Couple with 2 Years Old Kid. How Much Do You Have to Earn to Live Comfortably?

LHaha Hihi Hoho on 02/07/2018 - 11:40
Last edited 02/07/2018 - 12:57

I am curious on how much others. who are in the same situation as me, should earn to live comfortably these days.

My situation would be

A couple in mid 30s, with a 2-year-old child, living in Sydney Eastern Suburb. We have a car and goes around mostly in our own car. Since our daughter have low immune system and gets sick easily, we try to avoid public transport as much as we can until she is older. currently budgeting for about 5k a month after tax depending on my overtime and no housing spending. I feel like every month we would spend more than that, sometimes up to 7K. just wondering if anyone else is in the same spot as we are.

My definition of comfortably would be

Roof over head (renting)
Own a car, and paying regular car expenses such as repayment, rego, etc
Can buy groceries without having to worry about price of each items.
Family dine out in the weekend, nothing fancy like Café Sydney or such.
Go to the movies maybe once a month?
Once a year holiday within Australia/Pacific or south-east Asia.
100-dollar worth of kids spending, toys, or kids show (Wiggle, high 5, etc) a month?
Health insurance for all 3 of us.
Can still save maybe about 500 a year?

It would be great if you guys can share your criteria of comfortably too in your replies.

Thanks.

Financial

Comments

    • Other on 03/07/2018 - 21:48

      purchasing full price groceries every week

      o_O

      • elli0t on 04/07/2018 - 22:22
        -2

        'half price groceries' aka self checkout

    • idonotknowwhy on 05/07/2018 - 09:49

      doesn't the immune system weaken over age?

      I could be making 15k p.a doing 2 days of retail work a week and be able to afford a trip to south east asia because I'm happy to buy half price groceries, pay regular expenses for a cheap car and have fun at home by inviting people over and streaming movies.

      Year salary becomes irrelevant

      This all indicates that you don't have any children.

      All sound advice if you're single, but none of it applies to the OP's situation.

  • p1 ama on 02/07/2018 - 20:56
    +8

    I'm going to buck the trend here and say "not as much as you think".

    My definition of comfortable is to be able to go about your day to day life without having to think too much about money. Personally, I'm not a big spender and I don't really purchase expensive things that often. I would say that your budgeting of around $5k per month is probably a little bit on the low side, but it can be done. After adding up the expenses for my family (two adults, one young child), I find that it is around $5k per month. However, I don't go overseas and I don't really make expensive purchases often and I avoid stuff that have a 'luxury tax'.

    I would say that I live comfortably:

    • I drive a Camry and my wife drives a Corolla - so very reliable/affordable cars.
    • Neither of us buy designer goods (e.g. clothes, handbags), or jewellery.
    • We wear pretty cheap clothes, stuff you'd get from Target or on sale.
    • Kid goes to the local public school.
    • We take advantage of bargains whenever possible, especially things like mobile plans.
    • I regularly buy things second hand off Gumtree and eBay where possible (e.g. furniture, tech, baby goods)
    • We actually eat out quite often, but never anywhere fancy - just your regular restaurant, max of $50 for two.
    • We go on trips around AU over the holidays, e.g. to Sydney, Brisbane, GC…etc. Costs around $3k per trip.
    • We generally buy things (e.g. toys) when we need, not necessarily just for the sake of it.

    I consider myself a pretty loose spender (i.e. not frugal), but I don't have a love for luxurious stuff or a "rich" lifestyle. I have friends who are much more frugal than me, but also spend way more - i.e. they're always really cheap about spending money, but they drive expensive cars and wear Ralph Lauren…etc.

    Ultimately, I think it really comes down to how you want to spend your money. The amount that you earn is fixed and I think it sounds as if you earn enough that you're not down in the dumps, so spend in a way that makes you happy. If you want to buy a BMW, you'll have to sacrifice some things in life, if driving a BMW doesn't interest you, then you have a bit more money to spend on other things (and not think about that).

