$58,325 is comfortable for who??
- Thread starter MTR
- Start date
Why would I like for Australia to be more expensive??
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you aren't a mensa member
Try tracking ALL your expenses for a while (6-12 months) then you can distill your spending down to what is actually needed. Work related expenses can tend to bump the figures around a bit. clothes & shoes..you wouldn't need those $300 6inch heels or that $500 conservative suit in retirement.. Look at the clothing you were on holidays and weekends. Lunches at work? Etc etc etc.
As we are self employed, I have tested the "pension" theory a number of times by paying ourselves the pension amount only to live on (the mortgage still gets paid separately) we have not seen any significant drop in lifestyle. It is probably better as we watch our spending closer and get creative with each dollar. (eg. Scoopon vouchers etc to try restaraunts other than our "usuals" has found quite a few usuals
Hi Moyjos
I gave the day job away some 8 years ago so don't need the glam clothes, but I still like to wear nice fashionable clothes, someone mentioned Millers for clothes, but I would not shop here, mum would though, its grannyville, sorry anyone who likes this stuff, not me
, I don't pay for top designer clothes either. I also still have children, 1 at home and the other is still dependent on our financial support. People who live comfortably on $58,000 pa well that is great, but perhaps its what one defines as a good lifestyle being frugal may be just too tight for me. Perhaps, however if you value your time and want to give up the day job then its possibly more about sacrificing something today.
So if one had a choice to retire today on $58,000 or wait another 10 years to retire with $100,000 or whatever ... what would you do?? I think that's an easy one.
MTR
More details please.....
I took the 50k (or less) now, time is more important and 58k a year after tax for a family with 2 kids is more than enough, at least where I live now (or most places in Australia) even if you're renting or with a mortgage.So if one had a choice to retire today on $58,000 or wait another 10 years to retire with $100,000 or whatever ... what would you do?? I think that's an easy one.
MTR
Ar, so much to add.
Firstly some of the younger posters are still thinking in terms of retiring "young" when their children are still in school. Of course your expenses will be significantly higher than those of us who will be retiring sans dependants ( I will still have a dependant forever, it seems).
Kathryn, it doesn't matter whether it is a $1 burger or a $2 burger. If it comes from Maccas, it isn't real food. When eating out, a Burger for me costs at least $10, sometimes $16. We spend around $300 a week currently on all groceries and fresh food, for four adults. You have stated that you go to Maccas for an eating out experience, but really? No. It would still cost about $10 for a coffee and cake at Maccas in Oz if I wanted something remotely normal, unlike a plastic ice cream cone or half a cup of skinny fries.
Tomorrow night Hubby and I will spend around $100 on a two course meal at a local silver service restaurant. Why? Because I want to experience something that I cant make at home.
My mother is a single pensioner, but she is on an unusually high rate, $900 a fortnight as a disabled war widow. She travels overseas each year and also does an Australian trip with her RSL social group, maybe a cruise or a train trip. Her 14 year old car is well maintained and in very good condition, it has only just hit about 70,ooo klms of use. She eats out several times a week. As a war widow, she gets amazing free health care courtesy of the Dept of Veterans Affairs. However this is NOT the norm.
I did a quick calculation of MrMoneyMoustache's budget. At $6600 per month, he spends $79200 per annum, about $80,ooo. That is a lot amount of money. Some of the anachronisms are not familiar to us Antipodeans, does he deposit funds each month into his investments?
I also claim an award for stinginess. On our big European trip earlier in the year, I took a box of coffee bags with me in case the coffees supplied at our hotels didn't meet my expectations (they were fine). Coffee supplied in Canada and the US was not up to my standards on our previous OS trip. I noticed that restaurant and caf? meals in eastern Europe were far cheaper than in Brisbane. As we journeyed west, things became dearer, so by the time we got to Paris, they seemed to be the same prices as here. Prague was typically 10Euros per person for a three course lunch with a basket of breads and a huge beer each. A two course gourmet lunch in Paris averaged 26 euros PP including a bottle of wine. $40 (26x1.5 = 39) is about the same as any restaurant in my local suburb without any drinks.
