Author Topic: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?  (Read 21611 times)

mrcheese

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #50 on: July 26, 2016, 09:33:53 PM »
Single, mortgage, 1 adopted stray cat
Very rounded and rough estimates:
Food/entertainment/misc    $6500
Giving  $7200
Public transport. $3120
Utilities (water, electric, gas, mobile, Internet)   $2500
Car (rego, insurance, maintenance, fuel) $2100
Total non-housing = $21,420

Housing (mortgage, extra mortgage, rates, insurance) $31650

The nebulous difference between these costs and my net take home is currently being spent on home improvements and travel.
As to Perth water bills, my actual usage costs average less than 10% of the bill...
« Last Edit: July 26, 2016, 09:36:59 PM by missbee »

marty998

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #51 on: July 27, 2016, 02:11:47 AM »
Who do you guys have home and contents ins with? I like your numbers better than my numbers.
I'm with Real Insurance and last year I paid $503 for $370K building ($1K excess) and $80K contents ($500 excess).

That's a very good deal... but it can't possibly include flood cover? (Not that you get floods in the ACT?)

I'll have to talk to my parents... they pay quite a substantially higher sum than $500...

Ozstache

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #52 on: July 27, 2016, 02:44:24 AM »
Who do you guys have home and contents ins with? I like your numbers better than my numbers.
I'm with Real Insurance and last year I paid $503 for $370K building ($1K excess) and $80K contents ($500 excess).

That's a very good deal... but it can't possibly include flood cover? (Not that you get floods in the ACT?)

I'll have to talk to my parents... they pay quite a substantially higher sum than $500...
Yes it includes flood cover, although I'd say that the assessed risk must be near zero as 90% of Canberra would have to be under water for flood waters to be lapping at our door (we are 125m higher elevation than Canberra Airport).

marty998

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #53 on: July 27, 2016, 02:52:30 AM »
ok then... amazing deal you've got there Ozstache. I wonder if they insure Strata complexes haha

Inquisitive1

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #54 on: July 27, 2016, 02:55:29 AM »
Great thread. After lurking on this board for nearly 18 months...learning... we have a record of last FY spend.

2 adults a 6 year old and a staffy, house paid off

$39k

Cheers,

Adram

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #55 on: July 27, 2016, 03:36:18 AM »
We are examining our expenditure on our taxation accountant. 1150 a year. What do people reckon? Others have commented this is high end. Normally it is 800. I got stung this year as I failed to pay some extra tax they had to chase me about ($250 later arrgh) and I emailed asking whether I should contribute to my partners super - answer no - $100. My partner said today the way to save money where we live (high wages) is don't get/ask anyone to do anything for you. No bathroom renos, no landscaping, no financial advisors unless you want to pay 2-3 times what you think it is worth. I think that is good advice. But it is hard to find out specialised super/tax information? I spend hours every evening on this and am struggling. But have had good advice from some forum members.

It's hard to say whether $1,150 is high it depends what is involved in your tax, but unless I'm reading this wrong you got charged $250 for them helping you with an ATO issue and $100 for answering an email on a tax query. I'm a tax accountant and we don't charge for small queries or issues like that. It's all part of the service.

kiwiozearlyretirement

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #56 on: July 27, 2016, 07:21:25 AM »
Thanks Adram for your comments.
I am a salary earner and have standard deductions - insurance, work related travel, education, work related office/technology expenses. Oh actually they do my partner's tax also and he also has his tax done in another country but earns small amounts interest and dividends in OZ. So maybe it's the fact that it's 2 people. No your'e not reading it wrong. We were charged 250 as they had to email me to remind me to pay the excess super contribution I had missed. The other things were listed generically in our bill.
Thinking about ditching him as he has just recently taken a big interest in helping us with our money and introduced us to a high priced financial advisor. Doesn't seem to be in our best interests.
Anyone got a good one they use in Perth?

Anatidae V

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #57 on: July 27, 2016, 08:47:10 AM »
Nope. We organised a meeting with one who seemed to be freelance, came around to our home, chatted through tax as a pre-hiring meeting, and we haven't heard from them in a couple of months. I need to remind DH to call them, since it was his tax they were supposed to do...

Bee21

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #58 on: July 27, 2016, 05:35:15 PM »
We paid around 250 pp. we have to chase him up all the time, but it's cheap. Not that we have a very complex tax situation.to be honest, I should just do it online as before we got married, but I am laaaazy.

