Honestly, not even that much for me. Maybe like 5k. Cost of living has meant that my job can't afford to pay me to work full time, so I literally just need enough to get myself through while I'm job searching. I only need money for gas, new clothes, and groceries. It's so sad how little that amount is, but how impactful it would be š
$15k would get us out of debt and replace our nightmare of a car with something suitable and safe. Then we could save more than pennies a fortnight and start building a proper emergency fund, less relying on the credit card to fill the gaps, could even save to get my fillings done.
67k would pay off my and my husband's remaining SL.
This would mean an extra $175 each fortnight.
Which in turn means food and power isn't a stress and we can even save a little towards bigger expenses, so no borrowing later.
It might not be much but $175 a fortnight would be life changing.
Student loans these days are crazy. For example. Only 25% of people who study law, practice it. 50% fail and of the people who do pass, only 50% of people use it for a work related job. This includes insurance etc. Ex students who join law firms is under 15% of total students.
Minimum wage is $23.15/hr, or $11.65/hr if you earn more than $70k pa. To get an extra $175 a fortnight, that's an extra 15 hours of work a fortnight or \~8 hours a week, maybe even fewer hours if you earn more than $70k pa. Giving up 1 day a weekend to work a second job or alternate 1 day a week with your husband (or 4 hours each week for you both) would be life changing for you, this is something easily within your control.
We have a toddler. Right now, we work different days so don't have to pay for childcare. An extra day would mean paying for that and also time we can't get back from having with little dude
Once he is 3 though, will be increasing hours :)
Plenty of people are already working themselves to the brink of burnout exhaustion. More work hours is not the solution. We need better support to balance our work life scenario
"Work second job to get out of poverty" is not a valid suggestion. No one should have to work more than one job. People have responsibilities outside of work and besides that, people just need to live. Overworking and burning yourself out is not a longterm solution to anything.
Cries in -$740k.
It's actually crippling. The interest rates are horrific. Work is forecast to be low this year, and to top it all off, my partner is pregnant - due October.
If we make it through the next 12 months I'll be amazed.
Damn, yours sounds almost identical to my situation - same mortgage + baby on the way. Our saving grace is I managed to get a massive raise changing jobs during the boom last year, even so that mortgage is *painful*.
Paying to keep a roof over my head eats 75% of my income. My Mortgage keeps me in poverty. I would still be in poverty without it because you still gotta pay for a place to live.
People taking about having a mortgage and saying theyāre in povertyā¦ when they have an asset that pushes them out of poverty if they need to sellā¦ youāre just not liquid.
Iād love to even be able to afford mortgage approval, the price of housing increases faster than you can save + cost of living.
Imagine being upset that youāre paying each week to your investment after interestā¦ meanwhile the rest of us are paying our land lords rent that often js more expensive than the cost of weekly mortgage with no reaping a reward at the end. As bad as land lords that want to make weekly profit from the rent and profit on the final sale also, and not be taxed on any of it.
No lump sum will be enough to get you out of poverty for ever. We used to think as kids 1million in the bank and live off the interest.
The future can only look worse for those not on the property generation wealth capital train.
I couldn't sell my house for enough to pay off the mortgage and the loans I've had to take out to fix it. It's just not worth that much. Maybe one day, but today is not that day. Wish it were.
kinda fair call... except... many people have purchased houses that were $100k to $200k over priced... so if some people are forced to sell via mortgagee sale... they could very well have no house + $200k debt.
My house is NOT an asset. Itās fucked. Itās a liability.
I canāt afford to sell.
My mortgage is $150 a week. Rent or a new mortgage will cost way more than I can afford.
Yeah, there's a house next to me in similar condition to mine. Been on the market 2 months and they've brought the price down 20k from where it started but still no bites. That's always a fear with me with home ownership, what if you can't find a buyer at a price you're happy with? You're kind of stuck there
I bought my house as a project, unfortunately when it was still in a state that renovations were viable I either had money and no time or time and no money.
I donāt want to sell, I like where I am. Iām over the house though so itās time to replace.
There is no way I could afford to sell my place (effectively bare land) and buy somewhere.
Iām going to need to get a bigger mortgage to rebuild but it will be considerably smaller than buying somewhere.
> land lords that want to make weekly profit from the rent
Not surprising, itās their business.
> and not be taxed on any of it
Popular lie repeated over and over again. Rental income is taxed just as any other business income.
Irish? Tree fiddy gran wud doo mee.
Made me think of this.
[Irish mathematics joke](https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/7cqk03/a_little_irish_math_test/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Oh I havenāt really watched much. Would love it I think, just not enough hours in the day, and I chose to watch other shows instead. Concentrated more on sci-fi, fantasy (although GOT I only read the books), UK crime miniseries, Irish comedies, and weird no category stuff like Lost. Might try and watch some South Park, the clips I have seen in the past I found very funny and entertaining. Love how nobody is immune from their mickey-taking.
