How much salary is decent these days?

[tsume]

Actually MyBroadBand does have some information on the demographics here. You've seen that survey which pops up every once in a while. I recall people on here earn between 20-70K a month. I'll try find the link when I get to my laptop.

Edit:

[video=youtube;7FQmOnV8zWo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FQmOnV8zWo[/video]

 

[OrbitalDawn]

R25k isn't luxurious...I clear R35k and support my husband and son and we live ok...not extravagantly.

We don't want for anything. We have 3 houses (1 bonded), 3 cars paid for...

lol...

 

[Ecco]

3 houses only 1 bonded, and 3 cars paid for - living quite nicely there i must say. Shows you can do quite a bit on R35K

 

[hellfire]

Thankfully, I have had the opportunities available to me to get a tertiary education, relatively well paying jobs that have increased many times beyond inflation.
I had my share of cr@ppy jobs while I was a student - pizza delivery boy, maths tutor, sales promoter... but that's all behind me. I wouldn't get out of bed for 15k a month

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

It all depends on what is an acceptable standard of living. I still earn below market related salary but enough to not go hungry or disadvantage my kids.

If your life is about money then no amount can ever be enough, but if like me its not about money, then you learn to work with what you earn.

 

[SauRoNZA]

With 15k after tax you should be able to live a comfortable life driving a car within your means and own a house while not having to stress about anything.

With 25k after tax you could live the same life as above but do it double quick and retire early.

 

[Pavan]

Don't forget the escalating electricity, fuel, food and educational costs... Becomes hard to define a comfort-zone. I reckon, work out whatever you need to survive comfortably, and aim to earn double that

 

[Fuma]

I'm afraid that's not gonna cover it. I don't have kids but my friends do and it's scary what even pre-school costs.

I thought you had kids in their mid 20s. I don't know what gave me that idea.

 

[Cube3]

Fek I'm earning 20k before tax and I think it sucks.... need to find a nice company to work for who will pay more.

 

[Icarium]

Hi all

So for the first time in a while I have been offered a job that I can say pays a decent salary. I know we live differently and what is luxurious for one person might be a necessity for another. My real question is what is considered a decent salary to live on in south africa, say to pay for:

House - rent/bond: A R1m house will set you back about R10k a month. So About R12k a month if you throw in utilities.
Medical aid: R1000 to R1500
Groceries and such: For a single person, you should get by on R1500 a month.
Transport - be it bus,train or private car, it doent matter: R1.50 per km you travel.
And other living expenses I might have forgotten, not forgetting savings ofcourse: Internet, DSTV, going out on occasion? R2k to R2.5k a month.

Please give figures.

All in all if you're (as a single person) clearing R20k (after tax, but before medical aid and savings) a month you're pretty well off. If you're clearing R15k a month, that would be decent but you won't be living in your own home or driving a new car.

Supporting a second adult is a lot cheaper than supporting kids.

*This is my idea of decent. This is not the average South African!

 

[vash87]

I work as a financial adviser, and it seems to me that if you are approaching 30 and not clearing at least 20k after tax, life is stressful. You need enough to cover your monthly consumables, as well as rent, retirement savings, car payments, insurance premiums, medical aid etc and still have some to save afterwards. Personally, I think you can only really start living, with less stress, and the freedom to make choices and the possibility of owning a home once you're earning about 30k - and that's assuming you don't have any financial dependents.

Lets face it.. life is expensive, and if you're only just getting by every month then you don't get to 'live' you just work.

 

[Pavan]

I work as a financial adviser, and it seems to me that if you are approaching 30 and not clearing at least 20k after tax, life is stressful. You need enough to cover your monthly consumables, as well as rent, retirement savings, car payments, insurance premiums, medical aid etc and still have some to save afterwards. Personally, I think you can only really start living, with less stress, and the freedom to make choices and the possibility of owning a home once you're earning about 30k - and that's assuming you don't have any financial dependents.

Lets face it.. life is expensive, and if you're only just getting by every month then you don't get to 'live' you just work.

An informed perspective, thanks.

 

[rorz0r]

I work as a financial adviser, and it seems to me that if you are approaching 30 and not clearing at least 20k after tax, life is stressful. You need enough to cover your monthly consumables, as well as rent, retirement savings, car payments, insurance premiums, medical aid etc and still have some to save afterwards. Personally, I think you can only really start living, with less stress, and the freedom to make choices and the possibility of owning a home once you're earning about 30k - and that's assuming you don't have any financial dependents.