    It's a really open-ended question and I think it really comes down to individual personalities more than anything. Again, I'd say $5k - $7k per month is reasonable. Perhaps around $70k per year would be a good average? That's just slightly below the median Australian income, so makes sense.

    • h4zey on 05/07/2018 - 15:25

      gotta make AUD 77.00 per minute

  • antzz on 02/07/2018 - 22:34

    How much you need will depend on your level of comfortable. The more spending power you got the more variety of goods and service you need to stay comfortable. Sometimes each good and service will be a bargain but added up compare to when you freely spend your University day

    For me i try to save up at least 30percent of the income on long term variery investment. The rest of them get proportioned on big recurring expense and then the rest on other miscellaneous less important expenses.

    For me to be comfortable my mortgage / rent payment must account to no more than 25 percent of my income as this usually the biggest part of budget so if the mortgage or rent is around 1000 per week, i would think a net income of around 16k per month or around 250k per annum total income will be comfortable level where money is no issue and you have some saving nest for rainy day.

  • [Deactivated] on 02/07/2018 - 23:01
    -8

    Just don't have kids and you wouldn't need to worry about this. The cons heavily outweigh the (almost negligible amount of) pros.

    • [Deactivated] on 03/07/2018 - 19:51
      +1

      6 negs from angry parents yet not one person commented a pro lol

  • centrelink on 03/07/2018 - 02:00
    +3

    Since no one is giving you a real value I’ll just do it. I would say if you make a billion dollars a year then you should be fine

    • Skramit on 04/07/2018 - 16:37

      Nailed it.

  • [Deactivated] on 03/07/2018 - 02:37

    It all depends on your adopted lifestyle and what your definition of comfortable is. A lot of people can't comfortably live for under $20k per week, but I could live on $700 per week. I wouldn't pay more than half of it for rent though. Of your items the two most costly are the car and rent. Cutting off on rent by moving further away from expensive areas means more money for grocery, etc

  • singlemalt72 on 03/07/2018 - 08:00
    +5

    $100 of "kid spending" per month?

    Take the child to a local park or the beach or a national park - Kids do not need constant gifts of toys of which most are relegated to storage after a few weeks and they don't need stage-shows of characters to have fun. I would say a treat of a stage show once a year is plenty.

    Get your kid into the library when activities are on - join a play group or something - all this is free!

    • lostn on 03/07/2018 - 21:27

      heheh, my parents bought me nothing. On my birthday I might get a $3 gift. They never took me anywhere except where they needed to go. My highlight of the week was going to a shopping center on friday nights. I got to go to Kmart or Toy World and admire the toys I knew I could never have.

      I turned out ok. And I didn't get sentimental and go and buy all the things I wanted but could never have. In the long run, none of the things I wanted as a kid would have remained desireable or mattered to me as I grew up. Whether I had them or not, I don't think would have changed me. Happiness is temporary, and if you're past that stage, it's better to have not spent the money. It's better that they were able to put money they could have spent on me towards a house.

      During school holidays there's always events at shopping centers that will amuse kids free of charge.

  • sintro on 03/07/2018 - 09:05

    Living comfortably begins with good health.
    Watch the interview with Dr Zac Bush discussing the cause of diseases, food, nutrition and health.

    https://youtu.be/BwffF0RU67U

  • ExpressCoffee on 03/07/2018 - 10:38
    +2

    Have a read of The Barefoot Investor perhaps?

  • lostn on 03/07/2018 - 11:09
    +4

    If you earn only enough to save 500 a year, you're going to be screwed if some unexpected spending is needed, such as house repairs, an emergency flight, a new car, a new ducted heater, etc.

    You should aim to save at least 5000 a year if not more. So whatever annual income is needed to live comfortably, you should add 5000.

  • Baghern on 03/07/2018 - 11:25
    +4

    Not living in the Sydney Eastern Suburb

    What you've described isn't comfortably its desire over making some decisions to make other parts of your life better.