How much wanted the financial planner you mentioned? Just curious. We had a very interesting meeting with a dude my husband's superannuation fund set us up with and he wanted 4500+ GST plus a 300/monthly fee. Well, hell no. And I know people who paid more than that (and of course lost money on the investments). We got so pissed off that I piled all the spare funds in vanguard the week after the meeting and husband was ok with it (which is big, as his investment philosophy is 'stick it in the bank and sit on it.'Or spend it on big shiny vehicles).

kiwiozearlyretirement

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #59 on: July 28, 2016, 08:03:31 AM »
Quote
How much wanted the financial planner you mentioned? Just curious. We had a very interesting meeting with a dude my husband's superannuation fund set us up with and he wanted 4500+ GST plus a 300/monthly fee. Well, hell no. And I know people who paid more than that (and of course lost money on the investments). We got so pissed off that I piled all the spare funds in vanguard the week after the meeting and husband was ok with it (which is big, as his investment philosophy is 'stick it in the bank and sit on it.'Or spend it on big shiny vehicles).

Hi Bee 21. Yeah when the financial planner finally gave us some estimates after a long whizz bang introductory session. $4-6000 to set everything up and 3-4000 a year thereafter you should have seen my face. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. This was based on managing what he knew we had I suppose, maybe it would have been less if we had a small amount but I doubt it. He reckoned he could deliver annually 4.5%. Well my existing super (hesta) has delivered 6.7 for the last 4 years. Although it is a bit confusing as if you look at canstar they rate all the super funds and include the annual fees. The APRA funds charge from 3-5000 to manage 500,000. A colleague recommends a guy who charges 2000 to set every thing up and then 1.3% annually. Which seems cheap compared the other guy but is still 1300 (per million) a year and if you just put it in vanguard you would pay 200-250 plus brokerage.

Bee21

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #60 on: July 28, 2016, 05:25:51 PM »
So you met the same sort of shark :) ours wasn't even be able to demonstrate what he would be able to do for us, it was like, just hand over the money and we might meet once a year to discuss the progress. Very funny. Those investments should be making above average returns, just to pay for his fees he receives for doing nothing. 4.5% return for you and he'll be making thousands from the trailing commissions.

I have an other super fund which also offers financial planning, I want to meet them too, but this time I will have a very specific list of questions I want them to answer during that free initial consultation. And I have 0 interest in employing these sharks.

marty998

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #61 on: July 29, 2016, 01:35:12 AM »
Quote
How much wanted the financial planner you mentioned? Just curious. We had a very interesting meeting with a dude my husband's superannuation fund set us up with and he wanted 4500+ GST plus a 300/monthly fee. Well, hell no. And I know people who paid more than that (and of course lost money on the investments). We got so pissed off that I piled all the spare funds in vanguard the week after the meeting and husband was ok with it (which is big, as his investment philosophy is 'stick it in the bank and sit on it.'Or spend it on big shiny vehicles).

Hi Bee 21. Yeah when the financial planner finally gave us some estimates after a long whizz bang introductory session. $4-6000 to set everything up and 3-4000 a year thereafter you should have seen my face. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. This was based on managing what he knew we had I suppose, maybe it would have been less if we had a small amount but I doubt it. He reckoned he could deliver annually 4.5%. Well my existing super (hesta) has delivered 6.7 for the last 4 years. Although it is a bit confusing as if you look at canstar they rate all the super funds and include the annual fees. The APRA funds charge from 3-5000 to manage 500,000. A colleague recommends a guy who charges 2000 to set every thing up and then 1.3% annually. Which seems cheap compared the other guy but is still 1300 (per million) a year and if you just put it in vanguard you would pay 200-250 plus brokerage.

Err...1.3% is $13,000 per million

This is why all financial planners need to disclose their fees in $$$ now, not percentages. Much easier to understand exactly how much they are stripping from your pocket.

englyn

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #62 on: July 29, 2016, 01:48:37 AM »
We are examining our expenditure on our taxation accountant. 1150 a year. What do people reckon?
I paid about half that for one person for a horribly complicated tax year with a relationship separation, investment property, share sales and a few queries. Usually more like 1/3 that. Seems on the high side but not totally unreasonable for 2 people and some questions, if you're doing something nonstandard with your super. $250 for the one reminder is a bit rich though.

kiwiozearlyretirement

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #63 on: July 29, 2016, 11:16:31 AM »
Quote
Err…1.3% is $13,000 per million

Duhh! I even remember having that conversation with my friend. I said that's 13000 per million. And he said well do you have a million. I said no (and in my head 'but I bloody well plan to soon'). But my head is spinning with all this stuff. It's so confusing and I think as you say that's where they get you by obfuscating things with different descriptions of their charges. Those APRA funds are looking more attractive by the minute. But then you still seem to be paying (according to canstar) several thousand. And since I am an index fund convert I don't need them to fiddle about and smooth out the volatility with cash and bonds etc. I don't need that till retirement. Anyone got a super fund they rate?

