Hi Ozbargain,
Thank you to those that actually gave genuine advice - appreciate it.
I don't have the time to manage this thread anymore so I won't be reading/responding.
P.s Forgot to mention the 12% interest car loan on the lamborghini, will be able to save in no time once I sell it.
Problem solved.
@[Deactivated]: If you lack discipline, then credit cards are a bad idea. If you just take them for their sign up bonuses and pay everything on time every time (which should be simple, given your finances) then you'll pay a small amount in annual fees, nothing on interest, and collect a far higher value in points, which will save you money on your holidays.
This seems like far more sound strategy than UberEats-ing for extra money!
@[Deactivated]: I'd do the opposite; you'll want more insurance once you take on a huge amount of debt. You probably can't do without the medical indemnity, and you'll want to keep health to avoid the medicare levy surcharge with that income level, but drop anything else for now.
Indemnity insurance shouldn't cost you very much at all as a PGY3. Something around 130 a year…
Fines? Try not to speed or run red lights often maybe? And why so much for the dentist? A clean and scale is only 200 per person twice a year. Btw you should have life insurance in your super already unless that has been cancelled and you've just taken out a standalone one which is usually much more expensive.
Isnt your SUPER Funds cover some of the insurance? I would cut some insurance down for sure.
pet insurance isn't the greatest idea, depending. at most they cover 80%. We had some issues with our two mostly badluck and unforeseen but lots of small things that added up. worked out wed spent like $7k on vet bills over there first 3 or 4 years of life then worked out whether we had insurance for both from the get go and it was like $8k. If you have an at risk breed with common genetic problems maybe a great idea but need to get it from birth otherwise they dont cover the issues theyve had already. In the second 3-4 years of their lives we have spent at least half that amount.
Also pets are pretty expensive especially witn australias high wage, high cost of labour.
Something I kept forgetting to look into and do is Elections, State and Federal… don't know about local
Those workers are paid very well, more if they have supervisor positions.
BUT make sure you check who is paying, make sure you're paid/employed by the State/Federal governing body ie AEC and not the council. The council will screw you.
From the above, I believe you can get into other Public funding areas that require casual workers
Fantastic! I remember a friend doing this and said the pay was excellent.
Great tip.
Thank you.
Do you need experience in the industry to get into this? or political background or leaning?
Working at elections is obviously sporadic since they aren't on every year, but there are a range of positions, many of which don't need experience (e.g. marking names off on roles, counting votes). Since the AEC deals with collecting and tallying votes it is explicitly not a political body.
https://www.aec.gov.au/employment/working-at-elections/index…
Wow., even if the 220K is before tax, and after that you clear around 150K, 15K/yr on holidays is still not living frugally…
Having said that - if you are planning kids in the next 3-5 years, then you should get used the idea of not having many holidays for a few years after they come along, so having one now is probably a good idea…
Anyway, with no dependant children and assuming no other major debts (Hecs/Help, etc), maybe a credit card limit of 10K and living expenses of 4.5K/month, the banks should still lend you around 1.1 to 1.2M, according to an quick online calculator.
The market isn't moving upwards in the next year or so (down something like 10% in the last year I think), so if you have a bit saved already, you'll be in a REALLY good position to buy in 6-12 months time, if you can get around a 10% deposit for the price range you're looking for.
Point being, I wouldn't pile on more stress and pain getting a second job or income from somewhere else.
Hope this helps.
Yes, our Holidays are our weakness, I hope to only spend half of that and put the rest in savings. We want to see the world before we have kids, it's a passion of ours. Once we have kids we are only going to do the QLD beach holidays.
No credit cards only hecs debts (lots of hecs debt from medical degree and MBA)
Our income should improve dramatically over the next 3 years. So our borrowing limit won't be an issue.
Holidays are worth it, its the last place I'd cut. But how about brunches, gigs, fashion or eating out, as someone who lives in a nice part of Sydney and earns a decent wage I'm sure you're spending money here relatively frequently (especially because your non house owning friends probably are). Even small cut backs can save a decent amount over a year.
If your income is going to improve dramatically over the next 3 years, and you can get a loan at only 10% LVR, why are you stressing about expenses or earning slightly more through uber driving?? Go on holidays, enjoy your lives while you can, because your life as you know it will be over once you start raising kids (when you'll wish you had spare time to go and drive for uber, just to get out of the house!).
To be honest I think you should dedicate all your efforts on real and sustainable wage growth in your current professions. Making sure that "dramatic" wage increase that you are forecasting, actually eventuates. Small savings on cheaper holidays will pale in comparison.
