How much money do you earn? And how do you spend it?

[Picard]

Thanks. Yeah, no kids, no car.

What, no car ... what joy is there in your life?

 

[cguy]

Not that much. You can get by there for MUCH cheaper than this budget.

Yup - if I was willing to move out about 30 mins, and go for a less upmarket condo or house, I could probably halve my property expenses.

 

[cerebus]

Yup - if I was willing to move out about 30 mins, and go for a less upmarket condo or house, I could probably halve my property expenses.

There's a lot of ways you could cut your expenses, it's clearly the budget of someone who hasn't got many concerns financially. But I mean it's clear you're doing very well managing your income so it's not like your need to cut at all.

 

[FiestaST]

I won't give my total income, primary savings, charity contributions, etc., but I thought my monthly expenses may be interesting given that I live in the US:

Company pays:
Medical/Dental/Vision (for wife and I): ~R14k
401K Match: ~R8K
Long and Short Term Disability, Life Insurance (for wife and I): R5k

Our expenses, roughly:
Cable TV/DVR/etc + 25Mb internet (no cap): ~R2k
2xCellphones (3GB cap, LTE): ~R1.5k
Food, groceries: ~R20k
Apartment Levies: ~R15k
Apartment Property Taxes: ~R15k
Pre-tax Savings: ~R16k
Going out, restaurants, fun, etc: ~R25k
Public Transport: ~R2k
Expenses (levies, tax, etc.) for other properties: ~R20k

About once a year I will also go on an overseas vacation or some such.

Edit:
Electricity: ~R1k
Gas:~R1k
Water included in levies.

In London -

(Per month)

Rent (1 Bed, 1 Bath): GBP 1,500 (ZAR 27,500)
Council Tax: GBP 150 (ZAR 2,800)
Transport (Bus + Tube): GBP150 (ZAR 2,800)
Food: GBP900 (ZAR 16,500)
Cable TV/DVR/Internet/Landline: GBP 70 (ZAR 1,300)
Cellphones - Free, Company Perk

Company pays for all other benefits like medical, dental, life insurance, etc.

Whoa it's comparisons like these that add another dimension to this thread. Wowzer...

I would like to know how an "average earning" person budget looks in a these countries, would make for interesting reading

 

[HavocXphere]

Whoa it's comparisons like these that add another dimension to this thread. Wowzer...

I would like to know how an "average earning" person budget looks in a these countries, would make for interesting reading

What Prav said is vaguely average-ish for London for the middle class mybb type person. Outside of London you can get away with about 30% less. Source: Paying about the same.

Don't see any electricity on his summary though...another 3k zar or so - assuming you don't heat.

 

[cguy]

Whoa it's comparisons like these that add another dimension to this thread. Wowzer...

I would like to know how an "average earning" person budget looks in a these countries, would make for interesting reading

I would say that the average developer has a little over half my expenses (they pay less levies and property tax, but have a mortgage - same goes for investment properties). Still, there are some very expensive areas and very cheap geographic areas, so YMMV. The average "person" earns something like $45k, but a majority of the population live in cheap areas where that gets you quite far.

 

[Carol35]

Our family food budget for 5 people is 6k and usually comes in under that, and we eat really well for that. It's not that hard to do if you're not eating mostly processed foods.

We cook for 8 people..and its similar...we eat like kings to be honest...the husband is an outstanding cook and makes most things from scratch..i bargain hunt like mad. We invested quite abit of money in home cooking like pasta maker, pizza stone, good cookware etc to make it easier...Sorry, i earn very little and pay alot on debt but being frugal is finally starting to show its rewards, every month we are having more and more disposable income. I think its been hard on the kids because we have constantly said "no" to alot of things they need (ie want) but quite frankly, being a cheap skate is showing its rewards even with them, when they get money for birthdays etc, they hang on to it for dear life and show significant savings..I always tell them. If you wont spend your own money on the shyte you want...why must I? (Before anyone slays me,this excludes their essentials)

 

[LazyLion]

I make $387,543,668,490 a year by mining the asteroid belt. I spend it on building an intergalactic cruiser that is currently hidden from earth behind the moon Ganymede.

 

[cguy]

What, no car ... what joy is there in your life?

No kids.

But seriously, I've never been a "car guy", and as I've gotten older and wealthier, time has become a priority to me. I can't stand filling up cars, taking them for services, the buying/leasing process, the parking, the BS if you get pranged or prang, the stress of driving in traffic, flat tires, etc.

