Subject:
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The Cost of Living VS Lego (Was Re: A Parental Perspective)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general, lugnet.loc.au
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Date:
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Wed, 19 Jul 2000 04:20:52 GMT
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Viewed:
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1494 times
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(I've removed dear-lego from the headers.)
In lugnet.dear-lego, Rachel Kingston writes:
> OK I know that this is a little off topic but I am curious...maybe some hints
> from Dierdre will give me more money for Lego!
Of course it all varies depending on how and where you live! :)
I was trying to put those Lego prices into some sort of frame that would
let overseas types understand just how expensive Lego is, converting
to and from US dollars doesn't give a true picture, pitting the cost of local
Lego against local costs of living might. (Maybe I didn't do a very good
job of it!) I bet that a USAian would be more than a little worried if a
Lego set cost the same as their rent :)
> Wow Dierdre, you have a much healthier budget than mine! I don't know what you
> guys eat, but I cannot feed my family of four (11 yr old daughter and 4 yr old
> son) on anything less than $180-200 PER WEEK!!!!!
> Now I don't buy frozen pre-prepared food, and my family don't get shop bought
> desserts, or lollies (rarely)We go out for dinner once in a blue moon, and
> this figure doesn't include the occasional take away (pizza or Macca's once a
> fortnight just for the kids)
Admittedly there are only 3 of us, but many 4 person (2 adults, 2 kids)
families spend a similar amount, and then some spend much more. If anything
more goes to waste with us! 2 things come to mind: we don't eat much meat, and
when I lived in Canberra for a few months several years ago I was surprised
to find that groceries were more expensive as Tassie is generally said to
have higher grocery costs (freight). No, we don't have a vege garden!
> Here in Canberra, $175 wouldn't pay the rent on a two bedroom townhouse (I
> know cause my parents pay $190 and this is cheap) let alone a 3 bedroom house.
> Admittedly we have 4 bdrms and a rumpus but the house is old, and a good hike
> from the city (10 mins, but small city remember, 10 mins is considered to be
> the back of Burke here!) but we pay $250 and as I have been searching this
> week I have found that I cannot get the same kind of thing for less than $300
> per week.
Again, depends on where you live :) Have rent prices changed that much in
5 years in Canberra? I rented a brand new 2 bedroom type villa unit with
a friend in Belconnen for about $160 a week IIRC. Can't comment on house
prices.
FWIW I live in an outer suburb, in an older house which needs lots of
tender love and care, and I'd kill for a lawn about now. We could choose
to live closer in, in a newer house and pay a lot more. Some people
pay less, and the location and type and state of house figure into that.
A family on an average wage may not have a choice and would live wherever
they could afford.
I'm not trying to put down what you say about
housing costs in the ACT but I would imagine that most ACTers were on
higher than average wage, and the demand and housing supply would alter
prices accordingly. I don't have statistics on average rent/mortgage
repayments across Australia but disregarding inner Sydney/Melbourne (and
maybe Canberra) they don't vary that much IIRC.
As a data point, according to the ABS the average household income across
Australia for 97/98 was $658 per week ($34,216 pa), the median was only
$499 ($25,948). That's before tax. $175 rent per week works out to $9100
a year, and for an average income family that's one hell of a chunk out of
that. Not much money left to live on, let alone buy Lego, which was the
whole point of this!
If anything, paying more rent/mortgage would give an average family even
less money to spend on Lego!
> Perhaps it is time to shift, where do you live again Dierdre???
> Oh, yeah, not wanting to dump on your whole post but can you really get TWO
> kids bikes for $175?
Yes. (Small children) and toy prices are pretty much the same Aus wide
as far as I know.
> BTW, I couldn't agree more about the cost of Lego, the average family could
> not afford to buy enough to actually do anything much with, unless they spread
> the purchases out over a number of birthdays and xmas's, and by then the child
> that they were intended for would be verging on adulthood! Although, as adults
I had to leave that bit in just to show you did support the price bit!! :)
*grin*
<rest of Rachel's very familiar shopping for Lego bit snipped for space>
Deidre (apologising for getting long-winded again!)
drb@tasmail.com
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