judi

Does anyone know what would be a realistic income to live on in brisbane for a family of 3. Is it possible to live on $40-45000 or am I in dream land

pommie bastard

You can live on what ever you choose but not very well on that with a kid even with state hand outs .
You will take home around $600 per week and food alone will take nearly half of that , unless you live on rice and cheap cuts of meat.
The questions begs is why set your sights so low the only way to have a life here is two incomes , it would be a very poor standard of living on your figure.

jayr

Double it

Kiwipaul

I think the first 2 posters are living in dreamland. The average wage in Brisbane I would think is around $40,000, you wouldn't be rolling in it but you could live comfortably.

Here are a few prices in Aussie dollars for Brisbane.

2 litres milk $2-80
1kg top quality steak $15.00
Loaf of bread $2.00
5kg spuds $5
Bottle of red wine $5-$10 and upwards.
Cask of wine 4 Lts $12
1ltr petrol $0.80
500gms butter $2.20
1kg frozen peas $2.50
Bus fare to and from city from 10Kms out $28 per week
Take away lunch whilst at work $5 per day
Macdonalds big MAC meal with drink and chips $6.
Heating cost $0, I don't even own a heater but bought fans for mid summer.

I'm sure you could get more details form Woolworths.com.au or Coles.com.au as they are the big supermarket chains and they sell groceries online.

I budget about $50 per week for all groceries and household consumerables for one.

pommie bastard

Must stop laughing if you spent only $50 dollars on food I wish I had your belly it must get by on very little.
Spent more than half of that on a take away but good luck to you.
Next you will explain that a home on the beach costs less than $100K but you will have to hammer the pegs in yourself.



http://www.greengrocer.com.au/defaul...n_id=2&level=1






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jayr

"I budget about $50 per week for all groceries and household consumerables for one."

On your own figures $50 would cover some milk, bread, butter, a bit of meat, some peas and lunch at work each day, but not travel to work. There may be no real heating costs, but rent for a family with kids is going to be a minimum of $300/week. Food and groceries for three will be around $250/week. Petrol is almost free (relative to UK) but car purchase/maintenance is not.

Phone bills for British expats say $50/week, mobile phone bill from $150/month (on low use). Sun lotion for kids say $15/week.

That's before clothes, eating out or entertainment. $40k may be the average wage but I wouldn't like to bring up a family on it.

Ceri

I spend around $145 on my weekly shop at Coles (this is not including bread, milk and little extras in the week which I may run out of - which then probably would add up to $200 a week) - There's two of us (Adults) and two cats - which is relevant - because they cost me a fortune in food and litter, so for one person yes it's possible $50 a week for basic groceries. Shopping is the very least of my expences, add up all the other out goings.

$45 thou is far too low! I don't know if you've been offered a job with this wage, but forget it! That wage is too low - And there's no way I can see anyone bringing up a family of three on that amount, you will be living in poverty - working just to make ends meet. I just can't see how any family can live on that amount here in Aus - maybe ok for a young single person, but not for a family of three.

cheers

NinaU

Hi Ceri,
Is this salary good if it does not include mortgage payments, car finanacing payments?
I worked out a budget of about $2k per month just for basics (food, household, children's school expenses, utilities, internet, car maint, medical insurance). Exclude entertainment, holidays, clothes etc. This is for a family of 2 adults and 2 kids

Thanks
Nina

jayr

$2k per month for basic living costs sounds about right, call it $3.5k to be able to buy extras and enjoy yourself too.

jopaulss

Hi All
Well we are in perth and we are a family of 4 , we have $800 on a good week coming into the house , food is around $200 , our rent is $230 , we run 2 cars which is not cheap , telephone was $169 for the month last month , electric was $170 for the month, we have to say compared to alot of people we know paul brings in a good wage , and we really do struggle!!! oh then you have all the school fees , ours are at state schools but you still have to pay for all their books etc , and its not cheap . We now do not convert to pounds anymore we live and work and dollars. We dont go out very much , alcohol is not on the priorty list either sadly , so its hard , but hey we are ok !! Joanne

Kiwipaul

The $50 I quoted was for home expenditure of groceries and consumerables, I didn't include my transport costs, or lunch out in this they were just sample costs. My cost includes 5 or 6 evening meals and all breakfasts and any meals I fancy inbetween. 1kg of steak will give me 3 evening meals, (how many Kg of meat do you eat per meal) and if you buy in bulk the price comes down.

You can buy a prepaid mobile, stick $30 dollars on it and just use it for recieving calls or emergencies and that will run for 6 months, compared to your extravegently spending of $900.

My last car service 60,000kms on a Laser cost $80 including all parts. I don't run top of the range 4 wheel drive, or buy expensive cars. I've had the car for 2 years done 20,000kms with no breakdowns. Cars are expensive here but we don't get the hard winter weather you get in the UK so running costs are far lower.

Nice 2 bed appartments in Cooparoo can be had for $200-250 per week. Further out 10-20kms you can get new 3 bedroom houses for $250-300 per week.

A family of 3 could live here spending $150 per week on groceries with no trouble.

NinaU

Thanks JAYR. Funnily enough, we have planned a higher budget for entertainment and travel while in Aus, where we will probably be earning about 80-90% less than what we are earning currently. We are leading a pretty simple life now ( we spend a lot on the kids) even though the monthly take home is good.

Nina

Ceri

My cars are my own (100 per cent paid for) - I am renting at this current moment - $220 a week , morgage repayments - mine is going to be about than $100 a week ( we're having a very small loan - paying for our building of house in cash)- without doing a spreadsheet, I think we live on about 3 thousand a month, and that's a bit on the low side , insurance, utility bills, going out - probably more closer to $4000 I think I would honestly say we spend in total (but I'm not scrimping/Budgeting - we will buy "luxuries" and eat out etc) - I'm a bit too scared to actually work out all of our out goings - we definitely could live on less, like get rid of the cable tv, not eat out, not buy gadgets and things, not speak on the phone for so long to mum. Get rid of my cats. Yes, I would say total cost - everything included would be around 3 and half thou a month (it maybe 4 thou) for the two of us and two cats of course.

cheers

dotty

I budget about $50 per week for all groceries and household consumerables for one. [/QUOTE]


Brilliant idea! Forget the Zone, atkins diet, give weight watchers the elbow. Have you thought of contacting New Idea with the latest in diets?

How much weight have you lost so far?

NinaU

Thanks for sharing that Ceri. We plan to buy every conceivable gadget/luxury item before we go to Aus - because I am pretty sure that in Aus, I won't want to buy anything expensive with Aussie prices and salaries! Besides, electronics and other stuff are really cheap out here - what with nil duties and taxes.

Nina