Does anyone support a family on an average ($~60K) income, just dad or mum working?
How the **** do you do it? Serious question.
Don't buy a new car, buy an old one.
Don't buy meals, cook at home.
Don't buy new clothes, buy from flea markets/garage sales.
Don't get on the piss at pubs/clubs, home brew.
Don't try to keep up with the Jones'.
Pay off your debt then shred that credit card if you can't make it work for you.
My friend with a degree in engineering is going for a interview at A-MART furniture shop,doing admin work.The salary is $32k,8.30am till 4pm daily.
Guess that works out at around $500 net for a full-time job.
I think one of the main issues facing Australia now is housing, as we have allowed it to become an investment for the rich.
I am on considerably more than that specified by 'panda ...... with no grog, no durries, no luxuries (real real basic living), I reckon I could save maybe $200 a fortnight.
How does anyone save a $50K deposit?
I have no keeping up with the Joneses, never go out really, 2 x older cars worth $6K and $10K and we struggle to put any money away.
So I smoke, drink like a fish and spend it all on windsurfing gear. As soon as the oldies and in-laws cark it then I'll get a house.
I heard sheep heads can make marvelous soup. Better still eat guinnea pig - those things breed like rabbits and are legal to eat.
My name is Dr Jones and I'm drinking a rather nice 2004 Shiraz, Mrs Jones is in the kitchen making Canard à l'Orange.
My US$ investment I made last month paid off 
, and I'm thinking of buying one of those new flying cars to bypass those insufferable traffic jams.
Toodaloo.
This all crazy talk get out there and sacrifice your life, kids and health for an over inflated house in the burbs and a new RAV4 every two years.
My wife's only just started working in the last year been single income 2 kids and a mortgage.
When I signed on the line for my first house in the early nineties I was on $20k and the houses (the really cheap ones) were $60k+, interest rates where 17%. 2 years previously the house prices were half that.
We scrimped and saved for our deposit, and then scrimped and saved whilst renting to pay for it, at the time people were saying exactly the same thing as today, "how can the kids afford to buy a house".
Going anywhere for holidays usually takes around 3+ years saving.
If we can't afford it we save for it, rarely does the credit card come out.
For Christmas last year my wife purchased our first ever new car.
This year we should have our house paid off after 18 years. Payments nowadays are small (still the same amount) but when we started out they hurt.
The housing market prices (over here at least) have fallen a huge amount since the GFC, Mandurakastan has dropped close to 30% as all the investors try to sell of they're over extensions.
I'll not deny it's tough, but it is do-able with planning, discipline and being realistic about the toys and perks you can have. 5-10 years down the track the payments to wage ratio will be less so will the hurt.
Once it yours, nobody can take it away (unless you have a drug lab in it)
What the red fella said...
Me, my lovely wife quit work while pregos and went back (casual) when he finished school, one child. During that time we paid the house off. I've been married 36 years and bought our 4th car a year or so ago, still have the 3rd. First time two cars, we used to drop each other off and same pick up. Same house 27 years and we are only now catching up on maintenance. I don't give a crap about missing out on stuff because we didn't, always someone home when son finished school and we love our camping & bbq's with friends etc. Now days everyone needs 2 cars, 3 TV's, 2 bathrooms, family and games rooms, swimming pools, mobs of air cons, regular take away, meals out, holidays away and if you don't get it you're so bloody hard done by.
Just my thoughts, yes we only had one child and later in life, but seriously it's about choices 
I know some people are seriously on struggle street and need two wages coming in, I feel for them but some others do need to have a good look at the big picture. And going by Panda's figure I'm on an average wage.
I can't recall the maths but the average house repayment now is a much, much bigger percentage of average wage than it was 20yrs ago, or 30, or 40yrs ago etc.
Fkn baby boomers using housing to get rich, and fkn government allowing it to be a tax deduction for the wealthy
Its a difficult one but there is not only single families caught out there is also a few couples aswel.
I guess it promotes couples to stick thru thick or thin (which i have been brought up with) In many cases domestic violence drugs and other factors cause a partner to have single kids.
As much as i pay my taxes and talk it up about i hate welfare I think many struggling Aussie mothers especially need assistance (if you give up on a single mother you effectively give up on her kid)Our Aussie youngsters need all the education and support the can get !
I dislike the government supporting illegal immigration and think that money could be spend on our own shore as CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME.
There is still good housing around Western Australia for 250k Mabe not for a single person with children but certainly there is housing affordable for couples on a low budget that they can get the finance for. If you do a bit of landscaping a coat of paint (put in some hard work) you could build on your asset and slowly crawl your way to a better housing.
The government over here really needs to abolish stamp duty not dangle a carrot via percentages of a home owners grant.