So you're rich as hell, but still can't figure out how to buy a house? You don't need extra money you just need to learn how to handle the money you already have! What in the actual f***.
we pay a crap ton of tax
The sign of earning well
Yes, I love Straya so I'm happy to pay my taxes to keep it going.
earning well
The sign of having worked hard
@HighAndDry: Dont count out the major luck in being born into the right wealth streams and the rarity/difficulty to move up a class. this is where the LNP gets people. Tell them their hard working rich and the lazy poor want their money. Punching down is almost a national pastime yet the rich keep getting richer.
you pay a crap ton of tax….. welcome to the world.
Interested in the governments tax reforms over the coming years. Should help me cut this back a bit.
@[Deactivated]: This government won't be around in 3 months and you'll have a heart attack when you get your tax bill once the new one comes in
@[Deactivated]: The popular choice for the next government isn't going to be kind to your $220k/pa household income.
I'm already bending over in anticipation.
Don't let the bitter ones drag you down - becoming a doctor isn't easy, and neither is getting an MBA. Since you both have HECS debt, you obviously didn't have rich families bankrolling you and obviously worked hard to get into the courses that have allowed you to enjoy an above-average income now.
It's all well-earned, and I dare say in Australia, anyone who's smart enough or worked hard enough could've achieved just as much. (To anyone keeping score - that's not me haha, I have neither the brains nor the discipline).
Also: perfect example of tall poppy syndrome.
It wasn't easy.
Our parents aren't rich - they are both middle class. Struggling with their own mortgages.
No private schooling for me.
I'm genuinely not that intelligent. My only gifts relate to medicine. You honestly seems very knowledgable about things that matter.
That's worth more than knowing medical facts and procedures IMO.
@[Deactivated]: I'd trade every bit of my "knowledge" for more pay haha. At the end of the day, we're all good at some things, and have gaps in our knowledge in others. You're good at something that seems to help you get paid more - which, materialism aside, is helping you and your SO lead the life you want and makes you happy. To me that's worth a hell of a lot.
@[Deactivated]: One thing you need to factor in is that if you are doing your subspecialty training in about 5 years when you are a specialist you pay rates will be much higher. You will probably earning at least double what you earn now.
You should be willing to take on a slightly larger loan knowing you are less likely than most people to run in to problems with repayments due to changes in income etc.
I can't believe you are seriously considering becoming an Uber driver. (Unless you really enjoy driving in which case go for it). It is a shame that you are not currently remunerated enough for your work that you would even need to consider a second job such as this.
Invest you time in developing your skills and knowledge to become a great doctor, get through those exams and get into the speciality you want. Its probably the best use of spare time from financial perspective and would be great for the people you look after!
Umm..an MBA is an absolute doddle (although expensive) compared to a real degree such as Engineering or Medicine etc. But now an MBA is an expected tick in the box so whoever got one probably had no choice.
@Weshouldgetsushi: Yep, same with a masters, especially if the person who did the masters did it straight after their bachelors.
The poor have it worse in relative terms than the richer and its getting more easier for the richer if you look at the past tax rates and compare them to todays rates.
The poor have it worse in relative terms than the richer and its getting more easier for the richer if you look at the past tax rates and compare them to todays rates.
Because the poor have relatively less money than the rich.
They pay proportionately less tax to their relative income, stand to receive more benefits and may even qualify for handouts.
If "having it worse" means having less money, then categorically, that is true because poorer is less rich than richer.
@[Deactivated]: I was talking about the changes in the tax rates. The lower brackets are getting taxed more than before and the higher brackets are being taxed lesser than before.
I think part of the issue might be you are looking at this as a percentages thing looking at a lot of your posts. Without having looked at Barefoot Investor, one has to reason that the percentages would be based on what is considered a medium family wage. You and your $220k wage for the most part will have similar minimum living requirements to people on 80k, but if you both set aside 60% the numbers will be very different. Obviously rent will vary based on location but no reason your grocery, utility, rego etc all can't be basically the same. I think you need to get out of this mindset that 60% is some magic number, or at least step back and rationalise that if it is then that means households on under 100k pre tax are getting by on 60% then surely you and your partner can get by on much much less than 60% yourself given your salary.
Maybe try look at where people on much lower salaries are spending their money and look to adopt some of those practices. Don't deprive yourself entirely, but if couples can get by on 50k then surely you don't need to set aside 100k yourselves.
