Our precious Rand....

[Neels]

Just a stone in the bush;

How many of you fellow forum members, that are already living in Australia, still do the conversion from Aussie Dollar to our precious South African Rand? Or how long did it take you to stop doing it?

[rozellem]

Nope. You probably stop when you start earning Aus$.

[elleneo]

I do, but more when visitors are here or when comparing costs of grocerie etc in conversation.

[HansaPlease]

I do sometimes, like when I think about how much we paid for our house in Rands :0 but you have to try to shut it out and accept that that's what you pay over here, it's not going to change...

On the flip-side, I like converting my salary to Rands in my head

[Donovan83]

It took me a year to start living in dollars... for the first year I saw everything in both currencies. Nothing wrong with that, you need some kind of frame of reference to make sure you're not getting ripped off.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

Took us about a year as well to stop converting but I must admit I like converting my salary back into rands, makes me feel like a millionaire.

[SurferMan]

Took me just over a year or so. I earn >2x what I earned in SA, and I work 40 hours a week. Also admit to converting my take home pay & gross to SA Rands.

[SurferMan]

HEOJJ,

Please tell me what it's like to feel like a millionaire, lol. I also wanna! :jester:

[Johnno]

I find myself doing the reverse. When in SA we're forever converting to AUD and it's actually quite lekker!

[JaxBell82]

Well we haven't even got there and my 5 year old son asked the lady at CNA this weekend - how many dollar the book was, he he so funny - we obviously talk about one thing in the house!!!

[SurferMan]

Lol JaxBell82,

That was a good one. My son picked up a SA coin the other day, I think it was an old R5 lying around. he asked me how much it was worth in dollars. I said less than a dollar. He said after a pause, "Oh, how do they afford anything if their money is worth so little?" Simple insight into the mind of an 8yo boy. he also famously came up to me with a $20 in his hand and casually asked if there was enough in Rands to pay for a ticket for his gran to come and visit. Priceless.

[chzaau]

It's swings and round abouts actually... what you gain one way you lose the other.... a nandos half chicken meal with a drink 22 dollars. I do t smoke but from tv they recently put the price of tax up, you'll pay about 200 rands for a pack. A beer out costs about 50 to 90 rands for a scooner. Housing prices are through the roof.

On the other hand if you can afford to ever buy plane tickets for the family to South Africa, then yes you will have a great holiday and everything will be very cheap... as long as the dollar holds up.

[SurferMan]

Mate Im not sure you have checked the prices in the upper end of town lately in SA, say for example the Kruger or Shamwari. Shamwari is 1500AUD a day for a family of 5. So a week would cost you over $10K. I dont know too many middle class families in SA that could afford that. Even pokey Mfolozi where I grew up is R4000 a day for a chalet. I would say SA is cheaper in a lot of ways, but now out of reach for the average guy and his family. Granted there are many "free" beaches you can go to, but no free parks that are up there.

it has gotten expensive real quick. Aus has been expensive for me from the get go. On the balance though, if money was flying out of my money, at least I wanna be safe while its doing so.

A week at my good mates place in Aquila for a family of 5....$13K

[Bronwyn&Co]

Surfer you don't tell them you're an Aussie, mate! They have lower prices for locals

[HadEnoughofJuju]

HEOJJ,

Please tell me what it's like to feel like a millionaire, lol. I also wanna! :jester:

If you want to feel like a billionaire, convert to Zim Dollars for a laugh.

[Johnno]

Mate Im not sure you have checked the prices in the upper end of town lately in SA, say for example the Kruger or Shamwari. Shamwari is 1500AUD a day for a family of 5. So a week would cost you over $10K. I dont know too many middle class families in SA that could afford that. Even pokey Mfolozi where I grew up is R4000 a day for a chalet. I would say SA is cheaper in a lot of ways, but now out of reach for the average guy and his family. Granted there are many "free" beaches you can go to, but no free parks that are up there.

it has gotten expensive real quick. Aus has been expensive for me from the get go. On the balance though, if money was flying out of my money, at least I wanna be safe while its doing so.

A week at my good mates place in Aquila for a family of 5....$13K

Not a good comparison at all.You're quoting world class game parks aimed at tourists who holiday in Africa with Dollars, Pounds and Euro's! Friends of ours are leaving on Friday for a few days camping in the Cederberg, R150 per camp site for a family of 4!

I popped out for breakfast this morning complete with ocean views and free parking where I enjoyed a double shot barrista coffee (flat white) for R15.00 (roughly $1.60) and a pancake for R6.00, about AUD70c! My holiday house in Cape Town is a short walk from the beach and it rents out in peak season for R1,500 /day. The equivalent in Dunsborough WA is MANY times more.

Our rugby tickets for Newlands last week were R550 each, we looked at going to watch the Boks play in Twickenham next month but with tickets starting at GBP489 (R8,800) per ticket (all sold out) with equivalent seats to what we had at Newlands costing GBP889 I think we'll give it a miss! Anyway you look at it, SA is VERY cheap by comparison!

Edited September 30, 2014 by Johnno

[Neels]

Yeah, that's true Johnno. I go visit the lot in OZ and can barely buy a bottle of Captain, they come here and can't stop spending...

[DXB2OZ]

If you convert in the supermarket, you will starve!

