iamthecreaturefromuranus

I just love some of the amounts people say they survive on... they are either losing touch with what they REALLY spend.... or are anorexic and survive on three glasses of water a day and a picture of a plate of mung beans.

Kooky.

Well it must be a while since I put up my figures and got slammed so here goes
Per week, childless couple, mostly based on over a year of Actuals, central Sydney, in a rental, on a 457, reflect our lifestyle and not all essential:

Rent 620
Contents Insurance NRMA 24
Gas & Electricity AGL 43
Water 5
Phone Telstra 9
Mobiles 29 (1 contract, 1 prepay)
Internet TPG 14
Cable TV Telstra Foxtel 14 (no sports or movies)
Groceries, Household & Eating Out 450 (yes I did say reflects our lifestyle, and most groceries are organic or specialist due to allergies)
Road Tolls 12
Public Transport 27 (1 weekly pass for ten minute train ride)
Health Insurance 108 (comprehensive for 1 person, basic for other, temp visa surcharges)
Health - Meds. Supplements, etc. 32 (this after health insurance rebates)
Health - Appointments 27 (this after health insurance rebates)
Hair & Beauty 50
Cats Food, etc. 50
Cats Annual Jabs 7 (3 cats, excludes all the bills for recent accidents)
Laundry 15 (5 shirts washed and ironed)
Dry Cleaning 6
House clean 50 (2 hours)
UK Obligations - Life Assurance & Charities 78
Gym 40
Car costs 140 (this is all costs, lease paid out of salary)

We're looking at a 600k mortgage which will increase our costs by about 330 a week. There will be little to spare, for sure.

jad n rich

I mean real grain bread, like the granary bread, wholemeal with a large % of real grains added. The aldi version is about $3 but not very nice.

I think you must mean the wholemeal sliced loaf which some fruit and veg shops do under $2, but many of them are just white flour with a handful of grain added.

I liked aldi when they first opened, maybe it was a novelty rummaging through boxes on the floor but now much of their stuff is the same price as woolworth etc and the entire middle of the store is full of old crap like ski boots, dodgy looking sandwhich toasters, garden mats, load of old tatt. I just got their email for week commencing 25 june, has stuff like cinnamon peanuts, american hotdogs, and a whole page of cheap plastic toys I wish they would sell more basic food than all the rubbish.

Edit. In the name of a good food costs thread LOl heres a link to aldi bread prices, ABC your slipping the prices are well up!! http://www.smartershopping.com.au/browse.aspx

jad n rich

Last time i did mine it was 70/80 k with no mortage or rent, Vash gave me a sermon and I gave several people a heart attack

However it would easily be that, because I add in all the stuff people forget , bus fares, haircuts, ( and thank you to the person who sent the clippers and pudding bowl ) all the work insurances and licences etc.......

Kooky.

Well those figures don't even include anything for clothing or holidays - the annual UK trip (not a holiday but a duty) costs a small fortune.

Hebe

What do you live on in the UK? If the wages here are similar then sure you will cope - cost of living is subjective - what one person think is 'normal' someone else will think is either excessive or a bargain. It depends on what you like to spend your money on.

jad n rich

Best one I read was $70 a week for family of 4

Thats $2.50 a person a day I mean FFS there is the little thing called nutrition...

lentils anyone

Hutch

Mmmm - no, I was implying that the sort of talentless no-marks that end up working for the police tend to eat junk food - like Dominos which, if you had it every night, would not be a very cost effective way of eating.

Dominos too up-market for you? My mistake. KFC is it? Zinger burgers to go?

Kooky.

Time out, boys.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

I quite like Zinger burgers.

ABCDiamond

It also says: "Fresh fruit, vegetables and region specific lines are excluded from the [online] shopping list tool."

Maybe our bread is region specific ?

ABCDiamond

Spot on

asprilla

see I think I can now see why some people spend twice as much as others.

You are saying that you are using nearly a litre of milk per day per adult in your household...but in ours, we're going through about half that I reckon.

Perhaps there's a very simple reason as to why some people spend $100 a week per person on groceries, but others spend $50....

ABCDiamond

I've just remembered... I need to go and buy some Bread and Milk !!!

2:45 is the perfect time too. The shops are empty with all the parents waiting at the schools.

Burbage

Nobody has mentioned the cost of the help. With the minimum wage here, a comfortable lifestyle costs a fortune. If you can get a housekeeper, chauffeur and butler in for less than 400K you're doing well.