luvwelly

No wonder Brits feel so at home here in general.

uk+kiwi

Excellent post Luvwelly.

To assist in a comparison, my swimming lessons are £68 a term (again 4 terms but 13 weeks in each as it runs the whole year) vs your payment of $114 for 10 in NZ.

Filling the car costs £52 (2.3l engine so not a small car)

Cafe at art gallery - 1 coffee, 1 coke, 2 fruit juices, 3 x cake last Saturday £9 something

Car wash £5-10

Swimming for our family of 4 (2A, 2C) £10

Car insurance £36/month, House - B&C (mostly buildings then) £20/month

Sky £36/month

Am Loolah

Haven't read all 6 pages of posts - but why does Sky TV costs come in to it all the time? We have 4 kids, we haven't had Sky since we moved house in the UK 5 years ago. Find something to do that doesn't involve watching the tellie - it'll save you money!!

karonious

We FOUND horses yesterday!! So now the girl and I have unlimited access to horses - who needs sky?

BEVS

We have never had Sky even though telly reception is crud here.

uk+kiwi

Who knows why?

But each to their own after the kids are tucked up and it's cold outside. Some may enjoy the odd glass of wine for instance, elimination of which would obviously save money too. But then life is for living in many different ways.

Personally, I watch almost zero TV, the exceptions being an occasional travel prog, 24 & Lost when in season. But since we get zero TV reception without it, we accepted the free installation a couple of years ago having got fed up of Tweenies videos and the like for the children. They love to watch the Animal Rescue and National Geographic type stuff which I think positively contributes to their overall life. Some will think differently.

luvwelly

Am Loolah - the price is shared so that people who would consider Sky TV to be an important part of their life or their kids' life have an idea of the figure to insert in their budget. I should have added that includes SkyPlus as well which is called sth different here. Skyplus equivalent also has the benefit that you do not need a separate video recorder. Skymovies means no need to rent videos. Sky guarantees perfect tv reception as Bevs touched upon.

I agree it's not an essential but the original poster is in the process of trying to do a draft budget to work out whether their family can survive comfortably on the salary offered. I don't know whether it is important to their family or not - I am merely sharing the figure from my bank statement. We are all different.

uk+kiwi - have just read your previous post.......I also watch very little tv but wonder why we both feel we have to mention this: I should really say I value Sky Tv as much as Am Loolah claims to enjoy her bolly in many other posts!

Swiss Kiwi Brit

Personally think it is fairly obvious. Products that are locally available tend to be good value. If they need to be imported they are less value, simple equation about the distance to get to NZL - godzone!

luvwelly

That may be true to some extent but we are not just talking about tangibles but also labour intensive things such as going to the doctor or maybe even riding lessons or trappings of modern life such as internet connection costs. Figures which are not so obvious if you are over in Europe.

lardyl

hi and welcome kinda confusing nick - does it refer to one person or a group/family??
erm......your point is not so obvious, although it sort of makes sense for some things but it doesnt hold for others - look at our discussions about top loader vs. front loader washing machines........ ie dark ages F&P NZ-made top loader is more simple and far less "value" than better designed and/or manufactured imported washing machine from say LG, Siemens, Miele, Bosch, etc, etc........
the bloke packed in the box is a nice advert but I'd hate to have to put up with only NZ made for everything! eg TV programming ............... perish the thought!!!
maybe this post should appear on the thread about saving money and buying produce in season???
---I've done exactly the same thing myself, what with reading a couple of threads and getting my knickery threads in a twist.... :-)

uk+kiwi

I know and agree. Yet I felt insulted in a Homer Simpson TV slob kinda way, whilst wondering whether my Sky or AL's alcohol cost more on a monthly basis! Also, I don't believe 'saving money' came into it.

The reality is I 'value' galaxy chocolate more than my Sky (also 'Plus') and Verve Clicquot/Laurent Perrier Rose (in Summer) instead of Bolly.

Batty

I'd say our attitude towards having SKY is fairly endemic - we don't watch half as much TV here as we used to in Europe due to the simple fact of being able to sit outside in the evenings during the summer and just basically getting out and about more. BUT, it's good to have it if you do feel like watching TV. It's not a grevious lack of something or other in yourself to say you like watching TV

westiepom

"but has everything to do with the junk that is in the food, the chicken fat in the milkshakes etc"

Sorry - a bit off thread but I just had to jump in and let any concerned forum readers know that this is a complete urban myth and is not true, the milk shakes contain only milk and flavourings !

Ok - back to the subject now

Lexylou

ok that is good to know! I always believe what people tell me!

BEVS

Um....... No ! Good logic but it doesn't hold up for NZ.
Lamb, for instance, is home grown and locally available but is a heck of a price.
Wine, is home grown and locally available too but, unlike France or Spain you will find the prices are not that cheap really compared to earnings. $8/$10 bucks on average for the cheaper wines .