[Bosch x 2]

I still convert the AU$......4 and half years later!!!

[Parks]

My hubby looked at the price of beer on the Coles website and nearly had a heart attack.... $58 for a case and they dont have Castle Light....we have a lot to learn....how exciting, so looking forward to landing next month.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

I bought a 6 pack of those Jim Beam and cola mixers to take to a barbie and nearly died when I had to pay R380 rants for them. That was the first and last time.

[AFreshStart]

Not a good comparison at all.You're quoting world class game parks aimed at tourists who holiday in Africa with Dollars, Pounds and Euro's! Friends of ours are leaving on Friday for a few days camping in the Cederberg, R150 per camp site for a family of 4!

I popped out for breakfast this morning complete with ocean views and free parking where I enjoyed a double shot barrista coffee (flat white) for R15.00 (roughly $1.60) and a pancake for R6.00, about AUD70c! My holiday house in Cape Town is a short walk from the beach and it rents out in peak season for R1,500 /day. The equivalent in Dunsborough WA is MANY times more.

Our rugby tickets for Newlands last week were R550 each, we looked at going to watch the Boks play in Twickenham next month but with tickets starting at GBP489 (R8,800) per ticket (all sold out) with equivalent seats to what we had at Newlands costing GBP889 I think we'll give it a miss! Anyway you look at it, SA is VERY cheap by comparison!

Johnno,

We were at Aquilla 2-weeks ago, it's nowhere near Shamwari or Kruger, but for our family of 6 including 2 kids (1 FREE) the bill was over R6,500 for the night, and that was their special winter rate.

My Vida Coffee and Muffin are R50+, parking in the CBD is R12 an hour. I have no idea where you get a R6.00 pancake, but here in the Southern Suburbs at my local cafe it's R60 for French Toast, 2 strips of bacon & topped with a couple rocket leaves. We treated ourselves to a Tappas for 2 at the Chef's Warehouse the other day it was R200 a head with a glass of wine. A bottle of craft beer here is R40-R50 a bottle. At these prices are looking more like Aus prices even when you convert to rand...

We are a middle class family, but doing most things here in CPT is getting expensive here esp. on a rands budget. I'd hazard a guess we'll actually afford a better quality of life with the occasional meal out in Aus earning dollars than what we currently do in Rands.

It might be cheaper than Aus if you coming from Aus, but I see it getting more and more expensive for those of us living here on rands and truthfully I think it will get even worse for tourists as well.

Cheers

Matt

[chzaau]

Afreshstart eating out expensive, that's all I will say. Budget 50 dollars a head for low to medium, then add wine afterwards. If paying by credit or debit card add surcharge. I had a meal out last night, pork cutlet 30 dollars, steamed veg 6.50, a beer 9 and 1.5 percent card surcharge was about 47 dollars. Just average. My lunch if you purchase it averages 12 dollars, that's a sandwich or box no drink included.

There are cheaper options for middle class here in Oz, KFC, Hungry Jacks, Mac D. Work on 10 dollars a head. In SA you can go to spur as a family and get a meal for 4 for about 4 to 500 rands, in Oz you can do the same but it will be fast food option only.

Coffee and a muffin here, 100 rand at least.

[Sunnyskies]

We have cricket tickets for the MCG in Nov for 2 adults and 2 kids to watch T20 aus/sa $66 and one day int $60. Kids are essentially free. I think that is great value.

[AFreshStart]

Afreshstart eating out expensive, that's all I will say. Budget 50 dollars a head for low to medium, then add wine afterwards. If paying by credit or debit card add surcharge. I had a meal out last night, pork cutlet 30 dollars, steamed veg 6.50, a beer 9 and 1.5 percent card surcharge was about 47 dollars. Just average. My lunch if you purchase it averages 12 dollars, that's a sandwich or box no drink included.

There are cheaper options for middle class here in Oz, KFC, Hungry Jacks, Mac D. Work on 10 dollars a head. In SA you can go to spur as a family and get a meal for 4 for about 4 to 500 rands, in Oz you can do the same but it will be fast food option only.

Coffee and a muffin here, 100 rand at least.

Chzaau,

I get that, but I'm equating dollar with dollar earnings vs rand with rand earnings.

Vida and Seattle to be honest are more like fast food coffee shops these days compared to places like Tribe, Rosetta, Deluxe etc, and coffee and a muffin + croissant there is R80, sure, sure it's a R100 in Aus, but the minimum wage is $19 an hour, so about 1/2 hour of work, I've got to work more than half an hour to earn my coffee here in middle class, middle position creative job. A visit to the Biscuit Mill on the weekend after a pizza and two beers you're out R150. What about those on minimum wage in SA, I mean to be classed as quote on quote black middle class the monthly income is R4,000.

I don't really eat fast food, I cook my own meals and make lunches etc and we live pretty frugal lives, but they are advertising Mac meals / Burger King on the radio and it's R60 a meal now at either for burger, coke, fries. Again R60 is a chunk of change for a takeaway, nasty burger, or maybe it's just me.

So as it's been bought up time and time again, I think if you were on the upper end of your income potential in SA it would afford you a better quality of life here, esp. with things that many have become entitled to, but for those in the middle to lower class Aus provides more of an equal opportunity.

Cheers

Matt

Edited September 30, 2014 by AFreshStart