Happy on 80k or less??

[Guest Guest5035]

Would you be happy on 80k Australian or less?

 

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/families-satisfied-with-less-than-80000-hilda-report/story-e6frea8c-1226080431498

 

Stevo

[sandford5050]

8o k ,,,, sterling ? well happy

[Diane]

8o k ,,,, sterling ? well happy

 

 

Think the question was 80k Australian, not Sterling..... so..... still happy?

[ShaunWilson]

No, not for me.

[newlife]

Thats more than double what we get now! So yes very happy

[Guest Squareman]

You could certainly live and eat reasonably well but i would imagine that eating out and the like would be treats and not regular events

[RockDr]

Once mortgage is paid off, or if Australia was my home country and I wasn't putting significant amounts of money aside for flights home, then yes...

[RockDr]

You could certainly live and eat reasonably well but i would imagine that eating out and the like would be treats and not regular events

 

Depends what else you choose to spend your money on. If you've got three cars and a boat (yes, I know I'm exaggerating), then no, you're not going to eat out much. If on the other hand you can walk/cycle to work so only need the one car, and don't need a gym membership, then you probably can afford to eat out more often, or go on nice holidays

[stringfellows]

I wouldn't be unhappy with 80k.As Squareman said you can have a good lifestyle on that wage but if you can earn nearer to the 100k that's when you start really living the dream and doing exactly what you want without having to worry if you can afford it.This is the first time in my life that I can do that so THANK YOU AUSTRALIA!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest Squareman]

Not sure about being able to do anything you want, but you can certainly live comfortably enough, although you would need some savings to help cover life's little unforeseen expenses.

 

My personal view is that a household income of $150k+ is nearer to ideal. Anything over that and you should be fine, provided you don't have too many overheads. If you have a mortgage of around $450k and you have 2 half-decent cars to pay off every month, you will need to be bringing home well over $150k per year if you still want to have a decent social life, good holidays and a little left over to save.

 

Having said that, there are people with very small mortgages (due to living in a less fancy area or because they had a decent deposit to put down) who live very comfortably on the $70 - $80 mark. It's all relative.

[Guest BurgessFamily]

I you're on your own, then I guess yes. .... and reading the article it's fair to say that it would be ok for 2 adults 1 child.

 

(and it's a fine sum of money, if you can get it - it's over £52k at today's prices)

[Guest BurgessFamily]

wow...

 

"83 per cent of households earning $120,000 to $150,000 considered themselves middle income"

[Guest Guest5035]

wow...

 

The other 17% claim they are poor and live off baked beans:D

 

stevo

[Guest Squareman]

And those selling baked beans to the public consider themselves extremely wealthy.......

[Guest Sachertorte]

So many factors come into play!

 

If you came here with a healthy sum (Hundreds of $K) to slash your mortgage by half and you had no kids then you might be ok.

 

Supermarket bills here are 2x as expensive than back in the UK. For instance, we used to buy bananas and lots of other tropical veg/fruit.

 

Here where we are avocadoes are generallly around $2, mangoes $3 and bananas have been seen up to $19.99 (no, we are not in the eastern burbs) on average $12.99.

 

Needless to say we are leaving them on the shelves!!

 

As a guide (and someone else on this and other forums seemed to agree somewhat a while back) I reckon divide the AUD by 2.2 to have the nearest GBP equivalent.

 

Petrol also has gone up 25% since we arrived here and not taking that into account.

 

In my opinion your $90K is worth 90/2.2= just under 41K in GBP money.

 

So can be enough if you don't have to pay much on the mortgage (some people are on the house ladder much earlier and or have been doted on!) otherwise it can be tight.

 

Just my views.

[Guest BurgessFamily]

Aren't people coming here to be:- mortgage free, with a solid brick house on a quarter acre block, with an outdoor pool, a boat in the garage, work reduced hours, earn far better pay, living in the eternal sun etc...?

 

I keep getting that impression for some reason.

[RockDr]

Aren't people coming here to be:- mortgage free, with a solid brick house on a quarter acre block, with an outdoor pool, a boat in the garage, work reduced hours, earn far better pay, living in the eternal sun etc...?

 

I keep getting that impression for some reason.

You can get houses that are solid over here???

[Guest lastboyscout]

Aren't people coming here to be:- mortgage free, with a solid brick house on a quarter acre block, with an outdoor pool, a boat in the garage, work reduced hours, earn far better pay, living in the eternal sun etc...?

 

I keep getting that impression for some reason.

 

You forgot about the moaning about Next and M&S not being here too

 

And all those things you mentioned ...... don`t think I`ve achieved any of them, but still wouldn`t move back there

 

I`d be over the moon on 80k

[Anne B]

Aren't people coming here to be:- mortgage free, with a solid brick house on a quarter acre block, with an outdoor pool, a boat in the garage, work reduced hours, earn far better pay, living in the eternal sun etc...?

 

I keep getting that impression for some reason.

 

And "to spend more quality time with the family"

 

I've never understood why people can't do that in the UK

[Guest Adelaide_bound]

Supermarket bills here are 2x as expensive than back in the UK. For instance, we used to buy bananas and lots of other tropical veg/fruit.

 

For you.

For us, supermarket bills (but we won't shop in supermarkets for lots of reasons) will be a lot lower in Australia than in the uk.

It depends on what you buy and eat.

[Misplaced]

Where will you shop? Local shops? Are they less expensive than supermarkets in Oz?

 

Just wondering as I'd find it useful for when we eventually get to Oz.

[Guest Ryan T. Lion]

Well I'm coming over in August and I'll be earning $22k.

 

I want a massive 4x4, a boat, a pool, another pool to put the boat in, at least 6 bedrooms with walk in wardrobes, 5 minutes from the beach and 5 minutes from the hills - and 5 minutes from the CBD.

 

I want to have more time with the kids, better healthcare, zero crime - and warmer warmth.

 

If I don't get it, I'll put my foot through the telly - and send this man the bill:

 

 

[sally1968]

I think that it is all relative to what as an individual you consider essential and what you consider a luxury. To some people being able to eat out is essential to others it isn't.

 

We earn more than $80k between us and have to save for big ticket items but certainly don't feel that we struggle. In fact I would say that financial we are better off than we ever were in the UK. We have a fairly hefty mortgage and although brought a tidy sum with us 7yrs ago, believe me it didn't last too long.

 

As for things like grocery shopping, I don't feel that my shopping bill is that much higher than it used to be in the UK and I think this is because I learnt to shop smarter - someone else mentioned about not buying fruit etc when the price is high, well I do this too but don't consider this a bad thing - it just makes me more careful about what I buy. I'm also less likely to over buy so have less wasteage - again a good thing IMO.

[RockDr]

See I used to shop smart in the UK, and what I notice here is that even when they have "specials" on, it's never more than about 10-20% off, even when they're trying to sell off the stuff that's going out of date. I do miss the BOGOF or even 3for2, and that end of one of the aisles that had really cheap stuff that needed to be eaten on the day of purchase.

 

I work full time, so although I will brave the crowds at the central markets on a saturday if I'm having people over for dinner and want some decent cheese, it's not an experience that I would want to endure on a regular basis, though I do keep thinking I should make more of an effort since the quality of fruit and veg is so much better than the supermarkets.

[Diane]

I work full time, so although I will brave the crowds at the central markets on a saturday if I'm having people over for dinner and want some decent cheese, it's not an experience that I would want to endure on a regular basis, though I do keep thinking I should make more of an effort since the quality of fruit and veg is so much better than the supermarkets.

 

Friday night at Central Market is great - open till 9 I think, great atmosphere often with live music, and lots of free samples!