When me and my wife bought a house we had automated payments out of our savings account into a seperate account. We then viewed our salary as being reduced by what we were putting in there and we made it work. We actually deposited away more than we thought we could but found that the pressure of maintaining that budget forced us to be mindful of spending. Worse case the money was always there in that other account to withdraw, but we were very strong with our mindset that this would be a last resort. We also took any money we had left over from a previous pay cycle and put it into savings. We didn't live pay check to pay check in that we had 10's of thousands sitting there, but in a sense we did force ourselves into that mindset to prevent splurges.
Maybe rather than setting a percentage, set an actual finite money goal. After all, you say your wages are about to go up…when that happens your living expenses do not need to go up as well.
For now drop the holidays or severely limit it. Every day you're renting your paying off someone elses loan or paying for their holidays. If you want a deposit in 2 years thats not a lot of time and it sounds like you've had plenty of travel in the mean time. Get the loan, move in and the money you are currently putting towards a house will then be there to be used for travel or whatever while you pay off your own property. Maybe try something different for the next year or two. Do some camping trips or a 4WD trip or something more local that shouldn't cost an arm and a leg but still allow you to see some new things and get away from life for a while.
If you dont want to make those sacrifices thats fine but perhaps change your expectations around your property, either aiming for an apartment or one in a different location, or your timing regarding starting a family.
Also HECS seems to be coming up a bit. Thats the easiest loan you'll ever get with no pressure to repay in any immediate timeframe. Just forget about it and don't make any voluntary contributions for the time being. Once you have your house and are saving some money you can worry about it, otherwise just look at your wage as your post HECS amount. On paper HECS looks daunting but of any loan you'll ever get its probably the least pressing to deal with and you can worry about it once all your other eggs are lined up.
If you're still worried, at $220k salary I'd suggest talking to a financial advisor or planner. You're earning enough that it'll be worthwhile and they can probably help you maximise your tax deductions and all sorts of things as well as set savings goals towards your property. I'm sure they'll really help you out especially if you're a bit uncertain about dealing with money and whatever they charge will be money well spent.
Those percentages aren't supposed to be static! They are just a guideline, and I would guess based on average or median incomes.
I.e. you would not expect someone on a $3 million salary to need 60% set aside for expenses.
I applaud your ambition, however I'm making the assumption that on such high salaries, your jobs are probably quite stressful already. Given the very limited relative return on a side gig, have you considered the impact on your health and well-being? The last thing you want is to burnout.
In a casual conversation I had with an Uber driver, they mentioned that they made $8 on a delivery (full disclosure, I don't know if that applies to all deliveries). $8 probably makes a difference to a struggling Uni student, my presumption is that you wouldn't even notice the difference
Fwiw, the Barefoot Investor is aimed at Average Joe. Average Joe earns less than you, and thus 10% of their income is far less. Forget about the percentages.
Lol $220k combined is not "rich as hell". Have you seen house prices in Sydney? Have you thought about how much tax OP and his partner are paying? At least the lollies can have a nice champagne lunch on his dime.
They still earn about 150k after tax so it's not exactly struggletown
No one said it was struggle town, I was debating the statement that $220k before tax is "rich as hell". When a 4 bed house in a not terrible area is $1million minimum, your $220k doesn't go that far.
I think the point others are trying to make is that $220k is significantly more income than most other households.
But yes, in Sydney this doesn't go very far, which is the problem.
exactly and people are just trying to advise not to spend so much while you're saving for a house instead of taking up extra work when he already works 6 days a week.
I have no problem with it being more than most households. However, it is a far cry from being "rich as hell". Op isn't somewhere you can buy a house for $500k. Hell, even if he ends up with an $800k mortgage, that's about $1000 in only house payments a week. Almost half his household income post tax. Then he says that they are planning kids, so his partner won't be working I assume, cutting that amount significantly. If people think you are "rich as hell" when you have a few hundred bucks left over a week, they are delusional.
The fact that people are negging me just shows people aren't able to look beyond where they have purchased, and their own income. My house is worth half what op is looking to buy, but I'm not in Sydney, which is where the difference comes in. They also obviously have no idea what rich is. I deal with people with boats. A simple service on a mid size one is worth more than most people's cars. To spend that on a toy and not bat an eyelid, that is rich.
I am with hardlycharly! Me and my partner earn half your salary and we managed to purchase our first home in Melbourne for $560,000 and we live comfortably. There is absolutely no reason why you need to spend 1.2 million on a house for your first home. It's is simple, purchase a 3-4 bedroom home for $700,000 and you will have a house in the next 3 months.
Right, however, I'm in Sydney and not Melbourne. 1 million is the entry point for a house. I also don't want to move every few years I just want the one house I can grow with and pay off.
May I ask, how long did it take to save for a deposit?
