Is 4500B$ sufficient for month for an expat family (wife and husband)?

Hi Sid65stud,

I would say that BN$ 4500 a month should be fine. Many of my teacher friends support their entire family (spouse + kids) on that amount. You will be able to rent a fully furnished 3-bed detached house for around $1200 a month; it will ofcourse be less if you go for an apartment or terraced house, or something smaller than 3 bedrooms. Bear in mind you won't have to fork out for any kind of 'council tax' or additional insurance on top of this. Your electricity will probably cost you well under $100 a month (depending on how much you have the air con on for!), and water will be under $5 a month.

Petrol is very cheap - around 50c a litre for unleaded, 30c a litre for diesel - so your fuel costs per month will be low, even if you do a lot of driving.

Groceries can be expensive, particularly if you like to eat 'westernised' things, as all of these things have to be imported. I have a household of 4, and I spend around $600-$800 a month on groceries. We also eat out quite regularly as this is much cheaper than it would be back in the UK, and we spend around an additional $500 a month on eating out.

Membership for places like the Yacht Club ($80 a month) and the RBA Recreation Club ($100 a month) are worth considering.

Your largest financial expenditure once you get here is likely to be purchasing a car - and you will HAVE to have a car here, it's essential for getting around. Second hand cars are very expensive for what they are (they do not depreciate in value in the way you might expect), and they do not usually come with service history documentation either - so you have no idea what condition the car may actually be in! It's a real minefield. I recommend Dave's Car Sales in Beribi - they were good to us, and we got a great deal on a 2yr old imported Toyota Fortuna. Alternatively, look into the HSBC car auctions - a great way to find a really good bargain, as long as you know what you're looking for (or have a mechanically-minded friend who can check vehicles out for you). Bank loans, if you need one, are reasonable - interest is around 5%.

Good luck with everything!

ok thats cooll