Aussies. I haters please. Genuine discussion.

[Nemises]

The joys of living in Australia on a pension.

Today’s Sydney Telegraph:



GRANDMOTHER Leslea Riddle blocks cold draughts with towels rather than turn on the heater in a bid to keep her power bill down.

The Wagga Wagga retiree, 61, goes to extreme lengths to stretch her disability pension to cover living costs for both herself and her teenage grandson, who lives with her.

The former volunteer firefighter puts away $50 a fortnight to “try to stay on top” of her electricity bill, which has become more expensive in recent years despite her best efforts.

“There are lots of blankets on the couch and I wear my dressing gown as much as possible to avoid turning on heaters,” she said. “I don’t drink or smoke, I don’t buy new clothes for myself, I never get my hair done — I’m a country girl so I know how to make things stretch.

“You don’t want your grandkids to miss out on anything, he’ll say he doesn’t want to go on an excursion anyway but I don’t want him worrying about money.”

Despite her moneysaving efforts, Ms Riddle sometimes had to turn to St Vincent de Paul Society for groceries. “They never turn you away and they’re not judgmental, everyone is so wonderful,” she said.

But, whenever she can afford to, Ms Riddle cooks meals or sends money to other family members in need of extra support.

“I always think there’s someone worse off and you want to do your bit to help when you can,” she said.

[madmen]

@Nemises

 

"The Wagga Wagga retiree, 61, goes to extreme lengths to stretch her disability pension to cover living costs for both herself and her teenage grandson, who lives with her."

 

And there is your answer. Teenagers are EXPENSIVE.  And this "Ms Riddle cooks meals or sends money to other family members in need of extra support."

 

Poor thing not her job to support the whole family..No wonder she cant afford heating

 

You didn't pick a very good example Im afraid 

Edited June 23, 2019 by madmen

[Nemises]

Thinking of living rurally in Australia because it’s cheaper? Think again.


“People are choosing between turning on the heater, stove, washing machine … they won’t even use a toaster because they can’t afford power,” he said. “People are wearing shoes to bed to keep warm … how is that an acceptable standard of living?”



Today’s paper..







RESIDENTS in regional NSW are choosing between paying for food or electricity bills, as charities cry out for blankets to get people through the freezing winter.

A lack of competition and high pole and wire charges across regional areas means households outside Sydney pay hundreds of dollars, up to $1000, more on electricity, St Vincent de Paul found.

And as the demand for blankets and warm clothes skyrockets, St Vincent’s Wagga Wagga president Robyn Thurston said they have “nothing left to give”.

“People aren’t donating like they used to,” she said, adding people now sold old items online rather than donating them.

Ms Thurston has also been forced to turn away people needing electricity bill relief, after already using up the charity’s allocation of state government energy accounts payment assistance scheme vouchers. “Our EAPA budget ran out in May so we’ve had to tell people to make arrangements with their energy provider to try to get on a hardship plan,” she said. A government spokewoman said about 53,000 energy account holders had benefited from the EAPA scheme this financial year.

St Vincent’s Wagga Wagga op shop supervisor Leonie Ray (pictured) said the store was down to just six blankets. “In the past two days I’ve helped 15 families with blankets, pillows, sheets and clothes so, absolutely, we need more blankets as soon as possible,” she said.

“It’s going to get worse as we get more into winter, a lot of families are struggling.”

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has warned voters will “punish” the state and federal governments if they could not offer affordable electricity.

“People are choosing between turning on the heater, stove, washing machine … they won’t even use a toaster because they can’t afford power,” he said. “People are wearing shoes to bed to keep warm … how is that an acceptable standard of living?

[madmen]

30 minutes ago, Nemises said:

Thinking of living rurally in Australia because it’s cheaper? Think again.


“People are choosing between turning on the heater, stove, washing machine … they won’t even use a toaster because they can’t afford power,” he said. “People are wearing shoes to bed to keep warm … how is that an acceptable standard of living?”



Today’s paper..







RESIDENTS in regional NSW are choosing between paying for food or electricity bills, as charities cry out for blankets to get people through the freezing winter.

A lack of competition and high pole and wire charges across regional areas means households outside Sydney pay hundreds of dollars, up to $1000, more on electricity, St Vincent de Paul found.