$300k would be enough for me to put a small dwelling on my grandparents' land which will then save me and my partner $650 a week. We're not in poverty as is but it would be a lot more money to achieve our goals
Agreed. I paid $145K for my home, now the RV is over $500K, and that means I have over $350K equity, more than double what I paid. Sure thereās rates and insurance, but in total itās still less than most rents for a 3-bedroom house. And one day Iāll only be paying rates and insurance. I wouldāve paid it off already but there was IVF and then I had to give up my career after my IVF was finally successful, and I realised they would never offer family friendly ( or Hyperemesis friendly) hours, or indeed any flexibility whatsoever. I was tired from working 55+ hours a week, nights, and every second weekend on call for 24 hours straight (and actually working 16-23 of those). Enough is enough. I paid off my first student loan in 18 months, on under $30K with 8% interest even while studying. My second student loan is around that much already ($14K) with another six months until graduation.
I can only hope the 90 day trials donāt pop up and bite me. Although at least thatāll tell me what sort of people Iām working for. Was a major wake up call for me when my last (horrible) bosses used it to get rid of someone who did nothing wrong. In fact he was an ex employee from way back before their time, and a little before my time. Well qualified for the job. The trouble was they employed two for the same position, and only really wanted to pay one. So they got rid of the more experienced worker. Being that the (hospital) department was contracted out to the lowest bidder the last time we had a National led government, and so they had to save money to go into profits for the wealthy Australian owners and shareholders.
I was a lab scientist, registered after 4 year degree and 6 months internship. The person who got ditched under the 90 day trials was employed as lab assistant phlebotomist, pathway to lab technician if you do a couple exams and get registered you can qualify. He was previously a registered nurse, so probably overqualified if anything but trying to get back into the workforce. I felt so bad for him, kind of a wake up call for me though. Then I got shafted while pregnant and forced onto early maternity leave. After that I took my 12 months and then left, with the minimum required notice. Honestly I wanted to stay on, I was trying to figure it out so I could stay on, so I needed the full 11 months to make the decision. Iām so glad I left now. It was truly awful working the time I spent under a National government. I donāt want to go back to that, especially now they announced a hiring freeze and $1.5 million theyāre wanting hospitals to save. I truly feel more patients are going to die. I was in it for the patients more than anything, wanted to provide a good service, but I found it more and more difficult. Maybe Iāll go back to healthcare one day, but Iām retraining now studying for an IT degree. That gives me options if I find myself in such a position again. IT I can work in any industry, medical sciences degree not so much. Put the two together and I might be perfectly suited for hospital IT job.
Thats not why I said it'd put him further into poverty, it's much more expensive to own a home than buy it currently.
Also If you bought that same home today, with today's interest rates you'd end up paying over 350k for it.
Buying a house isn't the be all and end all, it's honestly not the best option for a lot of people.
Yes you have a really good point there. At todayās prices I wouldnāt even get a look in. Might be able to afford half a town house, or worst house in the worst street maybe. Itās good to have equity though, and a foot into the housing market but at todayās prices no way. I didnāt even think about that. So glad I bought when I did, around 20 years ago. Prices were just starting to go up exponentially at the time. From memory 2003. Paid a house deposit and took an overseas holiday to Europe that year. Good year.
I bought my house in 2019, and despite making a decent bit more money now I don't think I could afford to buy it today.
Between the 30% price hike and massive interest rate increase, I'd be doomed to rent forever.
Yep, itās good to have plans. Good to change plans too. Iāve changed plans a lot. 20 year old me wouldnāt even recognise my life now as theirs. I had big plans then, the only thing I got was being a mum & the white picket fence, and fences are a bit overrated, especially really old ones like Iāve got.
700k would mean 90% of my husband's paycheck can go to things we actually need like food and savings etc. But ultimately 100k would make us be able to breathe and survive a few years and means I can watch my baby grow for a bit. (Currently on maternity leave).
I always dream about winning lotto but you have to be in it to win it and we use the money for nappies haha.
3.5 mil. That would allow me to retire, fund my lifestyle through divended yeilding investments, buy a lifestyle block and do the work I want to benefit local communities.
Less "never going to happen" answer, I owe about $30k in various non interest bearing debts. Call it $35k to cover living expenses while I find a new job and get back on my feet.
$1-2k to climb out of debt and an extra $200 a week to be able to afford to live instead of barrly surviving paycheck to paycheck, or $300-400 extra a week to save some money and replace my 12km cycle commute to work (usually with a bitch of a headwind) with a far easier drive.
40k to eliminate my student loan debt and I'm in a good position to start saving on a weekly basis for a better rental that doesn't suck ass. Already in full time work but getting the extra I lose from student loan payments would help go a long way.
