Advice - How much Money?

[Guest JayBone]

Hi all,

 

We are starting to number crunch and budget for been out of work for a year.....

 

To all of you who are in Australia, in hindsight, or plain speculation.

 

How much money would you have needed if you knew you were going to be out of work for a year living from savings?

 

I know its a very open question, and lifestyle obviously comes into it, lets say for example that we were to rent a place for $350 a week, go out twice a week for meals, food shopping for 2 people, drink for 4:jimlad:, we are taking a car with us that will double as our holiday accomodation and we like the simple pleasures in life like trekking, dog walking, sight seeing and sitting out til late with a glass of wine!

 

Do we need $30k, $40k, $50k??

 

Any help will determine when we can come over, sooner or later?

[Guest Guest75]

A not so daft answer is.......... "As much as possible"

 

Whatever you bring will make you cut your cloth accordingly.

 

To be out of work for a year ....... $50K??

 

That will take care of some of the initial stuff also.

[Guest JayBone]

Cheers Tyke,

 

I wasnt planning on not having a job at all, this is a recent hurdle we are having to jump!

 

If we were to come now we would have around $80k, if we come in a year i hope to have $120k

 

we are now planning on taking a year out, i might be young but i feel i could really do with some time off, and what better opportunity to do it?

 

Ideally i dont want to spend all of our savings, as starting all over again after 11 years seems a bit drastic, but exciting too i suppose, maybe ive hit the self-destruct button or maybe i just really really want a change!

 

Im thinking about having a complete career change and chasing the things ive always wanted to do, it means a drastic drop in wage but ive come to the conclusion that the only way the man on the street can have everything is to trade it off with their time, and to be honest, time seems more important to me now more than ever! Must be something with nearing my 30's and not feeling so immortal? Im sure people have been there before!

[Guest Guest75]

Similar to what we did.

Worked our bits off in the UK - under horrible conditions,7 days a week + some huge financial risks.

Paid off though:notworthy:

 

We took time off here and that paid off as well.

Gave us t to manoeuvre a career / lifestyle change.

 

Be careful not to be complacent though - stick to the plan.

[Guest guest3462]

Hi I would agree with Tyke, the more the merrier, you do seem to bleed money when you first arrive, we spent $20,000 in the first few months but we needed cars, furniture and everything else, but if you plan on a nomadic lifestyle and enjoying this beautiful country for a while you should be able to budget well. Campsites are well catered and reasonably priced and of course there is more than enough opportunity for free bush camping!!! Stock up on the cheap wine and hit the road!!

 

 

Enjoy!

[Pommy99]

:DWell it is anybody's guess but I think Adelaide is all in all a really expensive place to live. Bar petrol, everything else is as or more expensive than the UK. The 'market' is small here and monopolies exist. You can't drive 40 miles to one or two other towns to buy something cheaper if it is expensive in Adelaide, and the shopkeepers know it. Bring as much money as you can!!

 

The best things in Adelaide are free....the beach...the sun....(mostly) the friendly people. Come with an open mind and open wallet and never make the mistake of comparing here to the UK as that will only lead you to feel homesick. The place is expensive, beer tasteless but cold, and the TV is terrible , but you might just fall in love with it.

 

Good luck.

[Guest kangomik]

Two of you, 50K

 

Adelaide is not so expensive if your working, comparing to uk prices at the current exchange then yes that will seem expensive, as 8 years ago it all seemed so cheap.

 

Earn the dollar, Live the dollar.

[Pommy99]

I earn about $114 000 per year. My rent is $21000 and after 40% tax I'm left with $55800. At todays rate that's £654 a week. From that take away running ONE car, shopping, Foxtel (minimum package) eating dinner out once a week, a few coffees, one lunch out a week (I don't drink), household bills. Things feel tight. I have to look at the cost of everything and feel I live like like a student. Oh my job by the way....I am a doctor, a GP, not a junior doctor.

 

Think about it and do your sums carefully.

[Guest JayBone]

Cheers for all the advice,

 

We have decided to bring a minimum of $100k, which should see us easily travel around Australia for a year in our campervan and then give us 12-18 months comfortable breathing space before getting work is desperate. Hopefully we will bring more, it all depends on how much/how soon we sell the house, and how much we save before i resign from my job, if i sell it now and sit tight for 9 months we will bring $160k, if we dont sell for another 6 months our ability to save is drastically reduced! it all goes hand in hand as i am paying an extortionate amount for my mortgage!

