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Since many of you live outside of the US, I am genuinely intrigued about your various personal finances. Not things like "how much did you give that hooker last night" or "what do you pay in child support" but more so the cost of everyday items, and how much it really impacts you.

So let me go over a few things about my job and my expenditures, and I should note one thing before everything, the minimum wage in Colorado is $7.28 an hour, #13 for highest paying minimum wage in the country.

First off I work at a relatively low-paying office job for my university. At only $10.50 an hour it is on the bottom-rung of employee pay for office workers. But compared to retail its equivalent to super-visor through managerial positions. And considering that I work anywhere from 30-40 hour work weeks I make about $315-420 per week, and $630-840 per pay period (bi-weekly.)

That is, of course before taxes. In actuality that amount will be sucked down to $510-662 per pay period after taxes. So assuming I only worked two 30 hour weeks I'd only have $510 to survive for two weeks. So let's start spending!

On pay-day I'll typically spend the most money and it'll read something like this, also note that these are without tax:

Pay-down credit cards: $100 (I do this every paycheck)
Fill my car with gas (current cheapest price is 2.49 / gallon, my car takes 11 gallons): $27.39 to fill from completely empty to full.
Starbucks (Venti caramel frappicino): $4.54
Most expensive school parking space: $5.50
Qdoba (burrito place): $8.65
Groceries: $60.79 (from last grocery run)
12-Pack of beer: $14.69

So $221.56 dollars on an average pay check day, leaving me with around $280 dollars to spend for the next two weeks. But I have left out my rent and utility bills since they are factored once a month. But here they are:

Rent (expensive part of town, one bedroom): $825/month, I pay $400 of this.
Xcel: $30/month during summer (no AC), $50/moth with heating added in.
Comcast: $75/month (internet only)

So anyway, that's my income / expenditures. What are ya'll paying to survive?

My wife and I each make about $35 an hour full time, plus a yearly bonus that comes in around $10,000 each before taxes. Canadian taxes suck about 40% of that away so let's say that each month we get about $6300 take home per month.

Mortgage is $1200 a month.
Jeep is $600 a month.
Food is $400 a month.
Power is $100 a month.
Gym memberships are $120 a month.
Car gas is around $80 a month (We live 3km from work).
Natural gas is $50 a month.

So we have about $3750 per month in spending money that I use to triple my car payments to pay it off faster, send Stienman to movies, and go on random trips to places. Just got back from Mt Rushmore on the weekend.

So what does the real estate market look like in Canada? Is $1200 mortgage high, low, or average?

I usually make R$4000-5000 (it varies a bit as I give private tuition), and dont pay rent, as I have my own house, and as I only declare my earnings as a teacher at night (about R$1400) I only pay around R$60 of taxes monthly.

Water/electricity = R$200
Internet + phone = R$200
Spanish course = R$200
Credit card payments = R$ 400
Bus/metro fare = R$ 140
Lunch = R$140
Pre-paid cellphone card = R$50

Then I usually give my mother R$1000 for her bills, as she doesnt work and my siblings are still at school.

Singularity.EXE said:

So what does the real estate market look like in Canada? Is $1200 mortgage high, low, or average?

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I actually pay more because I'm paying it off 10 years early. I would say that $1000 a month is probably more 'average'. It all depends on what you've purchased. I have a standalone house in a suburb on a park with a hot tub that's been completely refurbished. However, I also live in a smaller city of 20,000 so right off the bat I'm paying less than the Canadian average anyways. The house cost $275K so extrapolate from that what a $400K house would be, etc.

Real estate market seems to have knocked out all of the 'flipper' secondary mortgages so prices have dropped down to reality.

Adammon said:

Singularity.EXE said:

So what does the real estate market look like in Canada? Is $1200 mortgage high, low, or average?

Click to expand...

I actually pay more because I'm paying it off 10 years early. I would say that $1000 a month is probably more 'average'. It all depends on what you've purchased. I have a standalone house in a suburb on a park with a hot tub that's been completely refurbished. However, I also live in a smaller city of 20,000 so right off the bat I'm paying less than the Canadian average anyways. The house cost $275K so extrapolate from that what a $400K house would be, etc.

