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cost of living

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Copper
Regular Contributor
just a fun question..what is the monthly after tax income would you require to lead a fairly comfortable life in SA. Now i know this is an extremely broad question open to ones interpretation of "comfortable". Its just an interesting dynamic and any views would be very interesting indeed. Thanks
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17 REPLIES 17
sasa
Regular Contributor
R50k / month for a family of 5
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grommet
Regular Contributor
add yearly +- 30%
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Preston
Super Contributor
After tax R35k
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SimonPB
Valued Contributor
how long is a piece of string ?? mine happes to be 11.32 cm's .. thisd is a number you have to work out for yourself as everybody different .. an it not a hard number to work out .. just do the sums ..
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PaulC
Super Contributor
I *CAN* live on 8k a month if I dont spend on unnecessary things. However genrally I spend 2x that. It depends on the individual. I choose to live in a small place and drive an old bakkie thats paid for so my fixed monthlys are small. If I look around at work some ppl here spend that on the car each month!
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Blik
Super Contributor
I could live on 8K monthly inflation adjusted - but that is close to minimum. I would be comfortable on 15K a month. I have no debt, no kids and have a wife that works, few sins and enjoy fairly simple things. As Simon says - pieces of string, and pieces of string can change fairly quickly, so said the frayed knot that was a piece of string....LOL. Heaven help us if we have triplets!
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partridge
Super Contributor
what are your unavoidable outgoes( rent,food etc)add your "comfort figure" in and tax on total...And then in year two the inflation on your outgoes .....
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olilau
Frequent Contributor
huh - i have 3 kids and 10K a month does not even cover their primary school education. my string is way longer i guess. :(
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PaulC
Super Contributor
3 kids .. Thats tricky. Next time buy a tv :)
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sasa
Regular Contributor
3 kids and a stay at home/shops wife - wait until they get to varsity!
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kwagga
Super Contributor
This is what I did this year to cut costs. The purpose was to push the saving into my bond seeing that interest rates are at 30 years lows. I'll be debt free in 12 months with enough funds for a deposit on a second property/portfolio etc. Got an insurance quote from Hippo.co.za - saved R 300 when I moved from Outsurance to Budget (same coverage). Do this every year, and your premium will pretty much stay static. Moved my saving account to Capitec. My interest every month on this savings account covers my expenses on this account. Nedbank charged R160 per month on a savings account. Saving R160. Downgraded my Dstv from Premium to something else - R 400 saving. Got a dstv modem to watch supersport on my PC - R39 per month. I'll continue driving my 6 year old fully payed car with low km's until the wheels comes off. A new car is a sure way to flush money down the toilet. I'd say R 9000 per head covers most monthly expenses. This will differ from household to household.
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prancing_horse
Super Contributor
What is very obvious is that couples raising families have it a lot tougher than say 20 to 30 years ago.My advice to the young couples out there, is first and foremost don't waste,save without being a miser,shop around for quality, there are bargains, look for them.Do the hard yards first, the fruits of those early years taste very sweet later on.
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john_1
Super Contributor
hozit Prancing horse. I just wanted to say I really enjoy reading your posts, you add value through both your insight and experience
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prancing_horse
Super Contributor
Thanks John, nice to see you popping in from time to time.At the risk of getting shot down in flames, this pozzie has changed over the last year or so, but life goes on.I suppose adapt or die.
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Blik
Super Contributor
This is probably a bit of a left field comment. But a possible saving method I have noticed people with families here do, is the partner who is at home tending the kids has looked for part-time admin -type job either at one of the local private schools and or local varsity. This entitles them to a huge % discount on fees. When you consider that fees for private schools here in town, range up to 100K a year per kid, and or the fees at Varsity are upwards of around 30K a year, this can save a huge buck. at least three sets of friends here in town do this, swapping between the school and the varsity as the kids reach the suitable age. Obviously not an option for everyone.
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partridge
Super Contributor
The old war horse has struck a lode. Here are two more points about sales. I have never bought a new piece of furniture in my life - appliance - yes but there always on a sale. Oh and the good thing is that my furniture is worth more than I paid for it -as in if auctioned I would get back more than I paid for it. Easy. Downside - you have to live with antiques - or even "collectible" furniture. As indicated - Rule here is to buy at auction. Another benefit is that after about 3 years of doing this you can bore your friends to death explaining to them the ins and outs of furniture fashion and why mahogany furniture which is over 140 years old is the most eco friendly thing you can buy.....
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conradl
Contributor
@Prancing Horse. Thank you so much for giving your advice, being young there is serious pressure into driving a fancy car, having the smartest phone, having the biggest tv etc etc. I have been following your advice since 24 and at times one feels like you
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