[madmungo]

Hi all,

I've been making the most of a quiet week back at work to pull together a basic 'living in NZ' budget using figures from the forums and the great moneysavingexpert budget planner. But I still have some gaps I'm hoping someone will be able to plug!

I keep reading about how expensive electricity is and wonder if $200 a month is way too little or way to much for a family of four living in a bog standard 3/4 bed house? This is with two small kids and not too many gadgets on all day.

Secondly, is it normal to buy health insurance when you get settled? I have this through work in the UK but wonder if you need to buy a policy in NZ for the whole family to help with costs? My daughter has pretty bad asthma and goes to the doctor probably once a month and the hospital for treatment probably 3 times a year. Do I need to factor in money for this in NZ? I'm hoping the weather will help!

Cheers, Chris

[BigRod]

Hi,

Planning in advance is a very good idea in order to work out if you are going to be comfortable or not.

In terms of power usage we should be comparable to your situation although we have a mix of gas and electric. We have three bedrooms and a self contained flat attached, thats the wife and myself, a lodger from work and a couple in the flat. Our average combined power bill varies between $130 - $200 per month dependent on season. I would imagine that should be equivalent to your family of four.

Be aware though that if you have only electric power and heating, and rely on electric radiators the bill could be higher. If your heating is from a reverse cycle heat pump or mixed gas / electric then you should come out similar.

In terms of health insurance; you can pretty much equate the health system here as equivalent to the UK NHS with the major exception that you pay 'at point of entry'; i.e. a doctors visit will cost $30 for adults (free for children I believe). Many here opt for Southern Cross insurance (best rated by consumer.org) - ourselves included. The insurance really gives peace of mind in case you need surgery or treatment that could be delayed (much like the NHS delays) in the public system. Budget for $70-90 per month for your family. Note that this can be cheaper if your employer has a group scheme that you can opt in to and pay (many do). You could get a better idea by visiting http://www.southerncross.co.nz/

HTH

Rod

[madmungo]

I'll revise the budget now with those figures and see how that leaves us. Just after I wrote the first post Npower put energy prices up by 17% in the UK so I guess allowing some wiggle room is important too.

Just what exactly though is a 'reverse cycle heat pump'? It sounds like some sort of geothermal device designed to take heat from underground! That's based on a quick trip round Rotorua last year....

The medical insurance I'll investigate some more and see if I can get an online quote. Going to try a dummy shop on Woolworths too. These forums are fab for information and ideas.

Cheers, Chris

[richard]

FWIW, our bill has averaged $192 over the last 38 months.

That is for a family of 4 in a 5 bedroom house using a mixture of a heat pump and log fire to heat the main living areas and oil radiators in the bedrooms.

[BigRod]

Just what exactly though is a 'reverse cycle heat pump'? It sounds like some sort of geothermal device designed to take heat from underground! That's based on a quick trip round Rotorua last year....Nope - its sort of like airconditioning or your refrigerator in reverse. It is actually a Carnot Engine and works very efficiently i.e. with 1 kW power to the compressor it can typically generate 3-4 kW of heat from a colder environment.

More details here:
http://www.solatube.co.nz/what-is-a-heat-pump.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pump

Rod

P.S. they can also cool

[madmungo]

Thanks Richard for the info - I'm hoping the budget will be pretty accurate with first hand numbers.

Plus thanks to both of you for the pointers on heat pumps, another NZ mystery bites the dust!

[IanW99]

Thanks Richard for the info - I'm hoping the budget will be pretty accurate with first hand numbers.

Plus thanks to both of you for the pointers on heat pumps, another NZ mystery bites the dust!

Wouldn't rely on anyones numbers too much there are so many factors to take into account with so many different ways to heat the home and unless you have a property already lined up you can't really know what will be installed. There is also location, insulation etc. If a house gets all day sun then it will need to use a lot less energy than those that are in the shade.

See Winter Fuel Bills (http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12483) for some more details on various costs.

For example, our electricity bill on it's own has never been anywhere near $200 per month but then we use gas central heating.

Ian

[Tia Maria]

IanW99 wrote:

Wouldn't rely on anyones numbers too much there are so many factors to take into account with so many different ways to heat the home and unless you have a property already lined up you can't really know what will be installed.

Good advice, my lowest monthly gas & electric bill has been $150 my highest has been $600 :eek: . We live in a traditional villa with poor insulation and inefficient heating.