Ozstache

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #64 on: July 29, 2016, 04:09:38 PM »
Quote
Err…1.3% is $13,000 per million
Anyone got a super fund they rate?
I'm with Sunsuper and although they don't have an option to invest in individual shares, they have domestic and international index funds that you can invest in. Fees are quite reasonable too eg. 0.13% on their domestic index fund.

faramund

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #65 on: July 29, 2016, 07:14:49 PM »
My wife and I are with unisuper - it was originally set up for university staff - but I think anyone can join.  It seems to charge around $200 a year, for funds in the $100 000 range, frequently wins awards, and has a range of funds, i.e. balanced, high growth, etc, and you can fix your percentage allocation to each fund.

Abundant life

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #66 on: July 29, 2016, 08:01:56 PM »
Quote
But then you still seem to be paying (according to canstar) several thousand. And since I am an index fund convert I don't need them to fiddle about and smooth out the volatility with cash and bonds etc. I don't need that till retirement. Anyone got a super fund they rate?

I went through this recently. Even the industry funds charge fees, some of which are taken out before you get your returns, so aren't that obvious. They seem excessive considering they are 'all care and no responsibility' and they are managing everyone's account in bulk. In the end the buck stops with me.

I read JL Collin's stock series and agree about index fund investing. I ended up with ING Living Super. There is a $300 per year fee, and a cost of at least $20 per trade or .13% of the amount you are buying (the break point is about $15,000). You can also invest in cash or interest bearing deposits with no extra fees.

Here is a quote from their website:

Quote
How does real-time share trading work?
    After you first register your Living Super account for share trading, to trade shares online in your account, you must first have sufficient money in your Cash Hub and a minimum total account balance of $10,000.

        You can invest a maximum of 80% of your total account balance in the Shares investment category (S&P/ ASX300 shares, Exchange Traded Funds and Listed Investment Companies)
        You can invest a maximum of 20% of your total account balance in any one listed security

    To get started, log in and follow the prompts to "My Super Finances", "My Investments" and then "Trade Shares and Exchange Traded Funds" to set up your share trading account, or read more in our Shares, ETFs and LICs Guide.


Adventures With Poopsie

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #67 on: August 01, 2016, 05:20:38 PM »
Awesome thread!

For FY 15/16, we spent $76 477.93 excluding rent. This is for two adults, child support of three children with one of those children living with us every second week.

There were a couple of "one off" purchases we made, which did inflate the number.

$3000 on lawyers fees.
$1650 for interstate removal. We also purchased a washing machine and dishwasher as part of the move.
$6000 roughly for overseas travel.

We also lived five and a half hours apart for six months of the FY, so were maintaining two households. Hopefully now that we're back in the same household, we can bring this down to a more Mustachian level!

ynotme

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #68 on: August 02, 2016, 02:23:21 AM »
My expenses for the last few years after I paid off the mortgage are:
2013 - $25k
2014 - $22k
2015 - $29k

The main difference between the 3 years are how much travel I do. My budget without travel is ~$20k per year.

I am single, no dependants and own my own home. I am frugal but give myself a monthly budget that allows eating out, going out with friends and buying myself things I want.


marty998

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #69 on: August 02, 2016, 02:34:15 AM »
Nice numbers ynotme.

Awesome thread!

For FY 15/16, we spent $76 477.93 excluding rent. This is for two adults, child support of three children with one of those children living with us every second week.

There were a couple of "one off" purchases we made, which did inflate the number.

$3000 on lawyers fees.
$1650 for interstate removal. We also purchased a washing machine and dishwasher as part of the move.
$6000 roughly for overseas travel.

We also lived five and a half hours apart for six months of the FY, so were maintaining two households. Hopefully now that we're back in the same household, we can bring this down to a more Mustachian level!


Ouch... complicated living situation! Should definitely drop now that the second household is gone.