Firstly some of the younger posters are still thinking in terms of retiring "young" when their children are still in school. Of course your expenses will be significantly higher than those of us who will be retiring sans dependants ( I will still have a dependant forever, it seems).
Kathryn, it doesn't matter whether it is a $1 burger or a $2 burger. If it comes from Maccas, it isn't real food. When eating out, a Burger for me costs at least $10, sometimes $16. We spend around $300 a week currently on all groceries and fresh food, for four adults. You have stated that you go to Maccas for an eating out experience, but really? No. It would still cost about $10 for a coffee and cake at Maccas in Oz if I wanted something remotely normal, unlike a plastic ice cream cone or half a cup of skinny fries.
Tomorrow night Hubby and I will spend around $100 on a two course meal at a local silver service restaurant. Why? Because I want to experience something that I cant make at home.
My mother is a single pensioner, but she is on an unusually high rate, $900 a fortnight as a disabled war widow. She travels overseas each year and also does an Australian trip with her RSL social group, maybe a cruise or a train trip. Her 14 year old car is well maintained and in very good condition, it has only just hit about 70,ooo klms of use. She eats out several times a week. As a war widow, she gets amazing free health care courtesy of the Dept of Veterans Affairs. However this is NOT the norm.
I did a quick calculation of MrMoneyMoustache's budget. At $6600 per month, he spends $79200 per annum, about $80,ooo. That is a lot amount of money. Some of the anachronisms are not familiar to us Antipodeans, does he deposit funds each month into his investments?
I also claim an award for stinginess. On our big European trip earlier in the year, I took a box of coffee bags with me in case the coffees supplied at our hotels didn't meet my expectations (they were fine). Coffee supplied in Canada and the US was not up to my standards on our previous OS trip. I noticed that restaurant and caf? meals in eastern Europe were far cheaper than in Brisbane. As we journeyed west, things became dearer, so by the time we got to Paris, they seemed to be the same prices as here. Prague was typically 10Euros per person for a three course lunch with a basket of breads and a huge beer each. A two course gourmet lunch in Paris averaged 26 euros PP including a bottle of wine. $40 (26x1.5 = 39) is about the same as any restaurant in my local suburb without any drinks.
So if one had a choice to retire today on $58,000 or wait another 10 years to retire with $100,000 or whatever ... what would you do?? I think that's an easy one.
MTR
Ill tell you how enjoyable my life is going to be over the next 10yrs, while you're still picking fights with Mr. Albanian Tiler!
pinkboy
That $6600 a month budget is a MMM forumite's, not MMM himself. MMM's last reported family annual spend was just a shade over $25K for 2013, per here: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2014/01/12/exposed-the-mmm-familys-2013-spending/
The Macca burgers example is taken out of context. ...and no, we rarely eat there.
So your mum is able to enjoy life on $23,400 pa, but she is the exception?
Why?
That budget isn't MMM's...it belongs to forum reader of his...who is trying to get his expenses under control.
If you find value in a $100 meal, that is your right.
NO amount of food, or 'experience' has that much value, to me.
MMM and his family of 3 live on approx $27k..if you don't believe me, check it out.
Edit...thank you Homepage, just noticed you posted a link to MMM;s budget.
Yep that's an easy one. I would take the $58k today rather than wait another 10 years when my health is worse and my libido has declined or I could be dead.. there's no time like the present. You could wait another 20 years and retire with $200,000 or wait another 40 years and retire with $500,000. I'd rather $58k today.
Thanks for the info about the budget, I didn't think it matched my recollection of MMM. I just worked out that our spending for the past year came to $52K by taking out the current mortgage repayment and estimated costs for the kids.
My mother's pension may be a typical retirement income but it is not a typical govt pension amount. My comment was, I guess, to show that she goes out and eats out all the time.
