What would YOU do with $50,000 savings?

[Synergy]

$50 a week for food alone is quite achievable if you are trying:

box of cereal + milk: $7

2 loaves of bread + spread : $8

Leaves $5 / dinner which is easily achieved if you're not cooking for just yourself.
Rice, pasta, potato and budget meats.

Doesn't leave any room for having fun though.

 

[romeo]

I am no expert on the super topic but to get the maximum dollar for dollar government co contribution you need to be earning equal to or less than 31,920. The super co contribution decreases incrementally and finally stops at the upper threshold of 61,920 (fy 09 to 12).

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/42616.htm&page=3#P34_3099

So this adds another element to the equation and should be included in your thinking. In my scenario it tips the scale the way opposite of voluntary super payments as I earn over the higher threshold.

I don't know what your situation is but if you can afford to pay this while still at uni (HELP or whatever its called now) to get the 20 or 25% discount then that could be a good option. Unfortunately while at uni I was a bit dumb and had an expensive car that I poured money into and I didn't work all too much (I am still a bit dumb now; trying to learn though). This has seen my HECS debt grow with inflation to 38 G. I will voluntarily pay some to get the 10% discount. If I was massively confident that with the money I could out perform that discount then I would use it that way; however I am not at this stage.

I would be a bit wary of leveraging for shares unless you are confident you can outperform the interest in the margin loan.

 

[Dowdy]

$50 a week for food alone is quite achievable if you are trying:

box of cereal + milk: $7

2 loaves of bread + spread : $8

Leaves $5 / dinner which is easily achieved if you're not cooking for just yourself.
Rice, pasta, potato and budget meats.

Doesn't leave any room for having fun though.

depends what you consider fun. I prefer keeping fit and active which cost next to nothing as opposed to going out to eat with drinks afterwards which you'll probably spend $30 - 50 on dinner and god knows how much on drinks..

 

[LiL_JaSoN]

Re: $50.00 expenses per week...sheesh how do you do it?

Me...i would seriously like to know how you live on $50 a week...TB

Youngone,

Do you still live at home? or out?

 

[ENP]

I'm 22 also, working full time at a major bank in New Zealand. I get paid and budget fortnightly but this is my usual weekly budget.

$560 income per week

Less:

$135 rent
$60 bills (I put this aside for bills such as electricity, internet, medical, dentist, car bills, etc)
$80 for spending (includes sports, travel, discretionary spending, etc)
$135 for daily living (petrol, phone, food)

Leaves $150 per week, I "pay myself first" with these savings and live on the rest ($7800 per year for savings/investments)

Is this about normal?

 

[KurwaJegoMac]

I'm 22 also, working full time at a major bank in New Zealand. I get paid and budget fortnightly but this is my usual weekly budget.

$560 income per week

Less:

$135 rent
$60 bills (I put this aside for bills such as electricity, internet, medical, dentist, car bills, etc)
$80 for spending (includes sports, travel, discretionary spending, etc)
$135 for daily living (petrol, phone, food)

Leaves $150 per week, I "pay myself first" with these savings and live on the rest ($7800 per year for savings/investments)

Is this about normal?

A 22 year old with a budget is definitely not normal :

But in terms of your actual budget it's quite sensible - there is no 'normal' budget as everyone's circumstances is different. But at a basic level i use a budget of:

10% for myself (going out, gadgets, holidays, etc)
20% for investing
70% for living expenses (includes mortgage, bills, food, petrol, etc)

I always express it as a % term because as you start to earn more money your contributions to the three categories will change. You want to make sure your budget is balanced and fair and that you are enjoying some of your new, higher income but not going overboard (hence the static 10% for myself - ill get to spend a little bit extra on fun, but i will also be putting a little extra into investments and living expenses). Also i try not to increase my standard of living too much with each pay rise and instead use the extra $$ allocated to the 70% category to go to repaying the mortgage.

 

[Wysiwyg]

$50 a week for food alone is quite achievable if you are trying:

box of cereal + milk: $7

2 loaves of bread + spread : $8

Leaves $5 / dinner which is easily achieved if you're not cooking for just yourself.
Rice, pasta, potato and budget meats.

Doesn't leave any room for having fun though.

