Australia: Where the good life comes at a price

[Richard Feynman]

I was at an asian grocers in the Marrickville metro this morning and the woman in front of me was heard to say "$2 for each lime? I'll only take one then, I'm very precious about my money". Good to see some common sense.

As far as costs of living, I think lots of valid points have been raised but a few have been neglected. Most folks seem blind to how ****ing good we've got it. So just a few refreshers that, despite the apparently high costs of living in Australia, things aren't so bad.

For starters, the phone I carry around in my pocket which gives me INSTANT ACCESS TO THE ENTIRE SUM OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE and puts me in contact with most of the world for mere cents provides better information access and communication than the president of the USA had a couple of decades ago. And the cost? Spread over the 4 years I've owned the phone, under $2 a day.

And here, are some quotes (and page #s) from a brilliant book entitled 'Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think':

Light is a fabulous example. In England, artificial lighting was twenty thousand times more expensive circa AD 1300 than it is today. 865

Today [light] will cost less than a half a second of your working time if you are on the average wage: half a second of work for an hour of light! Had you been using a kerosene lamp in the 1880s, you would have had to work for 15 minutes to get the same amount of light. A tallow candle in the 1800s: over six hours’ work. And to get that much light from a sesame-oil lamp in Babylon in 1750 BC would have cost you more than fifty hours 868

In the 1800s, going from Boston to Chicago via stagecoach took two weeks’ time and a month’s wages. Today it takes two hours and a day’s wage. 877

But the vast majority of people are much better fed, much better sheltered, much better entertained, much better protected against disease and much more likely to live to old age than their ancestors have ever been. 885

The availability of almost everything a person could want has been going rapidly upward for two hundred years and erratically upward for ten thousand years before that: years of life span, mouthfuls of clean water, lungfuls of clean air, hours of privacy, means of traveling faster than you can run, ways of communicating farther than you can shout. 887

If anyone is interested in the book (highly recommended): http://www.amazon.com/Abundance-Future-Better-Than-Think/dp/1451614217

 

[BayView]

That's the thing about statistics you need to interpret them.

I don't need to sit on the computer looking at stats to know what the hell is going on out there...I'm out there.

That's the prob with this joint; too many armchair experts.


Update on the earlier post about the cost of limes....

The wife got back from the market about an hour ago.

Total bill - $105.

Meat, fish and chicken for 4 people - $85.
This equates to about 7 meals of meat, 2 meals of fish, and 2 meals of chicken - 11 meals for 4.

Eye fillet steak was $20.99c per kilo.

Fruit AND veg - $20.

Avocado - .90cea
Bag of limes - $2

 

[rowena]

That didnt grow limes


0.35c each at woolworths

http://www2.woolworthsonline.com.au...Stockcode=245902&name=fresh-lime&search=limes

Damn... I was thinking Im rich Im rich! My new PPOR comes with a established lime tree!! Here i was thinking i could get rich quick by selling limes! Dreams shattered... back to working.. lol

 

[lizzie]

I guess it's all "goes around - comes around".

Last time we were in the UK (12 years ago or so) the prices of food and clothing was about $1 for pound ... ie ... bananas cost $2.99 in Australia and cost 2.99pound ... a skirt I would pay $80 for in Australia cost 80pound.

And that was at a time when a dollar bought 30p.

Their time will come again.

p.s. at $2 a lime I'd be buying myself a tree!

 

[Aaron_C]

Limes > Lemons.

 

[Tony3008]

I remember you saying not long ago the dollar was going up over a 1.20. The dollar has to drop to stop living standards from plummeting. Even at 1.04 Australia is uncompetitive and industry is shutting down

But which way will it go when TA becomes PM and his government puts the budget on a sound footing? Up surely; if not, why not?

 

[buster]

Personally I noticed things are cheaper at the shops. Especially imported stuff. Clothing are cheaper, Kmart country road dj etc. fresh produce too. But fancy stuff like individually wrapped cheese still expensive.
Kmart has gone really cheap on clothing. I remember toys were so expensive 10yrs ago and now they re cheaper or same price.
As consumer I enjoy the high oz dollars.

