how much money do i need to live comfortably?

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suetonius

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I am currently earning close to $40k. I am married and my wife lives off my income, she is not yet a permanent resident so she has no access to centrelink or any government help. I am finding that keeping two people on my income is not much fun and I am really not living much better than someone on the dole.

It was not that long ago when $40k was a good decent income. How much is needed now to be able to keep two people and still have savings?
 
depends on your life style mate,
i live comfortably off $60,000 and been able to save 1/3 of that :)
 
sheahen said:
depends on your life style mate,
i live comfortably off $60,000 and been able to save 1/3 of that :)
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My lifestyle is quite modest and I have spent next to nothing on major purchases, I don't even have a car. To be .quit.e honest if I was alone I could also save 1/3 of my income.

I guess the question is how much money do you need to earn to afford to keep a non working spouse and/or kids and still save money.
 

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When our family income was 30k, we needed 40k.

When it was 45k, we needed 60k.

When it was 70k, we needed 100k.

Now, I think I've realised that no matter how far your income increases, the most important thing is to be able to balance your work/home/family lifestyle, and live within your means.

There will ALWAYS be some(one/thing) better than what you have/can afford. Be happy with what you have, now what you "need".
 
Living comfortably to me means that at the end of the week/month/year you have saved some money. The problem with that is that many people look at saved money, and get the itchies to spend it.

I get very surprised at how few people actually have a half decent budget for their income/expenditure. And I think that if you do that first, and make a line item for Spending Money, and another for Savings (even better if you have a savings target), then the notion of living comfortably starts to take better shape.
 
I'm one of those who believe its never enough

When I was 18 I earned 400-500 clear a week and spent $200 of that on rent/car. The spare $300 was all the money in the world. I would think man I could spend $100 tonight and still have $200 left, *in sweet. I still managed to spend it by the weeks end though.

When I was 19 I was getting $700 clear a week. When I first got the payjump I was stoked at all the extra money I'd have and I'd probably save hundreds a week just by accident. I still spent it all by weeks end.

When I was 21 I was earning $850 a week. Always spent it. I still hadnt gained any other costs since I was 18.

22 I was clearing $950 a week, basically double what I was getting 4 years ago, but still lived hand to mouth, never really saved. $950 when I was 18 wouldve felt like life changing money, now the thought of $850 week leaves me short of breath

Now I clear over $1300 a week, but I force myself to save weekly and it works. When I was 18-20 and knew at 24 I'd be clearing this much I wouldve seen myself driving a ferrari and living like a king, still savings hundreds a week. But I still drive my shitty ford and hate the idea of paying a bill.

I think now how easy life would be if I could just clear $1700 a week just to get a few extra hundred to make things easier. But deep in my heart I know it'll never be enough.
 
$40k for a family would mean you are probably doing it tough.

I have always found good things a just around the corner.

Maybe consider a 6 month job in mining for you and your wife. even a dish washer on the mines earns $140k a year meaning $280k for a couple. Of course if you have relevant skills, you can earn more.

If your wife speaks another language, many mining companies would consider those skills valuable.
 
40k supporting someone else would be tough, I suspect allot of people would find 40k supporting themselves tough.

It all comes down to your definition of comfort.

If you mean the ability to cover all your needs and perhaps dinner and a movie once a week you'd probably need to earn closer to 60k.

If you want the dinners,movies, memberships and holidays then 80k.

Definitely agree most people have the ability adapt quite well.

I lived the student life off $300 per week (Including rent)
Graduated and had no problems taking it up a gear with my graduate salary (I think this is reccommended, specially your first few pay cheques, blow it)
Continued the "Lavish lifestyle" (Relative to student) as I worked into my profession
Then took a career break and had no problems living off $300 a week again (even managed to save)

I'm now back in my profession and admittedly saving more than I did when I first started work, however my expenditure has definitely grown with income.
 
suetonius said:
I am currently earning close to $40k. I am married and my wife lives off my income, she is not yet a permanent resident so she has no access to centrelink or any government help. I am finding that keeping two people on my income is not much fun and I am really not living much better than someone on the dole.

It was not that long ago when $40k was a good decent income. How much is needed now to be able to keep two people and still have savings?
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What do you do for work? I'm having trouble understanding how someone can only earn $40k? What are your prospects for advancement?
 
rocker_oz33 said:
I have always said if you live with in your means you should be able to live comfortably enough.But some people need the new i phone or new flatsceen or whatever.
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life is not easy financially no matter how much you earn. The more you earn, the more you spend.

So your comment about living within ones means is correct. If we are truly honest with ourselves how much do we all waste?

Smoking, gambling, drinking and tatts are the obvious wastes.
Buying coke, chips, ice cream and lollies are another (especially from convenience stores)
Cinemas, flashy mobiles and expensive plans, pay tv and rent to buy or finance are other killers

It is amazing how little you can live off if required and a bit of discipline is applied. That said we should give into our vices every once and a while!
 
bunsen burner said:
What do you do for work? I'm having trouble understanding how someone can only earn $40k? What are your prospects for advancement?
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Minimum full time wage is only about 35k (despite being the highest in the world). A lot of people are living on that sort of income, particularly with so many jobs being part-time. A lot of labourers, child carers, agricultural workers, etc get no more than that and many never will - even working full time.
It makes it damned tough in any of major cities, but is possible in a lot of regional centres.
 
suetonius said:
I am currently earning close to $40k. I am married and my wife lives off my income, she is not yet a permanent resident so she has no access to centrelink or any government help. I am finding that keeping two people on my income is not much fun and I am really not living much better than someone on the dole.

It was not that long ago when $40k was a good decent income. How much is needed now to be able to keep two people and still have savings?
Click to expand...

$40k for 1 is fine but for 2 or a family would be tough
 

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