We bought some new furniture and appliances. Our 2021 Cost of Living Breakdown Category
Taxes, donations, etc.: Investment-related costs, charitable donations, taxes, etc. Transport, mobile phones, private health insurance: These are subsidised by our employers which is great, so the cost is probably lower than you’d expect. We could probably reduce our spending in this category quite a bit but with no real holidays this year we have enjoyed treating ourselves a little. Eating out: We often buy breakfast when we are out with the kids and also get takeout a couple of times per week. On the other four days we have vegetarian/vegan meals. We eat meat and fish about three times per week and buy organic beef and eggs and free-range chicken. Lately we have been very disappointed with Aldi’s quality lately, so we hardly ever go there anymore. We order online (Woolworths) a lot and do our top-up shops at Coles. Groceries / Supermarket: This category includes all of our supermarket spending: groceries, household products, some personal care items, baby stuff (nappies, formula, wipes, etc). The cost might seem a little outrageous (for a FIRE blog anyway), but we get a lot of value out of our location, so we are happy to pay for it at the moment. Rent: We rent an apartment in one of the most expensive (and nicest!) suburbs of Sydney. We have a (flexible) family budget and track our expenses monthly. Quality is important to us and we shop local where possible. We spend a lot of money on things that bring us joy. We are not super frugal but also don’t like to waste money on things that don’t add value to our lives. Our kids go to childcare three days per week (Baby Flamingo #2 started in July). You can read all about our strategy here. Notes and Contextįor some context (in case you are not a regular reader of the blog): We are a semi-retired couple and live in Sydney with our kids (two under three!). 
As you’ll see from our spending below, a lot of the cost of children is hidden – like in the higher rent for a bigger apartment and higher food spending. I have also written a very detailed post about the cost of having a baby in Australia recently. I hope that our annual expense breakdowns are helpful to other families with young kids or readers who are planning to become parents soon. While we don’t usually share our numbers (as explained here) we make an exception when it comes to our family spending.
AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD BUDGET FOR A FAMILY OF 4 FULL
It was also our first full year as a family of four and it wasn’t a cheap year. We completed our first full year of Early Semi-Retirement just as Baby Flamingo #2 turned 1. Read on to find out why.Ģ021 was a big year for our family – and that includes our cost of living. But I can assure you – we have not blown our budget and are not worried about our current cost of living. You might be a little shocked by how much our lifestyle here in Sydney is costing us each month. It’s that time of the year again: Here is our 2021 spending report. A quick warning – our living expenses now that we are a family of four have gone through the roof.
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