wow how do peeps do it ......
Apr 13th 2012, 7:56 am
#76
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 10,375
Re: wow how do peps do it ......
If I see one down the packenham IGA I trust it must have been a pretty good batch of drugs
Ive seen 2 in 11 years./ One under the brisbane bridge climb, and one allegedly in the ocean, however despite the claims it was a dolphin by tourists the old surfer from way back, better known as R reckoned the same as me it was a shark cruising the gutter looking for tourists to eat
However I will let the dolphin count be 2 for the lovely factor.
Apr 13th 2012, 7:57 am
#77
Proudly Deplorable
Joined: May 2003
Location: Alloha snack bar
Posts: 24,246
Apr 13th 2012, 7:59 am
#78
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 10,375
Re: wow how do peps do it ....
LOL
Thats quite sad though in a way don't you think. I'm all for people having an opinion but surely especially for new people on here the swearing and slamming of some of the posts is just going to put people off this forum as it now has the OP?
Maybe there should be a section for newbies or ppl wanting to make the move who can feel they can ask these sorts of questions that some deem silly?
Surely this is a forum for everyone not just existing members or people who get some sort of enjoyment for causing upset?
Thats quite sad though in a way don't you think. I'm all for people having an opinion but surely especially for new people on here the swearing and slamming of some of the posts is just going to put people off this forum as it now has the OP?
Maybe there should be a section for newbies or ppl wanting to make the move who can feel they can ask these sorts of questions that some deem silly?
Surely this is a forum for everyone not just existing members or people who get some sort of enjoyment for causing upset?
Why not get the real answers. I mean we can tell you a load of flowery stuff, dolphins and wotnot, but then when you arrive you would want to know why we spun you a load of old bull.
Apr 13th 2012, 8:03 am
#80
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Apr 13th 2012, 8:04 am
#81
Proudly Deplorable
Joined: May 2003
Location: Alloha snack bar
Posts: 24,246
Re: wow how do peps do it ......
What might be good/bad for you may be very different for others - something that you have always failed to grasp in all the years that you have been posting on here. My like in 2012 is far better than it was in 2012. The work/economic opps are in a different league today than they were in 2000.
Each to their own.
Each to their own.
Apr 13th 2012, 8:07 am
#82
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: wow how do peps do it ......
Dolphins
If I see one down the packenham IGA I trust it must have been a pretty good batch of drugs
Ive seen 2 in 11 years./ One under the brisbane bridge climb, and one allegedly in the ocean, however despite the claims it was a dolphin by tourists the old surfer from way back, better known as R reckoned the same as me it was a shark cruising the gutter looking for tourists to eat
However I will let the dolphin count be 2 for the lovely factor.
If I see one down the packenham IGA I trust it must have been a pretty good batch of drugs
Ive seen 2 in 11 years./ One under the brisbane bridge climb, and one allegedly in the ocean, however despite the claims it was a dolphin by tourists the old surfer from way back, better known as R reckoned the same as me it was a shark cruising the gutter looking for tourists to eat
However I will let the dolphin count be 2 for the lovely factor.
Most people knock these over the same day...the jammy gits...
Apr 13th 2012, 8:14 am
#83
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 10,375
Re: wow how do peps do it ......
What might be good/bad for you may be very different for others - something that you have always failed to grasp in all the years that you have been posting on here. My like in 2012 is far better than it was in 2012. The work/economic opps are in a different league today than they were in 2000.
Each to their own.
Ironic
Apply the rules you quote to yourself sometime eh.
Apr 13th 2012, 8:15 am
#84
Home and Happy
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Keep true friends and puppets close, trust no-one else...
Posts: 93,815
Re: wow how do peps do it ....
LOL
Thats quite sad though in a way don't you think. I'm all for people having an opinion but surely especially for new people on here the swearing and slamming of some of the posts is just going to put people off this forum as it now has the OP?
Maybe there should be a section for newbies or ppl wanting to make the move who can feel they can ask these sorts of questions that some deem silly?
Surely this is a forum for everyone not just existing members or people who get some sort of enjoyment for causing upset?
Thats quite sad though in a way don't you think. I'm all for people having an opinion but surely especially for new people on here the swearing and slamming of some of the posts is just going to put people off this forum as it now has the OP?
Maybe there should be a section for newbies or ppl wanting to make the move who can feel they can ask these sorts of questions that some deem silly?