But you may find the one-off travel becomes more and more recurring depending on how much you enjoy it :D

nnls

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #70 on: August 02, 2016, 02:52:47 AM »
wow spendy year for me, it doesnt include mortgage but does include the fees with buying my house.

I got this from money brilliant which I signed up to at the begining of the year, so I didnt go through and fix up all the past transactions so not sure if everything was being catagorised correctly(i did notice some transfers to savings acocunts coming up as ATM withdrawals)

But anyway total is $55164 which I think makes me the spendyist single australian on this thread! hopefully I do better this year

I feel I should probably mention, this cost includes an 8 week holiday to the USA/Cuba/ Bahamas, a 2 week holiday to Thailand, the end of a European holiday and some trips to visit family within Australia (funerals, birthdays, wedding) that all required flights.


potm

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #71 on: August 02, 2016, 06:06:23 AM »
I don't keep track of expenses but just prepared a rough estimate and it comes to about 28k which includes 14k of travel.
My estimated dividends currently just cover this after tax so I'm quite happy with that but I hope to grow them!
Not sure where I'll allocate the extra dividends, to additional savings or increase in expenditure.
Not much to add but I just wanted to subscribe to this interesting thread.

Wadiman

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #72 on: August 06, 2016, 12:30:43 AM »
Household
2 adult
1 kid (pre school age)

Spending excluding mortgage and investments:
~ $42,300

Rough breakdown:
Groceries/entertainment/transport/gifts: 18,200 ($350/week)
Bills 9600 ($800/month)
Childcare 6000 (120/day - yikes!; expenditure after rebate)
Holidays/travel 6000
Misc - new washer $1500; medical $1000


misterhorsey

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #73 on: August 08, 2016, 06:35:02 AM »
Hi All,

I'm single but currently live in a relatively expensive share house in inner city melbourne, having lived solo for the previous 3 years.

I only discovered MMM in Sep '14 and began tracking my spending since then. But since tracking it's helped me cut it down big time.

My annual spend for 15-16 was $24,202.45 with $12,678 being rent. The rest was groceries, private health insurance (but only due to medicare surcharge), utilities, mobile phone, eating out, numerous syd-melb flights to visit family.

No transport costs as I live down the road from my work and I have 3 bicycles bought in a previous spendy year. No big purchases I can think of last year.

I have definitely cut down on discretionary purchases, clothes and eating and drinking out. But I make a point of never feel deprived. I just appreciate it a lot more when I do buy things!

I'm tracking to get my spending down to around $19k this year. I'm spending a lot more time reading books from the library, cooking, playing guitar and soccer. And I probably haven't been happier for a long time.

Technically I'm probably FI, but I'm not sure that living in a share house is an ideal long term situation. Or living on such a low spend to be honest. Still, I'm contemplating a mini retirement/sabbatical/career change/going back to study at the end of this year so cutting the expenses was a bit of a trial to see just how much freedom juice you can squeeze out of that dollar.

For reference, I'm 40 and have previously been in a defacto and owned a house.  I'm living life in reverse it seems!

Thanks everyone for sharing as well.

limeandpepper

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #74 on: August 08, 2016, 09:54:11 AM »
misterhorsey that is impressive! And a mini-retirement could be fun! I also wonder about the sharehouse thing - I have been doing it for many years and I don't mind it, but I am guessing at some point I might feel less inclined.

misterhorsey

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #75 on: August 08, 2016, 07:18:59 PM »
Thanks lime and pepper. I'm only in share housing again after a disastrous run of noisy cheaper one bedder/2 bedder apartments with noisy neighbours.  I find sharing with people infinitely less stressful than dealing with neighbours who aren't terribly considerate.  Plus the social aspect is nice.  We are mostly social animals so I think living alone is luxurious, but has its own unique challenges.

I'm not sure what the options are long term. I'd love a house with a garden, and I've come close to buying recently but as a solo person it seems like a waste of resources.  It's taken me a long time to realise how inefficient so much housing stock is.  It's obvious to me that a Porsche Cayenne SUV is about $200k+ more expenditure than necessary than a Toyota Camry, but I think the conditioning that we have about what is normal in respect of housing runs pretty deep.  I was originally aiming at buying a 2/3 bedroom house, but after thinking about it for a while, couldn't see the point of borrowing money from a bank to purchase 1 or 2 bedrooms that I would have no use for.  I did think about renting them out to pay the mortgage, but why  service debt to pay for extra house that, once you paid off and can evict your tenants, I would still have no use for!