1mil just means you search is not wide enough, otherwise you might consider something like this and then work your way closer to the place you ideally want to be in
It most definitely isn't the entry point LOL - try having a look outside of "Sydney" itself.
I mean, someone in Tamworth could say the same thing to you:
Me and my partner earn half your salary and we managed to purchase our first home in Tamworth/Newcastle/etc for $300,000 and we live comfortably. There is absolutely no reason why you need to spend $560,000 on a house for your first home.
OP didn't say anything about needing a million-dollar home. OP wants one, and is asking how to get it. I mean, we're on OzBargain - how many deals here are for things anyone actually needs?
There's a difference between buying another set of Eneloops and a million dollar house though. Maybe OP needs to cast his net a little wider and consider that living as close to work as possible isn't going to be realistic
Well I guess due to his nature of work he does need to live close but it's entirely possible if he cuts down his spending and not go on holidays for the next 2 years at least…
@Milk tea: or gets a smaller house. or less perfect house. or house further away. or a job in a cheaper area. multitude of options other than buying a 1 mil first home at 27 which im not saying is the wrong decision.
@netjock: Is it that easy to find jobs and transfer to wherever people want? I didn't know that. If that is the case then I don't even know why op would even raise the idea he had to buy a place next to where he works.
@Milk tea: Same as people travel to work because not everyone can buy where they work or easily sell and buy next to their new workplace. OP just wants to have their cake and eat it too.
OP wants to start a family soon.
I sacrificed, bought a small townhouse in an inner Sydney suburb (for over $1m), because it only takes me <30mins to get to work (<15mins when I drive). Also is only 15mins from the beach.
Sometimes spending less time on the train or on the bus is worth far more than a cheap house in the middle of f-town.
I wish my home was larger. I wish my home cost less. But, I live close to friends, and I spend little time commuting and more time living, being with my wife and one day children.
If the sacrifice is a larger backyard and a little longer paying off the mortgage… Meh…
Buy in an area people want to live and values will rise. Buy in f-town cos it’s cheap (hint, no one wants to live there, they do out of necessity), you’ll not see as much of a capital gain.
One point to note, I bought my first apartment at 24, my second at 28, and when I was 30 I sold them all at the peak of the market, and now I have a pretty low LVR. So I was lucky with timing.
@geoffs87: Depends on where work is. If it is like the Sydney Opera house then good luck finding anything affordable. My bet is that it is an expensive area and OP is just having taking us on a journey.
You need to give some context with that $560,000 "for a house and live comfortably". What exactly is your location with that price Werribee? Besides its his (or her) wish. Everyone has goals and they set out to plan to achieve those goals. And that includes gathering information from friends, books and forums. Why the need to whine and go all preachy…
What is wrong with Werribee? Could be Dandenong too! Also where ever up North East the Sudanese kids are running riot. If Werribee is where it is less than 30 mins to work it is better than OP who can't afford a $2m home within 30 mins to work. Having a bird in the hand (house in this case) is worth 2 in the bush (in OP's case).
I'm sure there are people out there who could say the exact same to you
Me and my partner earn half your salary and we managed to purchase our first home in ~Melbourne~Nhill for ~$560,000~$280,000 and we live comfortably. There is absolutely no reason why you need to spend ~1.2 million~ 560k on a house for your first home.
Keep your 2 cents. OP was asking for ways to increase income, not how to live 'comfortably' by your standards
Doctor? Have you tried locuming? One of my friends does home doctor service on the side
I have friends that do this, they earn over $1000 each day, a great way to save. I just got on to the Basic Physician Training program and I'm working 14 hours 6 day a week. So I'm cooked. It should get better soon and I'll look into to.
Claim your overtime. Not even kidding.
If I claimed my overtime, my income would increase by at least 50%. I was actually earning more as a JMO as my network let me claim my overtime. I just want to get a bit more established in this new hospital before claiming.
@[Deactivated]: Yeah fair enough, I used to submit every last drop. If I was in the hospital more than 15 minutes. Didn't change my career progress one bit, all the consultants liked me. I think it's very hospital based. But definitely start to claim, you want to take advantage of this culture change esp with all the negative news stories about Sydney.
They will be begging you to submit your overtime to avoid bad publicity. Especially if you email to keep a paper trail.
@meowsers: I agree no OT should not be paid. this is what australias about. (profanity) the salary style its like tipping. heres your base wage, heres your base hours sign here. Ok now double the hours but keep the wage the same and you can keep the job.
@[Deactivated]: You should especially be claiming if you’re asking people for other ways to make money. An accurate time sheet seems like it’ll do wonders to your income. Also 14 hours 6 days a week and then something else for extra money isn’t sustainable, especially when you’re already saying you feel baked. Don’t leave the money there now on the table.