Sorry Kathryn about the Maccas, I was under the impression you and either your daughter or your sister go there weekly for a social when in Canada. My desire for a foodie experience is fairly typical of the people I hang out with though.
My mother's pension may be a typical retirement income but it is not a typical govt pension amount. My comment was, I guess, to show that she goes out and eats out all the time.
Sorry Kathryn about the Maccas, I was under the impression you and either your daughter or your sister go there weekly for a social when in Canada. My desire for a foodie experience is fairly typical of the people I hang out with though.
Good one, you living in Spain, I bet its a hell of a lot cheap in Spain than Australia, nonetheless wonderful for you and your family and BTW Spain is very nice place to enjoy some ME time
Lucerocks, also now in Spain
No problem Angel.
My daughter and I do share a meal at a cafe when have mother-daughter day though.
In Canada, Rob and I will do drive -thru coffee and muffin occassionally, because their muffins are good, as well as their brewed coffee...and you can't beat $1.60
MMM also counts any principle paid as savings, in regards to a mortgage.
I'm really happy that your mum is able to enjoy herself on what many would consider a small retirement pension.
The more she eats out, the less groceries she would need to buy.
It must have been the coffee and muffins for $1.60 that stuck into my memory.
I see from MMM that their utilities and insurances are much lower than here in Brisbane. We don't pay property tax though.
Anyways, in todays dollars, $58k would be comfortable given our spending habits. You'd pass out if you saw what hubby spends on his motorbikes!
I see from MMM that their utilities and insurances are much lower than here in Brisbane. We don't pay property tax though.
Anyways, in todays dollars, $58k would be comfortable given our spending habits. You'd pass out if you saw what hubby spends on his motorbikes!
With you, bro. I'm in the midst of going OS to live. From reading various forums, the cost of living runs to about $1,500+ a month for the basics. However, from speaking to people that actually live there, $1,000 a month is more than enough for everything. In fact, $1,000 a month seems excessive (for the basics).
Now, let me be perfectly clear that I understand that the cost of living varies depending on the individual and where they choose to live and that moving to another country is not an option for some. I am very well aware of that.
However, the idea that one needs nearly 60K p.a. *minimum* to live a comfortable lifestyle in Australia, including travel, is a stretch at best. Especially in these days of ridiculously cheap air travel.
Maybe so for those that haven't paid off their homes by the time they are ready to retire, which in my experience is a pretty significant % of people - but let's face it, if you haven't paid off your home by the time you are 60+, that's entirely your fault.
I think people have an image of retirement as one giant holiday - holidays are expensive. Their holidays when working have been 'economy' but in retirement they want 'business'.
Yep. You also have more time to be frugal. You can spend a couple of hours researching to get a better price. You can go to restaurants that offer lunch specials rather than go out for dinner, etc. A couple probably only needs one car, not two.
My parents retired a couple of years ago. They no longer eat take away as they have plenty of time to cook. They have the time to watch the catalogues and stock up when things are half price. etc etc. My mums new hobbies are volunteering so that costs nothing. My dad has increased golf from ~ once a fortnight to a few times a week - that's about the only thing that has increased in price for them in retirement.
They continue to take a long indulgent OS holiday every year (as they have for 10+ yrs). Without the constraint of annual leave they seem to be getting longer. But they are also taking more time to research to get the best deals/holidays. They can also book years ahead, or travel at no notice, as they don't have to get leave approved.
Really? No experience is worth more than $100? You must be missing out; a lot - there are lots of great experiences that cost more than $100, some a lot more.
You wouldn't pay $101 for http://www.virgingalactic.com/ ?
I lived on 1/3 of the "comfortable" single income of $42,597 for a year in Sydney*
I went a little Mister Money Mustache, I admit, but even so, double that would be more than enough for me.
I would THRIVE somewhere like Colorado on that kind of coin.
* excluding housing costs, investments and savings
I went a little Mister Money Mustache, I admit, but even so, double that would be more than enough for me.
I would THRIVE somewhere like Colorado on that kind of coin.
* excluding housing costs, investments and savings