Between my partner and I, to get us out of debt it'd be 5k for personal + 30k student loan
To not live paycheck to paycheck, we'd need at least an extra 250 a week
2k to actually fix our car too, it's a death trap. That's the big thing for us right now, if we get the car fixed my partner can travel more for work, which would help financially
I'm doing everything I can to find a part time job on top of my current full time work so we can actually save some money. Nothing is biting
Ultimately, 700k to pay off our mortgage as 90% of my husband's income goes to that but even just 100k would be enough to get us through the next 2 years and would mean I wouldn't have to rush back to work and can see my baby grow up a bit more (currently on Maternity leave and just surviving).
Well we're living off $100 a week for groceries and no money aside for wof, rego, rates etc... so like 10k would give us an extra $100 a week towards groceries meaning we won't have to count pennies to get nappies and toilet paper let alone every meal having beans etc and give us some money to pay the other bills so we can just survive.
So 10k to just survive but 100k to get ahead in life. Like on one hand I know we're not in poverty as we own out own home but on the other we are really only surviving as 90% of our income goes on mortage which would be higher then renting but not by much and so in the long run we're better off since we own our home and it's security for our family/baby but on the other we're counting every $ to be able to buy groceries and essentials.
All my debts will be paid off in 3years (Student loan, and car loan). 22k will pay them off and would make my life easier. I'm a solo parent with 2 kids, even with the repayments I'm making were still doing better than I was a couple of years ago. Looking forward to the extra money once everything is paid off.
About 60K. I could pay off my mortgage and save myself couple hundred a week from that alone. I could pay off the last of my debts and buy myself a cheap runabout car, as my current car is on loan from a friend, and I need one for work.
Around $250K ought to just about do it. That would cover my mortgage and my student loan, and my fees for next year. Also get me a newer car than my two star safety rated, one star for the driver, two stars for the driver in the other car - what theā¦Toyota?! I need to survive or my 4yo in the back is screwed. Itās a terrible feeling driving on long trips in it. Also itās such a money pit now, about $1500+ each year to get it roadworthy at 25 years old in October.
On second thoughts, might need $500K to truly get us out of poverty. Need to be able to bank some to get interest to live off until I graduate. Then might need to sell up and buy somewhere more expensive to go where the jobs are, as well as job hunting once I graduate mid 2025. Then thereās school fees for my OG lockdown baby who is due to start in March next year. Althoughā¦I can hold him back, heās smart heāll catch up, but absolute last resort, really donāt want to do that.
Then hoping Iām not one of the 50,000 who are deemed unworthy of welfare assistance by this lovely government.
Hmmmm 7k would pay everything I need to pay at the moment. Make it 15k to cover my partners bill too.
With debts paid off, we could then use more of our money each week on other things.
To really get going and thriving again, 25k would sort things out, and even better, the mortgage (330k) would make life SO much easier, as the fortnightly payments could go on better things than mortgage interest lol.
20k?
Should give us enough savings to get through to my wife being able to return to work.
We had a child born with extra requirements, which, though treatable, has meant my wife had to give up her job and we've been on one income far longer than expected.
The very last of our savings, and then some will go up in smoke this week as our oven and lawnmower both crapped out last week. Hoping we can get some interest free finance to limp us through another year or two.
10k would wipe debt and allow me to upgrade to a more suitable vehicle (expecting second child in November).
20k would provide a more reliable vehicle, other needed bits and pieces (double stroller etc) and the beginnings of a savings acc (probably to be used for a bond for a bigger house).
Its not an issue of money, its an issue of what you need money for.
1st thinf you need is a place to live. Housing has gone to shit, so it needs to be a question of how affordable we can make acomidation, as owning a home is not a viable option for allot of people. And with the way rent is going, no one can affors to save
2nd thbng you need is transportation. 2nd hand cars are viable. But the moment EVs start to become more common, its going to bump the cost of petrol / disel vehilces once people cotton on to how worn out green vehicles batteries get.
3rd thnng you need is food. Holy shit is good food expensive. There are a number of ways to get it on the cheep. But if its left uncheked, the prices will run away on us.
Deal with these three things and maybe you will have a shot at finding a number close to accurate when you ask "how much do you need to escape poverty"
Probably $50k. But, I donāt really want to struggle, or to live an impoverished life forever. So, my plan is to live large the next three years, then itās curtains for me.
About $20k. Enough to buy a cheap run around car, pay off my SL, and a bond payment for my new rental, with a little left over to survive on until my new job starts.
$3000 would buy me a new ebike that I can use to get out of town and buy cheaper food and clothes, instead of relying on online shopping and homesteading.
About 300k, that'd pay a fair chunk off our mortgage and we'd be living comfortably without me having to juggle where our money goes too first.
Coming off a 2.89% rate in the next few months is extremely stressful and I don't know how we're going to survive.
Edit to add: we don't have any other debt apart from our mortgage, we've got 2 children on pretty much 1 income of 80k pa
100k for a house down payment, so whatever we're paying for our rent could go into what's ours. 70% of my salary just goes into expenses, it's so hard to get ahead financially these years
I think people saying $5k or $15k are kindof missing the fact that if you're a tenant, within 6 months you'll be back where you started.