I think our health insurance for a family of 5 is about $100 per month and doesn't include dentist or doctor's trips. Most people I know have health insurance in NZ even though they didn't in the UK.

Maybe once you've completed your list you could post it for others?

You may also find this list useful:

www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=13682

Cheers

Tia

[coyotewildwomen]

Here is a link we got from a health care broker Tim, comparing plans. It depends on what you specifically need however.

http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=1&attid=0.1&disp=vah&view=att&th=117eca63bf52908b

Click on see original message

Dry your clothes on a line, only do full loads of dishes, clothes etc, turn off all appliances including your computers at night, and this should save a bit. There is also a site which compares prices of utility companies if you are in Wellington. Don't know where you will be living.

Email me for Tim's info if interested, we got his name from this forum but have not bought from him yet. Seems very helpful.

Wendy

[Familyofmonkeys]

We spent 6 months living in a uninsulated house...and it certainly increases your heating bill. In middle of winter we spent $315 on electricity and that was with one halogen heater on at a time (we lived in one room all day and only heated room with baby at night). In summer it was $160 per month (using same electrical appliances)!!

[JandM]

Thanks for these replies - it will all help.

In the house we rented last August/September - no insulation, no double glazing, in the usual NZ way - there was a dehumidifier in the bedroom, and the recommendation from the landlords was to turn it on 3/4 of an hour before bedtime. We started off putting it AND a heater on, but found that using it on its own was enough to make a big difference to the feel of the room - we didn't run it, or heat the room, through the night. (I was taking a hot water bottle to bed, too.) I feel the cold a lot, so that's a big recommendation.

[jubjub]

We did budget around $200 a month for leccy, its about 100 in summer and up to 250 in winter.

The charges have gone up, or seem to have done, and what should have been a $100 month has just been a $150! I am not looking forward to winter, I reckon the worst one will top $300. so maybe an average of $250 may be more realistic.

We have a 3 bed house, childs room always heated, we use a wood burner in the evenings and leccy heaters during the day if needed, as well as the tumble dryer during the rainy weeks, as well as a dehumidifier in the winter months. Oh, and we have no insulation, although its on the wish list along with a DVS (built in dehumidifer heat transfer system)!

[Smiler]

I'm unsure about childrens charges at the doctors, but when I need to see the doc regularly last year, she put me on a subsidised scheme. Instead of paying $24 every time, it was $10 every other visit.

Sorry I can't remember the name of the scheme, but it's worth enquiring when you register with one.

[jo b]

Hi,

I can't help with budgets but just would like to add,make sure the house you buy or rent is well insulated if your daughter is an asthma sufferer. NZ has one of the highest rates of Asthma and this is due to mould and mildew in poorly insulated houses.

Jo

[jubjub]

I'm unsure about childrens charges at the doctors, but when I need to see the doc regularly last year, she put me on a subsidised scheme. Instead of paying $24 every time, it was $10 every other visit.

Sorry I can't remember the name of the scheme, but it's worth enquiring when you register with one.

If child is under 6 it "should" be free for a docs visit, but there are lots of docs that do charge a fee, worth checking that one out before you register. I think Smiler is talking about the High User card (DS has one after a million ear infections :roll ) . The other thing if you are on a low income is the community service card, gets you reduced fees as well.

Most of my friends have health insurance of some sort and use it to get treatment at a convenient time, or to get appts a bit faster with a specialist.

[Smiler]

Sorry Sal I can't remember the name of the scheme.

It's not for prescriptions, I don't know if those above are, just for doctor's visit's.

I was so poorly I didn't care what I signed lol! :o One of the few times I never read the small print. Oops, it probably means I owe them something, like a kidney. :uhoh

[madmungo]

Hi all,

3 months later than I planned, I've put together a budget for my family of four to come and live in NZ.

I'd be very grateful if anyone had time to cast their eyes over the list below and and gave their opinions on the various suggested monthly figures in NZ$.

Assumptions are that we live in Auckland, probably the north shore, and receive UK rental income tax-free in NZ on top of a salary of 80K (we're keeping our house in London and renting it out). I will also continue to run a web business in the UK remotely.

The numbers almost balance but rely on no voids on our UK property and no drastic changes in the exchange rate. A lot of the figures below have come from research on the forum, feedback to my previous posts and some are simply my UK numbers multiplied by 2.5.