And as the demand for blankets and warm clothes skyrockets, St Vincent’s Wagga Wagga president Robyn Thurston said they have “nothing left to give”.

“People aren’t donating like they used to,” she said, adding people now sold old items online rather than donating them.

Ms Thurston has also been forced to turn away people needing electricity bill relief, after already using up the charity’s allocation of state government energy accounts payment assistance scheme vouchers. “Our EAPA budget ran out in May so we’ve had to tell people to make arrangements with their energy provider to try to get on a hardship plan,” she said. A government spokewoman said about 53,000 energy account holders had benefited from the EAPA scheme this financial year.

St Vincent’s Wagga Wagga op shop supervisor Leonie Ray (pictured) said the store was down to just six blankets. “In the past two days I’ve helped 15 families with blankets, pillows, sheets and clothes so, absolutely, we need more blankets as soon as possible,” she said.

“It’s going to get worse as we get more into winter, a lot of families are struggling.”

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has warned voters will “punish” the state and federal governments if they could not offer affordable electricity.

“People are choosing between turning on the heater, stove, washing machine … they won’t even use a toaster because they can’t afford power,” he said. “People are wearing shoes to bed to keep warm … how is that an acceptable standard of living?

Meaningless to compare All of OZ to some of the coldest regions out there, some of those examples are not far from the snowy mountains !!. Lived on the gold coast for 12 years and never used AC or Heater. I suggest you to retire in this region or the same latitude Western Australia....Tons of options, way to many to list

 

 

Edited June 23, 2019 by madmen

[Scott]

Baiting post reported and removed.  

[Nemises]

Current electricity price comparisons:

Aus: varies from State to State, but expect to pay up to/or more than 43.67c/kWh

Thailand: 18:00c/kWh

[madmen]

Just now, Nemises said:

Current electricity price comparisons:

Aus: varies from State to State, but expect to pay up to/or more than 43.67c/kWh

Thailand: 18:00c/kWh
 

Thailand varies state to state...many 24/7 100% humidity = aircon round the clock ! = Big electric bills

 

next ????

[madmen]

1 hour ago, Nemises said:

 

 

DELETE

 

 

Edited June 24, 2019 by madmen

[Nemises]

Thailand varies state to state...many 24/7 100% humidity = aircon round the clock ! = Big electric bills
 
next [emoji3]

The OP states that he lives Chiang Mai. Is aircon required up there “24/7”?

[BritManToo]

20 minutes ago, Nemises said:

The OP states that he lives Chiang Mai. Is aircon required up there “24/7”?

 

It is this month and last month, 36-40c most days and very humid.

[madmen]

38 minutes ago, Nemises said:

 

The OP states that he lives Chiang Mai. Is aircon required up there “24/7”?

 

same as oz it varies

 

You know what this is ? its your future . When the oz dollar hits historical support at 15 baht ( and it will charts don't lie) it will be mamma noodles and Lao khao for ozzies and if that support doesn't hold then it will be in freefall and impossible to return back to oz with empty pockets or god forbid end up needing urgent medical assistance

Edited June 24, 2019 by madmen

[Nemises]

It is this month and last month, 36-40c most days and very humid.

Is aircon required in Chiang Mai during their cool season?

[wmlc]

I believe it is still cheaper. However, for someone like you who is a tourist, you dollar is not going to go as far as it used to. Common sense! 

[Olmate]

25 minutes ago, madmen said:

same as oz it varies

 

You know what this is ? its your future . When the oz dollar hits historical support at 15 baht ( and it will charts don't lie) it will be mamma noodles and Lao khao for ozzies and if that support doesn't hold then it will be in freefall and impossible to return back to oz with empty pockets or god forbid end up needing urgent medical assistance

Doom n gloom, sounds like your back home already!

[BritManToo]

58 minutes ago, Nemises said:

Is aircon required in Chiang Mai during their cool season?

It's not usually less than 35c any afternoon.

Cool season is just cool at night.

[Nemises]

s
You know what this is ? its your future . When the oz dollar hits historical support at 15 baht ( and it will charts don't lie) it will be mamma noodles and Lao khao for ozzies ...

