How much salary is decent these days?

[CamiKaze]

When i was working at Mweb for R2500 a month as an intern, I complained less than what I am complaining today...Mo' money mo' problems. A lot of money makes life easier. I am fine with what I am getting now, but knowing that there is a mofo in this office with a lower qualification, less work experience and a higher salary than me causes me this frustration.

 

[Paul_S]

I know people who clear 60k a month, our age, and nothing but complaints about money comes out of their mouth.

R60K doesn't go far if you buy a R3 million house, a BMW X5 and go on luxury holidays every year.

 

[Velenoso]

That's precisely it. Once you're freed from the worry of scraping by (which is currently a constant thing with us), working isn't this terrible burden on you. And honestly I believe that when you can work according to your passion, you will earn more.

This applies if you're retired or not. Once you become financially independent, it's a lot easier to work, it becomes fun. A game. But believe me the stress does not decrease just because you're not worried about making it through the month.

That's actually fairly reasonable (110k household). I expected more with the 15k dates and whatnot, but then it goes a lot further if you're not having to pay anything towards house/car.

Look it's just spending money really, houses are taken care of, cars are bought cash (mostly, if not, it comes out of the company). So it's more than enough. It's up to the SO to buy the groceries and whatever else. I pay for going out, holidays, etc

Now what to do with all this US$ currency I collected in the DRC.. I'm not banking this in SA so the taxman sees it. I need to buy some property somewhere for cash!

if he took his SO out on a normal date he wouldnt need to give her 35k a month

She's got a master's degree, I'm not paying her too much!

PS: Stop with the date thing already you bastards. It wasn't even my SO, just some girl I picked up once.

 

[krycor]

This is crazy. I struggle to get by with R1200 p/m. I am not a fussy eater at all but if you want a healthy home cooked meal every night (this is not a luxury since in your assesment health considerations is not a luxury) then I dont see how R350-R550pm on food is doable. I eat the normal 8000-1000kJ daily RDA (1900-2000 calories)

I spend tha amount on Fruits and veg alone.. I only eat red meat on the occasional monthly braai, I mostly eat chicken and ground beef because it's cheaper.

As a student I would like to know what your secret is.

Otherwise I agree with your end price of approx 10-12k pm post tax. You will be living in a not-so-dangerous area eating ok food driving an ok hatchback doing ok things on the weekend for entertainment. Better than being on the streets

The food budget really depend on the individuals build/bmi and whats needed to sustain it. 550pm is do-able but usually involves bulk buying in times when there are specials too.

WRT okish situation to start... Exactly! for entry level this kind of budget is ok i.e. 22-25 yr olds but does not include input(assets used for living) costs of maintenance(replacement/repair) costs. It's not great but gives you an idea of whats needed and how you can build/change things from there on, e.g. for purchasing an apartment you'd have to have a disposable income 4x cost per month. <-- never liked this rule to be honest as it forces people to rent when they could be pseudo investing in their own place(this has resulted in a LOT of places where tenant covers a large % of mortgage but such is life in SA).


Also looking back at people i encounter at work, straight out of varsity or after yrs of working.. the entry level salary point needs to be regulated. I never & will never complain about people getting paid lots.. but if i have to deal with someone earning a lot who struggles to do their bread and butter job then.. ****s gonna be getting real fast esp if they lazy too absolutely nothing worse than that combo. Seems to me that some people get lucky with a great entry point and climb from there, others have to climb from below the trenches.

 

[Chevron]

PS: Stop with the date thing already you bastards. It wasn't even my SO, just some girl I picked up once.

That's supposed to make it better?

:erm:

 

[bromster]

Steering back towards the OP:

When I was living in a 4 grand bachelor pad in Durban in 2009, I was able to live comfortably with a car on finance, insurance, discovery medical aid, eating well and going out often... And my net pay at the time was about 14k. Buying a flat would have been a bit tight though as I would only buy if I could pay it off in a max of 10 yrs. Not really feasible at the time until my car was paid off

I have been lucky enough to see a delightful increase since then, but that doesn't mean my expenses increase in line with my salary. I paid off my car asap, and kept my other monthly expenses as they were. I would say that 14k was more than enough for someone renting in their mid 20s to get by and enjoy life. Buying a house on your own would be difficult though..

 

[HelterSkelter]

10K

 

[rorz0r]

PS: Stop with the date thing already you bastards. It wasn't even my SO, just some girl I picked up once.

That make it sounds more like a "girlfriend experience" than a date...

 

[Gibson]

I'm retiring after my contract in CT is over and going to live in Vietnam. Just need to find a way to get my pension paid out early

Went there for a holiday in Dec, really a stunning place and the locals are pretty friendly to outsiders. The exchange rate to the dollar and low cost of living really make it a pleasure, we were in pretty cheap 3 star hotels. The governments really involved over there, so you might want to look into how to buy property, but the local expat community (mostly Australian) was pretty alive. Take a look at Hoi an, its a smallish seaside town, popular with tourists but dirt cheap (unlimited beer at the seaside bar was the equivalent of R80) and a huge expat community.

