Perth Now’s Cash Confessions asks ordinary West Australians what their income is and what they spend their money on in a week.
This week, a single mum with three children earning $230k a year reveals what she spends her money on in a week.
Age: 45
Live: Perth’s western suburbs
Salary: I work full-time on $230,00 per year (about $11,500 per month after tax)
Job: Mining professional with over 20 years’ experience.
Regular monthly expenses (for family of four):
Rent: $5,000 per month (this equates to $1,200 per week for the four bedroom home we are renting)
Groceries: $2,000 per month
Investment block of land: $1000 per month
Phone/Internet/Streaming services: $500 per month
Insurance and health insurance: $500 per month
Petrol/public transport: $400 per month
Utilities: $400 per month
Other ongoing expenses:
Sports: Each child plays two sports, year-round, which costs about $1,000 per month
School fees: About $16,000 per year at this stage
Assets/savings/investments/shares:
Equity: $100,000 due to my investment property in the country and my car. I have no savings. My superannuation is above $250,000.
I’m a 45-year-old solo parent and provider for three teens.
I worked hard and made some good property decisions in my twenties but I lost it all when I became a sole parent and provider when I was 37 years old. I had three young children and had to start again from scratch.
When my husband and I separated, we had to sell our family home and I walked away with nothing from the sale of that property.
I made the decision to stay renting in our local area, which is very expensive because it was really important to me that my children remained in the community they grew up in, knew and loved. They were also attending really great schools and I didn’t want to pull them away from that.
Even though the rent is expensive, it means the kids have been able to remain with their sporting clubs and close to their friends. It has definitely been a sacrifice to stay living in the same area now that I am a solo parent, but it was about providing them with stability and I wanted to give them that in any way I could given they endured a family breakdown.
I love that their friends live close by and though it’s been hard financially, they are growing into such solid, lovely young people so I have no regrets.
I do feel like the sacrifices I am making — working in a stressful job, full-time while juggling meeting the kids’ needs — is paying off.
I know not everyone would make the same decision as I have, and they might have moved to a much cheaper area so that spending wasn’t so tight, but it feels like it was the right decision for our family.
One thing I did manage to do was buy a block of land in the country a couple of years ago and I hope to develop that when the construction boom dies down. Ideally, this will yield a deposit to buy something in the city, or it could even be the place I retire to once the kids are grown up.
My kids all play a lot of sport — two sports each — and that all adds up. Something we love to do together is go on holidays with family friends locally in WA. We usually stay in cabins or at caravan parks. It’s just once or twice a year.
The cost of fresh food has risen so much and I think everyone has noticed. I buy farm direct fruit, veg, eggs and meat (though we are reducing the amount of meat we eat) online and this is delivered to our home. It’s important to me to support local producers and farmers wherever I can rather than the big chain supermarkets. It is also better value for money and saves time so I don’t have to traipse around supermarkets. It gives me extra time to spend with my family.
I also love to cook so we very rarely get takeaway or eat out which helps keep the weekly budget in check. I also make everyone’s lunches during the week.
I earn a good salary and I wanted to do this spending diary for PerthNow because even I am finding the rise in rent and cost of living difficult and I hope that resonates with other people so they don’t feel so alone.
It’s the cost of renting that really hits our budget. It’s very difficult to find a rental for less than what we are paying in my children’s school catchment zone and it was very important to me that I don’t disrupt their childhood more than necessary.
Honestly, just making sure ends meet each week is my goal. Once the kids are through school, my dream would be to take a trip overseas.
Day 1, Monday
It’s school holidays and I’m working full-time but two to three days from home. Work has been flat-out which is not ideal given it coincides with the kids being home!
Two out of three kids had plans today. The two eldest went to the beach with friends and used their own pocket money for their activities. My youngest was very bored so I treated him to a six nugget meal from Hungry Jacks for lunch (I was surprised even by the cost of that kind of takeaway!) and then I took him for a quick swim at the beach as well.
