Living Expenses

Discussion in 'Loans & Mortgage Brokers' started by Johann_, 1st Feb, 2016.

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  1. JacM

    JacM VIC Buyer's Agent - Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat Business Member

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    Having noticed a few people have mentioned contemplating installing solar, I thought I'd share this little grenade that Oaklahoma dumped on its residents that have solar.

    https://weather.com/science/environment/news/oklahoma-alternative-energy-taxes-20140423

    It is probably reasonable to assume that anything visible via satellite (ie google earth) is fair game and easily taxable if the powers that be so desire one day. So things like solar, windmills, water tanks.

    Wall and roof insulation and double-glazed windows are a bit tricky for someone to "see" via google earth from a desk at council. You also do not require a permit to install extra insulation or replace the glass in a window. So there'd be no paper trail to use to justify a fee/tax.
     
    Last edited: 9th Feb, 2016
  2. EN710

    EN710 Well-Known Member

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    I rarely use a heater - but double glazed balcony and northern orientation helps. Use aircon after 10pm and only for 2-3 hours before sleeping. The rest is Fan

    The computer is an energy drain - It's the same as a flat screen TV. And maybe your workshop as well.
     
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  3. Lisa Parker

    Lisa Parker Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the tips. Flat screen is often on. We run all our media through it including our music which is on often.
     
  4. Dan Donoghue

    Dan Donoghue Well-Known Member

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    More the screen than the computer, mine is on 24/7 but draws little power as it doesn't process much it has a 450W power supply but I doubt it would ever get its power draw anywhere near that even under load, same with my NAS, its on 24/7 but uses next to no power, I have the screen on the PC set to shut off in 5 mins of inactivity.
     
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  5. EN710

    EN710 Well-Known Member

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    My computer on non-active mode is about 40W (computer screen is also very efficient I don't remember the wattage). On active mode is about 300W, so if used actively for the entire day it would be quite expensive.

    :eek: Can you use a good speaker and plug it with your phone?
     
  6. THX

    THX Well-Known Member

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    Don't have kids seems to be the lesson in expenses :D
     
  7. THX

    THX Well-Known Member

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    The problem with solar is the power generated must be used when it is generated, sure you might get a little money back from a feedin tariff but if you're not home the majority of the time the power is being generated it isn't much help.

    The powerwall by Tesla deals with this issue but 13K on such a system would take almost 20 years to recoup the capital cost. Prices need to come down to be a real alternative.
     
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  8. Lisa Parker

    Lisa Parker Well-Known Member

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    Hmm, well we often have 2-3 computers going at one time for a lot of the day for my husbands work and hobbies.

    Regarding the speakers and TV, yes. Our issue is that our music collection is so large it doesn't all fit onto anything but a computer which is why it all runs through the media centre. It takes a while to transfer out what we want to listen to to an MP3 player just to turn on a bit of music. We used to do it that way. It's very frustrating having to transfer it all the time to a smaller device. I will have a cHat with hubby and see what we can do. I think we can turn the flat screen off and still use the set up once it gets going.
     
  9. GreatPig

    GreatPig Well-Known Member

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    I have all our music on a computer as well, feeding it to the audio systems directly over the home LAN. We have two main TVs, one connected to a PVR and separate surround-sound system, and the other to a blu-ray player with a built-in surround sound system. Both the PVR and blu-ray player can play media directly from the computer (they both have cabled LAN connections).

    The TV only needs to be on long enough to start the music, since it's not playing through the TV's speakers. I have a couple of compilation folders on the computer that have enough music in them to play for a few days non-stop, so I can just start a track in one, select random play, and then turn the TV off.

    GP
     
  10. kierank

    kierank Well-Known Member

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    Back to OP, we budget on $7,000 per month. PPOR is paid off but our lifestyle includes a lot of travel - local, within Australia and overseas (at least once a year)
     
  11. Dan Donoghue

    Dan Donoghue Well-Known Member

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    I would recommend a setup similar to mine, buy a NAS (I have one from D-Link), whack 4 hard drives in it and plug it in to your router.

    Every device can now connect to it over the network and use it as a network drive, it uses next to no power and your computer no longer needs to be on to host files.

    For a low power media player solution, buy a Raspberry Pi for 50 bucks, download the OpenElec distribution for it and set it up (takes about 10 mins to get it up and running), this device runs on only 2 watts of power (a mobile phone charger) and will stream from a network drive, it will also stream any video files you have on your NAS too ie movie player to your TV. Alternatively buy the touch screen for the Raspberry Pi for $150ish and set that up for a low power music player solution, the screen can draw power from the Pi still keeping it within the 2 watts power limit and now you don't need a TV.

    Drop me a line if you want more info on any of this :).
     
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  12. JacM

    JacM VIC Buyer's Agent - Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat Business Member

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    Wow @Dan Donoghue that's a great post. I imagine lots of forumites will follow your suggestion :D. Brace yourself, you might just have become our official advisor on electricity bill reduction ;) .
     
  13. Dan Donoghue

    Dan Donoghue Well-Known Member

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    Hehehe, I don't know about that so much, I just like tech toys and a couple of my toys just happen to be energy efficient :p
     
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  14. Jacque

    Jacque Jacque Parker Premium Member

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    Some great contributions to this thread! On the subject of electricity, has anyone done comparisons and found the cheapest and best value provider for a small household (2 people in 1-2 bed unit) here in Sydney? It's so challenging to compare fairly :(
     
  15. ashish1137

    ashish1137 Well-Known Member

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    Recently, AGL approaching people and giving good discounts.

    Going to AGL and Energy Australia with offers from each other will get you even more discounts on your bills each month. An additional 50 dollar as a one time for opting in your first bill. Hope yhat helps.

    Regards
     
    Jacque likes this.
  16. Azazel

    Azazel Well-Known Member

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    We use Click, they're pretty good. Get a discount if you pay on time.
    We've got gas as well, so can't really compare amounts I spose.
     
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  17. SirDingo

    SirDingo Well-Known Member

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    We just ran through our monthly budget:

    Rent/mortgage $0
    Car $0
    Food $0
    Electricity $0
    Gas $0
    Internet $0
    Insurance $0
    Mobile phone $12
    Entertainment/restaurants $600
    Living expenses total = $612 per month / $7344 p.a.

    It would be fair to say our circumstances are somewhat unorthodox ;)


     
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  18. Joynz

    Joynz Well-Known Member

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    Wow! That is amazingly cheap for meals if they are all in restaurants and must include even snacks - or do you work in the food industry and get freebies?

    Or live with Mum and Dad!
     
  19. SirDingo

    SirDingo Well-Known Member

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    Yes, work overseas and all living expenses are covered under the terms of the contract. :) Our only expenses are when my wife and I have a date night at a restaurant or at the movies... or both ;)
     
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  20. euro73

    euro73 Well-Known Member Business Member

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    Dont forget those weekly reflexology sessions you told me about, and the monthly day spa's :)
     

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