Minimum Wage vs. Sydney Cost of Living

[luutzu]

I'd suggest the actual number of single income/single person households earning the minimum wage or close to it is a very small segment of the workforce. Finger in the air, I'd guestimate it's about 5%. It's an interesting discussion, but it should probably be framed around the demographics of those who are being discussed. The minimum wage tends to be a transient wage level that most people move out of.

Maybe a more interesting question is what lifestyle should the minimum wage afford?

1.5Million in Australia

http://www.smh.com.au/national/minimum-wage-up-3-per-cent-rise-of-1870-a-week-20140604-39is5.html

Workforce would be 12million?

So around 10% or 15%.


Heard that in the US it's around 20% of their workforce. And those arne't single or students either. I remember hearing the average American on min. wage was mid-30s, supporting a young family too. So most work two jobs.

 

[McLovin]

1.5Million in Australia

http://www.smh.com.au/national/minimum-wage-up-3-per-cent-rise-of-1870-a-week-20140604-39is5.html

Workforce would be 12million?

So around 10% or 15%.


Heard that in the US it's around 20% of their workforce. And those arne't single or students either. I remember hearing the average American on min. wage was mid-30s, supporting a young family too. So most work two jobs.

Not how many are on the minimum wage how many live in single income/sole individual households.

 

[kid hustlr]

310 dollars a month for food seems obscenely low for anyone. Let alone someone on 6 figures

 

[So_Cynical]

I have lived in Sydney for 15 years, first 6 married and thus sharing expenses, then 5 years on my own and the last 4 years sharing with a non partner flatmate, the first 12 of those years on close to minimum wage 30 - 40K

First point is that you need to share rental expenses in order to save anything of significance, the 5 years i had renting a 1 bedroom on my own i was able to save maybe 100 bucks per week, as soon as i started sharing that jumped to 300 per week simply because rent & utilities were halved.

In Sydney with a low income = you have to share to save.

And of course there is a kind of compounding effect because some of those savings can be invested to create additional revenue, which can then be invested to create additional revenue etc...minimum wage is not a lot of fun, and renting is worse.

 

[qldfrog]

I have lived in Sydney for 15 years, first 6 married and thus sharing expenses, then 5 years on my own and the last 4 years sharing with a non partner flatmate, the first 12 of those years on close to minimum wage 30 - 40K

First point is that you need to share rental expenses in order to save anything of significance, the 5 years i had renting a 1 bedroom on my own i was able to save maybe 100 bucks per week, as soon as i started sharing that jumped to 300 per week simply because rent & utilities were halved.

In Sydney with a low income = you have to share to save.

And of course there is a kind of compounding effect because some of those savings can be invested to create additional revenue, which can then be invested to create additional revenue etc...minimum wage is not a lot of fun, and renting is worse.

Thanks So Cynical for a real life feedback: luckily for me, I was just trying to figure it;
Good to see you are past this stage: all the best

 

[Mrmagoo]

You can't live in Sydney on minimum wage. You survive. Keep deluding yourselves if it makes you feel any better. Maybe you can collectively employ some consultant to produce a report saying Australia is more egalitarian now than in the 1980s and that we're all better off in every single way thanks to rich people getting richer ? Just a thought. Then you can publish it so everyone knows how good we have it and how rich people speculating on property caused it.

 

[Mrmagoo]

Interesting to see that Sydneysiders apparently walk around naked, playing the equivalent of Air-Guitar with their Vodafone SIM cards, and sleep on the floor of the rented flat.
Apparently, they also use neither soap and deodorant nor toothbrush and paste.
OK, not having any furniture, clothing, computer gear, and other worldly possessions would make home contents insurance obsolete.
How long would a Sales Assistant or Waitress on Minimum Wage remain employed if she were to show up for work in the same gear she could pick up from those saved $5 - maybe in Op Shop bargain bins?

It is hilarious. These things. You CAN survive, as people don't die, but you won't LIVE.