    People think living comfortably is not worrying about money… no that's being rich

    People get rich by worrying/budgeting well

    For me living comfortably it not having to sacrifice necessities.

    The thing is if you earn well, you should enjoy more niceties in life. The problem is though when a lot of people start earning more, they over reach… when their life changes… ie kids… they are reluctant to forgo nicities they no longer can afford… What was previously in the comfortable bracket should now be put down in the luxury bracket ie nice holidays

    • boostpak on 04/07/2018 - 08:52

      people get rich by having high paying jobs/businesses and capitalizing on good investments

  • Caped Baldy on 03/07/2018 - 12:04

    Roughly how much do you earn and how much is rent?
    I think you should cut back on the annual overseas holiday if you can only save $500/year…

    I highly recommend to get a finance/budget app to monitor how much and where you are spending.

  • Slippage on 03/07/2018 - 13:24
    +4

    It will differ from family to family.

    Roof over head (renting)

    Well this could be cheap or as expensive as you need/like. you could split a house with another (or more) family to split the overall cost, you could be happy in a 1 bdr appartment, or you might want a 4bdr double car garage to yourself. then lets think about location.

    Own a car, and paying regular car expenses such as repayment, rego, etc

    Again, so many things to think about here… not just family size, but also physical size and usage. your not going to see a rugby player fitting into a smart car.

    Can buy groceries without having to worry about price of each items.

    I think everyone should be! but certain items are a given, like i refuse to buy black and gold, no matter how much cheaper it is.

    Family dine out in the weekend, nothing fancy like Café Sydney or such.

    Every weekend? yeah, that'll be expensive

    Go to the movies maybe once a month?

    assume you don't take your 2 year old, so factor in baby sitter? Personally, I bought a decent TV and sound setup and just netflix it.

    Once a year holiday within Australia/Pacific or south-east Asia.

    A holiday every year? serious?

    100-dollar worth of kids spending, toys, or kids show (Wiggle, high 5, etc) a month?

    $100/month! on a 2 year old!

    Health insurance for all 3 of us.

    depends what level you need

    Can still save maybe about 500 a year?

    if you can only save $500/year but are doing all the above… you need to see a financial planner.

    I'll have a stab with some assumptions:
    $46,800 Rent (googled sydney east 3bdr rentals, 900/week seams common)
    $17,000 Car (Loan+fuel+rego+insurance+servicing)
    $26,000 Groceries (500/week)
    $ 6,240 Weekly dinner ($120?)
    $ 1,200 Movies ($100?)
    $ 6,000 Holiday
    $ 1,200 Kids stuff
    $ 2,340 PHI
    $ 500 Savings

    $107,000 a year outgoings, so pre-tax around $160,000 by your definition

    But you haven't included:
    Childcare
    Education/professional development
    Contents insurance
    Internet
    Mobile phone(s)
    Electricity
    Water
    gas
    clothing
    Tolls?
    Parking?
    Beauty/hair?
    Furnishing/Appliances
    Health clubs?
    Tech?

    have a look at this and punch in your details:
    https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/media/559465/budget-planner.xl…

    • bobbified on 03/07/2018 - 16:02
      +6

      $26,000 Groceries (500/week)

      Are you buying lobsters every week? lol

      • serpserpserp on 03/07/2018 - 20:41
        +2

        That is a crazy amount of money for food. I have two kids and I would find it difficult to spend $250 a week even if I wanted to buy all the snacks in the world that I wanted and that includes buying $50-$60 in nappies every 2 weeks.

        However, they could buy choice cuts of meat and other very healthy pre-made foods which would pump up the price.

      • Slippage on 05/07/2018 - 09:00

        I made assumptions based on their comment. I consider groceries more than just food.

    • mysterytal on 03/07/2018 - 16:13
      +2

      $26,000 Groceries (500/week)

      Wow!!!

      That makes my $50 a week (after taking into account Flybuys/Woolworths Rewards discounts/offers) look like an absolute bargain.