Do they look reasonable? I'm assuming we maintain a similar standard of living in NZ as we had in the UK (one car and one scooter for the commute to work, plus I've allowed $100 for the train/bus/ferry). When we came over for 3 weeks in Feb '07 prices for some things felt cheap but not food or eating out.

I've suggested rent of $700 a week and this may be high - we would hope to buy instead once 100% settled. I've also included $1000 a month to save for holidays and a possible annual trip back to the UK.

Cheers, Chris


Monthly income From Employment - 4300 (@80K/year after tax)
Monthly income from Self Employment - 500
Monthly income from UK rental property - 2500

Total monthly income = 7300

Monthly outgoings:

Rent - 3000 (700/week)
Contents insurance - 20
Council tax - 200
Electricity - 200
Home phone - 60
Internet - 40
Mobile phone - 40
Bank fees - 15
Food - 1000
Eating out - 300
Drinks (home and out) - 200
Car breakdown insurance - 20
Train / Bus / Ferry - 100
Car maintenance - 80
Car insurance - 35
Scooter insurance - 15
Road tax - 25
Petrol - 250
Pension - 100 (NZ Superannuation?)
Baby sitting - 50
DVD rental - 25
Cinema - 80
Satellite TV - 35
Gym membership - 150
Medical Insurance - 150
Dentist - 40
Haircuts - 40
Birthdays - 80
Clothes (family of 4) - 225
Holidays - 1050 (includes allowance for an annual trip back to the UK)

Total monthly outgoings = 7625

[Drover Jess]

hi
I can't really comment on your budget as we are doing the same kind of sums and do not have the first hand NZ expereince that many do on here however I do have 2 general comments to make:
1) I wonder if your rent estimate is on the high side? But have no idea of the size of house or location that you are looking at? I think we thought 400 would be on the high side when we looked at various websites.
2) Have you allowed for any expenditure that might be needed on your UK property - eg: contingency/repairs/fees etc?
My net return on my houselet never seems as great as one hopes or needs!

good luck, it all looks very thorough... there are some links further down on the money matters forum to a spreadsheet that works things out and the enz calculator too

take care

[JandM]

Things like food, eating out, and drinks, obviously depend on what, and where, and how often (for the 'out' bit). We certainly found many places to eat out that were very reasonable in comparison with our UK experience. (And that's comparing with Dorset, not London.)

[Familyofmonkeys]

If you are considering North Shore your rent is not really very high for some areas. You coukd easily spend that much for a 3/4 bed in areas like Devonport...espeically if you want a warm dry house! Not to say there aren't cheaper rentals out there though. Further north in Albany a decent 3 bed or small 4 bed will cost between $525 and $650 per week depending on exactly where it is...costs are higher closer to park & ride and Westfield shopping centre.

IMO your car insurance costs seem a bit on the low side. Car insurance IS cheaper here than UK, but unless you are getting very small car, fully comp insurance is not likely to be that cheap.

Unless you are getting pay as you go and not using it much, mobile phone costs seem low to me. Compared to UK, mobile phone contracts are hideously expensive here for nowhere near as many minutes.

Buses/ferry etc....costs vary enormously depending on area. We used to spend about $180 per month on OH monthly bus ticket from West Harbour into CBD, and from Albany park & ride (10 minutes walk away) costs $137.

You could eat out very well for $300 per month here. For example we take kids out to wagamamas occasionally and with all 5 of us...starters, main course and pud/drinks it has never cost us more than $80....but that doesn't include a bottle of wine as we don't really drink when we take kids out (in case we forget to take one of them home).

HTH....just my opinion though, and i'm sure other people will have different comments to make too!

[Tia Maria]

Wow madmungo, what a great budget list!

I'd agree with FOM, keep your rental at the same value just to be on the safe side, but if you are not choosing to live in one of the North Shores beachside hot spots (property wise!), you could find something a lot more reasonable.

Also car insurance seemed a little low to me also.

How old are your kids? Have you allowed for school/kindy costs and activity costs (swimming lessons, soccer etc)?

I think it sums up the situation for many people, cut out overseas travel and regular eating out/cinema/gym/DVDs etc and you can cope comfortably. Or alternatively live somewhere with lower rental costs and hope for an improvement in the exchange rate.

Rep coming your way .........

