Possible to save money while in NZ?

zweton

I know this is quite an open question but in general is it possible to save money while in NZ. e.g a couple living living in wellington bith on average salaries. Both looking to head over initially on a one year visa and if things work out then maybe get a decent visa and stay a couple of years.
Is it on par with dublin or is it more expensive, im guessing rent will be the most expensive. If any of you guys living over there atm can give me any info that would be great.:)

Cheers

on_my_oe

It's certainly on par, if not more expensive than Dublin. Generally flat shares are not furnished for one thing, but if you manage your expectations around accommodation, social life etc you can save but remember that the exchange rate isn't great either

pclancy

Some things more dear down here, some things cheaper, swings and roundabouts really. Personally I don't find much stuff worse, but if you look through the forum you'll find lots of debate on the subject!

Numbeo is a good comparison of living costs between global cities....

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=New+Zealand&country2=Ireland&city1=Wellington&city2=Dublin

If you both earn $60K (average salary) then you'll each take home somewhere around $42K after tax. having a household income of $84K will give you a pretty decent lifestyle I would have thought, if you're into the finer things in life it won't go far, but if you're able to strike a balance you can save. Hard to say without knowing more about what you want to do with your money.

T-rev

What do you both work in?

Heaps of opportunities in Australia to earn money and also save. I am not so sure about NZ. Yes it is expensive in Oz but if you put your mind to it you can really save a lot.

spunkymunky

Its a pretty general question really. Like mentioned above, it is comparable to Dublin. Saying that. I think Dublin is more expensive. Defo felt that when i went back at Christmas. Quick comparisons on wages and taxes and that, i think you have more after tax in NZ too.

But it doesnt really matter. Its how you want to live.
If you like the finer things and want to spend money of them, then it will be hard to save.
If you dont mind all homebrand (shop brand) stuff, cheap wine, etc then yeah, its easy to save.
If you have loans and credit cards you need to pay off and send money overseas, its hard to save.
If you plan to come hear and do all the adventure stuff and booze all the time etc...hard to save.

With Rent, you dont get a lot of bang for your buck and generally have to furnish the place so costly up front...but you can always sell after.

You mentioned IT work before and it can pay well so i think you would be ok.
Im paying down the car loan by lobbing every penny at it but if i wasnt i would say i easily could save 20% - 30% of my wages (share a place with the missus).

Cookie_Monster

we've saved 140k in two years while paying a mortgage and rent on a combined average salary for Taranaki.
Plenty of stuff is more expensive here than Irl but some major stuff is generally cheaper; tax, insurance, fuelthat kind of thing and it's certainly cheaper overall when you count how vastly lower tax is.

though NZ was noted as the most expensive country in the world to buy coke recently. It doesn't seem to do too well on the bigmac index either.

balkieb2002

I work in a mid-range IT job for around the average wage. I'm currently in the process of applying for residency which is costing around $3000 to $4000 and found it easy to save a few hundred each week towards it while having an active social life. I find rent quite good - a room in large 4 bedroom house in a suburb just outside city centre (10min bus ride) is costing less then $150 a week and bill are not much on top of that.

As most said something are cheaper and others more expensive. Once I got out of mindset of comparing things from NZ$ to their euro prices, it was easier to spot the good deals. It's generally all about shopping around and of course varies from city to city and suburb to suburb.

on_my_oe

One thing to remember when comparing prices, depending on what it is, you can often buy online from the UK/US and get it delivered to NZ cheaper; in Ireland, if you brought a pair of US$100 trainers, you would get stung by customs and vat by an post as soon as it hit Ireland but in NZ you only pay once it's above NZ$400 generally. I frequently buy my nieces and nephews presents on Amazon etc for half the price of NZ stores, including free delivery.