Real estate market seems to have knocked out all of the 'flipper' secondary mortgages so prices have dropped down to reality.

Click to expand...

You must not live in Alberta then, times this by about 2 and you have what Alberta would be.

Anyways, I make about 4000 (which in the next 10 months will hopefully be bumped up to 5000 a month after I hit 3rd year constable) bucks a month (which is paid monthly) after taxes. On even months my Staff Sergeant usually does up our overtime and I get an extra 1-3000 depending on how many God damn overtime hours we have forced on us. We get force housing up here so I don't have to pay very much for rent (300 a month). My car payment is 500. Utilities are usually aroun 200. Internet and Satellite run me around 150 bucks a month. Gas is ungodly expensive here (despite most of the gas being brought out of the tar sands, shipped south, then shipped back to us.) at 1.10 a litre, so for Americans, that's about 4.20 a gallon. I have a lot in savings but I'm also saving for a down payment on a house when I get posted to a less hostile more urban area. I spend far too much money on luxuries such as big TV, driving to the city (a 5 hour round trip), games, movies, the bar, etc.

So yeah, my personal economy is booming.

As for the OP's question. I find that most things in Canada generally cost about the same in Canadian money as they do in American, cigarettes and booze not-withstanding as we tax the everloving shit out of those items.

Hmmm...I earn about €2800 before taxes, say €1650 after taxes - that's reasonably high pay for a low-level job around here, due to working nights and weekends.
Let's see.
My car insurance is about €1100 a year, add in maintenance and that's slightly over €100 a month.
I need about two tanks a month, my car holds 45 liters at about €1.3 a liter right now, that's about €120 a month.
Electricity, gas and water come in around €200 a month.
I own my appartment, so, no rent, and no mortgage on it (hah! I love being owner :-p). If I did have to rent, my place'd go for about €650-700 a month.
Various other insurances (fire, burglary, familial,...) total about another €100 a month.
TV and internet come to €75 a month.

Leaves me with about €1100 a month to spend. Note that I have this much left because I have nothing on loan or credit and don't pay rent on anything. If I was doing downpayments on my car and/or renting my appartment or a house I'd be pretty much finished.
So yeah, disposable income whoohoo :-P

Frankie said:

You must not live in Alberta then, times this by about 2 and you have what Alberta would be.

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Yeah, but Alberta doesn't exist in what the rest of Canada calls 'reality' at the moment. I look at what a piece of crap trailer goes for in Fort Mac and I just shake my head.

Adammon said:

Frankie said:

You must not live in Alberta then, times this by about 2 and you have what Alberta would be.

Click to expand...

Yeah, but Alberta doesn't exist in what the rest of Canada calls 'reality' at the moment. I look at what a piece of crap trailer goes for in Fort Mac and I just shake my head.

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No kidding, two of my co-workers recently were transferred to Fort Mac (where there is no force housing) and their house ended up costing just under a million dollars. It's just one of those run of the mill suburban pre-packaged homes they mass produce in new neighborhoods.

Frankie said:

No kidding, two of my co-workers recently were transferred to Fort Mac (where there is no force housing) and their house ended up costing just under a million dollars. It's just one of those run of the mill suburban pre-packaged homes they mass produce in new neighborhoods.

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Doesn't help when even fast food employees get paid $20 an hour.

20 bucks an hour doesn't even get you a bachelor's suite though.

We're actually thinking of selling our house in the city and buying something a few miles away that's bigger and newer with a larger lot for less money then banking the difference. We just don't take advantage of the urban location like we did before the spawning.

Adammon said:

Frankie said:

No kidding, two of my co-workers recently were transferred to Fort Mac (where there is no force housing) and their house ended up costing just under a million dollars. It's just one of those run of the mill suburban pre-packaged homes they mass produce in new neighborhoods.

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Doesn't help when even fast food employees get paid $20 an hour.