Surely this is a forum for everyone not just existing members or people who get some sort of enjoyment for causing upset?
Apr 13th 2012, 8:29 am
#85
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: wow how do peps do it ......
To be fair I think Zulu knows that Australia is not for everyone (circumstances)- in fact i've just quoted him...
The problem I have with BE is the way people compete to be negative about little things.. That's very british culturally...Zulu is not british he's an observer/guest in my opinion..
The problem I have with BE is the way people compete to be negative about little things.. That's very british culturally...Zulu is not british he's an observer/guest in my opinion..
Last edited by BadgeIsBack; Apr 13th 2012 at 8:32 am.
Apr 13th 2012, 8:39 am
#86
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: wow how do peps do it ....
Pb was a good old british battler no better than his Aussie battler peers...
His limited horizons were his to deal with not yours or ours...
I decided about his relevance to me on day one : we have different lives...
Apr 13th 2012, 8:48 am
#87
Aussie Finn Mixture!
Joined: May 2005
Location: Leschenault WA (after few locations around WA and Around Europe!)
Posts: 1,151
Re: wow how do peps do it ......
13 yrs in here... Here's somethings to compare...
1999/ 2012
Weekend newspaper $1.20 / $2.30
Petrol $0.70/ $1.50 per l
Phone bill (just basic line rental) $14.99 / $30+
Rent 4x2 (same area, different decade) $160pw / $400 pw
Property buying (as above) $130k + / $400k +
Nappies (thank god our kids are older) $18 for huggies box/ now $40+ if on sale
Simple thing is that prices have gone up massively, wages barely keeping up unless you are in mining.
We live on a fairly low wage, about $100k a year combined with wages and FTB included, 3 kids, 13, 11 and 8 in public schools and to help future migrants, this is a rough breakdown of our costs. We counted our annual costs of EVERYTHING and divided fortnightly according to pay. So even if car rego is due only once a year, we put aside towards it fortnightly.... As I said, rough estimate, last budget was counted 10mths ago and we WILL HAVE to revise as prices have increased since alot!
Currently... Prices fortnightly
Rent $ 760
Food $ 500 (++)
Petrol $ 80 (I work locally, driving 30kms+ daily, Prado 4wd, Hubby has company car with free petrol)
Rego + 2 drivers licences annually $25 per fortnight (hubby free rego)
Car insurance $25 (Hubby free insurance)
Personal loan $250
School (book orders, uniforms, school photos, excursions, incursions, swimming lessons part of curriculum etc) $90 per fortnight
Our birthdays $70
Laybys for Xmas and kids going to bday parties $40+
Pets (vets and should something go wrong) $30
Gas $40 (with GHW and gas cooking plus gas bottles for BBQ)
Electricity $40 (reverse aircon, but 6 solar panels at highest tariff, without solar panels would be double that)
Water $10 (renting so no rates)
Kids hobbies $50 (school based dance groups, scouts and girlguides)
Mobile $30 (Vodafone prepaid, hubby free mobile from work)
Homephone, broadband +t hub bundle with very few calls $60
Entertainment (movies, drinks, weekends away etc) $200
Medical (annual meds, winter flues, medications etc) $30
Just from memory so may have left some out. We rarely get takeaway, all of that little left over goes to savings account which can go all very quickly as we found out as we bought new Dyson and digital camera, total close to $1200 just before Xmas, 2 days later our dog had to be put down $400, Hubby got a new puppy for Xmas for kids and all vet cost etc made it a close to $3000 Xmas... Lucky we had budget in place.
Now for balance, we moved here with $500, one 3mth old baby in tow (OH an aussie, picked up work at "high rate" in his field of sales at $28k and I got all of $23 fortnight from Centrelink), so this was before GST and rates increase with Centrelink in 2000.
However, should I still work where I worked when I started my wages would have gone up (award rates) about $8 an hour, however I now run my own business and happy to do so despite the time it takes as I call the shots, hours and wages.
Anyone moving here with very little money, I hope to God you've got some bail out plan, with us, family bailed us out few times, and for very simple reasons.... 2nd hand car broke down, either spend $3000 for repairs, or get another lemon.... Kids got sick, I had serious health problems and unable to work and budget is out the window. Never did we have to be bailed out in tune of thousands $$ but reality is, unless you've got healthy bank account, EVERYTHING and ANYTHING can throw you out of balance.