If you’ve followed the golden rule of NEVER BUYING in Thailand, then the solution is easy... just pack up and go live in another warm, more affordable, “party land”. Anywhere, but cold, expensive, boring Australia. I can taste those 50c Cambodian beers already! [emoji481]

[4MyEgo]

4 hours ago, Nemises said:

Current electricity price comparisons:

Aus: varies from State to State, but expect to pay up to/or more than 43.67c/kWh

Thailand: 18:00c/kWh
 

I will agree Australia is a bloody expensive place to live, but Sydney for example in one of your posts said the average annual electricity bill was $3,685, that's about $10 a day, not that expensive, especially when you can have the option to reduce that annual bill by having cold showers, not using electric heaters or air cons, I mean you could visit a different mate every couple of days and shower at his/her place making up an excuse that the power is out, might as well charge your mobile while in the shower.

 

Example:

 

My sister in law dropped in the other day unannounced when I had the a/c on here in the LOS, stuck her mobile phone charger in the powerpoint and proceeded to start playing on her mobile whilst enjoying the comforts of my air conditioner, at my expense, this to me was totally unacceptable especially with the prices of Thai eeewectricity today, so I walked around the corner and pulled the red lever down in the switch board and shut the power off, oh no, black out people, I said, she upped and headed for the door, and her sister/my wife said where are you going, to visit her friend in the next village she said, wonder why..., with my wife looking at me and smiling as if to say good one honey....lol   

[mike787]

On 6/16/2019 at 9:47 PM, fishtank said:

Things are not cheaper here.

You try being a Brit.

Strongly agree with "fishtanks"....not cheap like it used to be....those days are gone for good.  Compare your specific needs, whatever they are and you will see.  The numbers do not lie. 

Edited June 24, 2019 by mike787

[AverageBloke]

I don't want to interupt this discussion but this being a mainly Aussie based thread I thought it would be okay to ask a quick question. I'm 60 and live alone in my own home in Australia. I've been traveling toThailand for the last couple of years and have a very kind/good hearted thai girlfriend. She lives alone in Isaan but has a lovely 2 story home and also a block of land, both of which she owns outright. Our joint income for the month (if I move) would probably be in the vicinity of about 75,000baht. My share of that figure would be interest of money invested so I wouldn't have to be touching my principal. 

I'm somewhat cautious by nature but I know life is short and sometimes I think we have to follow our dreams. I think following this path is possible but I'd really like to have a little feedback from some of you guys who have traveled this path before me. If I've posted in the wrong forum then please delete my question. cheers 

Edited June 24, 2019 by Andrew Nelson
spelling

[Olmate]

26 minutes ago, Andrew Nelson said:

I don't want to interupt this discussion but this being a mainly Aussie based thread I thought it would be okay to ask a quick question. I'm 60 and live alone in my own home in Australia. I've been traveling toThailand for the last couple of years and have a very kind/good hearted thai girlfriend. She lives alone in Isaan but has a lovely 2 story home and also a block of land, both of which she owns outright. Our joint income for the month (if I move) would probably be in the vicinity of about 75,000baht. My share of that figure would be interest of money invested so I wouldn't have to be touching my principal. 

I'm somewhat cautious by nature but I know life is short and sometimes I think we have to follow our dreams. I think following this path is possible but I'd really like to have a little feedback from some of you guys who have traveled this path before me. If I've posted in the wrong forum then please delete my question. cheers 

Could you briefly outline your current cost of living in Oz, many here are struggling with exchange rate and value of pension being eroded.

[ThaiBunny]

36 minutes ago, Andrew Nelson said:

Our joint income for the month (if I move) would probably be in the vicinity of about 75,000baht. My share of that figure would be interest of money invested so I wouldn't have to be touching my principal.

How would you qualify for a visa on that basis?

[totally thaied up]

45 minutes ago, Andrew Nelson said:

Our joint income for the month (if I move) would probably be in the vicinity of about 75,000baht.

What is your sole income a month - joint is hopeless as your up for 800/65K (Visa) a year/per month for a starter. Most Centerlink Pensions in Australia yield only around 28-38K a month and with a poor dollar at the moment, more hurt is to come.

Edited June 24, 2019 by totally thaied up

[AverageBloke]

11 minutes ago, Olmate said:

 

Could you briefly outline your current cost of living in Oz, many here are struggling with exchange rate and value of pension being eroded.

