single income sufficient?
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Topic: single income sufficient?
Posted By: buzylizy
Subject: single income sufficient?
Date Posted: 04 November 2011 at 2:23pm
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I have a question that has been bugging me for a bit and I thought I would get some general info from others in the Auckland area...
What do you think is enough after tax income to live off comfortably per week in Auckland. I would say exclude rent/mortgage cost as that would vary a lot between areas etc. But for all other things what do you spend in a week/month/fortnight on all of the rest from food and petrol to insurance etc. And do you manage to save at all? I am asking as I think we are spending too much and could save more but hubby says it is not possible on his income alone. So I thought I would get a poll on what people think.. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Replies:
Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 04 November 2011 at 2:39pm
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Well I think it all depends on what your budget is & sorting out needs/wants vs necessities.
Do you have 2 incomes now? How many kids do you have? Do you spend a lot now? |
Posted By: pudgy
Date Posted: 04 November 2011 at 2:56pm
This. My Dh didn't think it was possible, then I showed him it was. You have to be willing to make sacrifices though. Very important to define needs vs wants, especially if you'll be one income long term . Eta spelling ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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jazzy wrote:Posted By: ereynolds
Date Posted: 04 November 2011 at 3:24pm
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We live week to week on one income but I would say that we are living comfortably, but not really saving anything.
Someone suggested to us that we should do an 'audit' of our lives/finances/stuff to see what we really need- much like pudgy and jazzy have suggested- its quite an eye opener if you decide to go down that route. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">  http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 04 November 2011 at 4:04pm
| Instead of a poll do a proper budget on a spreadsheet. Don't worry about whats coming in. But write down whats going out. Have a list of absolute necessities like power, insurances.. have another list of things that you could do without ie sky. And then have a list of your consumables.. food, takeaways and petrol and then you can actually see what you have got to work with. What your minimum is to survive. |
Posted By: SethsMama
Date Posted: 04 November 2011 at 7:49pm
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After rent/bills all go out we give ourselves $300 a week for food and spending, the rest goes to savings.
We could prob live on less but like to have little luxuries and such. My DH is lucky enough to have a decent income so we can live on one, but there are some weeks where we don't manage to save more than $10, so it will be a nice relief when I'm working again but got a couple more babies to pop out before that happens! ;) ETA I live in Pukekohe and walk everywhere, hardly go through a tank of petrol in 3months and Hubby uses his car to get to work and back (maybe 20mins) and maybe once on the weekend so I understand that our petrol bill will prob be a lot smaller than most aucklanders. ------------- 
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Posted By: Lulu
Date Posted: 05 November 2011 at 11:58am
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We budget:
$280 per week groceries/wine/beer $20 per week house & contents insurance $37 per week medical insurance $25 per week life insurances $12.50 per week deposit to DD's bank account $11.50 per week sky tv $76 per week DD's kindy $9 per week pet insurance $20 per week cat & dog food $140 per week pocket money for DH and I $20 per week haircuts So that = $651 - our fuel, home phone, internet, mobile phones, car repairs, WOF and rego, car insurances, home electricity and half our sky bill is paid for by our company. If we personally had to allocate money for that it would be approximately another $450 per week at our current consumption, so we would need in excess of $1,100 per week to live and that is not including rent/mortgage! And no saving, holidays, hobbies, etc. ------------- Lou http://www.babysfirstsite.com"> 
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Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 05 November 2011 at 12:08pm
 $280 a week for groceries
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Posted By: Hopes
Date Posted: 05 November 2011 at 12:30pm
I was thinking the same thing. Not knocking you, because I could happily spend that much on food if I wanted to - I just can't right now. You must eat well (or drink well!)  -------------   
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Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 05 November 2011 at 1:06pm
| Same. I'd love to spend that much but simply can't |
Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 05 November 2011 at 1:16pm
This is the question I have trouble answering as it comes down to how much you want to have. We have a set wage, it does go up when DH is on call etc & that money goes on things we need or is saved. We don't have his/her money but if we want something & have the money then we can get it. DH asks before he spends, he does not know all the ins & outs of our money/budget although I sit down & go through stuff with him. I do find the more we have left over the more we spend if he knows about it, but if I put it away it stays away 
Our fortnightly budget is $1300 that has to be paid or put away, that does not include extras or savings. We do have things that we can cut down or out if we need to. I need to look at the food budget as we go well over it. |
Posted By: thunderwolves
Date Posted: 05 November 2011 at 1:52pm
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we pretty much live on nothing at the moment, after the rent is paid, we have $240 left,
that has to cover, food, petrol, insurances, and all bills... needless to say we save nothing....but we are happy... I just play around with what gets paid each week, so by the end of the month everything has been paid once...I buy fruit and veges once a fortnight, and we eat heaps of fresh stuff so that is our main shop, then once a week do a quick race round pak n save for dry goods and meat...try to only spend $50...things are crazy tight for us, and it is hard, if we had about $150 more a week we woud be much more comfortable, and could probably save a little bit..... ------------- http://alterna-tickers.com"> 
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Posted By: pudgy
Date Posted: 05 November 2011 at 5:18pm
we spend $300-$350 a fortnight.