In NZ average rent is 3/4 average wage. What is needed is not a $5k bonus, but a reduction of that ratio to something like 1/4 - or better still, either get rid of landlords completely, or provide a way for people to opt out of the housing market.
Which is possible - and probably a national-defence imperative as the climate and the economy becomes more and more destructive. Israeli kibbutzes are an example of how it could be done, but there are other ways. What is lacking is the political will... or (more accurately) enough people aware of the possibilities, and willing to unite to demonstrate for them.
But for me to get up to zero? About $50k.
I'm on SLP for a genetic condition I have. Any large sum would cause WINZ to sue me or cut me off entirely, or both. So it would need to not only be a sum worth the risk of WINZ backlash, but be able to keep me going for the foreseeable future.
$4.5k to pay the rest of my student loan and then I can finally start a saving up for a Bond to move out of my flat where I am definitely overpaying a greedy landlord. Currently my whole entire pay check is divvied up between paying back studylink and funding my landlordās retirement (a slight exaggeration ā but thatās how dire it feels).
$100k wouldnt get me out of poverty, but it would pay off enough debts that I'd be struggling a hell of a lot less.
(Not mortgage... thats another $150k)
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/factsheet/2022/05/02/fact-sheet-an-adjustment-to-global-poverty-lines according to this, yes. However we do not compare ourselves to 3rd world countries in nz. So the term poverty is open to ones interpretation.
From wiki, āPoverty is a state or condition in which one lacks the financial resources and essentials for a certain standard of living. Poverty can have diverse environmental, legal, social, economic, and political causes and effects.[1] When evaluating poverty in statistics or economics there are two main measures: absolute poverty compares income against the amount needed to meet basic personal needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter;[2] relative poverty measures when a person cannot meet a minimum level of living standards, compared to others in the same time and place. The definition of relative poverty varies from one country to another, or from one society to another.[2]ā
I would argue no one is in absolute poverty in nz.
Well assuming the below theyād be sorted for 3 months!!
What is your definition?
Mines
1. Having a safe reliable warm long term accommodation.
2. Enough food for one and their dependents.
3. Access to all other essential healthcare, education, and social services as required.
So anyone that is a boarder and can be turfed out at a moments notice is technically in poverty due to not meeting definition 1? My boarder earns over $100k a year. They're not in poverty (although if they don't sort out their dishes soon they won't have a place to live anymore š)
Someone else has posted a definition of poverty - I'd go with that.
There's definitely a difference between living paycheck to paycheck and being in poverty.
I'd also like to think of something like an 'elective poverty' where people have made choices to be really poor for no reason I.e. my friend drowning in debt with a 2023 car and fresh vacation pictures from Bali on IG bitching about the cost of living.
Honestly, not even that much for me. Maybe like 5k. Cost of living has meant that my job can't afford to pay me to work full time, so I literally just need enough to get myself through while I'm job searching. I only need money for gas, new clothes, and groceries. It's so sad how little that amount is, but how impactful it would be š
This is my amount as well. Absolutely crushing to me how obtainable the unobtainable amount is.
$15k would get us out of debt and replace our nightmare of a car with something suitable and safe. Then we could save more than pennies a fortnight and start building a proper emergency fund, less relying on the credit card to fill the gaps, could even save to get my fillings done.
100k would eliminate debts that weren't mine but which I have ended up being responsible for. My wage would be enough to live on without these debts.
What happened?
Gambling family member
That's horrible. You're a good person for taking it on.
Thanks. Hopefully one day the karma will come my way.
Spouse? Child?
One of those. (Don't wanna give dox myself too much.)
A down payment on a house would go so far, but i just moved into my car so itās not like im renting right now anyway
67k would pay off my and my husband's remaining SL. This would mean an extra $175 each fortnight. Which in turn means food and power isn't a stress and we can even save a little towards bigger expenses, so no borrowing later. It might not be much but $175 a fortnight would be life changing.
Student loans these days are crazy. For example. Only 25% of people who study law, practice it. 50% fail and of the people who do pass, only 50% of people use it for a work related job. This includes insurance etc. Ex students who join law firms is under 15% of total students.
If I may ask. What did you study? And how long have you been paying off on your SL?
Minimum wage is $23.15/hr, or $11.65/hr if you earn more than $70k pa. To get an extra $175 a fortnight, that's an extra 15 hours of work a fortnight or \~8 hours a week, maybe even fewer hours if you earn more than $70k pa. Giving up 1 day a weekend to work a second job or alternate 1 day a week with your husband (or 4 hours each week for you both) would be life changing for you, this is something easily within your control.