Cheers

Tia

PS Hope you don't mind but I thought I'd cut and paste your budget on this thread as its so good!

www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16780

[Familyofmonkeys]

How old are your kids? Have you allowed for school/kindy costs and activity costs (swimming lessons, soccer etc)?



Good point there!

Last term daughters 'donations' for kindy (one of free kindys) was just over $100. Worked out 50c per hour.

She starts school next week...school fees (well they call it donation but you haver to pay it) will be $40 per term, but some of the other local school here ask for quite a bit more.

Then there are stationary fees and activity fees.....no sure how much those are going to be, but was told to expect stationary to be around $40 for new starters pack.

School uniform is very expensive here compared to UK as you usually cannot buy generic items in tesco or asda. Managed to get daughter school uniform second hand recently for total of $95. I object to paying full price when brothers won't be able to wear her clothes later. If it had been bought new it would have cost me $190....and that doesn't include shoes either.

Other activities for idea of cost....
swimming lessons $60 per month for one child (would cost me $111 for 2 children, but still waiting for second place :( ).
Considering dancing lessons...$7.50 per week (under 5's) or $8.50 per week over 5's.

[Milliemoo]

Hi all,

Monthly income From Employment - 4300 (@80K/year after tax)
Monthly income from Self Employment - 500
Monthly income from UK rental property - 2500

Total monthly income = 7300

Monthly outgoings:

Rent - 3000 (700/week)
Contents insurance - 20
Council tax - 200
Electricity - 200
Home phone - 60
Internet - 40
Mobile phone - 40
Bank fees - 15
Food - 1000
Eating out - 300
Drinks (home and out) - 200
Car breakdown insurance - 20
Train / Bus / Ferry - 100
Car maintenance - 80
Car insurance - 35
Scooter insurance - 15
Road tax - 25
Petrol - 250
Pension - 100 (NZ Superannuation?)
Baby sitting - 50
DVD rental - 25
Cinema - 80
Satellite TV - 35
Gym membership - 150
Medical Insurance - 150
Dentist - 40
Haircuts - 40
Birthdays - 80
Clothes (family of 4) - 225
Holidays - 1050 (includes allowance for an annual trip back to the UK)

Total monthly outgoings = 7625

ooohhh I do like a good list.

Just a couple of pointers. Is the gym membership for 1 or 2 people. For a private gym you'll be looking around $80 per month each.

For a family of 4, personally I'd increase you're dental budget and include trips to the doctors (not covered in med ins) in that as well. FWIW I'd suggest at least $100pm.

Not sure what hair style your better half has, but if she has foils done, I'd increase that budget too :D

There's no reason why you should be paying bank fees, if you do everything online.

You don't need to worry about council rates until you buy a property.

Milliemoo

[Nathan]

I don't see a gas bill. Are you assuming an all electric home? Gas, especially for on-demand hot water, is common here.
And, regarding energy, the cost varies widely depending on your habits/needs, insulation, location, etc... My energy bill more than quadrupled on moving from USA to NZ.
I'm not sure why you'd need a land line if you have mobile unless it's for DSL.
NZ$40 seems low for internet if you use it much. We pay ca. NZ$60, but we get all of our news and some downloaded entertainment from it... no TV.

Cheers

[IanW99]

Hi all,

3 months later than I planned, I've put together a budget for my family of four to come and live in NZ.

I'd be very grateful if anyone had time to cast their eyes over the list below and and gave their opinions on the various suggested monthly figures in NZ$.

Assumptions are that we live in Auckland, probably the north shore, and receive UK rental income tax-free in NZ on top of a salary of 80K (we're keeping our house in London and renting it out). I will also continue to run a web business in the UK remotely.
...


Here's my comments to add to the collection that you have already had.

For a salary of NZ$80K, after tax works out as NZ$4794 per month and not 4300.

For "Monthly income from Self Employment - 500" is this after tax?

"Road tax - 25" is high for one car, it should be $183.22 per year or $15.27 per month.

You may also need to pay for the scooter on top of this? If its counted as a motorcycle then it will actually cost more than for a car.

"Satellite TV - 35" current rate is NZ$49.23 for the basic package, unless you bundle the package with Telecom in which case it is as quoted.

"Council tax - 200" you don't pay rates when you are renting.

For much of Auckland, I believe you also have to pay water bills?

Ian