Monthly living costs V2

I thought I'd revisit our monthly living costs now that its been a year and we've got more of a grip on finances here. The exchange rate is now about R5/$1 which is also a lot better than when we moved over.

Rent: $1733 per month, but rent is paid weekly ($400 per week). Budget for 3 weeks rent when you start a rental contract (2 weeks deposit/bond and 1 week paid in advance). No change here as we are still in the same house but rental prices have dropped from when we first looked and we are considering downscaling to a smaller cheaper property.

Water: $70 for 6 months.

Power: $100 - $300 per month (summer/winter). There are a few different power companies here and you choose a provider and a package when you rent or buy a property.

Telephone & internet: $115 per month

Childcare: $1300 per month. This is for 1 child, under 3 years old and includes meals.

Petrol: $400 per month. This is based on 1 tank of petrol every week for 2 cars.

Parking: $200 per month. Unfortunately working in the city centre means paying for parking.

Food, cleaning materials and toiletries: $825 per month (R1235 per week)

Nappies: $60 per month (4 bags of nappies from a nappy wholesaler)

Car and home insurance: $180 per month (2 vehicles)

Mobile phone: $40 per month

Swimming classes for Belle: $60 per month

Medical insurance (basic cover for operations & hospital stays): $60 per month

Takeouts: $15 - $50 per meal ($15 will get fish and chips for 3, KFC is a bit pricier and pizzas pricier still)

This is a great site to create and manage a budget: http://www.sorted.org.nz/