$55k a year...is it enough?

[Caven]

This is with a $150k mortgage, one child and outside major cities. The nearest in fact is Palmerston North. Oh, and that's a joint income :eek

I know there's a cost of living estimator but this is pants compared to real-life experiences, despite them being individual and subjective.

We're not the flash types, never have been, but we like entertaining and/or nights out. Holidays are important, but we like tramping so that should be cool.

Any thoughts appreciated. Ta.

[Bubbles]

Caven,
that's about what we are aiming at, with maybe a bit less on the house ( $100K ) We reckon we could manage on that.

If not we can always send the kids out to work. They must need chimney sweeps in NZ with all those wood burners. Cherooo !

John

[ruthyroo]

My OH is on $57K pa. That translates after tax to about $800 per week. From this the basics that we (a couple, no kids) have to pay each week are:

Rent $325
Food / Groceries $220
Telephone / Internet $40
Electricity $30
Insurance $16
Petrol $45

Total = $656
Left over = $144

That is really the bare minimum and doesn't include anything for the house / garden, any savings / pensions at all, one offs like car rego / WOF / repairs, doctors bills, clothes / shoes, any luxuries like CDs etc, any holidays / trips / sightseeing, purchase of any sporting equipment for your new outdoor life etc. We don't generally eat out any more (probably a good $100-$150 for dinner for two, maybe less if you favour cheap all you can eat restaurants), we don't go to the pub, we don't have Sky.

So you can see it will be pretty tight on $55K. You can survive on that, but that is strictly no luxuries, no holidays, no good wine and no nights out. think hard about whether you want to come all this way to live like this. We don't have to becuase I work as well, but if it was one salary it would be very hard. Only saving you might be able to make is on rent / mortgage - if you can work out how much your weekly payments are likely to be it might give you a better idea.

[kiwi]

Ruth are groceries really $220 a week for the 2 of you?

mine are $150 for the 7 of us... I always feel I am doing something majorly wrong when I see people spending more than me and have less in their family.....my kids must be starving but they just dont say anything!!

help!!??

Hubby just got qualified as a teacher and his start pay is $39k a year..last year we earnt $18k so I am very very excited now!!!

I guess it depends on your money management skills and how big your bills are (fixed ones, like mortgage and rent, rates etc...phone and power can easily be halved if you dont buy those oil colomn heaters and dont make too many calls to cell phones etc)
and where you are living, bluff is cheaper than Auckland etc

Nicky

[Bubbles]

Kiwi
Thanks for putting my mind at rest. I thought I'd got my sums wrong !

[Moorf]

There's just two of us and a dog and I spend $180 - $200 a week on groceries plus probably another $50 - $100 a month eating out. We will look to have a c. $200k mortgage here.

$57k will be fine - it really depends what you are used to - we find we don't have the disposable we once had but we're not starving, don't feel "deprived" and DO more than we ever did in the UK!!

Moorf

[Moorf]

Kiwi - let's go shopping together one day, I'd really like some tips..

[kiwi]

no, I am really embarrassed now! You must think I just buy baked beans all the time ($150 worth!!)

I must admit though we dont drink or smoke so I guess that might save me a bit in my trolly. Plus I buy my meat at cross brothers in town ($90 worth for 2 weeks and freeze it I shop fortnightly as we get paid fortnightly now ) and veges at marshlands road...the rest wherever.

maybe I need to buy some more yummy stuff....then I too can have a $200 plus bill!!

[Danpoll]

so if 55k is okay what about my 36K wife and 2 year old son, Dunedin bound.


Dan

[Jodie]

This is a really interesting one, eh! Thought I might put our costs in to see if we're living a life of luxury or a-la-kiwi-style and living on baked beans! (You'll have to give us your secrets, kiwi!)

Costs per week: (2 of us)

Rent: $230
Food: $130 ish (incl beers and wine! )
Petrol: $45
Take Aways: $30 ish
Daz train fare: $15
Daz lunch: $30 (he "never has time" to make lunch in the mornings before work! : I work from home so my lunch comes out of the weekly food shop)

Bills per month:

Phone: $35 line rental plus calls (last month's bill was about $60 total I think)
Electric: This varies depending on if they take a metered reading or estimated - over xmas it was about $150, whereas last month it was only about $50! Work that one out! :?

Other expenses:

Meals out: about $60 - $80 a couple of times a month.
Drunken night out in the city: about $100 - $150 depending on how big a night we want to have! (A round of a beer and a vodka & coke normally comes to between $10 - $15 depending on which bar you're in.) Once or twice a month maybe....
BBQ at friends: $30 - $40 worth of beer/wine, and a few more bucks on a bit of meat to donate! A few times a month.


It actually does all add up and it's quite scary to write it all down! Daz worked out that he'd earned about $20,000 since he's started work, and god knows what we've done with all of that! Although, we have bought furniture and set up home again, as well as having Christmas and both our birthdays etc, and Daz's Dad has been to visit so we've been out with them and up to Whangarei for the weekend too so paid for flights etc, so we have done quite a bit...

Anyway, don't know if this will help anyone, but it gives another idea of what a couple's lifestyle can cost over here.

Any questions, give me a shout. And TELL US YOUR SHOPPING SECRETS KIWI!

Jod
:cool