------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: InthemiddleMummy
Date Posted: 05 November 2011 at 8:33pm
| I got a book from the library called the $21 week grocery challange, it has some great principles/ideas and receipes in it, I never managed to get the groceries down to $21 but did get it down to $50 every 2nd week and $140 the opp week, fallen off the wagon lately but its good book to try |
Posted By: Babykatnz
Date Posted: 06 November 2011 at 10:16am
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wow, our groceries is $100-120 a week, for 2 adults, 2 kids and a 3rd needing formula! Out of curiousity, whats $140 pocket money for? I'd love to have that much available to spend on anything outside of bills!
To answer orig question, our household income is approx $50k and we make it week to week but DP has a large debt that takes a fair chunk, and will do for the next 5 years, which means we really live on about $35k per year (plus WFF money) I layby xmas and birthday stuff, and clothes for kids to spread the cost, and we dont do takeaways, apart from driving out of town once a month for my son, and the occasional coffeegroup across Auck, I dont use vthe car much, so theres not a lot of expenses on my part. If you do what others have suggested and 'account' for every cent spent, then it will simply be a case of add up neccessities and decide how much of the 'extras' you are willing to let go ------------- Brandon - 05/12/2003  
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Posted By: Isabella
Date Posted: 06 November 2011 at 11:15am
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Posted By: InthemiddleMummy
Date Posted: 06 November 2011 at 11:18am
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buzylizy
have you looked at working for families website http://www.workingforfamilies.govt.nz/ have you looked at paid parental leave if you are fulltime work now you should get quite a bit...approx $6423 before tax over 14wks http://www.ird.govt.nz/yoursituation-ind/parents/parents-paid-parental-leave.html http://www.ird.govt.nz/resources/2/1/2107dc804d2efdbf8994cf7193534e4a/ir200.pdf these things all help during the 1st year check that you are with the cheapest companies for insurance and power phone etc. look at where you can chop the cost down. IE toothpaste, took DH to supermarket the otherday he was trying to buy $4.99 stuff for the kids....bottom shelf AIM $1.39 you can save lots if you look at the bottom shelf.....Home Brand Baked Beans 69c compared with watties at over $2 not on sale. things like this all help |
Posted By: mummymonster
Date Posted: 06 November 2011 at 11:53am
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We don't track spending, though we should. We probably spend >$200 a week, and we don't drink.
I'm wondering what you eat for dinner on budgets of <$100 for food? (We do eat meat most nights) ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 06 November 2011 at 2:18pm
how do you get away with this amount? what's your secret??? |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 06 November 2011 at 3:40pm
| We do $150 a week and that's including me spending $70 on protein powder a month and nappies |
Posted By: Babe
Date Posted: 06 November 2011 at 5:21pm
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We spend $75p/wk on groceries for 2 adults and 2 kids, most of it organic. You can make an awful lot of stuff yourself and its not that hard. It takes alot less time than a parttime job -------------   
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Posted By: Isabella
Date Posted: 06 November 2011 at 9:32pm
I would love to know everyones secret spending <$100 on food/week! 
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Posted By: Mattsmum
Date Posted: 06 November 2011 at 9:40pm
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Me too, I spend way more than that, it is our biggest stress at the moment trying to get it down. Veggies seem to be very expensive in Dunedin, I guess not much of it grows locally.
------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Hopes
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 7:16am
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I'm not managing to keep it strictly under $100 a week at the moment since we're both working and I've relaxed our food budget a little bit. But I can, and I think our main secret is one that unfortunately might not be that easy to copy - my brother hunts, and so the only meat we eat is pork or venison because it's free (he also gave us half a sheep for my birthday, so we've got some mutton in there as well at the moment). I guess you have have the same savings by going veggo? -------------
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Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 7:24am
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Going vego is cheaper but you have other costs. I am 100% vego. No meat at all but the boys are meat eaters. We go through a tray of eggs a week. That's $8-9. My protein powder at $70 a month. We would eat way more chickpeas and the like than meat eaters. And cause I won't touch raw meat the only meat I'll cook is things like sausages or prepared meat which is more expensive than buying raw and doing it yourself.