 

[FarligOpptreden]

Me and my wife earn a fairly decent combined household income (won't elaborate due to people on here who know me personally), but suffice to say it's a fair bit higher than the R25k nett most people here claim to be comfortable. To be honest, we don't feel we have it "easy" financially at all. Yes, we have many luxuries (maid 3 times a week, DSTV, broadband Internet), but we're both super cautious and safe people - hence our VERY comprehensive death/disability/feared illness insurance and high medical aid plan. That alone eats up a very sizable chunk of our income (around R7500 each month in total).

We don't drive extremely expensive cars (Honda Civic and Fiat 500), but we decided to buy a property in an extremely popular security village in Midrand. After 3 years we can already sell it for R300k (around 25%) more than we bought it. The levies, rates and normal property upkeep fees get us under many months, but we we're holding out for another couple of years so we can sell the place for a nice profit. My point is that we don't live "comfortably" with loads of excess cash lying around. One day we might, when both cars and property(ies) are paid off, but for now we're biting the bullet a bit so we can live comfortably in a couple of years from now.

 

[HavocXphere]

The food budget really depend on the individuals build/bmi and whats needed to sustain it. 550pm is do-able but usually involves bulk buying in times when there are specials too..

Never...

Thats R18 per day for 3 meals. We'll scrap the breakfast and assume free cereal. Makes it R9 per meal. Thats not enough to buy a single mango in my vicinity let alone meat.

If you're cooking for multiple people & dividing the total then I could see 550 working but for a single person no. Hell half the stuff out there is packaged as family sized packs only so you're forced to buy more than a single person needs.

 

[Velenoso]

Never...

Thats R18 per day for 3 meals. We'll scrap the breakfast and assume free cereal. Makes it R9 per meal. Thats not enough to buy a single mango in my vicinity let alone meat.

If you're cooking for multiple people & dividing the total then I could see 550 working but for a single person no. Hell half the stuff out there is packaged as family sized packs only so you're forced to buy more than a single person needs.

Can of beans and half a loaf of brown bread I think can be had for less than 10 bucks. It's possible!

 

[FarligOpptreden]

Can of beans and half a loaf of brown bread I think can be had for less than 10 bucks. It's possible!

Is a can of beans really that cheap?

 

[azbob]

Is a can of beans really that cheap?

I think you can get lesser known brands for about R4.99 on special.

 

[azbob]

Went there for a holiday in Dec, really a stunning place and the locals are pretty friendly to outsiders. The exchange rate to the dollar and low cost of living really make it a pleasure, we were in pretty cheap 3 star hotels. The governments really involved over there, so you might want to look into how to buy property, but the local expat community (mostly Australian) was pretty alive. Take a look at Hoi an, its a smallish seaside town, popular with tourists but dirt cheap (unlimited beer at the seaside bar was the equivalent of R80) and a huge expat community.

Thanks. The Australians are the only downside.

 

[krycor]

Never...

Thats R18 per day for 3 meals. We'll scrap the breakfast and assume free cereal. Makes it R9 per meal. Thats not enough to buy a single mango in my vicinity let alone meat.

If you're cooking for multiple people & dividing the total then I could see 550 working but for a single person no. Hell half the stuff out there is packaged as family sized packs only so you're forced to buy more than a single person needs.

I cook en mass So i usually cook for 3-4 meals overlapping(depends on whats cooked tho) such that i don't always have a repeat for lunch and dinner. Company provides us with fruit so I didn't have to purchase a lot of fruit either. Breakfast depends.. oats suck ass but its one of the best ways to reduce cholesterol and quite affordable bought in bulk.

Interestingly enough I did calc on cost of food and yes.. it was below R18 /meal due to bulk buying and preparing for 4 meals per prep. Last year i did a calc and it came to R9-13/meal(depends heavily on whats cooked i.e. fish, tin fish, rice, spaghetti, bread, chicken, mixed veg and rarely red meat etc). Must also remember i get money back from discovery. I think i will do recalc in the May to see how things adjusted as this was last year when i did calc.

 

[cerebus]

Completely off topic but if you're cooking oats properly they are much nicer than cold cereal imo, and cheaper. This morning I made the family a pot of oats; the boys ask for it more than weetbix or whatever.

1) Low and slow and stirring all the time is the key. Too hot and you'll burn the bottom and get horrible lumps. Then it's disgusting.
2) Stir in a wedge of butter, milk, sugar, honey, cinammon, a dash of nutmeg and raisins.
3) Keep going until the consistency is smooth and it's bubbling regularly. Boil out the excess water.
4) Good quality oats are worth paying a bit more for but you don't have to.

 

[FaSMaN]

I survive okay-ish on R12000, a month:

Expenses:

Rent: R4450
Water+Lights: R900
Car: R1000 (I put a large deposit down when I got it so I dont pay much)
Cell phone: R750 (Contract with Calls)
Internet: R1150 (4 Meg uncapped Mweb, luxury)
Total: R8250

I canceled my medical aid as I hardly get sick, and my only monthly luxury is my internet connection.

That leaves me with R3740 a month, and thats enough for food, petrol, and everything els, dont normally have much left at the end of the month so dont have savings.

PS and yes I am a bachelor, staying alone.

 

[azbob]

R900 for water and lights? I hope you have a family of 4 at least. :wtf:

Edit : R900 water and lights for a single person

 

[FaSMaN]

Is it high, I thought its normal as I have multiple computers and servers on 24/7 ?