We don't do much take aways, rarely go to movies, we simply make our own fish'n'chips and rent load of movies but it all costs. We did start with 3 suitcases so everything in our house (into our 3rd washing machine, 3rd dryer etc) from TVs, furniture to little things like DVDs, cutlery, pots, plates, kettle, microwave, fridges and freezers (remember, they DO NOT come with rental) to sheets and beach towels have been bought by us. This in return explains why we are still trying to grow that deposit for a house.
So to the OP, yes, some comments in BE can be bitchy or short of temper. This may be due to HUNDREDS of posts each month asking "surely it can't be that bad". If you rely on your family and friends to tell you exactly how it is, sorry to tell you, but they love you and want you here, and they will make it sound GOOD. The only way to get objective sometimes is to ask strangers.
I hope you understand that we have spent YEARS to fine tune our budget to lowest possible so if you, or anyone in BE can lower it further, hints are welcome!!!
Just to say, had only one kid at home for Easter so went to movies for 1st time as a couple, $42 for movie tickets, $6 for popcorn and $4 for water, kiddo cost $16 for his movie (and no we don't go often so don't have discount cards). Afterwards bought 2kg of prawns $50 and day later, chinese from local cheapo for 3 of us (large special rice, couple of dishes $40), day after fish n chips with 3 pieces of shark, $3 of chips = $30). I do wonder why we don't do takeaways too often
Apr 13th 2012, 8:53 am
#88
Aussie Finn Mixture!
Joined: May 2005
Location: Leschenault WA (after few locations around WA and Around Europe!)
Posts: 1,151
Re: wow how do peps do it ......
Very true...
13 yrs in here... Here's somethings to compare...
1999/ 2012
Weekend newspaper $1.20 / $2.30
Petrol $0.70/ $1.50 per l
Phone bill (just basic line rental) $14.99 / $30+
Rent 4x2 (same area, different decade) $160pw / $400 pw
Property buying (as above) $130k + / $400k +
Nappies (thank god our kids are older) $18 for huggies box/ now $40+ if on sale
Simple thing is that prices have gone up massively, wages barely keeping up unless you are in mining.
We live on a fairly low wage, about $100k a year combined with wages and FTB included, 3 kids, 13, 11 and 8 in public schools and to help future migrants, this is a rough breakdown of our costs. We counted our annual costs of EVERYTHING and divided fortnightly according to pay. So even if car rego is due only once a year, we put aside towards it fortnightly.... As I said, rough estimate, last budget was counted 10mths ago and we WILL HAVE to revise as prices have increased since alot!
Currently... Prices fortnightly
Rent $ 760
Food $ 500 (++)
Petrol $ 80 (I work locally, driving 30kms+ daily, Prado 4wd, Hubby has company car with free petrol)
Rego + 2 drivers licences annually $25 per fortnight (hubby free rego)
Car insurance $25 (Hubby free insurance)
Personal loan $250
School (book orders, uniforms, school photos, excursions, incursions, swimming lessons part of curriculum etc) $90 per fortnight
Our birthdays $70
Laybys for Xmas and kids going to bday parties $40+
Pets (vets and should something go wrong) $30
Gas $40 (with GHW and gas cooking plus gas bottles for BBQ)
Electricity $40 (reverse aircon, but 6 solar panels at highest tariff, without solar panels would be double that)
Water $10 (renting so no rates)
Kids hobbies $50 (school based dance groups, scouts and girlguides)
Mobile $30 (Vodafone prepaid, hubby free mobile from work)
Homephone, broadband +t hub bundle with very few calls $60
Entertainment (movies, drinks, weekends away etc) $200
Medical (annual meds, winter flues, medications etc) $30
Just from memory so may have left some out. We rarely get takeaway, all of that little left over goes to savings account which can go all very quickly as we found out as we bought new Dyson and digital camera, total close to $1200 just before Xmas, 2 days later our dog had to be put down $400, Hubby got a new puppy for Xmas for kids and all vet cost etc made it a close to $3000 Xmas... Lucky we had budget in place.
Now for balance, we moved here with $500, one 3mth old baby in tow (OH an aussie, picked up work at "high rate" in his field of sales at $28k and I got all of $23 fortnight from Centrelink), so this was before GST and rates increase with Centrelink in 2000.
