Is NZD 100-110K/annum enough for a family of 3 in Auckland

[nms.sun3]

I have searched / used the cost of living calculator in enz but still i am not convinced about it. Hence I'm writing to residents of Auckland/elsewhere in NZ who had lived in Auckland in the recent past.

I had applied for jobs from seek.co.nz and got few positive response from recruiters. Meanwhile I am also trying to move via the internal transfer route from my existing employer. One of the recruiters informed me that I can expect somewhere circa NZD 100-110K/annum based on my experience & skill set for a position based in Auckland CBD. Client is a renowned product development organization who does business with government agencies.

Assuming on the lower side(~100K NZD), 24K will be gone for income taxes & around 6K for Kiwisaver(~8%). I would be left with NZD 70K per annum.We will have circa NZD5800 per month for living expenses. Is that sufficient enough for a family of three to live in Auckland.

To start with, we would probably live in a serviced apartment in CBD and move into a house after we acclimatize ourselves with suburbs in Auckland. We don't have plans to purchase a car at-least for 3 months and rely on public transport for travel to work/leisure.

Whilst i know that property rentals in Auckland has sky-rocketed recently, do we really have to shell out close to 3k per month if we intend to rent a decent 3 BR house.

We have plans to bring in some personal funds to cover our expenses initially until we settle down(~3 months). Is it manageable on 5.8K per month without the personal funds.

[lou76]

Hi

There are a lot of threads around this and it does really depend on your lifestyle and the part of Auckland that you live in. I don't have a family so I'm not the best person on day to day living for a family, but you will certainly find it difficult to buy a house in Auckland without any savings to bring with you.

$3000/mth (or $690/week by my calculations)- you can certainly get cheaper than this, depending on whether you are happy living a bit further out in the suburbs. Have a look at www.trademe.co.nz for an idea of rents. In the inner suburbs near the CBD- I would say its about right.

Public transport isn't great outside the CBD. Auckland is a very sprawling city, so a car really is a good idea if you can.

[nms.sun3]

Hi

There are a lot of threads around this and it does really depend on your lifestyle and the part of Auckland that you live in. I don't have a family so I'm not the best person on day to day living for a family, but you will certainly find it difficult to buy a house in Auckland without any savings to bring with you.

$3000/mth (or $690/week by my calculations)- you can certainly get cheaper than this, depending on whether you are happy living a bit further out in the suburbs. Have a look at www.trademe.co.nz for an idea of rents. In the inner suburbs near the CBD- I would say its about right.

Public transport isn't great outside the CBD. Auckland is a very sprawling city, so a car really is a good idea if you can.

Thanks lou76.

Yes we will have to pitch into our personal funds when we intend to buy a house.We have plans to buy only we settle down in one location(Auckland/Wellington) but that is at-least a year or two away from the day we land in NZ.

[lou76]

If you haven't done so already, do a dummy online grocery shop for an idea of food costs. www.countdown.co.nz

It always amazes me the cost of my grocery shop and that's just for 1. I'm not frugal but always try to buy in season and when its on offer.

[Sun777]

By far it is definitely good enough amount for family of 3. Don't get swayed by $600+ per week rentals, we used to rent out 4 bedroom unit in Albany for $650 pw and later realized we were stretching quite a bit without realizing it. You will still be able to get decent accommodation for about $500 pw. Mantra is simple, save as much as you can while you rent.

[desmondo84]

fairly similar position to myself. When we first arrived, it was only meself working and we just about broke even each month, with 2 young kids. My wife got a part-time job so we're now up to about 135k. We run 2 cars and our mortgage is less that 500/week but things are still tight enough. We can save 200-300 bucks a week but I guess that will be mopped up with car repairs, house repairs, rates, dental, optician etc etc. We were fortunate as we sold our house in the UK so we had a decent amount of money to take with us. I think to save serious money here would be incredibly challenging. But if you just want to cover your bills and holiday within NZ then 100k is okay in Auckland.

[Sarahnzl]

Expect between 600-700$ on rent per week if you want something decent.

We live a very frugal life. For a couple this is what we spend:
For food we spend about 450-600$ rent per month. It depends on what is seasonal and what we have growing in our garden. We shop at PaknSave and don't buy anything overly expensive.
For running one car - which you will need in Auckland - we modestly spend about 220$ per month.
Electricity and Gas about 120-150$ per month.
Internet about $65 per month.

This doesn't take an to account anything else - like having a life or a child.
Personally, I would avoid kiwisaver and use that money for better use. Avoid having a phone line - you only get annoying calls anyway. This doesn't include a cell phone, house insurance, monitored alarm, health related costs etc.

So in sum, 100k for three is okay - not amazing. You will be covered but not saving a lot or having the best of life.
Best of luck

[kroniq]

If you want to save some money initially, you can contribute 3% to KiwiSaver or opt out completely.

You can use this calculator to get a more accurate calculation on your take home pay: http://www.paye.net.nz/?q=100000&k=8

[nms.sun3]

Thanks folks.

Btw how is the income tax calculated ? Assuming I earn 100k per annum , do they deduct circa 25% every month or is it calculated upon accumulation.

for example .
Month 1 - Gross Pay - NZD 8300 / Tax - 10.5% as it is under 14000
Month 2 - Gross Pay - NZD 8300 / Tax - 10.5% for NZD 5700 as total income is still under 14000 and NZD 2600 @ 17.5% as my total income now falls between 14000 to 48000

[dede]

Thanks folks.

Btw how is the income tax calculated ? Assuming I earn 100k per annum , do they deduct circa 25% every month or is it calculated upon accumulation.

for example .
Month 1 - Gross Pay - NZD 8300 / Tax - 10.5% as it is under 14000
Month 2 - Gross Pay - NZD 8300 / Tax - 10.5% for NZD 5700 as total income is still under 14000 and NZD 2600 @ 17.5% as my total income now falls between 14000 to 48000

You will get taxed on your expected annual income and then get a refund if you only work part of the year.