Average Monthly Expenditure Survey

[ateal]

Hi Karl,

Yes i do know that area, but i haven't been over that way for a long time. How long were you in Hong Kong for and did you like it? I was only meant to be here for 12 months, that was 7 years ago!

Adrian

[ateal]

Hi Sandra,

After living in many different areas of Hong Kong, my wife and i decided to settle in the area known as the Gold Coast. It's quiet and in easy reach of Central (25 minutes by car).

When did you live in DB and who did you know, are they still there. I have had a lot of freinds live in DB, we may even know some of the same people. Funny enough we were in DB on Saturday for a Xmas Dinner Party.

Adrian

[Dave & Sandra]

Adrian

You've got a car in HK - you must be rich It was taxi, tram, ferry and MTR for Dave and I while we were there.

We left there in 1995 so things are a little bit hazy now. We knew a couple called Libby and John in DB, but can't remember which apartment block they lived in. We were in Cherish Court. We were members of the DB residents club. They had a gym, pool and restaurant. Was the dinner party at the residents club or sombody's apartment?

The Gold Coast rings bells, but can't remember where it was. We had some friends living on Lamma - the hippy island. I can also remember spending lazy Sundays at Peng Chau where there was a great restaurant. I miss the HK climate, even if it was humid and it was good to get time off work when it was typhoon season. Although the queues at the ferry for DB were always very long. :

They were happy days.

Sandra

[Danpoll]

I had a thought the other day my uk monthly expenditure is 2k a month that would equate to $5100 nz a month so with figures of 3k a month being quoted I am a little more relaxed.



Dan

[Milliemoo]

Great thread guys! Really helpful :P :mrgreen: :P

Thanks

Milliemoo

[Moorf]

Here's a shocker...

Rent $1400
Petrol $150 (1 car)
Ciggies $195
Tobacco $150
Food & Drink $600
Telecom $100 (inc internet)
Car Tax etc $10
Insurance i.e content/car/medical/pet $120
Mobile Calls/Txts $40
Dog $100

Total $2865

Monthly Income after Tax approx $3208 ($55k Software Developer)

Disposable Income = $ 343 !!!

That's with one income and without income from rental property in UK and from software sales. Plus, when I start bringing in the $ that will be our pocket money too. Plus Woz gets a 10k rise in Feb and any mortgage we have will be WAY cheaper than current rent.

And we WILL give up smoking... ops:

We haven't actually managed to exist on that disposable yet (funny that eh?) due to Xmas and family visit and have pulled in £ from UK (at a crappy exchange rate unfortunately) and Feb will be our first attempt at a new start on a Kiwi budget!! If it wasn't for the extra income earned from software and property we'd be up the creek without even a cheap plastic paddle!

Moorf

[Terry&Sophie]

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this, it's very useful to those of us who haven't got there yet!

We're in the position of not knowing how much we'll be earning, so this gives us some idea of how much we'll need to ask for!

When we get there (3 weeks) and have spent a few months earning and spending NZ dollars we'll let you know our spending habits..

Thanks again

Sophie & Terry

[Juniper]

our US budget - and we are very fruegel right now:

US DOllars:
Mortgage 500
Health Insurance 880

isn't it great when health insurance costs more than your mortgage? love this country...

as for our santa cruz expenses, for two people, it's just about a whopping $7000 USD (incl. $3000 mortgage for a 3-bed house in the boonies). did i mention our area is horrendously expensive? i guess we live pretty comfortably, but -come on-....

just got laid off, so time to get frugal (and get a kick-ass job, since i was the meal ticket until now)

we'd hoped to keep our house in SC as a fall-back plan (maybe a cheaper one tho) when we went to NZ. houses in santa cruz are a gold mine, so if we can manage it, hello retirement savings... :hopeso but in order to pay that mortgage -and- rent in NZ... ouchie ouchie! my hubby's new business better be doing -real- well by then.