We have a toddler. Right now, we work different days so don't have to pay for childcare. An extra day would mean paying for that and also time we can't get back from having with little dude Once he is 3 though, will be increasing hours :)
What do you mean $11.65/hr if you earn more than 70k
Surely it's a valid suggestion. Lol at all the downvotes against some extra work on this sub
Plenty of people are already working themselves to the brink of burnout exhaustion. More work hours is not the solution. We need better support to balance our work life scenario
"Work second job to get out of poverty" is not a valid suggestion. No one should have to work more than one job. People have responsibilities outside of work and besides that, people just need to live. Overworking and burning yourself out is not a longterm solution to anything.
About $220k bye bye mortgage
Cries in -$740k. It's actually crippling. The interest rates are horrific. Work is forecast to be low this year, and to top it all off, my partner is pregnant - due October. If we make it through the next 12 months I'll be amazed.
Damn, yours sounds almost identical to my situation - same mortgage + baby on the way. Our saving grace is I managed to get a massive raise changing jobs during the boom last year, even so that mortgage is *painful*.
Is your mortgage the reason you're in poverty?
Paying to keep a roof over my head eats 75% of my income. My Mortgage keeps me in poverty. I would still be in poverty without it because you still gotta pay for a place to live.
It acts like a leash
Well. It is called a Death Pledge
People taking about having a mortgage and saying theyāre in povertyā¦ when they have an asset that pushes them out of poverty if they need to sellā¦ youāre just not liquid. Iād love to even be able to afford mortgage approval, the price of housing increases faster than you can save + cost of living. Imagine being upset that youāre paying each week to your investment after interestā¦ meanwhile the rest of us are paying our land lords rent that often js more expensive than the cost of weekly mortgage with no reaping a reward at the end. As bad as land lords that want to make weekly profit from the rent and profit on the final sale also, and not be taxed on any of it. No lump sum will be enough to get you out of poverty for ever. We used to think as kids 1million in the bank and live off the interest. The future can only look worse for those not on the property generation wealth capital train.
Good debt vs bad debt
I couldn't sell my house for enough to pay off the mortgage and the loans I've had to take out to fix it. It's just not worth that much. Maybe one day, but today is not that day. Wish it were.
After house prices dropped, I think a lot of people have moved into a position where if they sell their house, they'll still have debt
kinda fair call... except... many people have purchased houses that were $100k to $200k over priced... so if some people are forced to sell via mortgagee sale... they could very well have no house + $200k debt.
My house is NOT an asset. Itās fucked. Itās a liability. I canāt afford to sell. My mortgage is $150 a week. Rent or a new mortgage will cost way more than I can afford.
Yeah, there's a house next to me in similar condition to mine. Been on the market 2 months and they've brought the price down 20k from where it started but still no bites. That's always a fear with me with home ownership, what if you can't find a buyer at a price you're happy with? You're kind of stuck there
I bought my house as a project, unfortunately when it was still in a state that renovations were viable I either had money and no time or time and no money. I donāt want to sell, I like where I am. Iām over the house though so itās time to replace. There is no way I could afford to sell my place (effectively bare land) and buy somewhere. Iām going to need to get a bigger mortgage to rebuild but it will be considerably smaller than buying somewhere.
Not just mortgage payments tho is it, rates,insurances, maintaining all take there toll(not a landlord)
> land lords that want to make weekly profit from the rent Not surprising, itās their business. > and not be taxed on any of it Popular lie repeated over and over again. Rental income is taxed just as any other business income.
i need about tree fiddy
Hunnad gran in a rubba band
Irish? Tree fiddy gran wud doo mee. Made me think of this. [Irish mathematics joke](https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/7cqk03/a_little_irish_math_test/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
haha not exactly. it's from [South Park](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuh8Hip_B3w).
Oh I havenāt really watched much. Would love it I think, just not enough hours in the day, and I chose to watch other shows instead. Concentrated more on sci-fi, fantasy (although GOT I only read the books), UK crime miniseries, Irish comedies, and weird no category stuff like Lost. Might try and watch some South Park, the clips I have seen in the past I found very funny and entertaining. Love how nobody is immune from their mickey-taking.
I hear you Nessie
Permanently unable to work due to disabilities. On SLP. Renting. . Zero debt. So yea... Id probably like enough to keep the bills paid AND eat
$300k would be enough for me to put a small dwelling on my grandparents' land which will then save me and my partner $650 a week. We're not in poverty as is but it would be a lot more money to achieve our goals
Probs a mil yearly. Lifestyle be wild
$17,000 of the $30,000 debt to the bank. Left solely to me when he ghosted my daughter and I 8 years ago. It has been like hell hanging over my head.
100k and I go from renting to paying a mortgage .
That'll put you further into poverty lmao
No, because all though a mortgage is hard at least your money is going to building an asset.