I'll do my best. I pay no rent and I don't smoke and I'm not a big drinker. Because I'm not working fulltime my current income is only about $550 pw but I actually haven't needed to spend much more than $400-450 because I own everything outright and have a bit of money invested. My power bill is about $30 per week (i have solar) rates $40, food $100, small car $60 in petrol and maintainence. wifi and phone $25. Insurance and odds and ends another $100 or so. I'm not sure if I'm answering your question correctly but I am happy to add further details. 

[AverageBloke]

16 minutes ago, ThaiBunny said:

 

How would you qualify for a visa on that basis?

I would have quite a few million baht invested so I could easily cover the mandatory 800,000 baht that was needed. And if if everything continued to go to plan I would probably marry but i wouldn't need to do that in order to get a retirement visa. 

[totally thaied up]

3 minutes ago, Andrew Nelson said:

I would have quite a few million baht invested so I could easily cover the mandatory 800,000 baht that was needed. And if if everything continued to go to plan I would probably marry but i wouldn't need to do that in order to get a retirement visa. 

Really how long is a piece of string? I live on 30K a month but I live a simple lifestyle. Most my friends live on around 40K a month but the richer ones (with bars and girls) spend closer to 80K. Everyone is very different, and hence is everyone else's costs. What floats it for us may not float it for you. 

 

1 hour ago, Andrew Nelson said:

She lives alone in Isaan

I would be wary of this fact. Living in a village is very different (and can be very boring) for those that cannot be away from city lights. I know many relationships especially in Isaan to go belly up due to the remote lifestyle.

[AverageBloke]

11 minutes ago, totally thaied up said:

 

What is your sole income a month - joint is hopeless as your up for 800/65K (Visa) a year/per month for a starter. Most Centerlink Pensions in Australia yield only around 28-38K a month and with a poor dollar at the moment, more hurt is to come.

I understand what you are saying and I can see how tricky that might become but I wouldn't be relying on the pension, I would be self funding myself through investing my capitol after I sold my house and adding to the money I already have saved. She wants me to live with her so I would have minimal rent and most of my capitol would be at my disposal. It seems unlikely but If things went pair shaped I'd still have more than enough to start out on my own. 

[totally thaied up]

1 minute ago, Andrew Nelson said:

I would be self funding myself through investing my capitol after I sold my house and adding to the money

I would be very careful about selling my house and not having a bolt hole to go back to if it all goes pear shaped.  I hope you are also in good health, have the available means to have good expat health Insurance. These are the major worries here. You don't want to get sick and spend millions in hospital care. These are things you need/must take into account.

[AverageBloke]

2 minutes ago, totally thaied up said:

 

Really how long is a piece of string? I live on 30K a month but I live a simple lifestyle. Most my friends live on around 40K a month but the richer ones (with bars and girls) spend closer to 80K. Everyone is very different, and hence is everyone else's costs. What floats it for us may not float it for you. 

 

I would be wary of this fact. Living in a village is very different (and can be very boring) for those that cannot be away from city lights. I know many relationships especially in Isaan to go belly up due to the remote lifestyle.

Thanks for replying, that is somewhat of a concern for me also but honestly I am not much of a socialite. I'm happy to go out to eat a couple of nights a week and visit her family. I figured we could go away and have some nice little holidays a couple of times a year and I'd probably come back to visit my daughter once a year for a few weeks. 

[marcusarelus]

2 minutes ago, totally thaied up said:

I would be very careful about selling my house and not having a bolt hole to go back to if it all goes pear shaped.  I hope you are also in good health, have the available means to have good expat health Insurance. These are the major worries here. You don't want to get sick and spend millions in hospital care. These are things you need/must take into account.

Does the value of a house appreciate more than the interest of money in the bank from house sales.   You can always rent.  Can't always sell.  

[totally thaied up]

2 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Does the value of a house appreciate more than the interest of money in the bank from house sales.   You can always rent.  Can't always sell.  

The biggest problem I have seen here has been guys getting in a relationship with a Thai, sell up and get done over. Happens all the time. I have always left a bolt hole via property and yes, house prices in the right areas go up in Australia. Our land alone has gone up by AUD 75,000 in the last three years.