Eventually I might buy a house if I settle down again, and it won't be a financial decision - but until then I'm happy to remain pretty flexible.

Also, just read this article about housing which is a bit crazy but amusing and insightful:

http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2015/10/own-house/



limeandpepper

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #76 on: August 09, 2016, 02:40:42 AM »
Thanks lime and pepper. I'm only in share housing again after a disastrous run of noisy cheaper one bedder/2 bedder apartments with noisy neighbours.

This here showcases how nice it is to have the flexibility of renting! Even when a place suits you at the beginning, you may still want to move later. I haven't had problems with neighbours myself, but I have moved a few times to be close to work. Since I'm still a while away from retirement and may encounter a few more job changes yet, it's helpful to be renting in such a scenario. My partner is more interested in buying - and it just dawned on me that our different thoughts on this may have a lot to do with our work situations; the kind of work he does can be done from home. Hmm, something to talk about.

I'm not sure what the options are long term. I'd love a house with a garden, and I've come close to buying recently but as a solo person it seems like a waste of resources.  It's taken me a long time to realise how inefficient so much housing stock is.  It's obvious to me that a Porsche Cayenne SUV is about $200k+ more expenditure than necessary than a Toyota Camry, but I think the conditioning that we have about what is normal in respect of housing runs pretty deep.  I was originally aiming at buying a 2/3 bedroom house, but after thinking about it for a while, couldn't see the point of borrowing money from a bank to purchase 1 or 2 bedrooms that I would have no use for.  I did think about renting them out to pay the mortgage, but why  service debt to pay for extra house that, once you paid off and can evict your tenants, I would still have no use for!

Yeah, I feel like even a studio apartment would be enough if it's just me - though I would prefer a 1-bedroom. And would definitely like space for gardening. Since I'm coupled up, we're looking at at least a 1-bedroom, especially given the partner needs space for a home office. If kids are not in the picture it seems that anything more than a 2-bedroom is too much extra.

misterhorsey

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #77 on: August 09, 2016, 08:15:24 PM »

This here showcases how nice it is to have the flexibility of renting! Even when a place suits you at the beginning, you may still want to move later. I haven't had problems with neighbours myself, but I have moved a few times to be close to work. Since I'm still a while away from retirement and may encounter a few more job changes yet, it's helpful to be renting in such a scenario. My partner is more interested in buying - and it just dawned on me that our different thoughts on this may have a lot to do with our work situations; the kind of work he does can be done from home. Hmm, something to talk about.


Yes, I agree.  Although I'm mindful that renting is optimal if you have the financial resources/security, physical mobility and mindset to be flexible about your living arrangements, but not everyone does. I don't think the laws relating to Australian rental market are particularly conducive to long term tenants who want security of tenure. 

I also sympathise with lower income earners who may not feel that they are able to jump around - feeling economically insecure doesn't give you much confidence about your situation and the rental market in inner city melbourne is frighteningly competitive. And families with kids may dread the idea of moving every couple of years.  I've moved every year in the past 5 years!  It's definitely draining and its made me prioritise minimising possessions to make the next move less work.

But in the end I've adapted my lifestyle to maximise flexibility - but it did take quite some work a bit of work and cultural adjustment to get there and for some people it may not be an goal that is readily achievable.  It's tempting to go on an evangelical MMM frugality rant to try and get people to open their eyes to the freedom available to them if they do away with excessive consumption - but nobody likes a bore.

But I'd still like to have a garden.  And good gardens are multi-decade projects.

I ,like you, would be content with a Studio. My dream would be a largish studio within a garden setting.  Less building. More nature and sky.  I probably need to buy a Yurt!

Eucalyptus

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #78 on: August 09, 2016, 10:54:14 PM »
Single Dad, one toddler in childcare full time (~50/50 custody). Renting a cheap old unit inner city.
This is my budget that I've been running on for a couple of months now. Some things I should beat by a fair bit over the next 12 months, eg Fuel, car maintenance, health bills, Food, so I might be up to $2k below. Some of these things I've broken down in my own budget to lines for myself and my child. Its interesting to see the actual cost of children (not as bad as most people make out), though, once my daughter is grown up and I own my PPOR, I will be able to smash this budget right down. I suspect that even with a small garden space in a courtyard I could also save at least $1000 a year off fresh grocery costs (I'm vegetarian at home) by being smart, as part of a PPOR I will invest in Solar and get rid of Gas, and use some rain collected water, car is a reliable diesel 4WD, that I only do about 5000km a year (country miles not city), so fuel and maintenance is way overblown in this budget. Punching in such numbers post child reaching adulthood, base budget should be about $16600 in today's dollars. That's with me still providing a room, roof, food, clothes for said adult child, inner city location.