Well enjoy it while you can, when your job has been exported it wont matter how cheap things are when you are not earning money to pay for it. With the closure of australias canning industry and the thousands of fruit trees being pulled out of the ground and a 5 years and huge expenses to replant and obtain production australia wont be able to feed itself soon. When overseas countries deplete their surpluss by dumping their subsidized surpluss here and need to keep it for themselves , what are you going to eat then. We have already seen some countries ban food exports, and riots and war in the middle east started from food shortage. Other countries arent goint to feed and cloth you fore-ever especially if you have no money to pay.

 

[BayView]

Well enjoy it while you can, when your job has been exported it wont matter how cheap things are when you are not earning money to pay for it. With the closure of australias canning industry and the thousands of fruit trees being pulled out of the ground and a 5 years and huge expenses to replant and obtain production australia wont be able to feed itself soon. When overseas countries deplete their surpluss by dumping their subsidized surpluss here and need to keep it for themselves , what are you going to eat then. We have already seen some countries ban food exports, and riots and war in the middle east started from food shortage. Other countries arent goint to feed and cloth you fore-ever especially if you have no money to pay.

And yet, I am literally watching Sunrise on channel 7 as we type, and there was a pull-through at the bottom of the screen which stated that the unemployment is at at it's lowest level for some time..just a few spins and porkies from the Gubb going on there, I'd wager....

I'll get the exact figure when they come back from the frickin' ads that have no effect on my spending.

Just saw the figures - jobless rate at 4 year low!

Total BeeeeeeeeEssssssssss

 

[Fox89]

Currently sitting at Perth airport. Cost of packaged chicken salad sandwich $8.50. That's robbery!

 

[Richard Feynman]

Currently sitting at Perth airport. Cost of packaged chicken salad sandwich $8.50. That's robbery!

That's circumstance.

 

[BayView]

Currently sitting at Perth airport. Cost of packaged chicken salad sandwich $8.50. That's robbery!

And, I'll bet it's "rubbery" as well.

 

[Angel]

I expect it is the same price at every airport? Why should Perth have all the fun?

 

[Deuce]

Currently sitting at Perth airport. Cost of packaged chicken salad sandwich $8.50. That's robbery!

Makes lounge access worth it. I still remember paying for a beer and crusty old pie that cost me 18 dollars. I wonder what the yield is on airport CIP.

 

[BayView]

"airport" is a Latin word meaning "daylight robbery"

 

[Edmond Dantes]

"airport" is a Latin word meaning "daylight robbery"

Airport, Easter Show, Going to the movies, etc... extremely expensive!

 

[Dazz]

But not a patch on purchasing anything to do with weddings.

 

[Deuce]

But not a patch on purchasing anything to do with weddings.

Last wedding I went to had a budget of 50k..... was a outrageous price even on a household net income of 100k. Can't believe people are willing to fork out that much for a single day.

 

[BayView]

Last wedding I went to had a budget of 50k..... was a outrageous price even on a household net income of 100k. Can't believe people are willing to fork out that much for a single day.

It's one of the favourite ways of the Aussie battler to keep themselves in a financial hole....other than loads of tats, ciggies, slabs of Vic, junk food, bomb cars that are a never-ending money pit, and pure bred kill dogs.

 

[The Fence]

And yet, I am literally watching Sunrise on channel 7 as we type, and there was a pull-through at the bottom of the screen which stated that the unemployment is at at it's lowest level for some time..just a few spins and porkies from the Gubb going on there, I'd wager....

I'll get the exact figure when they come back from the frickin' ads that have no effect on my spending.

Just saw the figures - jobless rate at 4 year low!

Total BeeeeeeeeEssssssssss

Switch to Today show on 9nine.

 

[wategos]

It's one of the favourite ways of the Aussie battler to keep themselves in a financial hole....other than loads of tats, ciggies, slabs of Vic, junk food, bomb cars that are a never-ending money pit, and pure bred kill dogs.

and the token negatively geared investment property for the "tax savings"

http://thingsboganslike.com