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This is another thing I was thinking about in Canada specifically. It would seem to me that if you have quite a bit of taxes taken out of your paycheck then it'd have to be made up somewhere along the line so people could survive. Are employee wages unusually high in Canada, or is the $20/hour thing for fast food employees hyperbole?

Singularity.EXE said:

This is another thing I was thinking about in Canada specifically. It would seem to me that if you have quite a bit of taxes taken out of your paycheck then it'd have to be made up somewhere along the line so people could survive. Are employee wages unusually high in Canada, or is the $20/hour thing for fast food employees hyperbole?

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The minimum wage I believe is around $8 an hour, however the $20/hour thing is as a result of massive inflation in the Oil producing regions. Because the oil guys are making upwards of a couple hundred dollars an hour, so many people flock into the area to make the same, increasing the prices of houses due to no supply and surging demand. In order to entice workers outside of the oil fields to move there, they increase wages - however the wages still don't fit with the costs of living there so $20/hour is actually below a living wage.

Anywhere else in Canada, things are a bit more normal - comparable to cities of similar size.

Www.mls.ca for more details!

Adammon said:

http://Www.mls.ca

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Oooh!

*clicking*

Dammit! How come there are no apartments in Victoria, B.C?!

this is our basic monthly bills (varies with weather for utilities)

Gas (20-80$ a month low in summer high in winter. I have gas water heater and heat)
Electricity (80-160$ low in winter high in summer)
Mortgage $1100 (that include prepaid property tax, insurance and mortgage payment)
Auto Gas $100 a month (I got a Scion. Fill her up around once a week for around 25$)
Food grocery $200 a month give or take (we eat out too much)
Lawn care $100 a month (yea I'm lazy and it is too hot to mow myself)
CC bills around 1500$ a month (paying off my old debt. yea it sucks.. almost finish)

That is the basics.

Either that link of yours doesn't work all too well (Set price range for renting apartments from 0-Unlimited and nothing came up) or Canada is not a rent-friendly country.

Singularity.EXE said:

Either that link of yours doesn't work all too well (Set price range for renting apartments from 0-Unlimited and nothing came up) or Canada is not a rent-friendly country.

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Worked for me. Look on the right side and make sure it doesn't say "Over 500 properties returned, narrow down your selection criteria"

Adammon said:

Singularity.EXE said:

Either that link of yours doesn't work all too well (Set price range for renting apartments from 0-Unlimited and nothing came up) or Canada is not a rent-friendly country.

Click to expand...

Worked for me. Look on the right side and make sure it doesn't say "Over 500 properties returned, narrow down your selection criteria"

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Hmph, I wonder if its just conflicting with something on this work computer. I can only see things that are listed for sale. Which makes me a sad panda.

I'm Rich Bitch!

Chazwozel said:

I'm Rich *!

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Obviously you have not read all the forum rules, let me extract for you.

Section M said:

If a forum member declares himself/herself "rich" or declares his/her annual salary to be greater then $250,000, then he/she must immediately "share the wealth" with the rest of the forum. The amount to be shared will be determined on a on a case-to-case basis by forum member "Singularity.EXE." Any forum meber refusing to forfeit the amount specified by "Singularity.EXE" will be set upon by "Shegokigo"

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Oh look! That's me! Hand over 50% bub!

Singularity.EXE said:

Chazwozel said:

I'm Rich *!

Click to expand...

Obviously you have not read all the forum rules, let me extract for you.
[quote="Section M, Article 13.2 - Application of Wealth":393jban9] If a forum member declares himself/herself "rich" or declares his/her annual salary to be greater then $250,000, then he/she must immediately "share the wealth" with the rest of the forum. The amount to be shared will be determined on a on a case-to-case basis by forum member "Singularity.EXE." Any forum meber refusing to forfeit the amount specified by "Singularity.EXE" will be set upon by "Shegokigo"

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Oh look! That's me! Hand over 50% bub![/quote:393jban9]

In case you don't know, in Ecuador, we use american dollars.

I make $750 a month. My wife pays for her girl stuffs but I pay for food, electricity, house, etc. We live in a very small apartment but I like it and it's rent-free. (In my actual situation, childs are out of the question).

