Hmm1

Hi all I have been browsing the forum for a while now and after reading some really useful info thought what better place to ask for some advice!

I am due to move to NS in the next few months with my wife and kids 11+5.
I have a job already sorted that pays me 50k a year basic with the chance of overtime etc..
We will be bringing $25k with us also.

Thing is over the last few months I've have an overwhelming feeling of trepidation!
I'm worried that this will not be enough to live on.
Having spoke to my employer this works out to be about $3000 pm after all is said and done.
Is this enough? I understand you cannot definitively say either way as it depends on lifestyle etc...
Just after your opinions if this is doable, my wife does plan to work but I need to know I can support them just in case she doesn't find work.

Thanks

Hmm1

I should add we have been looking at renting a house for the first 12 months and have been looking at houses around Hubbards iro $1000-1200 pm.

Former Lancastrian

Im pretty sure there are lots of New Brunswick families similar to yours managing on less than $50,000 a year.
It will depend on your standards of living.

plasticcanuck

Without another income and with the family unit you describe, it would be tight..

Hmm1

To be fair we're pretty simple in regards to our lifestyle.
We enjoy the outdoors (part of the reason for the move) and just basic stuff really we're not mega spenders whatsoever.

Hmm1

Hmm ok, got me thinking!
When you say tight you thinking not many luxuries tight or struggling to eat tight?

raindropsandroses

I'm in the Maritimes (PEI) but shortly moving to either NS or NB (still trying to decide which) and if its helpful I don't mind giving you a breakdown of average monthly expenses.

Hmm1

Yes that would be much appreciated

confused_uk

We moved last year with about that amount & it gets eaten up really fast. We didn't have jobs lined up though so that didn't help but we already had a house.

Here's what we found in terms of starting costs:

Car - ended up paying far more than we though we would (budgeted around $7k paid $13k). Second hand cars here are expensive plus you have to pay hst on top. There wasn't much to choose from & the ones within our original budget were pitiful.

Car insurance - expect to pay around $2k if you are lucky.

Utilities (inc. cell phones) - they all want deposits of usually about $200

Are you bringing your own furniture? It's quite expensive to purchase here, though if you aren't too picky you can probably find 2nd hand stuff on kijiji for a reasonable price.

For monthly/yearly expenses it depends but for us in an 1800sqft older home with just the two of us here's ours:

Heat (oil) - $3-$4k a year

Electric - $150 a month

Water - $75 a month

Cell phones - $45 a month each

Internet - $50 a month

Food - £200 a week

Property tax - $1800 a year (not sure you'll pay this if renting)

We are scraping by on $18k a year but we don't have a mortgage or rent to pay.

HTH

raindropsandroses

OK no worries

House expenses -

- We own it with no mortgage so no expense there but we are about to rent it out when we've moved to NS and have agreed on $1200/month, tenant pays all utilities. Mates rates as we will be renting it to friends, we were advised to rent it for $1500/month.
- Home insurance $90/month
- Property tax $100/month (ish) but we pay quarterly
- Water and sewer $65/month
- Electricity $350/month summer and $480/month in winter
- Oil heating $120/month we pay the same each month and the oil company keep the tank filled, deliver automatically and make sure it never runs out.

Car expenses

- Own both cars outright, husband wrecked the engine when he borrowed mine though so I'm currently on Shank's pony. Grrrrr. We bought bangers but I know enough about mechanics so could make sure we got rough diamonds not deathtraps . We paid $400 for mine and $600 for my husbands, but I haggled like crazy.

- Insurance, $1200 per year per car, so $100/month per car. Our broker quoted us $98/month for Nova Scotia insurance, so similar I guess. Both cars are older (mine was 22 yrs old, husband's is 9 years old) and not "boy racer" kind of cars so are in the lowest insurance group, plus we both had maximum no claims and clean driving records which helped a lot.

- Petrol $70/week when we were running two cars, $50 with just the one car. I do drive 60km to the grocery store though as I prefer Charlottetown to Summerside, so we could reduce gas costs if we wanted to.

- Maintenance, hmmm, negligible. Just paid $94 including taxes for an oil change with premium oil, all filters changed, all engine fluids filled and cleaned where necessary, wheels aligned and balanced after summer tires put on. I do that twice per year with our cars.

Groceries

There are three of us (two adults, one toddler who eats like its going out of fashion) and out pets including a giant breed dog.

$140/week if I shop around and meal plan and am ultra careful price wise.

If I do it this way grocery shopping takes up most of one day, but I don't mind it so it doesn't bother me, plus I end up bumping into friends and having impromptu coffee and catch up stops which makes it take longer. I hate paying over the odds for stuff so I'd rather shop around. If both of you are working though that approach will really suck, time off becomes more precious!

Weeks where money has been tight I can narrow it down to $70/week on groceries but that is really pushing it and makes for some very boring eating.
If I'm not worried about shopping around, or buy a lot of "treat" stuff I could easily spend $250 upwards per week on groceries and we aren't big meat eaters, and almost always buy the value brands. Its pretty easy to wrack up big grocery bills.

Going Out

We don't . Joking aside we entertain at home, go to friends or go to the beach or on picnics so I don't really know about this. We did have lunch at Boston Pizza not long ago and it came to $40 ish for the three of us, no alcoholic drinks and not including tips. Coffee with friends is usually $10 ish.

The cheapest bottle of wine I've found here is what out friends refer to as drain cleaner and is $11.75 for a normal sized bottle, though its 13.5%. I like it but can't drink much anymore, or am not supposed to anyway.

I'll have a think and see if I can think of anything else

raindropsandroses

Oh yes, cell phones. We went with pay as you go and then after a month they were badgering us with offers to sign up for a contract, hence we avoided the deposits.

Internet - $130/month on special offer for a decent enough connection to Skype on
TV - was $140/month for a basic package but thought it was overpriced and rubbish son scrapped it and went for netflicks instead.

raindropsandroses

Thrift stores are absolutely excellent (and addictive). I've furnished our house with kijiji and the thrift stores very cheaply with absolutely stunning items.
I also now get all of my clothes from thrift stores and Old Navy, one of my husband's colleagues made a snarky remark the other day that I always wear expensive clothes but they are all thrift store finds.

confused_uk

Now that I've written mine down i've decided I need to budget better, lol

raindropsandroses

Confused - it does make you think doesn't it? Lol. I wrote down ours a few months ago and made some changes and it made a big difference

raindropsandroses

I meant to add that you may be eligible for some benefits too, Child and family benefits

Child benefit can be up to $530-600 per month depending on income, somits not all doom and gloom