      • AlienC on 04/07/2018 - 08:33

        I can definitely see $70/day for a family of four and a baby easily per night on dinner alone, add lunch and breakfast and that is up to $100.

        • bobbified on 04/07/2018 - 10:29

          I can definitely see $70/day for a family of four and a baby easily per night on dinner alone

          I'm assuming that $70 dinner for two adults and two children would be if you go out and eat dinner at a local place each night? A meal at a local chinese place is about $12-15.

          Definitely not $70/night on groceries - even if you were to buy groceries daily. The price drops dramatically if you can plan out what to eat for a week and make purchases accordingly.

          The biggest cost is usually the inital person. If you're purchasing for one person, it could be, say.. $100 per week. For two adults that cost is much more likely to be about $130 and not double the $100.

        • [Deactivated] on 04/07/2018 - 16:16

          @bobbified: There are plenty of medium to higher income families I know that spend $500 a week on food (2 plus 2 kids). I think the $250 mark is more representative if people pay attention to what they buy and take reasonable steps to control costs but plenty of people don't or don't see the need to.

        • bobbified on 04/07/2018 - 16:34

          @lghulm:

          There are plenty of medium to higher income families I know that spend $500 a week on food (2 plus 2 kids)

          You're right with what you said and there'll be plenty of families that spend much more. But the amount will usually be loosely tied to their income levels. OP doesn't sound like they're anywhere near that kind of level.

        • HighAndDry on 04/07/2018 - 16:35
          +1

          @bobbified: I think you'd be surprised (or terrified). The number of families who have no idea about budgeting and so spend a crazily disproportionate amount of their income on (not-even-essential) food is far too high. And then they wonder why they can't afford to save up for property, or complain that cost of living is too high.

        • bobbified on 04/07/2018 - 17:10

          @HighAndDry:

          I think you'd be surprised (or terrified).

          No, I'm not that surprised because if I had to be honest, what you wrote applies to me, who is a one man family. I'll be the first to admit that I'm absolute shit at budgeting!
          I know what I should do, but I don't do it! lol

        • Levathian on 04/07/2018 - 23:18

          $70/day on groceries for 4 1/2 people? wtf are you eating?

        • Slippage on 05/07/2018 - 09:01

          @Levathian:
          I made assumptions on their lifestyle

          Can buy groceries without having to worry about price of each items.

    • lostn on 03/07/2018 - 21:13
      +1

      $107,000 a year outgoings, so pre-tax around $160,000 by your definition

      That's the median income isn't it? Or was it mean? Anyway, that's doable if both are working and earning average wages.

      But to me, they can easily cut back on some of this stuff. This is beyond comfortable living. It's closer to living the high life.

      A holiday once a year should be cut back to once every 2 years. Movies are expensive, just Netflix and watch at home. Weekly dinner should be monthly. And move to a cheaper place.

    • Other on 03/07/2018 - 21:52

      Get a 2bdr place, that would drop the rent to around $600p/w ($15k saving - not much but better than a kick in the head).

      Your costs seem a tad high, but not out of the ballpark.

    • [Deactivated] on 04/07/2018 - 16:24

      Car choice can play a big factor.

      E.g. I purchased a fuel efficient 3 year old Diesel Mondeo and have kept it for 6 years and my average cost over that time is only $5k per annum ($2k fuel 5.5L per 100kms, $1k insurance/rego (comprehensive but shopping around, $300 servicing 12 month intervals, +$300 tyres etc, $1k per annum depreciation - shopping around & bargaining for a good price). Car still looks like new and the shape was current through to 2015 (purchased 2012 as a 2009 model) so still perfectly presentable for a professional role (I have to meet clients). No repayments because I paid cash.

      $5k is a hell of a saving compared to your $17k quoted and yes I understand heaps do pay that much but $5k is perfectly doable as I outline.

