Should we be worried about this????

[Caz]

Hey guys,

My hubby is a member of a number of other sites and has been finding out alot of info on NZ.

We are still doing alot of research and found info on people who have moved to NZ from the UK who are really struggling financially!

One guy said that his family earned a combined income of $100k a year and could not make ends meet at all!! This is about the same income as we will have, so am getting a bit worried.

Also people are going to NZ with large amounts of cash ranging between £40k - £100k and still cannot manage!!!

We will not be coming over with anything near that amount!

So what i want to know is.....

Anyone who lives in NZ already... is the above true? Are people forced to buy second hand clothes and cut back on food etc due to lack of cash???

Do not get me wrong, i do not expect to live an extravagant life, but i do want to be able to buy my kids some clothes and take them out every now and again.

The way those other people were talking, you would be better off BANKRUPT!

Needing some clarity on the situation?? So all views and opinions welcome!

Cheers guys
Caz xxx

[Meadow]

Hi Caz
I used to do other sites also,but i just stick to this one now.
If i had listened to half of the moaners and whingers,then i wouldnt be here.
Even on one of the other ones,i announced about our good news as in Colin getting his work permit,and i was shot down in flames again,with this idiot,who seems to have it in for us.
He keeps going on about how risky will be for us getting pr etc
And i keep saying well i wont know until i try.
At least we will try though.No point spending life saying oh i shouldve tried that,or if only.
We have done it now,we are here,and no way did we have 40 grand with us,far fom it.lol
We did spend a lot of dosh though on touring around,but thats our choice.As hubby couldnt Start work until permit came through.
So we saw lots of beautiful places and had great fun.
I think food etc is much the same really,price wise.
Im really not finding it that different at all
I feel we are better of here,but then we had a right nasty situation in Glasgow as hubby couldnt get work anyway.
For us anyway,no matter what people said,i had to find things out for myself.
And so far so good for us

[Caz]

Thx

I have been trying to do the sums, but its hard when u dont know the cost of anything. try to work all this out!

At first it will just be paul who works until i can find schools for the girls and suitable after school care! Also really not sure how much that costs, so any idea wuld be great!

I was looking at the prices of flights and Air NZ give cheap flights if u book in advance so kinda thinking about just doing that and throwing caution to the wind lol

But like u say, i guess u gotta try and if it doesnt work out then revert to plan A lol

Anyway, all other opinions welcome

Caz xxx

P.S. Chat soon xxx

[MotherBear]

Before getting to NZ it might be useful to get into the mindset of spending cautiously until you get a feel for prices there. Some folks get carried away with their new life and the excitement of it all and spend up a storm in the first few weeks. The money you take with you won't be replaceable and you'll just be left with having to make ends meet on a NZ salary, which may or may not be a reasonable one.

It would be very difficult to judge how well you'd cope without knowing the household incomings and outgoings. Some people cut their cloth accordingly, but others try to emulate the 'good life' they may have had in their home country. I think the idea is to seek out all the free things NZ has to offer and take advantage of them. It will mean a change of perspective for many people e.g. swapping money-guzzling indoor activities for outdoor freebie ones, which are healthier, too. If a family's income is $100k and they can't manage, yet someone who is earning $60k can manage you have to ask yourself what is going wrong.

Perhaps it's time for one of our 'cost of living' exercises where folks post up the number in their family and their weekly or monthly household expenses inc. those for running a car or two so we have an idea of how much things cost. Examples are:
food bills
utilities
rent/mortgage
council rates
house insurance
vehicle running expenses
school expenses
an average figure for clothing etc.

That way it's easier to see where the money is going. It's a valuable exercise that needs updating every now and then because costs are often on the move.

[kokopeli]

Hi Caz,

This sort of discussion comes around every so often and always seems to cause controversy. I don't think anyone can give you a definitive answer, but from what I gather, most people in NZ earn less than $100,000 a year. I can't remember the exact figures, but the average wage here is certainly less than that. Whiles wages are much lower than those in the US or UK, the coffee shops here are always full, there are plenty of new-ish cars on the road and most houses have a Sky dish.

Whether $100,000 is enough for you to live on depends on how you choose to live. It's definately not enough if you plan to have a huge mortgage, send your kids to private school, drive a monster 4WD and buy French cheese......

[Caz]

Thanks guys

Motherbear - i do think a cost of living exercise would be great
In the UK i know what we have to pay, mortgage, council tax, utilities, TV licence etc etc etc BUT i have no clue what i would have to pay out in NZ! I know the after school care costs £8 a day here, but how does that compare to NZ???

We currently dont earn massive amounts of cash, and i do try to keep quite a tight budget here anyway, but we can still afford to buy clothes and things for the kids and have an outing once in a while - Oh and the occasional luxury lol

Kokopeli - hahahahah I dont think thats the lifestyle we are going to be living!! At first we will rent somewhere costing no more than $400 a week, send our kids to local schools and drive a medium sized car! Oh i dont like cheese much anyway!! haha

I know i can budget quite well, and will be very cautious to start. I just hope that we are "about the same" financially, cos i could easily cope with that!
I daresay, you manage whatever your income, cos u have to...

But i would agree that we will make full use of the free activities, and hopefully meet some people who are willing to meet up for a bbq!

Thanks,
Caz xxx

[Taffy]

Anyone who says they cant make ends meet on $100k per year is clearly living WELL beyond their means. The 'average' wage (according to statistics!) is somewhere around $40,000 per year, and I think most kiwis think themselves lucky if they are earning $40-60k. It's all about how you live your life at the end of the day. Getting the biggest mortgage you can, financing the best car and fitting yourself out with all the best gear is a recipe for disaster, no matter what country you live in!

[rasin]

Hi folks,
I do think that 100k is a good income. However as foreigners we don't get as much subsidise stuff as the locals (until we become PR?) which might be significant amount. Eg. we've to buy our own health insurance otherwise each Dr consultation I heard could be around $80! I'm not too sure about education, childbirth and other benefit though.
Anyone could highlight the area which would potentially cost much more to foreigner then PR or local? Thanks in advance :)

[1happywoman]

I think this is a world-wide problem with some people never having enough, because they just don't know how to make ends meet and they are not willing to sacrifice anything. If I made $100K anywhere in the world, I would think I was doing very, very well. But, I live near a very affluent neighborhood, where people live in houses that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions, and a $2000 per month utility bill is not unheard of. (Takes a lot to keep the pool warm all year round! Not to mention keep 6 cars in a heated garage.) I have done home care as a nurse, and been to some of these homes. Unbelievable! I would have to leave a trail of bread crumbs in some of them to find my way back out again. So, $100K would be living in "poverty" to them. I guess it is a matter of perspective as to what you can live on!

[hball]

As said before this is always a controversial topic - if you took the question back to your country of origin you would find exactly the same response. Some would be able to manage on less, other need more.

Our household bills last year came to just a tad over $50,000. That covered mortgage, local rates, regional rates, waste water management, electricity, gas, phone (land line), mobile phone x 2 (fixed plan), buildings insurance, contents insurance, health insurance, and vehicle insurance x 2.

Not included: food, petrol, household maintenance, vehicle maintenance, clothing or time-out-money!