However, should I still work where I worked when I started my wages would have gone up (award rates) about $8 an hour, however I now run my own business and happy to do so despite the time it takes as I call the shots, hours and wages.
Anyone moving here with very little money, I hope to God you've got some bail out plan, with us, family bailed us out few times, and for very simple reasons.... 2nd hand car broke down, either spend $3000 for repairs, or get another lemon.... Kids got sick, I had serious health problems and unable to work and budget is out the window. Never did we have to be bailed out in tune of thousands $$ but reality is, unless you've got healthy bank account, EVERYTHING and ANYTHING can throw you out of balance.
We don't do much take aways, rarely go to movies, we simply make our own fish'n'chips and rent load of movies but it all costs. We did start with 3 suitcases so everything in our house (into our 3rd washing machine, 3rd dryer etc) from TVs, furniture to little things like DVDs, cutlery, pots, plates, kettle, microwave, fridges and freezers (remember, they DO NOT come with rental) to sheets and beach towels have been bought by us. This in return explains why we are still trying to grow that deposit for a house.
So to the OP, yes, some comments in BE can be bitchy or short of temper. This may be due to HUNDREDS of posts each month asking "surely it can't be that bad". If you rely on your family and friends to tell you exactly how it is, sorry to tell you, but they love you and want you here, and they will make it sound GOOD. The only way to get objective sometimes is to ask strangers.
I hope you understand that we have spent YEARS to fine tune our budget to lowest possible so if you, or anyone in BE can lower it further, hints are welcome!!!
Just to say, had only one kid at home for Easter so went to movies for 1st time as a couple, $42 for movie tickets, $6 for popcorn and $4 for water, kiddo cost $16 for his movie (and no we don't go often so don't have discount cards). Afterwards bought 2kg of prawns $50 and day later, chinese from local cheapo for 3 of us (large special rice, couple of dishes $40), day after fish n chips with 3 pieces of shark, $3 of chips = $30). I do wonder why we don't do takeaways too often
13 yrs in here... Here's somethings to compare...
1999/ 2012
Weekend newspaper $1.20 / $2.30
Petrol $0.70/ $1.50 per l
Phone bill (just basic line rental) $14.99 / $30+
Rent 4x2 (same area, different decade) $160pw / $400 pw
Property buying (as above) $130k + / $400k +
Nappies (thank god our kids are older) $18 for huggies box/ now $40+ if on sale
Simple thing is that prices have gone up massively, wages barely keeping up unless you are in mining.
We live on a fairly low wage, about $100k a year combined with wages and FTB included, 3 kids, 13, 11 and 8 in public schools and to help future migrants, this is a rough breakdown of our costs. We counted our annual costs of EVERYTHING and divided fortnightly according to pay. So even if car rego is due only once a year, we put aside towards it fortnightly.... As I said, rough estimate, last budget was counted 10mths ago and we WILL HAVE to revise as prices have increased since alot!
Currently... Prices fortnightly
Rent $ 760
Food $ 500 (++)
Petrol $ 80 (I work locally, driving 30kms+ daily, Prado 4wd, Hubby has company car with free petrol)
Rego + 2 drivers licences annually $25 per fortnight (hubby free rego)
Car insurance $25 (Hubby free insurance)
Personal loan $250
School (book orders, uniforms, school photos, excursions, incursions, swimming lessons part of curriculum etc) $90 per fortnight
Our birthdays $70
Laybys for Xmas and kids going to bday parties $40+
Pets (vets and should something go wrong) $30
Gas $40 (with GHW and gas cooking plus gas bottles for BBQ)
Electricity $40 (reverse aircon, but 6 solar panels at highest tariff, without solar panels would be double that)
Water $10 (renting so no rates)
Kids hobbies $50 (school based dance groups, scouts and girlguides)
Mobile $30 (Vodafone prepaid, hubby free mobile from work)
Homephone, broadband +t hub bundle with very few calls $60
Entertainment (movies, drinks, weekends away etc) $200
Medical (annual meds, winter flues, medications etc) $30
Just from memory so may have left some out. We rarely get takeaway, all of that little left over goes to savings account which can go all very quickly as we found out as we bought new Dyson and digital camera, total close to $1200 just before Xmas, 2 days later our dog had to be put down $400, Hubby got a new puppy for Xmas for kids and all vet cost etc made it a close to $3000 Xmas... Lucky we had budget in place.