I say this to people. You think say you live on X per week ? Well you earn Y now which means you should be saving Z ? So you should have K many hundreds of thousands in the bank ? No ? Well you're full of **** then.

If you haven't done it, you don't know if you can happily live on X dollars per week. If you had done it you'd have the savings to prove it.

 

[Spongle007]

I live on a disability pension, live in the inner west and while I have few possessions I survive just fine although I'd like to start making some money... I can do that easily enough working jobs I hate or I could use my loaf and figure out a better way.

 

[Value Collector]

You can't live in Sydney on minimum wage. You survive. Keep deluding yourselves if it makes you feel any better. Maybe you can collectively employ some consultant to produce a report saying Australia is more egalitarian now than in the 1980s and that we're all better off in every single way thanks to rich people getting richer ? Just a thought. Then you can publish it so everyone knows how good we have it and how rich people speculating on property caused it.

Instead of complaining about the minimum wage, why not stop putting in minimum effort and then start earning more.

If you are a good worker, you might start out on minimum wage, but you are not going to stay on it.

 

[Value Collector]

Let alone someone on 6 figures

people on 6 figures still only need one breakfast a day. I think my food budget would be about that figure, of course that is not counting alcohol or meals out / takeaway (which I probably have to many of)

 

[sinner]

hahahahaha this has got to be the craziest thread I ever started.

All I wanted to do was share a quick spreadsheet I made to satisfy an even quicker curiosity I had and it's led to all sorts of peoples insecurities and opinions floating to the surface.

It is hilarious. These things. You CAN survive, as people don't die, but you won't LIVE.

I say this to people. You think say you live on X per week ? Well you earn Y now which means you should be saving Z ? So you should have K many hundreds of thousands in the bank ? No ? Well you're full of **** then.

If you haven't done it, you don't know if you can happily live on X dollars per week. If you had done it you'd have the savings to prove it.

I am not sure where you get "many hundreds of thousands" from, but yeah, the difference between production and consumption is where >80% of my monthly cashflow comes from and months where I save >50% of my total net income are common.

You can live. If life is about the cinema and pub and whatever to you, maybe not. But if life is about fresh air, sunshine, good friends, music, etc...I think you will find you can live pretty happily with not much money at all mate! My advice is to take a leaf out of the page of backpackers, who live very rewarding travel based existences on a shoestring or less.

310 dollars a month for food seems obscenely low for anyone. Let alone someone on 6 figures

Depends on what you eat! I mostly make my own food from vegetables and stuff from the butcher. For breakfast, yoghurt with nuts and a banana. Lunch and dinner are usually some form of healthy stew, or something quick like tuna+noodles+frozen vegetables. Sometimes I will visit the local Vietnamese shops and get a pork roll for $4.50 or a lemongrass chicken noodle salad for $5.

Doesn't cost much, especially if you make friends with the farmers at your local markets, shop on Sunday afternoons, buy staples on special, etc.

Also, given my salary, it's not a hard and fast number (I have an addiction to blueberries, those are pretty expensive) but personally I am much more interested in living below my means than at or above them.

I live on a disability pension, live in the inner west and while I have few possessions I survive just fine although I'd like to start making some money... I can do that easily enough working jobs I hate or I could use my loaf and figure out a better way.

Please excuse me in advance if I am being forward or rude (as it is not my intention), but what kind of disability do you have that allows you to claim the disability pension while still being capable of "working jobs you hate"? Some of my friends have completely debilitating mental issues like anxiety while still appearing very physically fit and healthy, so I can understand if it is something like that.

In Sydney with a low income = you have to share to save.

A good rule of thumb! When I first moved out of my parents home many years ago now, myself and 2 mates rented a townhouse near uni and our workplaces for $300 all up a week, i.e. $100/wk each. From what I remember, I was grossing about 45k while working ~36h a week (3x12h shifts in operations) and attending uni full time. So cheap rent at the time is what allowed me to save my first capital base!
I still live in a sharehouse with close friends, which means I get to live only 2 stops from Central station and 15 mins walk from Newtown for $170/wk. I know not everyone likes sharehouse living, but we all get along and I am proud of my ability to control inflation in my largest expense over those years.