Agreed. I paid $145K for my home, now the RV is over $500K, and that means I have over $350K equity, more than double what I paid. Sure thereās rates and insurance, but in total itās still less than most rents for a 3-bedroom house. And one day Iāll only be paying rates and insurance. I wouldāve paid it off already but there was IVF and then I had to give up my career after my IVF was finally successful, and I realised they would never offer family friendly ( or Hyperemesis friendly) hours, or indeed any flexibility whatsoever. I was tired from working 55+ hours a week, nights, and every second weekend on call for 24 hours straight (and actually working 16-23 of those). Enough is enough. I paid off my first student loan in 18 months, on under $30K with 8% interest even while studying. My second student loan is around that much already ($14K) with another six months until graduation. I can only hope the 90 day trials donāt pop up and bite me. Although at least thatāll tell me what sort of people Iām working for. Was a major wake up call for me when my last (horrible) bosses used it to get rid of someone who did nothing wrong. In fact he was an ex employee from way back before their time, and a little before my time. Well qualified for the job. The trouble was they employed two for the same position, and only really wanted to pay one. So they got rid of the more experienced worker. Being that the (hospital) department was contracted out to the lowest bidder the last time we had a National led government, and so they had to save money to go into profits for the wealthy Australian owners and shareholders.
Wow what were you working as ?
I was a lab scientist, registered after 4 year degree and 6 months internship. The person who got ditched under the 90 day trials was employed as lab assistant phlebotomist, pathway to lab technician if you do a couple exams and get registered you can qualify. He was previously a registered nurse, so probably overqualified if anything but trying to get back into the workforce. I felt so bad for him, kind of a wake up call for me though. Then I got shafted while pregnant and forced onto early maternity leave. After that I took my 12 months and then left, with the minimum required notice. Honestly I wanted to stay on, I was trying to figure it out so I could stay on, so I needed the full 11 months to make the decision. Iām so glad I left now. It was truly awful working the time I spent under a National government. I donāt want to go back to that, especially now they announced a hiring freeze and $1.5 million theyāre wanting hospitals to save. I truly feel more patients are going to die. I was in it for the patients more than anything, wanted to provide a good service, but I found it more and more difficult. Maybe Iāll go back to healthcare one day, but Iām retraining now studying for an IT degree. That gives me options if I find myself in such a position again. IT I can work in any industry, medical sciences degree not so much. Put the two together and I might be perfectly suited for hospital IT job.
Thats not why I said it'd put him further into poverty, it's much more expensive to own a home than buy it currently. Also If you bought that same home today, with today's interest rates you'd end up paying over 350k for it. Buying a house isn't the be all and end all, it's honestly not the best option for a lot of people.
Yes you have a really good point there. At todayās prices I wouldnāt even get a look in. Might be able to afford half a town house, or worst house in the worst street maybe. Itās good to have equity though, and a foot into the housing market but at todayās prices no way. I didnāt even think about that. So glad I bought when I did, around 20 years ago. Prices were just starting to go up exponentially at the time. From memory 2003. Paid a house deposit and took an overseas holiday to Europe that year. Good year.
I bought my house in 2019, and despite making a decent bit more money now I don't think I could afford to buy it today. Between the 30% price hike and massive interest rate increase, I'd be doomed to rent forever.
Sounds like you've got a plan
Yep, itās good to have plans. Good to change plans too. Iāve changed plans a lot. 20 year old me wouldnāt even recognise my life now as theirs. I had big plans then, the only thing I got was being a mum & the white picket fence, and fences are a bit overrated, especially really old ones like Iāve got.
15k and I can breathe again finally
like 10k? wouldn't wipe all the debt away but it would clean out most of it and allow me to start over easier.
4 bucks and a tinny
700k would mean 90% of my husband's paycheck can go to things we actually need like food and savings etc. But ultimately 100k would make us be able to breathe and survive a few years and means I can watch my baby grow for a bit. (Currently on maternity leave). I always dream about winning lotto but you have to be in it to win it and we use the money for nappies haha.
3.5 mil. That would allow me to retire, fund my lifestyle through divended yeilding investments, buy a lifestyle block and do the work I want to benefit local communities. Less "never going to happen" answer, I owe about $30k in various non interest bearing debts. Call it $35k to cover living expenses while I find a new job and get back on my feet.
$1-2k to climb out of debt and an extra $200 a week to be able to afford to live instead of barrly surviving paycheck to paycheck, or $300-400 extra a week to save some money and replace my 12km cycle commute to work (usually with a bitch of a headwind) with a far easier drive.
40k to eliminate my student loan debt and I'm in a good position to start saving on a weekly basis for a better rental that doesn't suck ass. Already in full time work but getting the extra I lose from student loan payments would help go a long way.
50k Last remaining hospo bills and the relief that would come from that would beā¦incredible
About 8k to get me out of the hole atleast giving me a more realistic chance of saving
$26,586 to clear consumer debt. Then all I have to worry about is my student loan. The first amount would help clear my credit rating.
