u/comparethemarket_aus

Are you saving with a plan? Making ends meet? Splurging?

Was reading the comments on a post where people debated A LOT on whether it’s possible to live on $100 a week in groceries for 1 person

I personally spend about $300 a month as one person living by myself in Sydney, granted I eat out maybe 2x lunches and 1x dinner a week which isn’t in that budget category. There are also some months which go over that when olive oil or something is half price and I stock up but even then it’s well under $400 for the whole month

Curious as to what others spend (especially where living alone)

Edit: I’m not vegetarian and for protein mostly buy chicken, extra lean mince beef, and eggs. I also get frozen basa or frozen prawns once every 2-3 weeks. I don’t eat too many snacks - mainly yoghurt, fruit, some chocolate

Hey all,

A friend and I are really wanting to begin yoga, however every signle place i check out seem to cost so much, and ontop of a gym membership is juts way too much. Does anyone have any reccomendation for cheap yoga places in brisbane?

Thank you!

Interested to hear what people here think about this.

I’m on around $180k + super in a stable public sector job and currently have a family car that’s fully paid off.

I do around 18,000 km a year and could probably sell the current car for about $24k. Fuel is costing me up to around $230/month, and with petrol prices at the moment I’ve started looking more seriously at an EV through a novated lease.

I’ve also got 8kW solar and a large home battery, so charging at home shouldn’t cost too much.

The rough idea is:

- Buy an EV around $50k–$55k

- Do a 2-3 year novated lease

- Take advantage of the EV FBT exemption

- Sell the current car for around $24k

- Put the $24k straight into the mortgage offset

- Mortgage rate is around 5.9%, so that should save roughly $1,400 a year in interest

- After 2-3 years either pay the residual and keep the EV, sell it, or roll into another lease

From the rough numbers I’ve run, it looks like the novated lease could save around $15k–$16k in income tax/Medicare over the two years, plus the GST benefit on the car and some of the running costs.

But obviously I’m not looking at that as a free $15k.

I’d still be paying lease interest, admin fees, insurance, depreciation, etc, and there’s a decent residual at the end.

The other obvious argument is that I already have a perfectly good paid-off car, so financially the cheapest option is probably just to keep driving it.

That’s the bit I’m trying to get my head around.

Does the combination of:

$180k income + EV FBT exemption + 19,000 km/year + current fuel prices + cheap home charging + $24k sitting in the offset

actually make upgrading reasonably sensible?

Or am I just using the tax savings to justify buying a new car? 😅

The two cars I’m mainly looking at are:

Tesla Model Y RWD or BYD Sealion 7 Premium

I like the Tesla for the software, charging network and bigger second-hand market.

The BYD seems like better value for the money and looks like a nicer spec overall, but obviously it hasn’t been around in Australia as long.

A few things I’d be interested in hearing opinions on:

1. At around $180k income, has anyone here actually found an EV novated lease worthwhile once you include all the costs?

2. Does putting the $24k from the old car into the offset make much difference to the overall calculation?

3. Is a 2-year lease a bad idea compared with 3 or 5 years?

4. Model Y vs Sealion 7 Premium — which one would you pick if resale, reliability, family practicality and total cost were the priorities?

Would especially like to hear from people who’ve actually done a novated lease recently rather than just the calculator estimates from leasing companies.

My partner and I were looking at booking a short getaway for Christmas this year. Nothing fancy just a week somewhere on the coast. Maybe a small Airbnb or a motel room.

We started looking at places we'd usually go in previous years. Think Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, even a few spots in Northern NSW. The prices are just insane now.

A decent motel room for a week is pushing $2000 easily. An Airbnb that isn't a tiny shoebox is starting at $2500-3000. And that's before flights or even driving costs.

Then you add in food activities petrol. We're looking at a $4000-$5000 holiday for one week. For two people. For what used to be a relatively cheap and cheerful break.

Is anyone else finding that even a basic domestic holiday has become a luxury item? It feels like everything is just getting so out of reach.

Australian prices of

iPhone Duo -

256GB - A$3,499.00 or A$145.79/mo. for 24 mo. at 0% p.a.
512GB - A$3,899.00 or A$162.46/mo. for 24 mo. at 0% p.a.