This is my family home in the 60's (WA), 3 bedrooms 1 bathroom no family room or a carport. I remember things like our old crappy multi coloured and rusty Austin A7, dad having to make a sprinkler out of a penny, the debt collectors banging on the door and reducing my parents to tears bla bla bla. I think their repayments would have been high, my dad didn't drink or gamble but both smoked, we never went away for a holiday, a big day out was a Sundry drive, he worked as an airframe mechanic. Lots of happy memories and my parents were together till he died so not all bad and things did pick up after he started to work for himself. Food for thought.
Frangipani? pink/white out front !?
Im just planting seedlings cost 15 bucks /cutting in small pot ..each and i had to spray them cause mites were attacking the leaves !
Well maintained and established homestead Few more families to raise that house bob.
... and factor in the usual 2-in-5 marriages ending in divorce...
Often means the same income, but paying for an extra house that don't belong to you.
I wonder how that 40-50% of the population can even make it... at least the side that ends up forking out all the $$.
Know a couple of blokes that went from comfy lifestyle with nice homes, to living as renters in **holes. Quite a fall...
(Glad mine was clean long time ago...)
We lived with the in laws for three years whilst we scrimped saved and built our place and hammered the hell out of our mortgage. I know most don't have the liberty of doing so, we did and it made a massive difference to our repayments.
We try to grow as much food as we can and other than that we shop at markets etc.
All of our clothes come from the Salvos, WTF would you pay a hunj for a shirt or jeans when they're $5 there?
We buy meat in bulk, farm direct when possible, massive savings. Don't have TV. Kids toys and clothes come from gumtree, no gameboys or other such $hite. Kids play(help) in the garden for fun and entertainment. Birthday presents are very basic and usually homemade.
We make 95% of our food from base ingredients, bread, cheese, yoghurt etc.... if we had a cow I'd milk the phucker. Cloth nappies is a big one too.
One of our best investments has been one of those thermomix thingos, $1500 from evil bay spain and has just about paid for itself.
Don't do pubs, rarely do restaurants. Catch up with friends for BBQ's and drinks at home.
About the only things we buy new is my surfboards and Lisa's bras(and thermomix) and maybe undies if we're running short on hessian sacks.
Here are a few tips on how to get by on a limited income even if you have a massive mortgage of pay high rent.
Car .People rarely look at what a car actually costs them in fuel ,repayments insurance rego repairs fines etc .A good old car can save you bucks on repayments but everthing else costs the same or more .I ride an electric bike it gets me around very nicely and cheaply and relatively quickly without getting exhasted and sweaty ,I also get more excercise as it is pedal assist than driving a car .I still have a car and rarely use it (With a family its hard to get by without it) . Have a look at your circumstances you might be able to ditch the carb or a car (if you have 2) altogether use a bike or electric bike .If you live in a congested city you will be surprised at how much easier and quicker and cheaper it is to get around .hire a car for bigger trips and holidays . Unfortunately this advice usually falls on deaf ears and people seem happy to spend a third of their working hours income on a car and ridicule and vilify me for riding a "lazy' bike .to which I reply ."Oh I didn't realise you had a pedal car to drive around in"
House .We are fortunate we don't have a big mortgage .However we do have a limited income .My wife chooses to work 2 days and we have teenage daughters that she likes to buy things for regularly plus driving them around everywhere and the added expense of extra insurance on the car for p platers .the solution .Encourage them to leave or pay one third of their income on board .this is the going rate that shows them what the real world that they have been shielded from thus far is like .So why encourage them to leave ?If you live near a uni their room could be bringing in $210 per week with a foreign student .We turned our lounge room into a room and have a nice Japanese student .Our daughters like her and the house is more civil and we now have evening meals together again.Eldest daughter is moving out soon to work os and we will be geeting a boarder into her room .
Also house lighting .Get rid of 12 volt halogens .We did plus we spent the rudd money on a solar hot water system ,Even wit 3 teen daughter and a boarder with 2 hrs of combined showers per day our electricity bill is only $300 per quarter.We still have a tube TV with a set top box .These cost a fraction of the price of flat screen or plasma to run.There are always plenty around at council chuck out time and vinnies
Food, growing your own is generally a bit of a pipe dream .Food is still cheap at supermarkets Only buy wholefood .Nothing in plastic or boxes ,Neighbours guinea pigs are even cheaper
The system is stuffed...
My income is ok but my wife has a medical condition and will probably never go back to work. So our single income has to cover medical expenses as well. Unless I have my wife classified as disabled, which would kill her physiologically, I cannot get any assistance or tax relief for looking after her and my 7 yo daughter. I honestly don't believe I will ever be able to retire...
Hello everybody, it's Dr Jones again.
I took the slow boat out for a spin this morning... just to ensure the crew don't get lazy.
To the whinges living on the 60k a year.
Do something about it instead of whining and blaming someone else for your problems.
