"Schoolteacher Jennifer Gregg struggles to support her family on a salary of $90,000, paying over-the-odds Auckland rents while her husband Patrick stays home to look after their seriously ill daughter. Their household income is above the New Zealand average but the couple's outgoings leave them with no savings for a deposit to buy their own home…"
Try talking to families on the $60k mark. They would be more typical of the 'middle class'. That's what a skilled tradesman is getting in wages.
Also, a pet peeve of mine is the continually going on about the Middle Class, when they NEVER use the terms Upper or Lower classes. Can't have a middle without these!
5 comments:
I'm not sure how anyone could support a family on $60K without further assistance, short of finding a place charging minimal rent - like a garage or under a bridge.
Equally, a single income family on 90K pays more tax than 2 parents earning $45K each. I was very surprised though that teachers are earning 90K.
From that same article, it shows why low and middle income NZ are struggling:
"According to Statistics NZ's Consumer Price Index online calculator, prices overall went up by a relatively modest 12.6 per cent between early 2008 and early 2014, but some specific costs rocketed way ahead of that.
House insurance jumped by a staggering 175 per cent and health insurance went up 57 per cent. Local body rates increased 35 per cent and home energy costs went up 27 per cent. Tertiary and other post-school education costs went up 32 per cent.
Other essential costs weren't quite as crazy, but have still outstripped the overall inflation rate: food has gone up around 16 per cent, the costs of home ownership has jumped 18 per cent, and rents have climbed 12 per cent."
12% to 16% on essentials might not be considered crazy, but if salaries are static, then the rise is huge. That is the problem I suspect for many people - no real gains in income short of finding new jobs that offer pay rises. However, with lay-offs and redundancies, sometimes people need to accept smaller incomes rather than none.
You have to have no debt, other than a mortgage under 200k. You will be driving an old car- worth under 5k. You have to live on the supermarket specials. You do not go away on holidays, unless to stay with family. You have to be able to fix, mend and repair. You learn to shop at second hand shop and on trade me. You learn to do without.
You mean: "live like people did back 40 years ago"?
Yep- much like that!
90k for a teacher???????????
If salaries are supposed to reflect results, then she's overpaid by about 300%.
On second thoughts, she should work for dog biscuits.
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