Total: $34635.18

Annual breakdown:
Health Insurance (myself and child) $1742.70
Health Bills $800

Rent $13035.70
Electricity $600
Gas (mains) $400
Water $360
Contents Insurance $390.89

Eating out $1564
Food $ 3650
Cleaning (products) $80
Bathing (products) $80

Clothes $1240

Fuel $1303
3rd Party insurance $120
Rego $560
Maintenance $2000

Telstra 4G Mobile $360
TPG NBN $719.88
Netflix $107.88

Gifts $600

Childcare fees $4200.14

Child Support $1600.74

Miscellaneous $782




« Last Edit: August 10, 2016, 06:23:21 AM by Eucalyptus »

kiwiozearlyretirement

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #79 on: August 10, 2016, 09:46:49 AM »
Quote
I also sympathise with lower income earners who may not feel that they are able to jump around - feeling economically insecure doesn't give you much confidence about your situation and the rental market in inner city melbourne is frighteningly competitive. And families with kids may dread the idea of moving every couple of years.  I've moved every year in the past 5 years!  It's definitely draining and its made me prioritise minimising possessions to make the next move less work.
We would still be renting if the rental situation was not so hostile in Perth. The flexibility was all the landlord's way. We got moved every year for 3 years and once after 9 months. With small children this was not fun. At one point we nearly ended up in a caravan park with our stuff in storage. And not to forget those nazis with their clipboards every 3 months hassling you to clean the windows and pick up every leaf.  As long as the house is not damaged and it is relatively clean I don't see why you should have to clean the windows. They hassled us about the lawn not having been mowed in the last few days when we were mowing it every 2 weeks.  I do not have fond memories of our time renting. I totally agree buying a house makes no financial sense but moving all the time is disruptive as hell. I think other countries allow longer leases/rental agreements. The maximum you can do here is 12 months. And twice we had the owners moving back into their houses so we had 6 weeks to get out. In a mining boom city this was extremely difficult at times.

Bee21

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #80 on: August 10, 2016, 03:21:05 PM »
Renting is hell. I still have nightmares about the application process when there were 20 people queuing to get an overpriced shoebox for 12 months.

I am popping in to say thanks to those who shared their home and contents insurance numbers. Looks like we will be saving 800 annually by switching. I am kicking myself for not looking into it earlier.

Would you guys care to share your health insurance numbers for a family cover? That is next on the chopping block.

Anatidae V

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #81 on: August 10, 2016, 05:13:32 PM »
Quote
I also sympathise with lower income earners who may not feel that they are able to jump around - feeling economically insecure doesn't give you much confidence about your situation and the rental market in inner city melbourne is frighteningly competitive. And families with kids may dread the idea of moving every couple of years.  I've moved every year in the past 5 years!  It's definitely draining and its made me prioritise minimising possessions to make the next move less work.
We would still be renting if the rental situation was not so hostile in Perth. The flexibility was all the landlord's way. We got moved every year for 3 years and once after 9 months. With small children this was not fun. At one point we nearly ended up in a caravan park with our stuff in storage. And not to forget those nazis with their clipboards every 3 months hassling you to clean the windows and pick up every leaf.  As long as the house is not damaged and it is relatively clean I don't see why you should have to clean the windows. They hassled us about the lawn not having been mowed in the last few days when we were mowing it every 2 weeks.  I do not have fond memories of our time renting. I totally agree buying a house makes no financial sense but moving all the time is disruptive as hell. I think other countries allow longer leases/rental agreements. The maximum you can do here is 12 months. And twice we had the owners moving back into their houses so we had 6 weeks to get out. In a mining boom city this was extremely difficult at times.
Wow, that's not been my experience renting in Perth at all! The real estate agents have been reasonable enough, though we disagree on some items. They always put down "please do .... Better" on the rent inspection. I thought they just had to pick something every time. We've been here nearly 3 years, they even agreed to lower the rent because of the poor rental market! It's why I'm not keen on buying - so nice renting right now! We have no kids, but do have 2 cats. I assumed that if I wanted to, I could ask for a longer lease? That's good to know, I suppose.

limeandpepper

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #82 on: August 10, 2016, 07:30:17 PM »
It's why I'm not keen on buying - so nice renting right now!