Almost half our groceries goes towards fresh/frozen fruit and vege. But our meals and easy and cheap. And instead of buying things like museli bars I make them and they are nicer and more filling and far less sugar.. its just a bonus that they are cheaper. |
Posted By: Babe
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 8:20am
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Mattsmum I'm on the West Coast and vege prices get ridiculous here too so feel your pain.
I find it easiest to order from outside the coast and in bulk so I might do a $100 order of organic dry goods from up north then get our dairy, etc with the leftover $50 for the fortnight. I don't buy cleaners/laundry products, sanitary products, nappies or formula, biscuits/crackers/dips in my weekly shop which also cuts costs. I grow veges and herbs though ATM its abit of a mission but I also use the community garden. ATM I have to buy meat (we have our own cattle so usually we put a beast in the freezer) but we use a little meat and alot of veges and beans. I also find we eat less by eating 6 smaller meals a day and adding extra protein. I gotta say we're not doing great at sticking to the budget ATM coz I'm too sick to do much and DH can't take on much more on top of what hes doing but we're pulling it back in. We probably spend abit more AND less by buying eco-friendly stuff and avoiding plastic too so it costs more but lasts better. We can't do much about our power company we don't have a choice about that but we're finally getting a bbq and we'll use a solar shower over summer so both the oven and the hot water cylinder will be turned off. We have solar powered lanterns we can use instead of lights which are just as bright. We don't have any HPs or credit cards and have been paying down our debtload inc mortgage over the last year and abit. On one income thats under $60k we're able to save over $1k a month after payng all our bills, groceries, fuel, money into the boys accs, money into our vehicle acc and money put aside for us to do stuff together. -------------
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Posted By: mummymonster
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 9:19am
Any receipes you'd like to share? I often think of making my own museli bars but don't know where to start. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: _Deb_
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 9:23am
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Wow i wish i could get our grocery bill as low as some of you do.
I'm really wanting to cut down our grocery bill a bit, especially with #3 on the way. I know we buy a lot of stuff we don't need.  Any more tips for doing grocery shopping cheaper would be much appreciated. I'm planning on using cloth nappies and wipes for the next one, so that should make things a bit cheaper.------------- 
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Posted By: Babe
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 11:31am
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Don't buy what you can make yourself... thats really the only thing I can think of to cut your grocery bill. You can buy a jar of stroganoff sauce for one meal or spend slightly more and buy mushrooms, sourcream, lemon juice, and have the makings for 3 meals. You can buy biscuits or you can buy flour, etc which might cost more upfront but you get more biscuits (and bread and muffins and so on) out of it. You tend to eat less of homemade stuff because its more filling and satisfying. Mooncups/mama pads are a one off purchase that save you tons in cost and rubbish, same with cloth nappies etc. -------------
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Posted By: buzylizy
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 11:50am
Thanks guys. I think we are probably tracking on lulus budget (the higher number as we don't have company perks). I would actually love it if hubby could tell me I can spend X on food and Y on myself and Z on the kids. That way I know that if I can cut corners on the spending here and there and make things myself I can put a little something away without it affecting us. Not that he manages the funds inappropriately, he is very responsible actually but I am a detail orientated person and find it hard when he says...spend on what you need and I will tell you when you need to reign it in. I find that I then end up not spending a sent and getting annoyed when he does buy something, however small it is.  ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 1:21pm
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I have found our grocery bill has gone up now that DD is eating regular food with the rest of the family we go through a lot more fresh fruit and vege with her.
Doesn't matter if we shop at Pak n Save or the fruit and vege shop we average $100-120 a week for groceries that includes nappies. We don't have storage space to buy anything in bulk and I'm a hopeless gardener. We've been on one income since moving to Akl just before DD was born I get $74 a week from WFF which helps put petrol in the car and pay for things like playgroup etc We are managing not saving a lot it's only till DD goes to kindy/school then I'll be going back to work I've found the biggest expense living in Akl is travel costs there is a lot to see and do and we are out most days. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 1:22pm
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We have our own accounts which get a set amount of money put in each fortnight.. that way we can spend however much we want on whatever we want.. so long as we have the $ in our accounts..