Water/Electricity: $30
Food: $80
Cable $20
Credit Card: $250. My goal is to reduce it to $100.
Transportation: I don't have a car and we take the bus. $20
Internet: free

I make $7085 a month, not counting any odd jobs or child support or anything like that. My fiancee makes about $2000/month.

rent: $1200
Utilities $400-500 (water/gas/electric/sewage/garbage collection)
Fios/phone/cable bundle: $160
cell phones for the family: $170
Auto fuel: $320ish (we both work a fair distance from the home)
Credit cards: $600-ish
car payments + insurance: $950ish
food for 5: about $1000ish

There's a lot of I'm not including, like lawn service, child support payments (first child) etc.

Let's see... my income is completely random because I'm a one-man web game company. Sometimes it's €2000, sometimes it's nothing at all.
Only non-random income is a monthly health insurance tax refund of about €40

Monthly expenses:
Rent (1 bedroom house with garden): €180
Health insurance: €110
Other insurances: €10
Gas/water/electricity: €100
Internet/tv: €65
Food + household items: €50
Train + bus to Belgium to visit my girlfriend every weekend: €34
Hosting for various websites: €35

Seriously though, I make about 8k a month after taxes.

After mortgage, credit cards, car payments, utilities, student loans, phones, TV, Internet, food, gas, dog, kids, and wife expenses I have approximately..... SHIT in my wallet at the end of the month.

Chazwozel said:

Seriously though, I make about 8k a month after taxes.

After mortgage, credit cards, car payments, utilities, student loans, phones, TV, Internet, food, gas, dog, kids, and wife expenses I have approximately.....

SHIT in my wallet at the end of the month.

Click to expand...

heh... it is harder when you get PAID once a month.....

Chazwozel said:

Seriously though, I make about 8k a month after taxes.

After mortgage, credit cards, car payments, utilities, student loans, phones, TV, Internet, food, gas, dog, kids, and wife expenses I have approximately.....

SHIT in my wallet at the end of the month.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's pretty much how I'm ending up every month, but much of that is because of upcoming weddings, oldest kid's graduation year (prom, homecoming, etc), and that kind of thing. heh.

I've been cashtrated.

Have fair job, but after mortgage and other sundry expenses, I am pretty poor.

sixpackshaker said:

I've been cashtrated.

Have fair job, but after mortgage and other sundry expenses, I am pretty poor.

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I'm gonna use that Cashtrated!!

In college I made squat, but had enough for beer and food. I had a stipend in grad school, but easily spent it all every month. Made double that as a postdoc and managed to spend it all. Make a hell of a lot more now and still manage to spend it all (well, some goes to savings and retirement).

Usually after a big salary boost there's money coming out your ass and you buy cool toys, go out to fancy restaurants, and take nice vacations. Within a year, you're somehow spending all your money every month again. Weird.

I get paid weekly usually about $200-220

$130 for car payment
$140 for insurance
$50 for cell phone

I have $700 in credit card debt I keep not being able to pay down because shit always happens and I have to put stuff on it.

Jake said:

In college I made squat, but had enough for beer and food. I had a stipend in grad school, but easily spent it all every month. Made double that as a postdoc and managed to spend it all. Make a hell of a lot more now and still manage to spend it all (well, some goes to savings and retirement).

Usually after a big salary boost there's money coming out your ass and you buy cool toys, go out to fancy restaurants, and take nice vacations. Within a year, you're somehow spending all your money every month again. Weird.

Click to expand...

hehe.. cause you get use to the new money and adjust accordingly. I mean I remember that my wife and I didn't eat out as much 3 years ago. Now, we can afford to eat out at least 4-5 times a week (not totally expensive place. We do that like 2 times a month) but still....

I keep telling her we gotta stop eating out so much. We try that for a month and actually save quite a bit.

Rent: $750
Car payment: $335
Car insurance: $66
Utilities: $80-130, depending on time of year (My apartment's heating system sucks up electricity)
Food: About $250 a month
Internet: $50
Pizza: $50-$75 a month

I get $400 a week from unemployment, so after all that plus gas to drive to interviews and visit my parents now and then, I usually go down about $200 a month, but I've still got about $2000 in the bank from my effort to save up to buy a house.. an effort that ended right before I got laid off.