Same here, back in Melbourne, I stayed in the same place for 6 years! And get this - it was a month-to-month lease. And not only that, some years into this, I was asked if I wanted to sign a yearly lease - and I said I liked the status quo, so we continued with the monthly arrangement until I eventually left on my own accord. :p

Way before that, I rented with my sister, also in Melbourne, we were there for about 4.5 years I think - until we, too, left on our own accord.

In between those rentals, there were some places where I didn't stay as long, but again I was the one who left when I wanted to. So the flexibility of renting has pretty much always worked out in my favour. I guess that's why I like it so much? The idea of committing to one property is far more scary than the possibility of being asked to move out.

Never had problems with inspections either, and I don't consider myself to be the super clean and tidy sort.

Currently renting a room in Perth from a homeowner, I think she is happy to have me here for as long as I want, plus she only bought the place recently so I doubt she'd be selling soon.

JLR

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #83 on: August 11, 2016, 05:01:40 AM »
We've returned to renting after 9 years of owning. It took us three houses to find the right landlord.

The first place they wanted us to sign a long lease and tried to corner us into it by threatening (and following through on) putting the house on the market unless we signed a 12 month lease. When we moved out the new tenants signed for 12 months and they took the house off the market. Then a year later I noticed it was back on the market. Perhaps they were trying the same tactic again?? Anyway, it has recently sold.

The second place was a private rental, arranged by a friend of a friend. It was great until the owner had some health issues and needed to move in. Luckily they gave us an excellent reference for our current place.

Our current landlord seems great. He lives interstate, but the real estate is pretty decent, and he has been proactive about fixing the things that have gone wrong in our 18 months here. The landlord had the house built nearly 30 years ago and they raised their children here. They've been renting it out for more than 5 years now. He is bank manager and wants to take care of his investment. There is probably a bit of sentimentality in there, too, with it having been their family home. They are pleased to have tenants who care for the place. They pay our water bills because they are happy with how we maintain the gardens and lawns. The real estate comes by every 12 weeks, but seem pretty casual. Still, that doesn't stop me from cleaning like a fiend in the lead up - don't want to lose a good thing!

misterhorsey

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #84 on: August 11, 2016, 06:44:53 PM »
It's why I'm not keen on buying - so nice renting right now!

Same here, back in Melbourne, I stayed in the same place for 6 years! And get this - it was a month-to-month lease. And not only that, some years into this, I was asked if I wanted to sign a yearly lease - and I said I liked the status quo, so we continued with the monthly arrangement until I eventually left on my own accord. :p


Staying that long in a rental is optimal/living the dream. Many sensible landlords will favour a reliable and trustworthy tenant over maximising their rental return.  They'd rather have someone in for lower than market and have no hassles or vacancy.

Because of my bad choices in apartments I changed apartments every 14 months for a bit, meaning I had to pay market rates each time.   Admittedly my bad apartment choices caused this.  Cheap as they were unpleasant, or unpleasant as they were cheap!

kaetana

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #85 on: August 16, 2016, 05:22:58 AM »
Great thread! Really enjoying seeing some Australian figures because US ones always seem crazy low.

Household:
Two adults, both working full time. Home owners.

Spending:
2014-15  $39,223
2015-16  $59,765

Comments:
This year's number includes ~$13,000 worth of medical expenses (we needed to buy medical equipment) as well as flights/hotels for vacations in Singapore, Sydney a few times, Canberra, the Twelve Apostles, and Phillip Island. We also hosted some family and friends quite a few times. Not thrilled about how much we're spending, but our savings rate is still ~70%.

Details:
Electricity: $280.44 (partially prepaid from the last year, but this is about $60/month for us)
Water: $1,030.37
Gas: $586.98
Transportation: $1,691.60 (two Myki passes, except when we're working from home)
Health insurance: $1,196.95
Home insurance: $654.67
Car insurance: $379.93
Car - rego: $619.90
Car - Petrol: $543.32
Passports: $792.55 (we have five passports between the two of us, and some were due for renewal this year)
Home internet: $961.99
Mobile phones: $1,584.78
Groceries: $7,819.26
Rainy day funds: $13,455.92 (health)
Entertainment and eating out: $1,118.93
Pocket money and language lessons: $7,800
Clothing: $2,500
Electronics: $1,694.11
Vacations: $5,724.11
Biking: $3,006.28 (bought one new bike each)
Home improvement: $4,673.91
Gifts and charity: $1,650

damo

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #86 on: September 16, 2016, 10:00:31 PM »
Household
Two adults, no children, living in a 1 bedroom apartment.