      Weekly dinner (we go out for dimsum) cut that in half.
      Groceries cut in half (if you are sensible)
      Movies you can find $10~$15 tickets and bring your own snacks so cut in half.
      Holiday shave off $2k and go for 3star vs 5 star accommodation (hey lose the huge pool, swim at the beach for free instead).
      Rent, no one on a modest income should pay that, shave off 40%~50%.

      But yeah, not having a go, I think what you describe would definitely be representative for a renter in the area of the OP, but based on the OP's expectations he really would need to go for the cheaper version of expenditure ;)

      • Slippage on 05/07/2018 - 09:18

        Oh I totally agree!

        My personal thoughts:

        Roof over head (renting)

        Move! house prices in eastern Sydney are insane

        Own a car, and paying regular car expenses such as repayment, rego, etc

        if you live and work in East Sydney, use public transport.

        Can buy groceries without having to worry about price of each items.

        This is ridiculous. meal plan and buy value. I don't cheap out on groceries, but i also don't go for the $2.50 tin of tomatoes, when the Woolworth's select right next to it is $0.80

        Family dine out in the weekend, nothing fancy like Café Sydney or such.

        once a month at max

        Go to the movies maybe once a month?

        Subscribe to Netflix.

        Once a year holiday within Australia/Pacific or south-east Asia.

        Take up camping, OS holiday once ever 5 years

        100-dollar worth of kids spending, toys, or kids show (Wiggle, high 5, etc) a month?

        Still can't get my head around this. our annual zoo pass for the family is only $200/year

        Health insurance for all 3 of us.

        I can't really comment on this, I think PHI is a joke, public system is great in Australia. But i have PHI (company subsidised)

        Can still save maybe about 500 a year?

        you need to stop going on holidays until there is atleast another "0" on the end of that.

  • Laziofogna on 03/07/2018 - 14:10
    +1

    This must be the same troll cooking on the public bbq

  • pformag on 03/07/2018 - 15:20
    +5

    We are only single income atm, 2 kids under 4. Under 300K mortgage. 1 x 4k car, 1 x 40k car. Have 1/2 year to pay off the 40k car.

    I earn just over 100k pre-tax. You can do it if you are good at being frugal.

    Kmart is my best friend. Aliexpess is my wife's best friend. Aldi is our kitchens best friend.

    • idonotknowwhy on 03/07/2018 - 19:39

      Aliexpess is my wife's best friend.

      What do you buy from there in terms of day-to-day or weekly goods, which saves you money vs buying from kmart, etc? Could be useful if you have some pointers for us.

      Will it be affected by the new GST laws?

      • lostn on 03/07/2018 - 21:15
        +1

        IT has to be affected. We just don't know how yet. Chinese retailers haven't really talked about it.

        It takes about 4 weeks if it's coming from there, unless you pay for expensive courier service. So don't buy anything you need quickly.

      • pformag on 04/07/2018 - 10:42
        +1

        Clothing. Not really day to day. Kmart is great for cheap clothing, but Aliexpess has more styles and range for the same price or cheaper. Kids clothing and shoes are also good on aliexpess.

  • ganymede on 03/07/2018 - 15:25
    +4

    Single income here, wife taking care of our 3 yo daughter at home, rent is our biggest expenses, taking out rent we spend approx $1k/month on food, utilities, phones, PHI, rego, car insurance, fuel, etc. Pantry and fridge fully stocked to the brink with half price bargains, avoid expensive cuts of meat. Other big expense is the $5k year end holiday, eat out once or twice a month. If you know where to look, tons of free stuffs for kids (books, toys, you name it).

    • whirlpool_guy on 04/07/2018 - 15:19
      +5

      $1k/month for all that is pretty impressive

      • ganymede on 05/07/2018 - 10:29
        +1

        $1k excluding rent. Comfortable living is relative and I think my family is pretty comfortable at the moment.

  • pformag on 03/07/2018 - 15:55

    -Can buy groceries without having to worry about price of each items.

    This can easily be your biggest money killer.