So, I'm staying afloat so long as unemployment keeps coming in.

Here in Bermuda, stuff is so expensive that I don't do much shopping or activities, which leaves me with expensive internet service. I have a partially subsidized housing cost (as employer owns buildings), but it's still ~$900 a month (Bermuda dollars are 1:1 with US dollar). My employer deducts housing, utilities, and food (from the cafeteria), and the government takes more out for payroll/income tax, health insurance, and various other taxes, leaving me with around $500 a month. Being a US citizen, I also get hit with US income taxes, so I'm paying twice.

The biggest part of it goes to internet, which is $135/month to two companies, one provides internet service, the other provides broadband speeds. It's really slow, 3.5Mbps and weather affects it (along with television), the connection drops at least twice a day. I share with one other guy, but he's leaving the building, so hopefully the new tenant is willing to split the cost. I could save more by avoiding the cafeteria and buying groceries (which is already 2-3 times the cost in the US), but then I don't care much for cooking, and it would lead to an even worse ant, spider, and cockroach infestation.

I don't have a car, as buses are relatively cheap, I don't need to go to the city (there is only one on the island), and with fuel costs and dangerous roads/drivers, I have no interest in buying a scooter. With only three small cinemas on the island, I rarely see movies (unfriendly bus schedule), and during my monthly trip into town, I go to the library to read magazines and newspapers for a few hours. I spend lots of time in the tv lounge (and online), as I don't have a tv (costs more than twice in the US), but if I ever buy one (perhaps on a cruise that takes us to Puerto Rico, which has a Costco), cable tv is cheaper than elsewhere on the island.

Chazwozel said:

Seriously though, I make about 8k a month after taxes.

After mortgage, credit cards, car payments, utilities, student loans, phones, TV, Internet, food, gas, dog, kids, and wife expenses I have approximately.....

SHIT in my wallet at the end of the month.

Click to expand...

Basically this. My husband doesn't make 8k a month, we rent instead of own, and I don't have to pay back my student loans yet, though. However, after all the rest is paid, and with our son's birthday coming up fast as well as the birth of our daughter being around the corner, we are holding our budget together with Bondo and duct tape before pay day (which is twice a month).

Tinwhistler said:

Chazwozel said:

Seriously though, I make about 8k a month after taxes.

After mortgage, credit cards, car payments, utilities, student loans, phones, TV, Internet, food, gas, dog, kids, and wife expenses I have approximately.....

SHIT in my wallet at the end of the month.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's pretty much how I'm ending up every month, but much of that is because of upcoming weddings, oldest kid's graduation year (prom, homecoming, etc), and that kind of thing. heh.

Click to expand...

Basically this. My husband doesn't make 8k a month, we rent instead of own, and I don't have to pay back my student loans yet, though. However, after all the rest is paid, and with our son's birthday coming up fast as well as the birth of our daughter being around the corner, we are holding our budget together with Bondo and duct tape before pay day (which is twice a month)

Click to expand...

Ouch.

While I constantly bitch on how expensive shit here its (a PS3 costs R$1900, equivalent to about 900 dollars), at least Im happy I owe nobody any money, and while Im sttill stuck in brazilian middle class, it does give enough to buy the daily dvd, game and pay for a trip twice a year.

Now if my government would just stop increasing the price of food by 50% through taxing, I might even live confortably.

JCM said:

Ouch.

While I constantly bitch on how expensive shit here its (a PS3 costs R$1900, equivalent to about 900 dollars), at least Im happy I owe nobody any money, and while Im sttill stuck in brazilian middle class, it does give enough to buy the daily dvd, game and pay for a trip twice a year.

Now if my government would just stop increasing the price of food by 50% through taxing, I might even live confortably.

Click to expand...