1TB - A$4,699.00 or A$195.79/mo. for 24 mo. at 0% p.a.
2 TB -A$5,899.00 or A$245.79/mo. for 24 mo. at 0% p.a.

iPhone 18 Pro Max -

256GB - A$2,299.00 or A$95.79/mo. for 24 mo. at 0% p.a.
512GB - A$2,699.00 or A$112.46/mo. for 24 mo. at 0% p.a.

1TB - A$3,499.00 or A$145.79/mo. for 24 mo. at 0% p.a.
2TB A$4,699.00 or A$195.79/mo. for 24 mo. at 0% p.a.

iPhone 18 pro -

256GB - A$2,099.00 or A$87.46/mo. for 24 mo. at 0% p.a.
512GB - A$2,499.00 or A$104.13/mo. for 24 mo. at 0% p.a.

1TB - A$3,299.00 or A$137.46/mo. for 24 mo. at 0% p.a.
2TB - A$4,499.00 or A$187.46/mo. for 24 mo. at 0% p.a.

I’ll be hosting a friend and their two toddlers for a few days and looking for some recommendations for meals and snacks that are budget friendly. TIA

https://preview.redd.it/hlgtyngjw8nh1.jpg?width=1134&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=adf057aff47f3fcfbb8446c3e05ecef1613c541f

Hi Reddit,

I'm Andrew Winter, property commentator, host of Selling Houses Australia, and I've spent more than three decades helping Australians buy, sell and renovate homes.

I've worked through housing booms, market downturns, interest rate hikes, renovation disasters and plenty of property success stories along the way.

These days I also work with Compare the Market discussing housing trends and home loans.

Want to know whether now is a good time to buy? How to add value before selling? What mistakes first-home buyers make? Whether property prices are headed up or down?

Ask me anything about Australian real estate, renovations, home buying, selling, investing, home loans, or the property market in general.

Proof: https://www.instagram.com/andrewtwinter/

Fire away 👇

I've been around property for quite a few years and one thing I've noticed is that most buyers know about the obvious stuff; building & pest, contract, finance etc.

It's the less obvious things that seem to catch people out.

Things like flood/bushfire risk, easements, what's actually around the property, road noise, power infrastructure, block configuration, nearby commercial properties, future development etc.

I've slowly built up my own checklist of things I like to look at when assessing a property, mainly because I've realised you don't know what you don't know when you're buying.

Curious what everyone else checks that they think most buyers overlook?

What have you found that has either saved you from buying a bad property or made you think twice about one?

Hi everyone,
My partner and I are currently torn between staying put in our current home or proceeding with a contract to move to a larger property. We’re in the cooling-off period and driving ourselves crazy trying to weigh up the financials vs. lifestyle.

Here is the situation:
Option A: Staying in our current home
Property/Block: 350 sqm subdivided, narrow/long block. Low maintenance, but virtually no usable outdoor space.

Pros & Cons: The orientation isn't great, so it lacks natural light inside. However, it's located in a quite nice suburb.

Financials: Remaining mortgage is $570k (repayments are manageable). Staying means zero hassle, no transaction costs, and keeping our existing low debt.

Option B: Moving to the new property
Property/Block: 730 sqm, nice rectangular block. Beautifully renovated older home with lots of character, lovely skylights, and tons of natural light.

Outdoor/Features: Comes with a small pool, shed, studio, greenhouse, BBQ and a lovely landscaped backyard. Perfect for enjoying outdoor living and for our dog.

Cons: Located on a main road. And around 10 more minutes to city. It has double-glazed windows, but some traffic noise is inevitable. Bedrooms are a bit small and lack built-in wardrobes.

Financials: Moving will increase our total mortgage to ~$700k (an extra $100k+ in debt) plus we'll have to absorb all the buying/selling costs (stamp duty, agent fees, etc.).

While our household income can technically service the higher mortgage, taking on more debt in today's high-interest rate environment is giving us a massive headache.

Additionally, the new house has its own set of flaws—it's an older property, and we're quite worried about ongoing maintenance and potential hidden costs eating into our budget down the track.

Would love to hear your thoughts and perspectives. Thanks!