Over here I can almost always get an uber in under 2 minutes, and it's a five minute walk to work. Uber here will cost ~R120 for a taxi and ~R200 for a limo/black-car. For longer trips (20-30mins) price is about double.

 

[Thor]

This thread makes me sad i need a new job

 

[TofuMofu]

No kids.

But seriously, I've never been a "car guy", and as I've gotten older and wealthier, time has become a priority to me. I can't stand filling up cars, taking them for services, the buying/leasing process, the parking, the BS if you get pranged or prang, the stress of driving in traffic, flat tires, etc.

Over here I can almost always get an uber in under 2 minutes, and it's a five minute walk to work. Uber here will cost ~R120 for a taxi and ~R200 for a limo/black-car. For longer trips (20-30mins) price is about double.

I envy you a bit.

I'd love to have a car for "off days", but would much prefer if I could use other means of transport just not to have to bother with the issues you mentioned.

And I love cars.

 

[unobeat]

This thread makes me sad i need a new job

I agree

 

[the eskimo]

Location - Johannesburg
Industry - Financial Services (me)
Age - 28
Household - 2 adults, 1 kid

Income ~ R 34,500 (after deductions)

Housing (Bond, Municipal Accounts) R 7,731
Transportation (Car Repayment, Fuel, Tracker) R 7,148
Financial Services (Life Insurance, General Insurance, Banking Fees, Unit Trust Contributions, Additional RA contributions) R 4,317
Food, Groceries and Detergents R 3,500
Entertainment (Multichoice, Gym) R 1,826
Connectivity (Internet, Phone) R 1,558
Child Care Expenses (Day Care) R 1,200
TOTAL R 27,080

Any surplus goes to eating out, clothing, gadgets, and other random stuff. Looking at buying a second car soon, so might need to cut down on the "random" spending.

 

[Dolby]

Wow, didn't realise this thread was 7 years old.

It would be interesting to see what some of the guys said back then to now

 

[Dolby]

How has this changed xrapidx?

Just turned 28 - so I've been working for 7-years.

Cellphone/Data: R1200.00
Rent: R7000.00
Medical: Need to get on a new one
Car Repayment: R3700.00
Home Insurance: R170.00
S2000 Insurance: R700.00
Hilux Insurance: R400.00
Maid: R400.00
Petrol: R2000.00
Food: R3000.00
Entertainment: R3000.00 (includes eating out/take-ways)
Investment Policies: R2000.00
Savings Account: R7000.00

Can't think of anything else.

Don't have any clothing accounts, or any accounts besides a cheque and credit card.

 

[deekay]

Location - Johannesburg
Industry - Financial Services (me)
Age - 28
Household - 2 adults, 1 kid

Income ~ R 34,500 (after deductions)

Housing (Bond, Municipal Accounts) R 7,731
Transportation (Car Repayment, Fuel, Tracker) R 7,148
Financial Services (Life Insurance, General Insurance, Banking Fees, Unit Trust Contributions, Additional RA contributions) R 4,317
Food, Groceries and Detergents R 3,500
Entertainment (Multichoice, Gym) R 1,826
Connectivity (Internet, Phone) R 1,558
Child Care Expenses (Day Care) R 1,200
TOTAL R 27,080

Any surplus goes to eating out, clothing, gadgets, and other random stuff. Looking at buying a second car soon, so might need to cut down on the "random" spending.

Does the deductions include Pension/Provident Fund? If not I think you might be a bit underfunding for retirement which could cause issues down the line (having to play catch up) in relation to other categories.

 

[heartbroken]

Spend ALL the money!

Or not, your choice.

 

[the eskimo]

Does the deductions include Pension/Provident Fund? If not I think you might be a bit underfunding for retirement which could cause issues down the line (having to play catch up) in relation to other categories.

Indeed it does at 15% of my CTC

 

[TehStranger]

Interesting to see how things pan out looking back across 7 years, especially with OP:

2008

I know this is a very private question and I apologise for it, but I would realLy like to know how much people in South Africa earn per month, and how they spend it.

I am 23 years old and I earn R8 000 a month before tax, I spend my money on:

2009

I now earn R14500....., but that's before tax

2015

I'm 30 yrs old now, I get 31k gross.

 

[Bar0n]

Interesting to see how things pan out looking back across 7 years, especially with OP

In 2008 you could get a car, a house, Woolies food, and a blisteringly fast 56k dialup connection for R8k.

If you earned R8k in 2008, you could literally hear dem panties drop.