 

[Mrmagoo]

Instead of complaining about the minimum wage, why not stop putting in minimum effort and then start earning more.

If you are a good worker, you might start out on minimum wage, but you are not going to stay on it.

What a ridiculous statement. I earn way more than the minimum wage. Just because I care about people on the minimum wage, does not mean that is what I earn ! Some people have the capacity to care about others. I know this might seem like a strange and weird concept.

 

[Mrmagoo]

people on 6 figures still only need one breakfast a day. I think my food budget would be about that figure, of course that is not counting alcohol or meals out / takeaway (which I probably have to many of)

So your food budget is about $310 a month, apart from the food that you eat.

 

[Vixs]

So your food budget is about $310 a month, apart from the food that you eat.

Many people class that as 'Entertainment'. You can certainly live without alcohol.

 

[Value Collector]

So your food budget is about $310 a month, apart from the food that you eat.

Pretty much that would easily cover regular meals, if you excluded my indulgences. I mean $5 of breakfast cereal and $2 of milk has breakfast covered for more than a week, lunches are not much more and you can do dinners quite cheaply, it all depends what you like to eat I guess.

 

[Value Collector]

What a ridiculous statement. I earn way more than the minimum wage. Just because I care about people on the minimum wage, does not mean that is what I earn ! Some people have the capacity to care about others. I know this might seem like a strange and weird concept.

I can't think of anyone I know who has earned minimum wage on a permanent basis, as I said minimum wage equals minimum effort, if you put in more effort you will earn more, simple as that.

but over on the property thread I remember you complaining about the money tradies earned, and that only "professionals" should earn good money, you will never see me trying to cap people's earnings, but But by the same token I don't want to install artificial floors either.

 

[Mrmagoo]

I never said that. Anyone can see tradesman are overpaid in Australia.

I don't think any pragmatic person, no matter how left leaning, would say that trade unions have not gone too far with their wage demands.

Most of those guys are pulling 100k+ and that is just those who work for wages.

It takes a professionals many years to build up to that wage. Often they don't get close until they're in or nearing their 30s. But by that stage it is too late. A decade of the tradesman being on 100k a year means you'll never catch up.

 

[So_Cynical]

I never said that. Anyone can see tradesman are overpaid in Australia.

I don't think any pragmatic person, no matter how left leaning, would say that trade unions have not gone too far with their wage demands.

Most of those guys are pulling 100k+ and that is just those who work for wages.

It takes a professionals many years to build up to that wage. Often they don't get close until they're in or nearing their 30s. But by that stage it is too late. A decade of the tradesman being on 100k a year means you'll never catch up.

A lot of those tradies got paid peanuts for many years as apprentices, then spent their first few years as **** kicker tradies with bosses pocketing the big money...not to mention the sweat and crap that has to be put up with.

 

[Wysiwyg]

I never said that. Anyone can see tradesman are overpaid in Australia.

I don't think any pragmatic person, no matter how left leaning, would say that trade unions have not gone too far with their wage demands.

Most of those guys are pulling 100k+ and that is just those who work for wages.

It takes a professionals many years to build up to that wage. Often they don't get close until they're in or nearing their 30s. But by that stage it is too late. A decade of the tradesman being on 100k a year means you'll never catch up.

I am a tradesman and I agree. When I was doing my 4 year apprenticeship I rode to work on a ten speed racing bike. A lad at work drives a Maloo ute at about 50k worth. . As for over 100k I do but with 24/7 shift rates on top of base rate. The Monday to Friday day workers about 80k. The highest earning 6 to 7 day week contractors in town 120k to 150k. Obviously the over time hours are the reason.

 

[poverty]

Wages are definitely borked in Australia. Checkout chicks are on $21/hour. Same job in America pays $7.50. Just did my taxes and made 74K managing a bottleshop. Graduate accountant probably starts on what 45K? Around the same as the checkout chick.