How much salary is decent these days?

[Fuma]

I'm glad I will retire to some rural area where I will not need too much money to live.
Food and electricity are cheap. Free water. Have my own fruit and veg garden.

 

[zippy]

You know you are earning decent salary when the entire country wants to kill you because they are so poor. Hopefully by then you have had enough fun, because its downhill from there

 

[Mila]

Assuming that one's medical aid and pension have already been deducted, a combined household nett income of R30K per month should be able to buy you :
- R800K house R7500 pm
- One financed R200K vehicle over 72 months R4000 pm
- Fuel for two vehicles R2500 pm
- Insurance R1500 pm
- Food and general household goods for two adults R4000 pm
- Water/electricity/rates, etc. R2500 pm
- Diapers, wet wipes, formula for one baby R1500 pm
- Full time domestic worker or childcare R2500
- Entertainment R1000 pm
- Savings/emergency fund R1000 pm
- DSTV R695 pm
- Security R400 pm

Total: R29695
Spare: R405

That would mean a household gross income of around R55K once you take medical aid, pension and tax into account.
I would consider this an average middle class lifestyle in an affordable residential area.
This is certainly not an up market lifestyle and will exclude you from owning a house above R1 million while still paying off a new Audi A4, 3 series BMW or C-Class Merc.

And you are cheap on the fuel.

 

[syntax]

And you are cheap on the fuel.

And entertainment (at least from my side). R500 a month per person on entertainment would be difficult for me

 

[Mila]

And entertainment (at least from my side). R500 a month per person on entertainment would be difficult for me

that is twice a month to a little bring and braai ( depending on the size of your family ).. We don't social like animals but that is very conservative.

 

[Paul_S]

And you are cheap on the fuel.

Yeah I was trying to use an average.
Not everyone lives 40km from work.

 

[Chevron]

Yeah I was trying to use an average.
Not everyone lives 40km from work.

I do

 

[Mila]

Yeah I was trying to use an average.
Not everyone lives 40km from work.

My return trip to my lift club is 25 kms a day,But driving over weekends and visiting the parents makes my consumption higher. and now the lift club is looking for other work I'm going to be royally screwed.

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

And you are cheap on the fuel.

I spend less than R250 per month on fuel, one month I spent R50 and I work 50km from home - thank goodness for cheap, reliable public transport

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

... 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)

As a parent of 3 kids I've yet to see why the need for private education? My eldest lives in Natal and we are in Western Cape and two of my school going children both go to public schools.

Reality is we don't have an extra R10K per month to waste on bragging rights, there are still many public schools who outperform the majority of private schools. I live in an area where the 2nd, 3rd and 4th best schools are all public, quiet an achievement with the number of quality private schools in our area.

I question netting R40k as being enough for private education, more like > R60K and plus R10K for every extra child.

 

[OrbitalDawn]

As a parent of 3 kids I've yet to see why the need for private education? My eldest lives in Natal and we are in Western Cape and two of my school going children both go to public schools.

Reality is we don't have an extra R10K per month to waste on bragging rights, there are still many public schools who outperform the majority of private schools. I live in an area where the 2nd, 3rd and 4th best schools are all public, quiet an achievement with the number of quality private schools in our area.

I question netting R40k as being enough for private education, more like > R60K and plus R10K for every extra child.

Depends where you live. In my area, there are also still a couple of good public schools, including the one I went to. The schools' quality seems to decrease proportionally to how much interest the government takes in it. If they leave them alone they do fine.

 

[syntax]

I spend less than R250 per month on fuel, one month I spent R50 and I work 50km from home - thank goodness for cheap, reliable public transport

That would be awesome, my bill is around the 2k mark for fuel. Its depressing

 

[I.am.Sam]

I spend less than R250 per month on fuel, one month I spent R50 and I work 50km from home - thank goodness for cheap, reliable public transport

i take the train to work but my petrol bill is still 500 per month ..i drive alot during weekends

 

[supersunbird]

That would be awesome, my bill is around the 2k mark for fuel. Its depressing

My bill is also R2000 (will be more like R2500 next month because its one of those 5 week months - between paydays).

 

[Dolby]

If I work 3km down Witkoppen - just 3 km - I'll save around R700.00pm on fuel alone :/

 

[Stefanmuller]

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.

I'm 31 and also have R30k+ gross as standard earnings in mind for that age. Anything below that and you will be struggling a bit. You will have to keep the old car a bit longer or delay buying a house or buy smaller. With kids this go up.

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

i take the train to work but my petrol bill is still 500 per month ..i drive alot during weekends

Took my car in for its first service and only had 9100km after 13 months - more than half the distance was done doing holiday trips.

 

[supersunbird]

i take the train to work but my petrol bill is still 500 per month ..i drive alot during weekends

You need to include all your transport costs in your "fuel" bill to make it comparable. My fuel cost is my total transport cost.

 

[Aghori]

I make R5k per month and live pretty comfortably, driving an old mercedes and even have money left over for the odd visit to the massage parlour on month-end Fridays.

 

[Messugga]

I make R5k per month and live pretty comfortably, driving an old mercedes and even have money left over for the odd visit to the massage parlour on month-end Fridays.

...That's pushing the definition of "comfortably" quite a bit. That wouldn't even get my wife and I to work and feed us for a month.