Now for balance, we moved here with $500, one 3mth old baby in tow (OH an aussie, picked up work at "high rate" in his field of sales at $28k and I got all of $23 fortnight from Centrelink), so this was before GST and rates increase with Centrelink in 2000.
However, should I still work where I worked when I started my wages would have gone up (award rates) about $8 an hour, however I now run my own business and happy to do so despite the time it takes as I call the shots, hours and wages.
Anyone moving here with very little money, I hope to God you've got some bail out plan, with us, family bailed us out few times, and for very simple reasons.... 2nd hand car broke down, either spend $3000 for repairs, or get another lemon.... Kids got sick, I had serious health problems and unable to work and budget is out the window. Never did we have to be bailed out in tune of thousands $$ but reality is, unless you've got healthy bank account, EVERYTHING and ANYTHING can throw you out of balance.
We don't do much take aways, rarely go to movies, we simply make our own fish'n'chips and rent load of movies but it all costs. We did start with 3 suitcases so everything in our house (into our 3rd washing machine, 3rd dryer etc) from TVs, furniture to little things like DVDs, cutlery, pots, plates, kettle, microwave, fridges and freezers (remember, they DO NOT come with rental) to sheets and beach towels have been bought by us. This in return explains why we are still trying to grow that deposit for a house.
So to the OP, yes, some comments in BE can be bitchy or short of temper. This may be due to HUNDREDS of posts each month asking "surely it can't be that bad". If you rely on your family and friends to tell you exactly how it is, sorry to tell you, but they love you and want you here, and they will make it sound GOOD. The only way to get objective sometimes is to ask strangers.
I hope you understand that we have spent YEARS to fine tune our budget to lowest possible so if you, or anyone in BE can lower it further, hints are welcome!!!
Just to say, had only one kid at home for Easter so went to movies for 1st time as a couple, $42 for movie tickets, $6 for popcorn and $4 for water, kiddo cost $16 for his movie (and no we don't go often so don't have discount cards). Afterwards bought 2kg of prawns $50 and day later, chinese from local cheapo for 3 of us (large special rice, couple of dishes $40), day after fish n chips with 3 pieces of shark, $3 of chips = $30). I do wonder why we don't do takeaways too often
Apr 13th 2012, 9:02 am
#89
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 100
Re: wow how do peps do it ......
Thankyou for your wonderfull response, as the original poster, i maybe should have worded my question a bit better, i was sooo shocked about the complete negative comments, i wont be on this forum any longer, (have found a much more positive one with practical advice not just digs) why people think we would risk our childrens happiness and lives but not fully investigating the move is beyond me.. you are soo right no one can predict lives, (how i pray for a crystal ball) we are going ahead with the move and as scary as it is we like you are not ever going to be able to regret what we did not try, yes we will have family support, which is great, and yes we dont have the hassel of visas, i still in my heart know its best for us as a family, and yes thebills will need to be paid and yes cost of living is high, but hey nothing is cheap here, we live within our means here and manage to save, we will do the same in australia.. Many people have said "its ok if you wanna pack a picnic every day and sit on a beach " well hell yeah we do, but also wanna see more of the country, wanna give the kids an outlook on different lives, wanna open the world up to them, wanna let them meet and spend time with my family. We could easily stay here in the uk, plod along, and in a few years in australia i am sure we will reach the plodding along again. you are the only positive person here, who has put my mind at rest. I hope when you go it all works out for you, i wish you all the best xxxxx maybe one day we will meet at the bbq on the beach
Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero – "Seize the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the future" The future is unforseen whether you are in the UK or Australia.
Apr 13th 2012, 9:04 am
#90
Not allowed opinions.
Joined: Dec 2009
Location: Sydney
Posts: 4,565
Re: wow how do peps do it ......
Very true...
13 yrs in here... Here's somethings to compare...
1999/ 2012
Weekend newspaper $1.20 / $2.30
Petrol $0.70/ $1.50 per l
Phone bill (just basic line rental) $14.99 / $30+
Rent 4x2 (same area, different decade) $160pw / $400 pw
Property buying (as above) $130k + / $400k +
Nappies (thank god our kids are older) $18 for huggies box/ now $40+ if on sale
Simple thing is that prices have gone up massively, wages barely keeping up unless you are in mining.