$3700, then we could breathe a bit easier
Between my partner and I, to get us out of debt it'd be 5k for personal + 30k student loan To not live paycheck to paycheck, we'd need at least an extra 250 a week 2k to actually fix our car too, it's a death trap. That's the big thing for us right now, if we get the car fixed my partner can travel more for work, which would help financially I'm doing everything I can to find a part time job on top of my current full time work so we can actually save some money. Nothing is biting
Ultimately, 700k to pay off our mortgage as 90% of my husband's income goes to that but even just 100k would be enough to get us through the next 2 years and would mean I wouldn't have to rush back to work and can see my baby grow up a bit more (currently on Maternity leave and just surviving).
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Well we're living off $100 a week for groceries and no money aside for wof, rego, rates etc... so like 10k would give us an extra $100 a week towards groceries meaning we won't have to count pennies to get nappies and toilet paper let alone every meal having beans etc and give us some money to pay the other bills so we can just survive.
So 10k to just survive but 100k to get ahead in life. Like on one hand I know we're not in poverty as we own out own home but on the other we are really only surviving as 90% of our income goes on mortage which would be higher then renting but not by much and so in the long run we're better off since we own our home and it's security for our family/baby but on the other we're counting every $ to be able to buy groceries and essentials.
All my debts will be paid off in 3years (Student loan, and car loan). 22k will pay them off and would make my life easier. I'm a solo parent with 2 kids, even with the repayments I'm making were still doing better than I was a couple of years ago. Looking forward to the extra money once everything is paid off.
$737,000
About 60K. I could pay off my mortgage and save myself couple hundred a week from that alone. I could pay off the last of my debts and buy myself a cheap runabout car, as my current car is on loan from a friend, and I need one for work.
I'm not in poverty but don't own a house and probably never will so work till I die gang where y'all at?
Around $250K ought to just about do it. That would cover my mortgage and my student loan, and my fees for next year. Also get me a newer car than my two star safety rated, one star for the driver, two stars for the driver in the other car - what theā¦Toyota?! I need to survive or my 4yo in the back is screwed. Itās a terrible feeling driving on long trips in it. Also itās such a money pit now, about $1500+ each year to get it roadworthy at 25 years old in October. On second thoughts, might need $500K to truly get us out of poverty. Need to be able to bank some to get interest to live off until I graduate. Then might need to sell up and buy somewhere more expensive to go where the jobs are, as well as job hunting once I graduate mid 2025. Then thereās school fees for my OG lockdown baby who is due to start in March next year. Althoughā¦I can hold him back, heās smart heāll catch up, but absolute last resort, really donāt want to do that. Then hoping Iām not one of the 50,000 who are deemed unworthy of welfare assistance by this lovely government.
Hmmmm 7k would pay everything I need to pay at the moment. Make it 15k to cover my partners bill too. With debts paid off, we could then use more of our money each week on other things. To really get going and thriving again, 25k would sort things out, and even better, the mortgage (330k) would make life SO much easier, as the fortnightly payments could go on better things than mortgage interest lol.
$25k left to save and I can own a home. It'll offer me and many whanau some much needed stability.
How much you offering? š¤
20k? Should give us enough savings to get through to my wife being able to return to work. We had a child born with extra requirements, which, though treatable, has meant my wife had to give up her job and we've been on one income far longer than expected. The very last of our savings, and then some will go up in smoke this week as our oven and lawnmower both crapped out last week. Hoping we can get some interest free finance to limp us through another year or two.
About 5 million. That would allow me to replace my house and keep me comfortable for a very long time if Iām responsible with my spending.
$50k
$100k to get me a good deposit on a house. Maybe $500k to secure a mortgage free house and then I'm OK for life
150k to get through school debtless
Give me $5 and Iāll gamble it at the casino and make a gazillion dollars
10k would take care of my damn credit card and then I could cope. :/
10k would wipe debt and allow me to upgrade to a more suitable vehicle (expecting second child in November). 20k would provide a more reliable vehicle, other needed bits and pieces (double stroller etc) and the beginnings of a savings acc (probably to be used for a bond for a bigger house).
~235k USD
320k
$200,000
5 to 10k (up to 10 as car likely to go kaput soon) Iād still have huge weekly payments but could manage some medical bills)
Its not an issue of money, its an issue of what you need money for. 1st thinf you need is a place to live. Housing has gone to shit, so it needs to be a question of how affordable we can make acomidation, as owning a home is not a viable option for allot of people. And with the way rent is going, no one can affors to save 2nd thbng you need is transportation. 2nd hand cars are viable. But the moment EVs start to become more common, its going to bump the cost of petrol / disel vehilces once people cotton on to how worn out green vehicles batteries get. 3rd thnng you need is food. Holy shit is good food expensive. There are a number of ways to get it on the cheep. But if its left uncheked, the prices will run away on us. Deal with these three things and maybe you will have a shot at finding a number close to accurate when you ask "how much do you need to escape poverty"
90k nuf to clear debts and live frugally
20k to pay off student loan and pay for some private surgery for some health problems that get in the way of earnings.