I don't want to give the impression that we don't live comfortably. I don't work. My husband makes enough, and daycare is expensive enough out here, that we're better off with me staying at home. A lot of people can't do that. I certainly can't complain about not having the things I want, because that would be completely untrue. We may not have the latest and greatest, but we have plenty of nice things. Since we have been buying baby necessities and planning for a birthday party we've been spending a lot more than usual. It's doable, but tight since I have been paying it all out of our cash funds instead of putting anything on our credit card. No point in putting it on the card if we can pay for it right away.

I have a sister in law that for a while had to be a stay at home mom. her added income did not cover the cost of daycare.

Luckily my Mom moved in with them, kicked sis'in'law out into the workforce and stayed there 2 years to watch the little children. I still don't know how my dad kept his house together with mom out of town so much.

WildSoul said:

JCM said:

Ouch.

While I constantly * on how expensive poop here its (a PS3 costs R$1900, equivalent to about 900 dollars), at least Im happy I owe nobody any money, and while Im sttill stuck in brazilian middle class, it does give enough to buy the daily dvd, game and pay for a trip twice a year.

Now if my government would just stop increasing the price of food by 50% through taxing, I might even live confortably.

Click to expand...

I don't want to give the impression that we don't live comfortably. I don't work. My husband makes enough, and daycare is expensive enough out here, that we're better off with me staying at home. A lot of people can't do that. I certainly can't complain about not having the things I want, because that would be completely untrue. We may not have the latest and greatest, but we have plenty of nice things. Since we have been buying baby necessities and planning for a birthday party we've been spending a lot more than usual. It's doable, but tight since I have been paying it all out of our cash funds instead of putting anything on our credit card. No point in putting it on the card if we can pay for it right away.

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Oh yeah, me too. We don't live paycheck to paycheck or anything, and my wife is an extreme money saver. It's not like we're just getting by. If I honestly wanted to, I could probably go to a dealership and drive off with a Corvette, but I'd rather save up for traveling.

Unemployed and mooching off my parents. Life is good.

dayum, some salaries are high in the US.

anyway,

after taxes (motherfucking belgian taxes, lots of them) i earn around 1850€

i have a fuel card from my company and i don't pay for my cell phone.

Mortgage: 430€ / month (my father helped me with that or it would have been 850) for a 2 bedroom 90m² appartment that i thus own.
Groceries: +-150/200€
Internet+ cable TV: 60€
utilities: free (thanks to the walloon region, long story)
Credit card expenses: around 70-100€
Parties: 2-300 a month


so yeah, life is good

Singularity.EXE said:

Not things like "how much did you give that hooker last night"

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Dammit, and i was so eager to share....


Apparently our medium income has shot up to just under 400 euros lately... though if they take into account the salaries that are like 1000x bigger then of the next guy in the food chain that our "great" leaders like to give out it's bound to be a bit skewed.

On the up side a good internet connection is like 10$ around here, and most people have other means of obtaining income that won't show up in any official sources... so if people stopped throwing everything on the streets and treated each other better it would be a pretty nice place to live...

where do you live?

As of 2+ years ago, in the EU.

I won't give you the specifics, but here's some factoids:

Live in a condo my parents own. Gentlemen's agreement: I get to live here on a nominal rent (<$50 a month) as long as I study at the university, provided I keep the place clean and they can come and sleep over if need be (they live about 50 miles away, and most of the stores, government facilities etc. that they frequent are located here. So if they have business on two consecutive days, they will stay over instead of wasting gas on two extra drives).
Monthly expenses: c. $500
Groceries (one week's worth): c. $70-$80
Pizza (four toppings) at my local haunt (pizza/kebab restaurant): $10.45
Movie tickets (matiné/normal): $9.50/$13.95
Ground beef, 400g (little less than 1 lb.): $5.45
Eating at Arnold's (bagel + donut + drink): $9.50
Minute steak, mashed potatoes, grilled vegetables (once 1-3 month): $24.45
Shot of Jameson, straight up: $7

North_Ranger said:

Groceries (one week's worth): c. $70-$80

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Oh right, i forgot, for some reason out food costs more... i'd probably eat half of what i do now for that cash... then again i probably should.

Le Quack said:

Unemployed and mooching off my parents. Life is good.