We live on a fairly low wage, about $100k a year combined with wages and FTB included, 3 kids, 13, 11 and 8 in public schools and to help future migrants, this is a rough breakdown of our costs. We counted our annual costs of EVERYTHING and divided fortnightly according to pay. So even if car rego is due only once a year, we put aside towards it fortnightly.... As I said, rough estimate, last budget was counted 10mths ago and we WILL HAVE to revise as prices have increased since alot!
Currently... Prices fortnightly
Rent $ 760
Food $ 500 (++)
Petrol $ 80 (I work locally, driving 30kms+ daily, Prado 4wd, Hubby has company car with free petrol)
Rego + 2 drivers licences annually $25 per fortnight (hubby free rego)
Car insurance $25 (Hubby free insurance)
Personal loan $250
School (book orders, uniforms, school photos, excursions, incursions, swimming lessons part of curriculum etc) $90 per fortnight
Our birthdays $70
Laybys for Xmas and kids going to bday parties $40+
Pets (vets and should something go wrong) $30
Gas $40 (with GHW and gas cooking plus gas bottles for BBQ)
Electricity $40 (reverse aircon, but 6 solar panels at highest tariff, without solar panels would be double that)
Water $10 (renting so no rates)
Kids hobbies $50 (school based dance groups, scouts and girlguides)
Mobile $30 (Vodafone prepaid, hubby free mobile from work)
Homephone, broadband +t hub bundle with very few calls $60
Entertainment (movies, drinks, weekends away etc) $200
Medical (annual meds, winter flues, medications etc) $30
Just from memory so may have left some out. We rarely get takeaway, all of that little left over goes to savings account which can go all very quickly as we found out as we bought new Dyson and digital camera, total close to $1200 just before Xmas, 2 days later our dog had to be put down $400, Hubby got a new puppy for Xmas for kids and all vet cost etc made it a close to $3000 Xmas... Lucky we had budget in place.
Now for balance, we moved here with $500, one 3mth old baby in tow (OH an aussie, picked up work at "high rate" in his field of sales at $28k and I got all of $23 fortnight from Centrelink), so this was before GST and rates increase with Centrelink in 2000.
However, should I still work where I worked when I started my wages would have gone up (award rates) about $8 an hour, however I now run my own business and happy to do so despite the time it takes as I call the shots, hours and wages.
Anyone moving here with very little money, I hope to God you've got some bail out plan, with us, family bailed us out few times, and for very simple reasons.... 2nd hand car broke down, either spend $3000 for repairs, or get another lemon.... Kids got sick, I had serious health problems and unable to work and budget is out the window. Never did we have to be bailed out in tune of thousands $$ but reality is, unless you've got healthy bank account, EVERYTHING and ANYTHING can throw you out of balance.
We don't do much take aways, rarely go to movies, we simply make our own fish'n'chips and rent load of movies but it all costs. We did start with 3 suitcases so everything in our house (into our 3rd washing machine, 3rd dryer etc) from TVs, furniture to little things like DVDs, cutlery, pots, plates, kettle, microwave, fridges and freezers (remember, they DO NOT come with rental) to sheets and beach towels have been bought by us. This in return explains why we are still trying to grow that deposit for a house.
So to the OP, yes, some comments in BE can be bitchy or short of temper. This may be due to HUNDREDS of posts each month asking "surely it can't be that bad". If you rely on your family and friends to tell you exactly how it is, sorry to tell you, but they love you and want you here, and they will make it sound GOOD. The only way to get objective sometimes is to ask strangers.
I hope you understand that we have spent YEARS to fine tune our budget to lowest possible so if you, or anyone in BE can lower it further, hints are welcome!!!
Just to say, had only one kid at home for Easter so went to movies for 1st time as a couple, $42 for movie tickets, $6 for popcorn and $4 for water, kiddo cost $16 for his movie (and no we don't go often so don't have discount cards). Afterwards bought 2kg of prawns $50 and day later, chinese from local cheapo for 3 of us (large special rice, couple of dishes $40), day after fish n chips with 3 pieces of shark, $3 of chips = $30). I do wonder why we don't do takeaways too often
13 yrs in here... Here's somethings to compare...
1999/ 2012
Weekend newspaper $1.20 / $2.30
Petrol $0.70/ $1.50 per l
Phone bill (just basic line rental) $14.99 / $30+
Rent 4x2 (same area, different decade) $160pw / $400 pw
Property buying (as above) $130k + / $400k +
Nappies (thank god our kids are older) $18 for huggies box/ now $40+ if on sale
Simple thing is that prices have gone up massively, wages barely keeping up unless you are in mining.