I live semi rural in SEQLD, family of four (F32 M35 2x kids 8&7)
We have a mortgage that’s pretty ‘cheap’ considering we bought pre COVID.
Husband works full time, wife part time in school hours.
Just wondering if everyone is in the same boat where you’re just grinding and grinding and getting flipping nowhere financially?
Husband brings home 6-7k per month (depending on overtime), wife brings home around 2k per month give or take.
Groceries are $650 weekly on average and that’s with meal planning and we try to buy decent produce and meat if we can.
Family car is diesel so that’s a lovely 2.55 per litre currently and it’s filled weekly.
Rates just came in and have increased ontop of general bills like rego, power etc.
We try our hardest to be savvy with money but literally have like 6k in the bank and it’s barely climbing. We manage to save maybe a few hundred dollars a month it seems.
Husband paid monthly, wife weekly. We are scraping by as it is.
We just feel so overwhelmed by the current state of things, cost of living, grinding but seemingly getting nowhere.
I’m not meaning to put these numbers here to put anyone down or whatever as others are in a much tougher boat than us. We just feel swamped by it all.
Does anyone have any tips or things they changed that made a huge difference to their ability to save?
Do we get a financial adviser to look at our spendings? Invest?- I wouldn’t even know where to start! Our savings go into an offset account but is there a better way to set up our banking?
Anyway, I appreciate any and all advise.
I am not meaning to complain, just curious.
Thank you

More rate rises coming as people keep spending

I just got my power bill, and it's over $1100 for the quarter. We have a stated daily average. Of 26kWh per day. Which is crazy!

We are a 2 person (and a newborn) household. We don't use air conditioning, nor do we have much in the way of electronics. We have a dryer, but virtually never use it (especially since it's been warm with no rain). We have modern energy efficient washing machine and dishwasher. We have an induction cooktop and one of the most energy efficient ovens available.

What could possibly be causing such a high usage? And is it possible that the usage amount is somehow incorrect?

Thanks!

Kicking myself i didn't do this sooner.

Been with TPG since we moved to the Central Coast (5 years now). Just saw my bill went up to $89.99 (was $59 when i started). Quick look over coffee and saw at least 4 options between $43 and $80 a month.

Take Dodo:
$57.99 for exactly the same speed NBN 50/ 500 Mbps (6 month intro price)
Goes up to $87.99 at month 6
Finder offering $110 visa gift card
Can switch anytime after 90 days

That's $302 cheaper in 6 months.

Always just assumed this would be a pain to-do.... 5 mins every 6 months seems like an easy cost saver.

I’m hosting an AMA with Maria Catarina (u/ConsideredView) and Dona James-Wells (u/Sea_Procedure8392) from Good Deeds Property Advisors on Tuesday 1 September, from 6pm to 9pm AEST.

My clients regularly ask whether a buyer’s agent is worth the fee and what actually happens behind the scenes.

This is a chance to ask two people who do the work, I've invited on two Buyer's Agents I speak with regularly to help answer people's questions and provide an opportunity to educate the community with their expertise.

Good questions include:

- when using a buyer’s agent makes sense, and when doing it yourself is reasonable

- how to choose and engage one

- property selection and due diligence

- negotiation and auctions

- dealing with selling agents

- common mistakes buyers make

- what “off-market access” really means

They can’t give:

- a valuation or tell you what to pay for a particular listing

- hyperlocal advice where they don’t have current market knowledge

- legal, financial, tax, building or planning advice

- a yes or no answer on whether you should buy a particular home

If a question needs local knowledge or another specialist, they’ll say so.

For transparency, Good Deeds is a professional referral partner of mine. Nobody is paying to take part. This is not a lead-generation thread, and there will be no unsolicited DMs.

Questions can go in as soon as the post appears. Hard questions are welcome. Keep them public, respectful and within scope. Any disrespectful questions or unhelpful comments will be removed. Please don’t post exact addresses or identifying details.

General information only.

They're also much bigger than the sandwich bags, and is the perfect size to store and freeze perfectly portioned meals in advance.

I've also been using them to store stationery, loose bits and bobs, travel toiletries, pretty much anything you would use a ziplock bag for. The possibilities are endless!

And to anyone worried, Coles is a billion dollar corporation. They're not losing out on anything from you taking the bags which they offer for free, and costs fractions of a cent to produce.

Seriously what is going on with the rental market. I got an email yesterday from my agent saying my rent is going up from $600 a week to $750. That's a 25 percent increase in one go. We've been good tenants always paid on time never caused any issues.

I thought there were limits on how much they could increase rent by. Is this just normal now? I'm in Sydney and I know it's bad but 25 percent feels like a complete rip off. What are my options here? Do I just have to accept it or can I push back?

My lease is up for renewal next month so I guess they know I'm stuck. It feels like they're just trying to push us out to get new tenants in at a higher rate. This is crazy.