Saving Money in Sydney story. I can see why she can't save.

Are you going to practise law? Too many graduates you know that right? If you intend to practise law, work in a law firm now if you haven't already done so.

 

That's just one week, assuming that she is doing the same thing every week. It's just a sample. You're a good saver.

 

Agreed.

The amount of money some people spend on alcohol during the week would be huge!

I dont think shes doing such a bad job at all, shes definitely not lazy getting up and going to the gym every morning.

 

She should sell her 98 Mitsubishi Magna and buy a newer model smaller car. At first it would be an outlay but will half her fuel and repair bills in the longer term.

Also cut down on the protein shakes. Funny thing I noticed who eats a cheat meal (burger and fries) during the week!

 

Bouquets can be expensive mate. $150 does not sound unreasonable for 2 nice ones.

 

Mamamia article. Not surprised. Totally made up character.

 

That's some serious saving. You're managing to live on somewhere in the $30-80 which includes the travel expenses to work that you haven't provided (would be more if you have no HECS debt). That's actually incredible,well done! I consider myself frugal and I'm not even close to that level. One decent night out would literally be your months spending money gone.

 

Could be $60k + super, which is a lot more realistic if you add on another $100pw to your estimate.

 

Pro bono work and just to help people out with general advice.

 

No it isn't. She saves less than half of her net income and she doesn't even pay rent..

 

Agree. The 10k she earns freelancing isn't added to it.

 

Haha thanks, I do try! More than 3 weeks in and it hasn't been all that hard. $75 to spend after bills and travel.

Travel isnt too bad ($22/wk) thanks to the Opal free trips by Tues morn.

@proper_noobie sadly it includes Super!

 

she seems to be always eating.. she is going to really pork up once she stops all the gym and her metabolism slows down!

 

At least she didn't spend it all.

 

I'm 25 and in the media industry too. My earnings are a bit higher than hers (I also freelance to supplement income). Am partnered, so that helps share some costs. My HECS debt is lower.

I spend more than this on my phone (covers handset, data and calls etc - I still occasionally go over the cap) at about $150 a month, but I use it for work for 9 hours a day as well (am expecting work to repay some of it at some point, or put me on a company phone soon).

Our supplements/vitamins come to about $20 every two months for us as a couple (B12, Vit D and a general vegan multi-v), we order online in bulk to keep costs down.

No gym (use the treadmill and weights at home if we want).

We have a home internet bill of about $100 a month between us (crucial as I work from home Mondays and do some weekend freelance work, plus we don't have any free to air TV so everything is downloaded).

Biggest cost for me is my transport to/from work at $60 a week on train (similar to her petrol cost). Partner drives and probably uses about $70 in petrol plus some tolls - we use the car a little on the weekend too.

Our animals cost us $60-$70 a week in feed, litter, etc else they may need (plus another $300 or so a quarter for treatments).

Our personal groceries for two are about $60 a week (mainly fresh veg, rice, legumes - we have a simple but healthy diet).

Electricity and other utilities, council rates (times two), insurances/rego/etc (car and house and income protection), general maintenance costs for property etc all on top of this. It adds up fast but we still manage to go out whenever we like (maybe twice a month). Our bills are also much lower than most two-person houses, according to the averages on the statements that come through.

Our home mortgage is about $500 a fortnight, and our new block of land is $420 a fortnight. Given the second mortgage is recent, it's uncertain how much we can save. But I expect as a couple to at least put a couple hundred dollars aside monthly and to keep adding small sums to our emergency accounts as possible.

I have no idea if we're good or bad compared to other people, but our savings since the latest settlement are a little smaller than I'm comfortable with, though we are always ahead with repayments on our home's mortgage. When we've saved up a proper buffer/emergency account again I'll be a lot happier...

 

I'll also say, in the Sydney market the big S word is sacrifice.

My best friends went on a last minute trip to Japan a week ago. I couldn't afford to go because we had just settled on our new block of land. There was a twinge of disappointment and then I let it go. Am awaiting their arrival back from the overseas trip, at which point there will likely be a day of whingeing about being on the rental treadmill...

 

How? Even if you buy a high end iPhone outright, that's about $1200. Do you break one every 12 months?

These days it's easy to get a SIM only plan with unlimited calls and 7-10Gb of data for $40/mo

What people spend on phones astounds me.

 

10gb+ is a perfectly reasonable amount of data for someone using their phone for work a lot, especially those in industries like the media where you are constantly on conference calls, submitting drafts for review and have to manage multiple social media sites.

That phone bill isn't something I even blink an eye at, there is a requirement to maintain a top line phone because you need to be able to use all the latest editions of apps, you have to stay on the cutting edge.

The supplements is the part of her story that is outrageous, the phone seems perfectly reasonable for her industry, heck cheap even.

 

@Jennifer Duke $60 travel?! Bit of an effort but if you jump on 6 or 7 buses on a Monday for one stop and walk back you'll rack up the 8 trips in no time and save $40/wk. Exercise and savings, great way to start the week

 

Je

Jen, big post so I'll keep it short.

Get your comms costs down. Internode do a cheap triple play, assuming that Fairfax dont pick up the bill given your premium articles to SMH.

And while you're at it, Hywood can pick up your petrol and transport bills. Word is Terry McCrann's looking for a property commentator to join his team...

Aren't vitamin supplements just helpful for the incomes of diabetes consultants? Go for a run very day with a 10kg bag of cement. No more supps required.

I can say anything about animals as other posters might not be atuned to the economics...

Groceries, well maybe, if it's on special it's in, if not, it's not.

Hello stir fries.

That's all, but it will give you some savings.

NOTE: It really bugs me when a prominant Sydney finance journalist says " it's uncertain how much we can save.."