  • imurgod on 03/07/2018 - 15:59

    You need exactly $194,726.12

    • CI on 03/07/2018 - 21:56
      +1

      Thanks. On to it.

      • imurgod on 04/07/2018 - 12:24
        +3

        @CI too late. Today, it's $198,842.37

  • [Deactivated] on 03/07/2018 - 18:43

    Honestly, I think you have your priorities wrong. First on top of the list must be saving if you want to be comfortable in the long run, perhaps at the cost of eating out every weekend, going to the movies, going for a holiday. My rough estimate for you would be atleast 150k-160k combined household annual income.

    My idea of comfortable living would be:

    • Be able to save 12k minimum/year
    • Be able to pay rent/mobile outright every 5-6 years and go for a cheap plan/ Electricity
    • Opal Card and Occassional Uber
    • Own car, maintenance petrol, rego, ctp, insurance
    • 1000$ for groceries and 100-150$ per month to eat out and socialising
    • Have some money for one hobby for each member, keep hobby for longer so it becomes cheaper and we are better at it.
    • Clothes maybe once a year sometimes twice
    • Basic Grooming like haircuts
    • Gifts and presents for occassions
    • Trip abroad comes last in my priority only if I meet above goals.
    • lostn on 03/07/2018 - 21:20
      +1

      Be able to pay rent/mobile outright every 5-6 years

      Good luck with changing a mobile every 5-6 years. Your battery is going to need recharging more often after 2-3 years and it won't last as long, and it will feel very sluggish by the third year. If it's Android you won't even get updates beyond 2 years. I don't know of any phones that let you change the battery yourself anymore. The trend towards metal or glass unibody casing killed that years ago. You can thank plastic snobbery.

      Clothes maybe once a year sometimes twice

      How many articles of clothing do you buy once a year?

      1000$ for groceries and 100-150$ per month to eat out and socialising

      under $20 a week in groceries? How do you do that? Are you single with no kids and living off noodle cups?

      • Other on 03/07/2018 - 21:54
        +1

        Just get a Chinese phone for $300 every 2.5yrs.

      • Tyrx on 04/07/2018 - 06:25

        There are plenty of phones produced by western brands in recent times that have removable batteries - the LG V20, Moto E4, Samsung Galaxy Alpha, etc…

        • [Deactivated] on 04/07/2018 - 16:31

          I used to purchase a mobile phone every year (worked in telco). Since getting the iPhone 3GS I have purchased exactly one other handset, the iPhone 5S.

          Goes like this - buy iPhone new, keep iPhone for 3 years, replace battery on the third $90~$180. Keep phone another 2~3 years (when Apple will cut off support/its getting too slow) buy a new one. Repeat.

          So it only costs you ~$900+$90/$180 to keep your phone for 6 years with a good working battery across the whole time.
          Better still as Apple tends to hand you an (effectively new) iPhone when you go for a battery swap your phone never really gets that beat up either, as you never genuinely have a six year old phone but a second new phone at marginal cost.

        • lostn on 04/07/2018 - 20:33

          @lghulm: Your app support dwindles with an older model. And they will try to push newer iOS even if it slows down your phone.

          When you go for a battery replacement, they take yours and give you a new one? That would mean you lose all your data? Is that the only option?

        • ganymede on 05/07/2018 - 13:00

          Western brands?

        • HighAndDry on 05/07/2018 - 13:12
          +1

          @ganymede: Lol. Maybe they meant "mainstream" or "non-Chinese"?

  • serpserpserp on 03/07/2018 - 20:34
    +1

    Your poor kid having a low immune system, what diagnosis/condition do they have? Must be rare.

    • Other on 03/07/2018 - 21:55

      perhaps just picks up colds more easily. It happens.

      Problem is sch00ls are basically disease vectors.

  • CalmLemons on 04/07/2018 - 00:19
    +1

    This is such a troll post. So many factual inconsistencies in the OPs statements just to incite corrections…

  • CalmLemons on 04/07/2018 - 00:23
    +1

    …btw just to debunk the myth.

