Happy Wanderers

Hello,

I have been offered a job in Auckland with a salary of $65k gross. Once deductions have been made this drops to around $3200 a month. I have a wife, not working and three young children. Having researched the web, I am concerned if this will be enough to live and to rent a three/four bed house in Auckland. Can anybody advise if we can survive on this amount and an idea of what essentials cost. Any help appreciated
Thanks.

lardyl

G/day and welcome to the Forum.....
depends upon where you can tolerate living and commuting from/to....accomodation is the real killer in/around Auckland
we budgeted $350 p/w on a similar salary for MrsL but found it hard to get the place we wanted for that to begin with (new place is right on budget).
But if you have no other income and no savings to rely on it will be tight - we were touch and go until I got a job....
good luck.....

lardyl

oh yeah forgot to say that MrsL is on $63k (about) and without pension deductions she takes home about $850 per week
Now I will be on about the same we are going to be pretty secure financially....
Also remember that you will need some cash for startup costs - we used about £12k including container, S/H car, etc

Happy Wanderers

Thanks for the info. Lardyl. I have gone from v. happy on knowing I had a job to not so happy when I looked at the cost of things. I have been advised that the North half of Auckland is a better place to live regards good schools etc. Can anyone help with good areas to rent and schooling on a limited budget? I want the family to stand the best chance of succeding for the duration and not swapping one tough housing situation in Blighty for another. Cheers for any advice and it is brilliant to find a site with such eager contributors.

The Weezer

Here's something in today's paper on the cost of owning a phone:

http://stuff.co.nz/3997388a11.html

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/...ectid=10429689

Alex

Hi Happy Wanderer,
We moved here nearly a year ago with OH job, I also have 3 children.
In my opinion it would not be enough. Although it is a reasonable salary, there are other costs to consider, such as medical, dentists (kids are not free), schools.
I find I spend around $300 a week on food, I know others manage it for less but as my girls get bigger so does the shopping bill,
our rental is $500/week.
Perhaps if your wife wanted to work it would make things more manageable....It is a great lifestyle, and a beautiful country...
I am sure there are other families of 5 that will share their costs and opinions
Good luck with your decision

Leighlou

Hi there Happy Wanderers, Congrats on the job offer! We've not made it out to NZ yet, but have been doing the same as you guys and trying to work out how much is needed to survive on. Try this site which I have found to be most helpful:

www.emigratenz.org/salary-finder.php - there is a cost of living questionnaire on this which should give you a bit more of an idea.

Also, there is a tax calculator site, which once you know what your monthly allowance should help you calculate this into a gross annual income so that you can compare salary to lifestyle:

http://www.ird.govt.nz/calculators/k...ml?id=homepage

Hope it's of use and happy wanderings.

lardyl

I wish we could stick to a grocery budget of that per head, but we have lower accomodation costs so its swings and roundabouts, we have two kids, one school age - so don't forget the "donations" uniforms whip rounds and other school stuff...
doctors bills can be harsh - we took out extended single trip travel insurance (asked the guys at Letton Percival to suggest a company - cant remember all their details but can look it up) for the first month before our residency came through. Not yet registered with a doctor but have used one for MrsL's serious reaction to insect bites - cost $65 plus the prescription.....praying for continued good health!!!
Car ownership is relatively cheap and there are some decent cheap motors about - we used Croydon Wholesalers in Henderson and it was painless
Telephone costs can be much higher than in UK if you dont sign up for packages particularly if you live outside the Auckland local area and need to call into Auckland during peak - 45cents/min.....ouch!!
Anyway others will be able to share a more "settled" budget - at the mo we are still "on holiday" with the odd treat that we would not be able to afford on one salary.
BTW the tax situation is biased against single earner families - at 65k you will on top rate of tax! get your hours cut and get your partner earning - it'll be more tax efficient!!
good luck
LL

Hang11

If you have got PR, you can claim family assistance as soon as you get here, which can make a fair bit of difference.

There's a calculator here..

http://www.ird.govt.nz/wff-tax-credi...ment/work-out/

Apple12

Just a small note of caution, it works on total gross income for the family in the course of a tax year, which can cause issues depending on when in the tax year you arrive or start work....

soulflour

... but you wouldn't end up with an over payment would you? if anything it would be an UNDER payment surely? (am not very financially minded!).

sky

Last year I was told we were earning too much and they reduced my fam assistance to a very low amount and then at the end of the year they gave me back $1800 so they don't really know what they are doing either.
This year they are trying to give me more and I keep having to ring them and tell them not to

Hakan

Hi iam new here and just looking through the threads and it struck me that it appears you haven't been to Auckland from what you say. Is that true. I'm arriving later this year with the family for a look around.

Hakan

gossage

I am also concerned about the cost of living in NZ. I arrived back in the UK on Monday after a great 3 weeks in NZ to activate my PR visa. Loved Christchurch would want to settle there. However, I estimate my weekly income to be around $777 after tax etc. and I just can't see how the hell I will be able to survive on that income. I am a single parent of a 4 year old, so have no second income coming in.

I have looked at rentals and would say that I would be looking at paying anything from $350-450/wk. This would leave me about $420-320/wk to pay for food, utilities, insurances, petrol etc. Can anyone who has already moved over to NZ throw some light on the cost of insurances (life, contents, medical, car) and utilities.

I can slowly feel the dream of living in NZ fading!!!!!

P2L

Hi Gossage


Have you looked at the IRD website?

You may be entitled to assistance (claimable once you have residency)

If not, would you be buying or renting you property? Maybe you could take in a lodger to help with the bills??

HTH
Sarah

P.S Just realised it was your first posting on here,

Welcome to BE!! Lots of very helpful people on here who come up with very good ideas to solve problems!!!