Wol

>>During the recent budget, the Labor party stated that household's earning $150k were rich. What do you think? I'd loving to be seeing that kind of money coming into our bank account but I wouldn't really consider somebody earning that to be 'rich'<<

Re-reading the OPs first post - $150k "earnings" doesn't equal $150k "in the bank account". By quite a long way!

confuzzled

either way it is still triple my salary so i'd be happy

Pollyana

Same here

rabsody

Definitely not rich, but comfortable.

ACE

Not rich but pretty much able to buy 'gagets' within reason, go on holidays inter-state or overseas
and not worry too much about cost of living fluctuations.

foreverhoping1

that would be nice. im a paramedic and on $45,000!

Helen Randle

I'm a nurse and I'll never earn that much - so I guess I need to keep looking for that rich, or richer man (not a nurse I guess!)
Any offers - I'll be in Sydney in Jan 09!!!

Siren & Brian

Well as $150,000 on a single income would only give $2000 a week in the hand, we would struggle a bit.

House $460 (all per week)
Food $500
Cars $450
Bills $150 (telephone, foxtel, ISP gas etc)
Hosp Ins $50

Total $1610

Family of 6.Yes could trim back, but there is school fees, clothing, birthdays, christmas, and just going out to go on top.

So is $150,000 rich? no way, for us its just enough to get by.

ozzieeagle

Yes Ditto, not enough to be able to send your kids on overseas school trips to Italy at circa 6000 bucks, and pay the average mortgage, and have full health insurance, and two cars, and season tickets to the A league, and insurances, and dine out once a week, and shop at Coles or Safeway instead of Aldi, and have full foxtel and unlimited fast broadband, and want decent holidays to Bali at peak season.

It's probably not to comfortable if you've got kids... that want everything, and need heavy orthdontic work.

Probably ok with no kids though.

Thats why I drive an old ford 98, and a Datsun 120Y, Cars were the easiest thing to let go, seeing as I'm so close to the inner city.

Helen Randle

That nurses salary of $60000 a year includes supporting 2 children as I am a single mum. Holiday to Bali - yeah right! Think yourselves lucky even if you don't consider yourself to be rich....

rabsody

Before I met my OH 5 years ago I was doing the same, two kids, $50k a year - thankfully I didn't have a super large mortgage. It's tough ... I take my hat off to you

tictac

...assuming no large mortgage payments or teenage kids to provide for...

ACE

Our joint income totals more than 150K and we have two kids to take care of (1 teenager) but the big mortgage payments are yet to kick in as we are in the process of building. That's when we will feel the pinch.

ozzieeagle

I just worked out, that our private tution fees, for Music and maths are over 3,000 bucks per year for our two. So even though our 2 go to state schools we are spending over 7,000 bucks per year on education.. Bloody voluntary contributions, for upgrading facilities, are a very sneaky way of enticing money out of parents.

Kooky.

It's interesting for me to revisit this thread after clocking up 3 months here. Any comments I have made still stand, but I'll also add:

Yesterday I spent nearly 50 bucks on groceries for two main meals for two of us. Nothing fancy - salmon steak for one, chicken for the other, veg, some cheese, fruit and yoghurt.

We didn't move here for money, but it's worse than I expected. Our gross income (one salary) is over A$150k a year, and we'd certainly never impulse buy a plasma telly. In fact, we don't own one.