@[Deactivated]: You're saying you can just fill in a from and get a 50% payrise… and you're asking us for ways to make money, such as driving Uber. Hucking fell mate, the answer is staring you in the face.
If you work that much how will you be able to deal with ubereats as well on your day off and remember you'll have crazy customers complaining and restaurants complaining to you too when things aren't delivered correctly or not in time. It'll be a drainer.
I won't be doing that - My partner will. They work 4 days a week 9-5.
@[Deactivated]: Ummm, what did your partner say when you told them they should take on a second menial job?
I feel quite strongly that this is not worth your time pursuing, but if you do, you should budget some money for "divorce costs"…
Tell him to Uber.
why arent you putting into your super, and then withdrawing to buy the house assuming you are FHOs
I don't trust the Government. Not sure what will happen if another party comes in and then decides to cancel the policy. I think there are limited to what you can offset into the super account. There's also taxes to be paid when you withdraw the money.
I would like to know more about this. I admit I haven't done my research.
instead of positing this, go away and research, you could both save 6k.
and i doubt a new government would backdate this if they changed their mind, there would be utter hell on to pay.
I will. Thanks for reminding me.
@[Deactivated]: Let us know if you can figure it out! So damn hard to understand the current version of first home saver in Super. The previous one which finished a few years ago was so simple.
But chin up! Go savings go!!!
Yeah new government can't just cancel a policy that easily. They can however cancel it for anyone wanting to apply from a set date. Look at negative gearing - they canned it for new applications on existing houses but I'm still getting it for my 2 rentals.
Speak to your Accountant about using your super to buy property. For my situation mine advised me not to do it but as you earn more than our household it might be the way to go.
Since when did they can it. Is your name bill shorten
Stop checking ozb for a year you will be amazed how much your bank account grows
A wiser man than I once said 'it's not how much you earn that is important, it's how much you save'.
I'd review all outgoings and live as frugally as you possibly can. A DINK couple could get but on as little as 15,000 p.a in expenses (minus the holiday of course). Share tea bags, ride to work and no new clothes. After the sacrifices and the house,then you can live a little.
Also life doesn't flat line once you have children. We took our first born on a great trek through Yogyakarta at 3 months and we haven't stopped. Asia is very doable with youngsters.
Can't wait to tell my partner that we are now sharing teabags.
Their reaction will be priceless.
Let's just say they aren't into the whole savings things as I am.
oh yeah, cut out teabags.
For me personally I would much rather be told to share a teabag than be told to get a second job delivering food after my day job.
Note: For the record I also think sharing a teabag is a waste of time (what does it save, 10c per bag?). You can get free tea from your work anyway.
One tea bag makes 2 cups!
Why not purchase a property for $600k and pay that off in few years?
You mean a unit? No such thing as a 600K property in Sydney.
Gosford, about 600k for house. You can buy 4-5 bedrooms and rent 2-3 rooms out. It will help you with more rental payment.
I'm often on call and need to be at the hospital in 30 minutes. We will move to somewhere more affordable, just want my kids to go to the private schools Sydney offers, should they wish to.
Would have made my life much easier.
@[Deactivated]: Rent where you want to live and buy where others may afford to live.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/rentvesting-the-strategy-for-…
FTFY: No such thing as a 600K property in Sydney a nice suburb close to work where I want to live. 600k
Sigh - your 50% expenses are more than my whole household income. Can't you get by on less than that?
Probably HECS and outrageously priced doctors courses has a big part of that
Yup, my degree cost over $70,000, it's currently lying on the floor of my spare room collecting dust.
Should really hang that up somewhere.
If I worked for Westpac and had a $70,000 car, I would at least display that proudly in my driveway.
I just took at look and the frame isn't even on it correctly: https://postimg.cc/BLgQ120J
This is how much I value my most expensive possession.
Your degree got your job, you should be proud of it.
I know you joke but its the education not the certificate. sharing of knowledge is what makes us human.
Why are so many people salty because op has worked hard, and is reaping the rewards?
@WhyAmICommenting: I understand the fear of temptation, but it's a very small behavioural change. Moving purchases with the debit card to the credit card.
Especially given they have a clearly defined savings goal, I would find it harder to believe they could fall into the 'fake money/high disposable income' trap. But even still, I do agree with your suggestion of a low credit limit just to see how it works for them.
If they wanted, I've heard of people setting up a savings account for Credit card purchases. This way you see the money leave your main account so you don't treat it as 'fake money', you earn interest before you pay off the card and you earn points.