 

I really dont think i will struggle to get work, but we need to be prepared to encounter some prejudice and preferrential treatment towards Australians when applying for jobs. Fortunately, the industry i am in is absolutely booming in Australia and the next couple of years will see a huge need for people like me, Im in the Oil Industry by the way, and have to date applied to ExxonMobil, Chevron, Woodside, Santos, Queensland Gas, Bass strait, Beach, Otto, ConocoPhillips, BG and many recruitment companies, all have basically said....'call us when you arrive in Australia', so things do look promising. It will be weird been unemployed though, as i have been employed ever since i left college, but this move is about experiences, and im not expecting them all to be good ones!

 

Cheers Jon

[Guest familygood]

We travelled around Oz for 6 months about 3 years ago now and spent close to about $120 per day. We used to work it out at the end of the day (you have a lot of time with no tv!!!) I cannot recommend it enough.. When I see that highway now all I want to do is carry on going but of course life is not like that with kids so make the most of it NOW!!!!!! We hired a van as well so that made it more expensive obviously. Petrol is much cheaper, bbq food is cheap and free bbq's on all sites etc. Facilities are excellent in most sites and the people are outstanding - especially the Silver Nomads (our dream one day!!) Make sure you have enough to do the extras though like sailing the whitsundays, trip to Fraser Island etc etc as those are the things that will make it extra special and you will meet some fantastic people from all over the world.. I could go on.....

Best of luck!!! (and can I come too?!)

[Guest Andyoo]

Hi all,

 

We are starting to number crunch and budget for been out of work for a year.....

 

To all of you who are in Australia, in hindsight, or plain speculation.

 

How much money would you have needed if you knew you were going to be out of work for a year living from savings?

 

I know its a very open question, and lifestyle obviously comes into it, lets say for example that we were to rent a place for $350 a week, go out twice a week for meals, food shopping for 2 people, drink for 4:jimlad:, we are taking a car with us that will double as our holiday accomodation and we like the simple pleasures in life like trekking, dog walking, sight seeing and sitting out til late with a glass of wine!

 

Do we need $30k, $40k, $50k??

 

Any help will determine when we can come over, sooner or later?

HI

if you are bringing your combi and assuming you have an annexe, There are some nice clean caravan parks in most of our states is there any good reason for not using this as your accomodation?rent can be as low as $150.00 per week inc electricity shopping can be reasonable if you use local farm markets my wife and I have lived out side of adelaideand live quite well on less than $1000 per fortnght ,Give Oz a go mate you wont regret it use the 12 month test:-12 holiday 12mth homesick 12mth you are home

Andy oo ex mancunian

[Guest JayBone]

We travelled around Oz for 6 months about 3 years ago now and spent close to about $120 per day. We used to work it out at the end of the day (you have a lot of time with no tv!!!) I cannot recommend it enough.. When I see that highway now all I want to do is carry on going but of course life is not like that with kids so make the most of it NOW!!!!!! We hired a van as well so that made it more expensive obviously. Petrol is much cheaper, bbq food is cheap and free bbq's on all sites etc. Facilities are excellent in most sites and the people are outstanding - especially the Silver Nomads (our dream one day!!) Make sure you have enough to do the extras though like sailing the whitsundays, trip to Fraser Island etc etc as those are the things that will make it extra special and you will meet some fantastic people from all over the world.. I could go on.....

Best of luck!!! (and can I come too?!)

 

Yeah we cant wait, how far did you get in 6 months? We are planning on doing the whole of the coast and once through the middle, our route will depend on when we arrive so we can chase the sun around.

 

We have budgeted for staying on a campsite everynight, but in reality we will probably only spend 7 months or so on campsites, i have found some great camping books written by Jan Holland and they tell you all the secret places and free camping for the whole od WA and NT, and its rumoured they are writing one on SA right now so we will definitely save money with those in tow. We do have the added expense and hinderence of having a dog with us but we have also budgeted for Kennel costs if we want to venture into the National Parks etc.

 

We are members of the KombiClub in Australia and have made lots of contacts with people all over Australia who we will meet up with and hopefully get a nice comfy bed and a hot shower from for a couple of nights!! woohoo

 

I also hope to fund the trip by writing a travel journal/book and getting it published.....it will be called 'KombiPoms, the mis-adventures of two Brits and their dog in a VW camper' or something like that!?! Look out for it, available in all crap bookshops!! lol:biglaugh:

[Guest JayBone]

HI

if you are bringing your combi and assuming you have an annexe, There are some nice clean caravan parks in most of our states is there any good reason for not using this as your accomodation?rent can be as low as $150.00 per week inc electricity shopping can be reasonable if you use local farm markets my wife and I have lived out side of adelaideand live quite well on less than $1000 per fortnght ,Give Oz a go mate you wont regret it use the 12 month test:-12 holiday 12mth homesick 12mth you are home

Andy oo ex mancunian

 

 

Cheers mate,

 

Yeah we have an annexe and all the trimmings, we have lived in the van for months at a time already and love it, We are definitely giving it a go and i am sure we wont look back! We are planning on living on campsites for a year whilst travelling and then until we find work etc.