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Employed and mooching off my parents. I save approximately 20% of my paycheck. I earn about 2000 MYR a month after social security contributions.

Planning to invest it once the local stock exchange cools off a bit.

Chazwozel said:

WildSoul said:

JCM said:

Ouch.

While I constantly * on how expensive poop here its (a PS3 costs R$1900, equivalent to about 900 dollars), at least Im happy I owe nobody any money, and while Im sttill stuck in brazilian middle class, it does give enough to buy the daily dvd, game and pay for a trip twice a year.

Now if my government would just stop increasing the price of food by 50% through taxing, I might even live confortably.

Click to expand...

I don't want to give the impression that we don't live comfortably. I don't work. My husband makes enough, and daycare is expensive enough out here, that we're better off with me staying at home. A lot of people can't do that. I certainly can't complain about not having the things I want, because that would be completely untrue. We may not have the latest and greatest, but we have plenty of nice things. Since we have been buying baby necessities and planning for a birthday party we've been spending a lot more than usual. It's doable, but tight since I have been paying it all out of our cash funds instead of putting anything on our credit card. No point in putting it on the card if we can pay for it right away.

Click to expand...

Oh yeah, me too. We don't live paycheck to paycheck or anything, and my wife is an extreme money saver. It's not like we're just getting by. If I honestly wanted to, I could probably go to a dealership and drive off with a Corvette, but I'd rather save up for traveling.

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This is exactly what I consider financial security.

It sucks that most people owe money, heck, I cant imagine living in a situation where I owe a bank/company for a car/house/credit card, and its always good to receive that paycheck knowing all of it is yours minus less than 300 for bills and taxes.

JCM said:

While I constantly * on how expensive poop here its (a PS3 costs R$1900, equivalent to about 900 dollars), at least Im happy I owe nobody any money, and while Im sttill stuck in brazilian middle class, it does give enough to buy the daily dvd, game and pay for a trip twice a year.

Now if my government would just stop increasing the price of food by 50% through taxing, I might even live confortably.

Click to expand...

A Nintendo Wii costs US$545 in Bermuda, games around $100, people generally fly to the US to shop over the weekends. Even paying upwards of 30% import duty tax on everything you bought in the US (plus an extra suitcase fee to bring it back) is still cheaper than buying it locally. Duty tax is the government's second or third highest revenue source.

klew said:

JCM said:

While I constantly * on how expensive poop here its (a PS3 costs R$1900, equivalent to about 900 dollars), at least Im happy I owe nobody any money, and while Im sttill stuck in brazilian middle class, it does give enough to buy the daily dvd, game and pay for a trip twice a year.

Now if my government would just stop increasing the price of food by 50% through taxing, I might even live confortably.

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A Nintendo Wii costs US$545 in Bermuda, games around $100, people generally fly to the US to shop over the weekends. Even paying upwards of 30% import duty tax on everything you bought in the US (plus an extra suitcase fee to bring it back) is still cheaper than buying it locally. Duty tax is the government's second or third highest revenue source.

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Lucky bugger.

Here the tax is 60%, but Ive managed to buy a few PSPs and DSs from overseas (japanvideogames.com) by sending it thorugh UPS, which puts the price of delivery on the box, which the Englishless sods at customs think is the price of the product and charge 60% on it.

Which means instead of paying 60% on a $300 PSP bundle with two Msticks, I just pay 60% of the $40 dollar delivery.

Another workaround is having it sent in birthday wrapping, on your birthday.

JCM said:

Here the tax is 60%, but Ive managed to buy a few PSPs and DSs from overseas (japanvideogames.com) by sending it thorugh UPS, which puts the price of delivery on the box, which the Englishless sods at customs think is the price of the product and charge 60% on it.

Which means instead of paying 60% on a $300 PSP bundle with two Msticks, I just pay 60% of the $40 dollar delivery.

Another workaround is having it sent in birthday wrapping, on your birthday.

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60%?????? yikes Custom tax?

man... and here I complain about buying at normal price. (or didn't buy since I'm still on the fence on 360. I got PS3 since my 360 died multiple time)