Spending
Rent   $19,200
Health insurance   $1,920
Utilities   $1,200
Internet   $720
Phone   $720
Groceries   $7,800
Eating out   $3,000
Work lunches   $1,200
Drinks   $600
Fuel   $1,200
Grooming   $1,320
Clothing and shoes*   $1,920
Cosmetics*   $360
Hobbies/entertainment*   $600
Gifts*   $1,200
Automotive expenses*   $1,920
Travel*   $7,200
Home maintenance*   $240
Home furnishings*   $600
Electronics*   $480
Healthcare/medical*   $3,600
Car replacement*   $600
TOTAL   $57,600
TOTAL EXCLUDING RENT   $38,400

Comments
The items marked with an asterisk are our regular contributions to "sinking funds", which we use to smooth out the irregular expenses. This helps us prepare for those so-called one-off items.

marty998

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #87 on: September 17, 2016, 08:42:16 AM »
Mines gone up... quite a bit on previous years.

- $1,000 extra on new work clothes at the start of the year
- Opal card charges are already higher than last year (mumble mumble mumble dumb government changing the rules mumble mumble mumble groan)
- Trip to SE Asia and spending money
- Extra rental property with associated outflows for strata, water, council rates, land tax etc.

All that seems to happen is that money goes out of the bank account these days. Obviously more comes in, but it still hurts to see so many red outflows :D

techjunkie91

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #88 on: October 17, 2016, 08:59:33 PM »
Household
Two Adults, two Fur babies and a Bird.

Spending
Debt payments   -$20,078.05 * That is our priority

Rent  -$8,609.95 * Rent will go up as its currently subsidized
Electricity  -$190.24 * Major stuff on the elect company behalf that's why it is so low.
Gas  -$219.27
Internet    -$743.43
Water    -$226.54
Wood   -$151.48
House items   -$1,013.56 * Other random stuff we bought

Groceries    -$4,236.52
Medical    -$1,143.75**
Take Away / Going out -$2,046.93
Max & Millie & Tweety    -$666.21
Fuel    -$1,386.00
Two Mobile Phones    -$1,491.82
Public transport    -$1,357.16
Shit we forgot about   -$331.47
MRS   -$787.38
MR   -$219.43

YNAB Yearly Fee   -$60.62
Fertility Injections   -$782.21**
Engagement Party   -$2,069.54 ***
Farther's Day    -$99.99
Mother's Day    -$21.88
Emergency Fund    -$3,225.17 * will work on breaking these out to other categories this year *Had washing machine, Kettle, Toaster and Coffee machine die
Birthdays    -$787.95
Christmas   -$40.60 * no tracking for last xmas
Easter   -$37.01
Rego / Honda    -$771.60
insurance - Honda    -$300.00
Ambulance Cover    -$89.80
Anniversaries    -$85.90
Car maintenance    -$29.00
House appliance replacement   -$536.00
Optometrist -$638.00
Bedding    -$258.32
Phone Replacement    -$25.99
Work Clothing MRS    -$65.45
Work Clothing MR   -$50.00
Holiday   -$220.77
Other random stuff   -$1,644.79

Total Expenses   -$55,256.20
Total Excluding Rent -$46,646.25
Total Excluding Rent/Debt -$26,568.20

Comments
Don't have Financial year spending above is from Dec15 - OCT16
** Hopefully will end soon
*** One off but will be replaced with other peoples weddings over the next few years.









LadyTomoro

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Re: What’s your (Australian) Financial Year spending?
« Reply #89 on: October 21, 2016, 12:17:24 AM »
I thought I’d make a comparison against the general population, using the ABS 2009-10 Household Expenditure Survey (results from 2015-16 survey won’t be out until 2017) for Queensland……

(I’ve multiplied the weekly figure by 52 and then added 15% to account for inflation)

Excluding rent and home ownership costs :
Lone person under 35 : $37,000
Couple under 35 : $65,500
Couple with kid/s under 5 : $69,300
Couple with kid/s eldest under 15 : $75,100
Couple, over 55 : $71,600
Couple, over 65 : $44,700
Lone person over 65 : $24,100

Smashing it... Awesome!!!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!