How much $$$$$$$$$$ do you need to live well in South Africa.

[xrapidx]

Sometimes lifestyles become more luxurious to match money coming in.

Some might eat rib-eye, others might eat fillet.

With money enough is as good as a feast.....but we all need enough.

Some might not know the difference

To me, comfortable is being able to do what I want, when I want - e.g. an overseas holiday, I'm not talking 5* - just a decent holiday.

When something packs up - say a washing machine, being able to replace it and not worry about how I'm going to wash clothes because I can't afford a washing machine.

Coming home and deciding I'd like to eat out, and not have to first check my bank statement.

Knowing if I need to finance a vehicle, I won't have trouble, etc.

 

[maumau]

Some might not know the difference

To me, comfortable is being able to do what I want, when I want - e.g. an overseas holiday, I'm not talking 5* - just a decent holiday.

When something packs up - say a washing machine, being able to replace it and not worry about how I'm going to wash clothes because I can't afford a washing machine.

Coming home and deciding I'd like to eat out, and not have to first check my bank statement.

Knowing if I need to finance a vehicle, I won't have trouble, etc.

Exactly! That does it for me

 

[Hamster]

Some might not know the difference

To me, comfortable is being able to do what I want, when I want - e.g. an overseas holiday, I'm not talking 5* - just a decent holiday.

When something packs up - say a washing machine, being able to replace it and not worry about how I'm going to wash clothes because I can't afford a washing machine.

Coming home and deciding I'd like to eat out, and not have to first check my bank statement.

Knowing if I need to finance a vehicle, I won't have trouble, etc.

This pretty much sums it up.

 

[air]

+1 xrapidx

 

[richjdavies]

The OP was comparing to 'Europe' but even that is a pretty hard comparison. Lots of people in London consider themselves 'comfortable' and they live in 1-bed flat and don't own a car?! (but they also have to earn R1m/yr to do that too!)

Also, I don't get it with car finance in SA. I thought my friends were pretty money savvy until I realised they were paying down their house (at a low interest rate) then buying a car with finance (at a higher rate) at the same time as 'saving' money in an awful savings account.

Money is money people... if you have to finance that car, I'd say you're not actually living comfortably (and probably never will be, given that you'll always be in hock to the bank/finance company etc.). Then again, I don't have kids and have had a pretty nice career in London ...

If you can avoid debts, then I reckon it's pretty cheap to live quite a luxurious life in SA... but haven't done the sums yet myself... and you always risk trying to keep up with the Jones --> i.e. the biggest cost of moving up to an upmarket place isn't the house, it's the lifestyle (need a Merc, need kids to go to posh school, need plastic surgery!)

 

[SauRoNZA]

Donnerdag! So far from 1 bar it's not even funny. So this is how the other half lives. We'll done. I have lots of work to do. To save more, not to keep up with people I don't know and don't care about. I often wonder how people do it but that's their business. I can only keep my household ticking over.

If you are comfortably happy with your lifestyle then there's no reason to worry.

I often think people with more money live unhappier lives because there will always be more they want and more they can't get while the rest of us in normal land are quite content with the essentials and a little something special here and there.

 

[cguy]

Some might not know the difference

To me, comfortable is being able to do what I want, when I want - e.g. an overseas holiday, I'm not talking 5* - just a decent holiday.

When something packs up - say a washing machine, being able to replace it and not worry about how I'm going to wash clothes because I can't afford a washing machine.

Coming home and deciding I'd like to eat out, and not have to first check my bank statement.

Knowing if I need to finance a vehicle, I won't have trouble, etc.

Money is money people... if you have to finance that car, I'd say you're not actually living comfortably (and probably never will be, given that you'll always be in hock to the bank/finance company etc.). Then again, I don't have kids and have had a pretty nice career in London ...

I relate to much of xrapidix's post - primarily, what he's touched on here is that the best use of money is to buy freedom from having to worry about money. Along those lines, I also agree very with richjdavies, so my definition of living well, factors in not having the sword of Damocles (debt) hanging above my head. I am nearly there - should be able to kill my last bond at the end of the year.

If you are comfortably happy with your lifestyle then there's no reason to worry.

I often think people with more money live unhappier lives because there will always be more they want and more they can't get while the rest of us in normal land are quite content with the essentials and a little something special here and there.

I know where you're coming from, but I definitely disagree with these sentiments in a more general sense. There are a lot of people who live comfortably and are happy with it, but haven't considered if their lifestyle is sustainable, or whether or not they have enough risk protection - markets shift, jobs are lost, people get sick, they will eventually retire, they may have to support family members or friends, **** happens, etc. Personally, I find that too many people are complacent and seem to have an immortality delusion.

For the second point, in my experience people with more money definitely tend to live happier lives. More money, doesn't just mean more things, it also means more security. A majority of people who do earn very well, just don't show it - there is a false perception of who "the wealthy" are, what they live like, and what their problems are due to the extravagant life style of a few.

 

[Frankie_Yale]

1.2 mil IMO. that should cover all basics and enough luxuries with decent education and area.

 

[sdd]

To live well taking nett income into account I would think around 2 bar on a dual income salaried professional

Income tax is the killer....

edit: if you have kids ... add 150k per year per child to that

 

[cerebus]

If I calculate a level of income that would make for a modestly comfortable middle-class living with kids, I'd say around R50,000 would be a safe benchmark for me. That doesn't include 2 cars being renewed every 5 years, it doesn't include overseas holidays, it doesn't include private schools or the top medical aid options or a full time maid. I would consider all of those things to be highly aspirational and superfluous luxury items. It includes a R1m house payment, medical aid, gym, public schooling, various forms of insurance, savings and other general necessities. It almost certainly wouldn't enable someone to retire early unless they were very savvy investors.

 

[w1z4rd]

Seriously?

at R1m per year before deductions I wouldn't be living well, I'd be living like a bloody king.

+1.