We live on a fairly low wage, about $100k a year combined with wages and FTB included, 3 kids, 13, 11 and 8 in public schools and to help future migrants, this is a rough breakdown of our costs. We counted our annual costs of EVERYTHING and divided fortnightly according to pay. So even if car rego is due only once a year, we put aside towards it fortnightly.... As I said, rough estimate, last budget was counted 10mths ago and we WILL HAVE to revise as prices have increased since alot!
Currently... Prices fortnightly
Rent $ 760
Food $ 500 (++)
Petrol $ 80 (I work locally, driving 30kms+ daily, Prado 4wd, Hubby has company car with free petrol)
Rego + 2 drivers licences annually $25 per fortnight (hubby free rego)
Car insurance $25 (Hubby free insurance)
Personal loan $250
School (book orders, uniforms, school photos, excursions, incursions, swimming lessons part of curriculum etc) $90 per fortnight
Our birthdays $70
Laybys for Xmas and kids going to bday parties $40+
Pets (vets and should something go wrong) $30
Gas $40 (with GHW and gas cooking plus gas bottles for BBQ)
Electricity $40 (reverse aircon, but 6 solar panels at highest tariff, without solar panels would be double that)
Water $10 (renting so no rates)
Kids hobbies $50 (school based dance groups, scouts and girlguides)
Mobile $30 (Vodafone prepaid, hubby free mobile from work)
Homephone, broadband +t hub bundle with very few calls $60
Entertainment (movies, drinks, weekends away etc) $200
Medical (annual meds, winter flues, medications etc) $30
Just from memory so may have left some out. We rarely get takeaway, all of that little left over goes to savings account which can go all very quickly as we found out as we bought new Dyson and digital camera, total close to $1200 just before Xmas, 2 days later our dog had to be put down $400, Hubby got a new puppy for Xmas for kids and all vet cost etc made it a close to $3000 Xmas... Lucky we had budget in place.
Now for balance, we moved here with $500, one 3mth old baby in tow (OH an aussie, picked up work at "high rate" in his field of sales at $28k and I got all of $23 fortnight from Centrelink), so this was before GST and rates increase with Centrelink in 2000.
However, should I still work where I worked when I started my wages would have gone up (award rates) about $8 an hour, however I now run my own business and happy to do so despite the time it takes as I call the shots, hours and wages.
Anyone moving here with very little money, I hope to God you've got some bail out plan, with us, family bailed us out few times, and for very simple reasons.... 2nd hand car broke down, either spend $3000 for repairs, or get another lemon.... Kids got sick, I had serious health problems and unable to work and budget is out the window. Never did we have to be bailed out in tune of thousands $$ but reality is, unless you've got healthy bank account, EVERYTHING and ANYTHING can throw you out of balance.
We don't do much take aways, rarely go to movies, we simply make our own fish'n'chips and rent load of movies but it all costs. We did start with 3 suitcases so everything in our house (into our 3rd washing machine, 3rd dryer etc) from TVs, furniture to little things like DVDs, cutlery, pots, plates, kettle, microwave, fridges and freezers (remember, they DO NOT come with rental) to sheets and beach towels have been bought by us. This in return explains why we are still trying to grow that deposit for a house.
So to the OP, yes, some comments in BE can be bitchy or short of temper. This may be due to HUNDREDS of posts each month asking "surely it can't be that bad". If you rely on your family and friends to tell you exactly how it is, sorry to tell you, but they love you and want you here, and they will make it sound GOOD. The only way to get objective sometimes is to ask strangers.
I hope you understand that we have spent YEARS to fine tune our budget to lowest possible so if you, or anyone in BE can lower it further, hints are welcome!!!
Just to say, had only one kid at home for Easter so went to movies for 1st time as a couple, $42 for movie tickets, $6 for popcorn and $4 for water, kiddo cost $16 for his movie (and no we don't go often so don't have discount cards). Afterwards bought 2kg of prawns $50 and day later, chinese from local cheapo for 3 of us (large special rice, couple of dishes $40), day after fish n chips with 3 pieces of shark, $3 of chips = $30). I do wonder why we don't do takeaways too often