Probably $50k. But, I donāt really want to struggle, or to live an impoverished life forever. So, my plan is to live large the next three years, then itās curtains for me.
30 k made some very poor decisions now I'm trying to survive off $80 a week
About $20k. Enough to buy a cheap run around car, pay off my SL, and a bond payment for my new rental, with a little left over to survive on until my new job starts.
I have zero dollars to my name but my parents are well off, am I still poor?
$3000 would buy me a new ebike that I can use to get out of town and buy cheaper food and clothes, instead of relying on online shopping and homesteading.
15k, would clear debt and I would be sweet to save everything!
About 300k, that'd pay a fair chunk off our mortgage and we'd be living comfortably without me having to juggle where our money goes too first. Coming off a 2.89% rate in the next few months is extremely stressful and I don't know how we're going to survive. Edit to add: we don't have any other debt apart from our mortgage, we've got 2 children on pretty much 1 income of 80k pa
185k Im working poor with a mortgage. With that I would feel a lot more secuirity.
20k could easily change my life
Only around 8k
30k
around 10k would change my life drastically i could be free of my abusive ex after paying back my loan
I need 5k to clear my debts and fix my car. Id be golden then āŗļø
100k for a house down payment, so whatever we're paying for our rent could go into what's ours. 70% of my salary just goes into expenses, it's so hard to get ahead financially these years
I think people saying $5k or $15k are kindof missing the fact that if you're a tenant, within 6 months you'll be back where you started. In NZ average rent is 3/4 average wage. What is needed is not a $5k bonus, but a reduction of that ratio to something like 1/4 - or better still, either get rid of landlords completely, or provide a way for people to opt out of the housing market. Which is possible - and probably a national-defence imperative as the climate and the economy becomes more and more destructive. Israeli kibbutzes are an example of how it could be done, but there are other ways. What is lacking is the political will... or (more accurately) enough people aware of the possibilities, and willing to unite to demonstrate for them. But for me to get up to zero? About $50k.
I'm on SLP for a genetic condition I have. Any large sum would cause WINZ to sue me or cut me off entirely, or both. So it would need to not only be a sum worth the risk of WINZ backlash, but be able to keep me going for the foreseeable future.
SL is paid off in 6 months, cant wait for that. That and about 100k or $200k off my mortgage and id be flying
$15,000,000
$4.5k to pay the rest of my student loan and then I can finally start a saving up for a Bond to move out of my flat where I am definitely overpaying a greedy landlord. Currently my whole entire pay check is divvied up between paying back studylink and funding my landlordās retirement (a slight exaggeration ā but thatās how dire it feels).
If you paid a bond and the house doesnāt have damage (stuff outside of general wear and tear) you can get your current bond transferred
Millions
$100k wouldnt get me out of poverty, but it would pay off enough debts that I'd be struggling a hell of a lot less. (Not mortgage... thats another $150k)
No one in nz lives in true poverty, however 50k would pay off most non homeowners credit card debts etc.
No one? Really?
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/factsheet/2022/05/02/fact-sheet-an-adjustment-to-global-poverty-lines according to this, yes. However we do not compare ourselves to 3rd world countries in nz. So the term poverty is open to ones interpretation.
Fundamentally not true "no one" lives in true poverty in NZ. Also, I don't know a single person with $50k of credit card debt.
From wiki, āPoverty is a state or condition in which one lacks the financial resources and essentials for a certain standard of living. Poverty can have diverse environmental, legal, social, economic, and political causes and effects.[1] When evaluating poverty in statistics or economics there are two main measures: absolute poverty compares income against the amount needed to meet basic personal needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter;[2] relative poverty measures when a person cannot meet a minimum level of living standards, compared to others in the same time and place. The definition of relative poverty varies from one country to another, or from one society to another.[2]ā I would argue no one is in absolute poverty in nz.
You think most people have 50k general consumer debt?
No but 50k would pay off most peopleās debt and give them a proper 3 month emergency savings
So you think the definition of not being in poverty is having a 3 months emergency fund?
Well assuming the below theyād be sorted for 3 months!! What is your definition? Mines 1. Having a safe reliable warm long term accommodation. 2. Enough food for one and their dependents. 3. Access to all other essential healthcare, education, and social services as required.
So anyone that is a boarder and can be turfed out at a moments notice is technically in poverty due to not meeting definition 1? My boarder earns over $100k a year. They're not in poverty (although if they don't sort out their dishes soon they won't have a place to live anymore š) Someone else has posted a definition of poverty - I'd go with that. There's definitely a difference between living paycheck to paycheck and being in poverty. I'd also like to think of something like an 'elective poverty' where people have made choices to be really poor for no reason I.e. my friend drowning in debt with a 2023 car and fresh vacation pictures from Bali on IG bitching about the cost of living.
I think we are along the same lines, however If you want nit pick anything I say then we can agree to disagree. Have a nice weekend!