Lets face it.. life is expensive, and if you're only just getting by every month then you don't get to 'live' you just work.

Pretty much agree with that viewpoint.

Everyone's looking at "average" but the thing is most people look at "average" in their social circles and not the city or country they live in etc. In my social circles generally most people have some tertiary education and then the usual things that go along with that like a house, nice car, hobby or two, etc. My wife, being a CA, happens to know more CA's and generally they have a taste for the better things in life. Generally a house with more shiny tiles and new cars being either SUV's or BMW's/Golfs etc.

In short there is probably not salary short of several hundred k a month that will not leave you "wanting". Most people if earning 100k a month would end up with a house costing 40k a month and then everyone that lives in the same neighbourhood where houses cost 40k a month is going to be driving a car that's 15k+ a month and then you put another 10k a month towards retirement and suddenly the salary is gone in pretty much the same proportions. Maybe shopping at woolies doesn't make as huge a dent as it would to the rest of us but then spending 1k+ on dinner wouldn't be an issue either.

 

[smallearth]

R25k isn't luxurious...I clear R35k and support my husband and son and we live ok...not extravagantly.

If one has to support a spouse, and a kid, as I do as well, 25k is scraping the breadline for Johannesburg. Sounds incredible but its true.

 

[a0mouse]

(I'm following the trend of registering an anonymous account...)

I've been working in software development for 10 years, and earn R800k pa, which after tax is R50k pm. Then I pay R10k to RA (that's 15%), almost R5k to medical aid (family of 3), and R15k for the bond - we live in an average 3 bedr house in a security estate - essential in SA if you can afford it. So already down to R20k.

Water, electricity, municipal rates and estate levies - R3500
Insurance (incl life) - R2000
Creche fees - R2500
Cars paid off, but fuel and tolls (both drive a fair distance to work) - R4000pm
Internet, telephone and cellular - R2000pm
Domestic and gardener - R2000pm
Then a variety of other monthly subs (kid activities, ipad, etc) - R1000pm

Which leaves me about R3k pm. Fortunately my wife netts about R12k pm, which means we can cover the monthly living expenses (food, eating out breakfast or lunch or supper once a week, household consumables, birthday presents, etc.) of realistically R12k pm, and still have a little breathing room.

I'm under no illusions, we are very well off, but money is still tight. Every now and then you need to service the car, buy new tires, replace some household appliance, and these things cost money. Nevermind saving for a new car...

 

[hellfire]

With 15k after tax you should be able to live a comfortable life driving a car within your means and own a house while not having to stress about anything.

With 25k after tax you could live the same life as above but do it double quick and retire early.

Nah.
There's no way that you're saving enough for retirement at 10% RA on R15k net. And that's not to mention rainy day / emergency savings.
R25k net gets you closer, but still not feasible if you want something like a private school education for your kids (I view this as necessary, others may see it as luxury).
I reckon to have a house in the 'burbs, 2 kids at private school, an annual vacation and still live well during the year, then you need to be netting R40k (and hopefully get good annual bonuses)

 

[akescpt]

Nah.
There's no way that you're saving enough for retirement at 10% RA on R15k net. And that's not to mention rainy day / emergency savings.
R25k net gets you closer, but still not feasible if you want something like a private school education for your kids (I view this as necessary, others may see it as luxury).
I reckon to have a house in the 'burbs, 2 kids at private school, an annual vacation and still live well during the year, then you need to be netting R40k (and hopefully get good annual bonuses)

bloody hell. thats far away

ive always got the impression that folks around here are not what you call average. people make do with alot less than the toals being mentioned. i wish i cleared 25k. some people make do with a quarter of that and less.

 

[Bona Botse]

Funny enough, I used to feel much wealthier when I first started working and earned R4.5k than I do now earning a good few times that.

 

[Ecco]

Funny enough, I used to feel much wealthier when I first started working and earned R4.5k than I do now earning a good few times that.

Same here! Weird hey.

 

[TelkomUseless]

Funny enough, I used to feel much wealthier when I first started working and earned R4.5k than I do now earning a good few times that.

You can say that again.