 

Jon

[Guest Andyoo]

I earn about $114 000 per year. My rent is $21000 and after 40% tax I'm left with $55800. At todays rate that's £654 a week. From that take away running ONE car, shopping, Foxtel (minimum package) eating dinner out once a week, a few coffees, one lunch out a week (I don't drink), household bills. Things feel tight. I have to look at the cost of everything and feel I live like like a student. Oh my job by the way....I am a doctor, a GP, not a junior doctor.

 

Think about it and do your sums carefully.

to Pommy 99 if you having trouble coping on approx $1000 per weekafter rent etc you need to reset your budget.

my wife and I have a combined sen, pension of$1153 a fortnight we pay $400 p/f rentf on a 3 b/r home we have a 4.2 4wd Patrol and tow a 16' caravan once every2-3mth to parks in our locality, I neither drink nor smoke, watch normal tv .so please dont be so negative, Are you a whinging Pom? its a good life here in Australia Andy ex Mancunian

[Guest nurse sue]

I earn about $114 000 per year. My rent is $21000 and after 40% tax I'm left with $55800. At todays rate that's £654 a week. From that take away running ONE car, shopping, Foxtel (minimum package) eating dinner out once a week, a few coffees, one lunch out a week (I don't drink), household bills. Things feel tight. I have to look at the cost of everything and feel I live like like a student. Oh my job by the way....I am a doctor, a GP, not a junior doctor.

 

Think about it and do your sums carefully.

 

 

$114000 a year and you are struggling!??? crikey ... wish i had to struggle on that much ... guess most of us who will be on the average wage of about $48k wont survive

 

DIAC state (somewhere in those vast booklets!) that you should budget to cover 2 years of no income - so if you earn about £20k you would be looking at around £40k/$66k(at a rough exchange conversion)

[Guest JayBone]

I earn about $114 000 per year. My rent is $21000 and after 40% tax I'm left with $55800. At todays rate that's £654 a week. From that take away running ONE car, shopping, Foxtel (minimum package) eating dinner out once a week, a few coffees, one lunch out a week (I don't drink), household bills. Things feel tight. I have to look at the cost of everything and feel I live like like a student. Oh my job by the way....I am a doctor, a GP, not a junior doctor.

 

Think about it and do your sums carefully.

 

Are you left with $55,800 after you have paid your rent or before?

 

Do you pay 40% tax on your entire earnings?

 

I have been looking into Australian Tax rates recently and this is what i found.....

 

Taxable income Tax on this income Effective Tax Rate

$0 – $6,000 Nil 0%

$6,001 – $35,000 15c for each $1 over $6,0000% 12.4%

$35,001 – $80,000 $4,350 plus 30c for each $1 over $35,000 12.4% – 22.3%

$80,001 – $180,000 $17,850 plus 38c for each $1 over $80,000 22.3% – 31.0%$180,001 and over $55,850 plus 45c for each $1 over $180,000 31.0% – 45%

 

So on an income of $114000 you should be paying:-

 

$17,850 plus 38% of anything over $80k which equals - $12,920, totaling $30770

 

Leaving $83,230 before rent, $62230 after which is $1196 per week

 

Thats $170 per day left over!!!!

 

Dont know where i am going to find the additional $120 a day to top up my budget???

 

Can dogs work in australia!!!

 

Its a good job im handy in the kitchen, just made a Beef Stroganoff for 8 people for a grand total of £18.45:D

[Scousemouse]

Yeah, $114k is tough.............

 

Can't be easy, but we manage on about $85k for a family of 5.............

 

I earn $60k pa, the OH half (if) that; with school fees for 3 kids, admittedly in state schools, mortgage costs, running 2 vehicles, and all the rest of day to day living, it isnt the life of riley! We both work full time, btw, and are the olympic flames of the forum........we never go out, lol:biglaugh:.

 

Not knocking you Pommy99, it can be expensive to live here, no getting away from the fact, but seriously???? Student life/living on 114k................hardly; perhaps the school fees are eating into the budget.............