems pretty high, you should be able to get both for around $120 - $140 including calls. Life Insurance is also very high, I have life and critical illness for under $60 a month but again that will depend on your age, medical history and amount insured (i have $800k life, $100k critical illness). The one thing you do not have listed is medical insurance which may be a requirement of the visa you are coming on. You will need to factor in approx $400 a month for family cover if it is not included in your package. Hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anything is possible Posted January 15, 2011 Author Share Posted January 15, 2011 Hello, Most of your figures are reasonable if not a little high. Phone and Internet seems pretty high, you should be able to get both for around $120 - $140 including calls. Life Insurance is also very high, I have life and critical illness for under $60 a month but again that will depend on your age, medical history and amount insured (i have $800k life, $100k critical illness). The one thing you do not have listed is medical insurance which may be a requirement of the visa you are coming on. You will need to factor in approx $400 a month for family cover if it is not included in your package. Hope that helps Thank you for your reply, Medical cover is part of the job offer so not something we need to worry about.... Glad you think i have over budgeted be worse if it was the other way...LOL Do you have any ideas on connection fees? Thanks nat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanUK Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 From memory the utilities are free to connect but you do get locked in for a period of time. There was a connection fee for the phone line of a couple hundred dollars but that might have been because the house was a new build. The owner refunded us for that implying it might not be a standard cost. I assume you have asked for lafha from your employer, makes a huge difference if you can get it. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabo Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Hi guys, My hubby has received his offer letter this weekend woo hoo (we are a family of 4 and heading for Western Sydney)...... I have already done alot of research into costs and stuff, but am just wondering if anyone out there has an answer for me to any hidden costs that I have missed. But most importantly does anyone know what costs we would be looking at for the connect of utilities for: Water Electricity Gas Phone Internet Costs I have found so far are per month (are these OK?) I know car, rent, etc getting as part of package so doesn't really come into things at this stage. Phone & Internet 200.00 - we pay $100pm Mobile 50.00 - we pay around $20 per month for two phones - low users Housekeeping 1,000.00 Electricity 200.00 - we pay around $60 per month but do not have air-con Fuel - Oil or Gas 115.00 - gas $30 a month in summer months Home ins 30.00 - $100 per month Water 60.00 - $68 per month School Stuff 170.00 I am hoping i have over budgeted for - sorry, we paid $700 for summer uniforms for our 3 kids. Depends on how good the school shop is though for 2nd hand stuff. Life Cover 200.00 I am hoping i have over budgeted for Other Transporatation 100.00 We have to get back to them to accept (hopefully) very soon as start day is only a few months away.... Argh scary.... Thanks so much in advance on any replies....... :confused: Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anything is possible Posted January 15, 2011 Author Share Posted January 15, 2011 From memory the utilities are free to connect but you do get locked in for a period of time. There was a connection fee for the phone line of a couple hundred dollars but that might have been because the house was a new build. The owner refunded us for that implying it might not be a standard cost. I assume you have asked for lafha from your employer, makes a huge difference if you can get it. Cheers We have been told that the offer is too good for LAFHA, not sure if thats true or not, can I PM you details are you an expert in LAFHA? Fleabo - Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanUK Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I am certainly no expert on LAFHA but I did enjoy the benefits when on a 457. My understanding is it does not cost your employer anything other than the effort to administer it. The LAFHA is a tax break from the government but not all employers are prepared to offer it as it is more effort for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anything is possible Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 I am certainly no expert on LAFHA but I did enjoy the benefits when on a 457. My understanding is it does not cost your employer anything other than the effort to administer it. The LAFHA is a tax break from the government but not all employers are prepared to offer it as it is more effort for them. Just wanted to say thanks for your post... We did approach the company again and they have agreed to offer us the lafha, so thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kaylee25 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Have you counted in the schools fees you have to pay on a 457? We are a family of 4 moving to Sydney as well and school fees are a big chunk of our budget xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anything is possible Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 Have you counted in the schools fees you have to pay on a 457? We are a family of 4 moving to Sydney as well and school fees are a big chunk of our budget xx Thanks for replying, yes we have budgeted for school fees but as they need to be paid upfront I didn't count them in as part of the monthly expenditure. Are you living in Sydney or planning the move? Do you know what area your heading to/living in.... Any advice you may have would be great.... We are still neg the job offer although a decision should be made this week..... Then it could be all systems go.....:confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kaylee25 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 We are just ahead of you and now awaiting contract. Yes we are moving to Sydney but it's hard to choose areas. We initially looked at the central coast as it's more affordable but the commute is too long. Looked on here and have read good things about the Sutherland Shires so we are now looking there. The commute is a lot better too - under an hour. Hope everything goes well for you and if you have any info on areas to share please let me know xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anything is possible Posted March 2, 2011 Author Share Posted March 2, 2011 We are just ahead of you and now awaiting contract. Yes we are moving to Sydney but it's hard to choose areas. We initially looked at the central coast as it's more affordable but the commute is too long. Looked on here and have read good things about the Sutherland Shires so we are now looking there. The commute is a lot better too - under an hour. Hope everything goes well for you and if you have any info on areas to share please let me know xx Have you looked into the hills??? We looked at both the other areas but was put off by some things put on here... Nothing really bad, haven't heard much bad about the hills district.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kaylee25 Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 No haven't looked at the hills but will now. Thank you xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.