Recipes.. http://www.kidspot.co.nz/recipes-for+1571+++Homemade-muesli-bars.htm - this is the muesli bar recipe I orginally based mine on. It's changed lots. I don't use as much butter as stated, I use half as much sugar and mix up the ingredients. Every batch I make is different. I love nuts and seeds so I add more of those and hate saltanas so don't add those. I use wholegrain oats rather than rolled oats for mine. I add in weetbix crumbs from the bottom of the box and just whatever is on hand at the time. healthyfoodguide.co.nz is also a great place to get recipes for anything good. I agree with the baking thing too. 12 fruit muffins costs me about $3.50 to make and I freeze them. I just buy canned fruit when its on sale and they taste great defrosted. I think they taste the best when they are nice n warm and the kids love them. |
Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 1:26pm
Do you know what is coming in & going out? Is your DH in charge of all finances...if that's the case I think it would be hard to cut costs or save, especially if he sees no need for it. |
Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 1:32pm
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kebakat I love that recipe site & hfg...& need to bake more as it is cheaper than spending $10-12 weekly on only bars I have never frozen muffins so might try that.
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Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 3:21pm
| We use to spend that much on bars now we don't. Frozen muffins are great. I just buy canned peaches when on special for like 80c a can and then make a whole heap of them or the same with bananas if pak n save are getting rid of a whole lot for baking for super cheap. It's great. Means I don't have to think come morning or afternoon tea time :P |
Posted By: MissAngel
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 4:18pm
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When I was feeding 5 adults 2 kids, my shopping budget was $350 a week. 3 adults have moved out and we never changed it :P We're living on a single income, but that income isn't low. I think it all depends on how much that one person is earning and which suburb you live in etc. ------------- Alex, Thomas and Lily http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Babe
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 8:38pm
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$350... TBH even if we had the money I just don't knwo that I'd *want* to spend so much money on something that gets eaten lol must be the miser in me I'd rather put the money towards a night away or clothes or well anything that I'm going to get to enjoy more than once or for more than half an hour. Not judging anyone spending that much just thinking out loud! I'm surprised at the amount of crap people buy - I've got friends spinning out over their budgets but they buy crackers, dip, chippies, muesli bars, just tons of snack food as well as the other expensive branded items like multiple cereals, etc every single week and the snack stuff alone must add easily $50 to their grocery bill. Don't complain til you've actually trimmed the fluff... -------------
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Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 9:10pm
| hehe I'm the same with the $350 a week on food thing. I'd not wanna spend that much money even if we had that much to spend. If I had that much money I'd stick to my same budget and then go shoe shopping. Hell I could do that every week! That would be pretty awesome! |
Posted By: Spacette
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 9:15pm
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We spend $80 - 100 on groceries for 2 adults, one baby. That's basics at Pak n Save, and usually veg and meat from their respective shops.
Great saving btw Babe! Awesome effort. We can't save much at the mo as the income is minimal (student allowance for DF + small P/T jobs for each of us) but we're comfortable enough. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
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Posted By: Isabella
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 9:33pm
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I think it also depends on how much emphasis you put on food - we LOVE eating... Our "entertainment" is to go out for breakfast and there is 40-50$ for that and that would be every fortnight or so. Also, by the time you get a box of beer or a bottle of wine there is $30.. Then formula is $20, Meat is seriously $$, then cheese, olive oil, dishwasher tabs, washing powder - all the $10 stuff which I would try spread out over the weeks... It can all add up so fast! We spent probably $200/week on 2 of us (before DD came along and weve started saving more than spending).. and even that wasnt "splurging" on things, like we didnt just biff whatever we felt like in the trolley...
ATM we are managing to save $540/week as we are staying with mum paying $150/week rent, $80 food, $25 internet/sky, $12 cell phone, $25 loan repayment, $15 insurance, $200 daycare, $200 spending money (or credit card repayment if anything is put on it), $70 petrol... When we move into our new house the mortgage will be taking a huge chunk of that so we are starting to try live a bit lighter to get ready for that adjustment. |
Posted By: MrsH
Date Posted: 07 November 2011 at 9:49pm
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Hehehe, $350 of food just sounds to me like a whole lotta cooking.
No thanks. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Lulu
Date Posted: 08 November 2011 at 7:59pm
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I personally believe that alot of people 'believe' they spend a small amount on groceries, but I am willing to bet that most of them don't track and budget their money and make a bit of an assumption over what they spend. My amount of $280 is absolutely accurate, as I draw it out in cash and don't ever spend over. I do buy six bottles of wine per week out of that budget. YES SIX!!! LOL! DH and I both drink wine and we have visitors too so don't call AA, lol. I go to the fruit and vege store at least twice per week. I buy three to four portions of meat/fish per week. I don't buy any biscuits, only home baking. I do buy one box of muesli bars per week. I usually find that the grocery shop spend is approx $200 (including the wine) and then the $80 remaining is the fruit, vege's and anything I run out of before the next shop.