    Immune systems aren't 'weak'.

    Your child gets colds because viruses are transmitted. Doesn't matter if you have a strong or 'weak' immune system, if you contract a virus, you contract a virus, the chances are the same.

    Your body only fights off a 'cold virus' better when it has previously recognised the virus or a ismilar strain and has developed a faster reaction/immunity to the virus to put things simply.

    Limiting exposure to common cold viruses may possibly only mean reduced responses later on in life. Regardless, school will take care of that. *snot

    Use good hygiene methods.

    • NaRaSaRang on 04/07/2018 - 14:07

      how about wimhoff then?

  • jno on 04/07/2018 - 07:12
    +2

    So dont have kids and dont live in sydney, il keep that in mind

    • bad hombre on 05/07/2018 - 09:17

      I think the secret is - be rich.

  • whirlpool_guy on 04/07/2018 - 15:12
    1. Get rid of the PHI. Eastern suburbs have some of the best public hospitals
    2. Do worry about grocery prices. Maximise value you get
    3. Stop buying alcohol
    4. As a family, you should be saving way more than $500/year
  • [Deactivated] on 04/07/2018 - 15:15

    as much as possible in income

    and

    as little as possible in expenditures.

    and everything in between those two is all about choices & opportunities & sacrifices.

  • BanannaMan on 04/07/2018 - 15:49

    Maybe turn this into a poll?

  • zqipz on 04/07/2018 - 21:39

    Saving $500 per week would be "comfortable"

  • Levathian on 04/07/2018 - 23:30
    +1

    Honestly you'd need $300K MINIMUM as a family just to survive in eastern Sydney,

    Roof over head (renting)
    $1000 x 52 = $52000

    Own a car, and paying regular car expenses such as repayment, rego, etc
    $200 a car x 2 cars x 52 weeks = $20,800

    Can buy groceries without having to worry about price of each items.
    Yup. $300/week * 52= $15,000

    Family dine out in the weekend, nothing fancy like Café Sydney or such.
    $20 a person x 3 people * 52 weeks = $3,120

    Go to the movies maybe once a month?
    $30 * 12 = $360

    Once a year holiday within Australia/Pacific or south-east Asia.
    $2000 (cheap asian trip) each x 3 people x 2 trips = $12,000
    A yearly trip to either europe or the USA is a must imho, can't be fashionable without it. $10,000 each x 3 = $30,000

    100-dollar worth of kids spending, toys, or kids show (Wiggle, high 5, etc) a month?
    $100/week per kid = $5,200

    Health insurance for all 3 of us. $5000
    Can still save maybe about 500 a year? Nah you need to buy a house, so save $80,000/year

    You forgot some:
    Electricity $3000
    Water $1000
    Phones $2000
    Tolls $10 a day x 5 days x 52 weeks = $2,600
    Internet $1000
    Gas $1000
    Clothes $10,000
    Haircuts $500
    Gym $2000
    Random appliances/TVs/computer $5000
    Day care $100 x 5 x 52 = $26,000
    House insurance $2,000
    Rates $1,000
    Daily coffee $5 x 2 x 5 x 52 $2,600

    Now up to $283,180 and I'm just getting started. Haven't included daily coffee. Then you have the ongoing costs of investment properties, tax accountants, random impulse purchases ($500 shoes etc.) and the cost of saving for private high school education too. A couple earning $120K each could be doing it tough in Sydney IMHO.

    • bad hombre on 05/07/2018 - 09:05

      $10k on clothes?
      $2.6k on coffees?
      $2k on gym?
      $5k on random appliances?
      $0.5k on haircuts?
      $2.6k on tolls?

      No one needs to spend $100 per week per kid on toys that's ridiculous. All they end up doing is playing with that boxes and that is so true! As parents we think kids may go without as they don't have the latest toy that the other parents are talking about. Kids are most happiest with our undivided attention.

      Who are you? Is that you Malcolm?