Here we go. https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13967&highlight=jokes

 

[Julia]

$50 a week for food alone is quite achievable if you are trying:

box of cereal + milk: $7

2 loaves of bread + spread : $8

Leaves $5 / dinner which is easily achieved if you're not cooking for just yourself.
Rice, pasta, potato and budget meats.

Doesn't leave any room for having fun though.

No fresh fruit or vegetables other than the dreaded potato?
Hardly nutritionally adequate.

 

[VSntchr]

No fresh fruit or vegetables other than the dreaded potato?
Hardly nutritionally adequate.

Yeah I agree. While I know im off topic here...I find that a large majority of the population are not consuming what I would constitute as adequate nutrition...no fresh fruit or vegetables at all is shocking. I spend AT LEAST $30 a week on that alone.

 

[youngone]

Re: $50.00 expenses per week...sheesh how do you do it?

Youngone,

Do you still live at home? or out?

I am currently renting, and i have left home since i was 17. Rent is $100 a week. As for the question how can i live on $50 a week on food its simple.

2 Shopping trip per week, one shopping trip every 3 days, cannot spend over $20 per trip.
For example on my last shopping trip I spent

2kg on chicken wings = $5
1 cabbage = $1
1 kg potato = $1
2 pasta sauce = $5
1kg of pasta = $3
1kg mince meat $5

Its not exactly the most nutritional meal, but the most affordable type of meal. As i do reward myself other meals on a good productive week

 

[LiL_JaSoN]

Personally id starve eatting that in a wk

my weekly list consist of;
meats/poultry; chicken breast, red meats (rump, porterhouse, kangaroo, mince (from top rounds), canned tuna/chicken, eggs

and then rest on base foods such as rice, oatmeal, pasta, beans, potatoes, bread, and heaps of green veggies.

I'm trying to avoid eating out more often, but i might go out for a meal every here and there.

 

[LiL_JaSoN]

also if i can recall her name, i believe your avatar is of a famous female bodybuilder

vicky nixon

 

[Tyler Durden]

I am no expert on the super topic but to get the maximum dollar for dollar government co contribution you need to be earning equal to or less than 31,920. The super co contribution decreases incrementally and finally stops at the upper threshold of 61,920 (fy 09 to 12).

I wonder why the upper threshold is $61,920...I remember reading somewhere here that the average salary in Australia was about $64,000? So if that's the case, then this super co-contribution thing isn't even available to the average Joe??

 

[kingcarmleo]

Probably spend about 5k on leisure and save the rest.

 

[againsthegrain]

also if i can recall her name, i believe your avatar is of a famous female bodybuilder

vicky nixon

I thought it was some kind of a tranny

 

[kingcarmleo]

On second thoughts I'd probably go live in france.

 

[Bill M]

I wonder why the upper threshold is $61,920...I remember reading somewhere here that the average salary in Australia was about $64,000? So if that's the case, then this super co-contribution thing isn't even available to the average Joe??

It was suppose to be an incentive for low income workers to put into super that might not have done so otherwise. To me it is free money and you would be mad not to take it if you can get it, cheers.

 

[ParleVouFrancois]

The super co-contribution seems really good for students, I don't work at all and free money is good money. 1,000 a year is so small for most people that it's definitely worth it if you can get it (obviously have to earn less than 62k or whatever it is). Anyway strange thought, now that shares are in my name, I might end up earning too much to get the free money LOL.

PVF.

 

[youngone]

Personally id starve eatting that in a wk

my weekly list consist of;
meats/poultry; chicken breast, red meats (rump, porterhouse, kangaroo, mince (from top rounds), canned tuna/chicken, eggs

and then rest on base foods such as rice, oatmeal, pasta, beans, potatoes, bread, and heaps of green veggies.

I'm trying to avoid eating out more often, but i might go out for a meal every here and there.

My health isnt exactly in the best shape, I have high sugar level and high blood pressure, and im only 24! My grandpa recently died from a stroke, guess who is next!

Back to the topic, thats my average nutritional value, not exactly saying i have a good eating habit either. But to answer the earlier question. $20 per shopping trip and $50 per week is very possible.

 

[suhm]

Hypertension and diabetes at 24, NIDDM im guessing from the atrocious diet. That's a bit fed, your health is worth a lot more than money man.