We are lucky to have $70 pocket money per week each - this goes towards any personal incidentals such as coffee, and we ususally pool any pocket money left to go out once a week together. I also usually use some of mine for anything 'extra' for our DD - like the odd icecream, etc. ------------- Lou http://www.babysfirstsite.com">
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Posted By: Isabella
Date Posted: 08 November 2011 at 8:40pm
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I agree Lulu - I thought we were spending way less than we actually were - when I started saving receipts and adding it up - oops!
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Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 08 November 2011 at 9:01pm
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I know exactly how much of my money gets spent on what because I have a really good budget..
6 bottles of wine is a good effort. That would make my DH happy if I bought that much wine a week
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Posted By: Delli
Date Posted: 08 November 2011 at 10:09pm
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We do track our spending and do $118/wk on average on groceries. If we include eating out in that - takeaways, restaurant meals, cafe meals etc - it averages out at $139/wk.
Not too bad. Could be better. I reckon kids make things more expensive - not only because they eat heaps! Having two so little, we either have to take them with us to the supermarket or go after work at night times. Having them with me means I try to go fast to avoid tantrums - plus I have one on my back bouncing around trying to see what's happening and one in the trolley trying to play with all of the food - it's tiring! So I go fast and don't pay as much attention to specials and prices that I would like. When one of us is shopping at night, we have a limited time to shop in so we end up going fast then as well. We shop once a month. We live rurally and the thought of going to town every week to go grocery shopping like the budgeting gurus recommend makes me want to tear my hair out! But I feel that once a month (which mostly turns into once every 6 weeks!) shopping works for us. If we run out of things, it is more effort than it's worth making a special trip to the supermarket to buy more - so we have to think of something different to make. We do have an awesome local fish and chip shop though which doesn't help things! We also like eating Isabella! If there is an opportunity/occasion to go out, DP and I will usually go to a restaurant over any other form of entertainment. ETA - I would totally spend $350 (and more!) on food, if I had an unlimited disposable income... Mmmm, the best of everything. Though, if I had an unlimited disposable income, I would have a chef to cook it all for me. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Spacette
Date Posted: 08 November 2011 at 10:42pm
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We track ours pretty closely as well, just cos there is hardly any wiggle room. But having said that, we do have occasional takeaways and DF likes his chippies etc so could add $20 to that on a more flush week.
I agree I could spend $200+ easy peasy if the money was there - I do like food. One day! ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Daddaddad
Date Posted: 08 November 2011 at 11:33pm
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Sounds about right Lulu, I track everything we spend - $200 a week on groceries for 2 adults and 1 x 10mth old on formula, we don't drink so that keeps it down a bit ;) we also track and remove from the grocery budget any grocery items that we buy at random during the week keeping it within that $200.
I earn a pretty good salary but 1 income can be very hard, i like to track everything to maintain control - very easy to start haemorrhaging money! :D especially with the 'pop in and grab a few things' situations...my DP is particularly naughty on that one! ;) |
Posted By: Hopes
Date Posted: 09 November 2011 at 8:19am
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I track our spending carefully - I don't always *spend* carefully, mind, but I always know what I'm spending. In an effort to be more sensible about groceries, I've forced myself to limit the grocery shop to once every two weeks. I found I was just popping in for something, and finding all these great deals on the way... you know how it goes. At the moment, my fortnightly shop comes in between $200-300 consistantly. Like I said, though, I've been a bit relaxed about it, I could cut a lot of unnecessary stuff out of that. -------------
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Posted By: cuppycake
Date Posted: 09 November 2011 at 9:18am
Going to do a shop today and use your tips, hopefully this will be cheap and actually last the fortnight (!!)  ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: MissAngel
Date Posted: 09 November 2011 at 9:44am
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To be honest, with the $350 budget, that includes $20 of Nappies, $10 of wipes, $20 for milk for the kids, so that's $50 off of it already! We eat a tonne of fruit and vegetables - and meat every night except a saturday which is fish and chips night (meat and veg usually comes to about $110 at the mad butcher) I dont use cheap shampoo - we go thru a shampoo and conditioner a week, I use organic cleaning products and those are 10 times more expensive than other cleaning products and at LEAST $15 a week on washing powder and fabric softener :P (its 2 loads of washing a day in my house!) and 2 packs of soy yoghurt pottles (they're $8 for 4 of the buggers).
I'm extremely lucky that I have that shopping budget - and grateful! Sometimes it doesnt come to $350 so I can spend the rest on the kids for a treat :D I dont have any spending money for myself, so I get anything else I need within that budget (hair colour, undies, socks etc). ------------- Alex, Thomas and Lily http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">
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