Me: $0
Kids: $13.30
Total daily spend: $13.30
Day 2, Tuesday
I worked again today from 8.30am until 5pm. I used my lunch break to take my son to the park to kick a soccer ball and after work I took the eldest two for frozen yoghurts as a treat for keeping an eye on the youngest while I worked.
Me: I discovered our milk had expired before its due date so I needed to replace it – $4
Kids: Frozen yoghurt in the afternoon – $9
Total daily spend: $13
Day 3, Wednesday
This is my grocery shopping day. I go to the supermarket for things like toiletries, cleaning products and some food ($365) plus I get my farm-direct fruit and veg ($55), eggs ($22) and meat ($40) which totals $482.
My eldest daughter helped me with the supermarket shop today and we decided to have an impromptu coffee date together to catch up which we don’t normally have time for during the school term.
It was so nice to have one-on-one time and something I wish I could have more of. We didn’t plan a coffee date but the kids and I like to grab those moments together when the opportunity arises.
Me: Coffee with my eldest ($10)
Kids: Pocket money (usually $25 per week each but I gave them $50 to cover extra incidentals during the holidays which amounted to $150)
Total daily spend: $642
Day 4, Thursday
I worked from the office today which just cost me a train ticket ($3.40 each way).
The eldest two had made plans with their friends while my youngest went on a playdate.
Everyone came home happy today and we enjoyed a lovely dinner together.
I made spaghetti bolognese, which I had cooked in bulk. I usually spend about two or three hours on a Sunday morning bulk cooking for the week which is usually meals like spaghetti bolognese, a casserole and a curry.
Ever since my eldest was a toddler I have always cooked in bulk at home so I know the kids get balanced and nutritious meals and it’s also a more affordable way to feed a family.
Me: $0
Kids: $0
Total daily spend: $0
Day 5, Friday
I worked from home today but had booked haircuts for the whole family.
We tend to keep it simple, mostly trims.
I always colour my own hair at home to hide the greys to save money.
The kids had their friends over for a sleepover after. I bought them all pizzas for dinner ($80) and lollies ($20)
Me: Haircut $60
Kids: Haircuts $80. Pizzas $80 and lollies $20 so $180 altogether
Total daily spend: $240
Day 6, Saturday
This morning I walked to the local Farmer’s Market and bought a baguette ($5).
I was invited to stay for drinks and nibbles at a friend’s when dropping a child for a sleepover. Since I don’t like to go empty-handed, I bought a bottle of wine to take
Me: $25.
Kids: $0
Total daily spend: $30
Day 7, Sunday:
I do all my bulk cooking on Sundays so I spent a few hours doing that and prepping the kids’ lunchbox snacks for the week. I made brownies for their recess — they always love those.
We had sandwiches for lunch today and while my eldest was at work, I took the younger two to King’s Park to kick the football around.
It was a lovely family day that cost us nothing.
Total daily spend: $0
Total weekly spend: $938.30
Reflection:
This exercise reinforced that I spend according to my budget, and usually in large chunks.
I realised I don’t spend much unconsciously, though I don’t often say ‘no’ to the kids.
My kids are surrounded by people with higher means than us and are often tempted by the fashionable jumpers and shoes and makeup from Mecca but they are also conscious that money doesn’t grow on a tree so they tend to ask for what they need rather than what they want.
I really try to make sure the kids keep up with their peers in terms of what’s on trend when I can though.
I also always remind them that I will always buy what they need. So I tell them, “If you need a jumper from KMart, I will buy it, but if you want the White Fox jumper, you have to save up for it.”
The biggest cost impact on our family is by far the cost of a secure rental, which we are very fortunate to have at the moment as we recently secured an extended lease.
We have moved house four times in eight years.
I know we are lucky to have somewhere stable right now.
My heart really goes out to people who are not so fortunate because it is brutal out there for people trying to rent and survive week to week.
Want to contribute your own anonymous money diary? Email katie.hampson@wanews.com.au to get involved.
We welcome any salary or situation and would love to hear from you. Just offer a brief outline of your situation in your email and put ‘cash confessions’ as the email subject.