      • Levathian on 05/07/2018 - 09:28

        You could easily spend $10/day on tolls in Sydney..

        • mysterytal on 05/07/2018 - 09:34

          They are proposing to live in Sydney's Eastern suburbs.

          Living in the West, North or South and commuting in by car I can understand but not from the East. It's a relatively short drive.

  • [Deactivated] on 05/07/2018 - 00:43
    +1

    Hi O.P. thanks for reaching out,

    2 things I can say (well 3 actually)

    1. Paying rent is a killer (solution: buy a house ASAP why fill the pockets of some already rich guy that both sides of govt are gutless to touch)

      • sidenote, many politicians from both sides have multiple rental properties, one even has about 40!!!!!! Rental properties while scamming the public purse. No wonder they don't want to touch negative gearing

    2. Living in Sydney is a killer - and harmful to your daghter's health (solution: get out of there ASAP, get as far out of metro area as practicable even if have to travel to work)

    3. Read somewhere that it costs at least $500,000 to raise a child in Australia, and that is NOT incl. private schools, expensive clothes/holidays, i.e. just 'normal' living.

    Hope this helps, wish you all the best with the little one :)

    • mysterytal on 05/07/2018 - 09:09

      "Paying rent is a killer (solution: buy a house ASAP why fill the pockets of some already rich guy that both sides of govt are gutless to touch)"

      It's cheaper to rent…home owner's pay council rates, water rates, house insurance and maintenance on top of mortgage payments. Rent covers all those expenses.

  • whooah1979 on 05/07/2018 - 05:57

    Can still save maybe about 500 a year?

    Are you missing a few zeros here? How may someone afford to live in the eastern suburbs on an income of $500 p/a after expenses?

  • bad hombre on 05/07/2018 - 08:21

    Daily living expenses such as insurances, fuel, rego, bus/train fares, groceries, car maintenance, food (incl. Some take away), clothing, part-time daycare, electricity/gas can easily add up to $5k per month. There are spreadsheet templates that list all of these, spend some time completing on and you will see how quickly everything adds up. Then you have debt repayments, entertainment, holiday on top.

    Saving $500 a year will most likely get eaten away through inflation.

    Joe says, "just earn more!" …

    We spend about $5k per month (+/-) 10% depending on when everything is due with 2 kids under 5, eldest in part-time daycare.

  • [Deactivated] on 05/07/2018 - 11:01

    Similar situation to you: married couple 2 kids under 2 living in metro perth in our own house with about 50% equity

    When both working fulltime we make about $150k total. (Wife is on maternity leave and making less, she makes more than me)

    We have newish cars (hyundai Mitsubishi).

    We live fairly comfortably. We pay all bills on time if not ahead. We eat out a few times a week (Chinese takeaway, nothing fancy but not junk food)

    You will not find happiness in the pursuit of money, rather you will find happiness in learning to live with what you have.

  • nurbsenvi on 05/07/2018 - 12:42

    You need about $8000-9000 a month I reckon
    Melbourne that is so I’d say $10000 in Sydney

    Home $3000 (inc. rates,Insurance and body corp)
    2 cars $1500 (inc. insurance, rego and fuel)
    Food $1200 (inc. eating out)
    Bills $800 (2 mobiles, water, electricity, gas, internet and bank fees)
    Childcare $500
    Emergency $500 (fines, bday of reletive and friends)
    Ozbargain $200 (SSD, eneloops etc)
    Entertainment $?

    • zealmax on 05/07/2018 - 13:34

      Very realistic. A bit more during big sales posted on ozbargain.

    • vetopower on 05/07/2018 - 18:28

      Median household income is $6231/month: http://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getp…

      Tough living for a lot of people then.

      • whooah1979 on 05/07/2018 - 19:37

        $6231/month

        the amount you've posted is for total family income weekly. the median household income weekly is recorded at a lower amount ($1438 p/w or $5752 per 4 weeks).

        • vetopower on 06/07/2018 - 08:04

          Thanks. Even worse!

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