Posted by
geiboyi
20 yrs ago
$4K is fine if you eat normal food (by which I mean if you don't insist on imported organic baby vegetables at every meal). Of course you could spend way more, and also there are entire families surviving on an entire household income of this size.
For electricity it will depend on the size of your flat/house - air-con is the biggie. For us, we have only 2 a/c in an 800-ft flat, and our electricity bill is around $800/month in the summer, although a lot less in the winter. If you have a huge flat with an a/c in every room then this figure will go up. Water should be a lot less than this, (unless you have a swimming pool...) - we pay $500 a quarter and use a lot of water (baby/garden/leaky taps).
Telephone is not a lot - a basic landline from PCCW is something like $100 and month, and as long as you subscribe to the right package then overseas calls are practically free.
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cd
20 yrs ago
Yes 4k should be OK. I normally spend around 9k a month for a family of 7,(the kids often have friends over so we get through lots of coke and juice cartons) and there's often 1 extra for dinner. This includes cleaning stuff, toilet paper etc plus cat food and cat litter. We certainly don't scrimp on food, but I always buy local eggs, chicken etc, the cheap mince from Brazil as opposed to the Aus mince, Occassionally we have imported steak as a treat. I also get a lot of the no frills labels on basics. Food is actually quite reasonable here, especially meat, fruit and veg, rice etc. Dairy is expensive, but I buy the long life milk which is cheaper, and cereals are quite pricey.
We find electrivity expensive, at least $2k a month in the summer, but we have a big house. We have gas bottles, which last longer in the summer, so around $400 every 7 weeks, and about every 5 weeks in the winter, but that includes the water heaters and cooking.
Phones are cheap as all local calls are free, and calling England is really cheap, about $12 for half an hour or so.
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Wow, my monthly housekeeping is alot more than what is mentioned above. I know in the past it was about HK$8,000 - $10,000 per month when it was only just my husband and I plus the maid (this includes toiletries, cleaning agents etc)with an electricity bill of around $1,500 - $2,500 per month (1,800 sq ft flat. Now however with a baby and 5 adults my housekeeping is more. My helper spends easily $1,500 a week just on marketing. Parkn Shop bill is about $5,000 a month, plus other bits and pieces it adds up to about $15,000 per month. Electricity bill the last few months has been about $3,200 per month. We eat mainly local stuff with some treats here and there.
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HKD4000 does sound very little. U have to be very frugal and not go to any fancy restaurant. i just had lunch at a decent restaurant - not even hotel type and it cost HKD805 for 4. no dessert. just main course + tea/coffee.
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If you are just talking about the cost of 'feeding' a family of four, then I guess you might manage it if you're careful, but if you're talking about your general monthly shopping bill to include toiletries/cleaning stuff etc, then you will struggle on $4000 per month. I have a family of four (my 2 kids are older so I guess they eat more!) and I spend on average around $10,000-$12,000 per month (this includes household cleaning stuff/toiletries/dog food).
When we first came to HK I probably spent about half this amount as I tried to shop/cook like the locals do ... but I soon gave up on that and reverted back to my 'Western' ways. We do eat well but I don't waste money on luxuries. I guess it depends on what/how you like to eat/cook.
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which is the best idd for calling uk?
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PCCW - 0060 is what I use. My bill is tiny.
If you don't know how to cook Chinese veg then there is a book (widely available) called something like 'Cooking Chinese Vegetables'. That should do the trick.
Whatever some people might say, life in HK isn't expensive if you are coming from Australia/the US/the UK. Of course if you are trying to live exactly the same life as before then you might spend more, but normally people who live overseas are able to make compromises. I don't eat leeks here, for example, as they are completely out of my veggie price range. Does this affect my standard of living? Of course not. And $3200 a month for electricity is truly amazing - you could air-condition Kowloon for that...
Some things will cost you more - cars, schools, wine, for example, but overall you can live a comfortable life here on not a lot of $.
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Ozxpat- do be careful as you maybe left out of pocket. For any of the above who tell you that they can feed a family of four on HK$4,000, I take my hat off to them... I agree with Janey88 and Sapphire and you should think more along the lines of HK$10,000 - $12,000. It would be very interesting if you could let us know what you end up spending to feed a family of four though.
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cd
20 yrs ago
To the above doubters, my monthly house hold bill for 'feeding' a family of 7, (2 adults, 17y, 15y, 12y, 7y and 4 y plus many friends over a month) rarely goes over 10k, sometimes 11k if we have a party. That includes all food, drink, cleaning, toiletries, cat food, the only thing it doesn't include is water. I never shop in wet markets, mainly wellcome, sometimes PNs, the nice bakeries in Sai Kung, and sometimes Butcher King (great sausages). For people who spend that on 4, I'd love to know what you eat.
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oj
20 yrs ago
Janey88 - where on earth is your helper shopping? Olivers, Great, Citysuper?
We are a family of four, plus a lovely helper and two cats and our shopping bills range from HK$800 - HK$1000 a week. All our shopping is done at Wellcome and we don't tend to scrimp on anything. Always buy more than enough fruit and veg to sink a ship so i don't think HK$4000 is too bad.
As for telepohone deals, we're with PCCW and subscribe to their 0600 package. Our most expensive bill in the 10 years we have been here has been HK$560 and we call the UK every week and are on the phone for a good 2 hours.
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Hi Ozxpat,
At $4000 is ok for 4 person.For my case 2 adults plus 1 baby for food (include milk powder,diaper,daily neccesary..etc) is $5000.
Not include the other utility and phones bills.
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My helper shops in the wet market, PNS and wellcome. We eat basic Chinese food with soup everyday. I will shop at Olivers/Great/Citysuper ocasionally for treats and food for the baby which is not very much. This is a very interesting thread - I will certainly be reviewing my housekeeping!!!
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tia
20 yrs ago
I agree that if you shop locally, you will get more value for your dollar.
There is a great wet market near my house and I use it as much as I can. Sometimes, they do not have the veggies I am searching for and I will go to CitySuper.
2 bags of nice veggies and fruit at the wet market will cost me about $50-$100 (depending what I buy) but the same 2 bags at City Super will cost about $400.
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We moved to HK recently and budgeted on $5500 a month for food, this is for 2 adults 1 child and our helper. Dog food we buy separatley. We are in discovery bay so limited as to where we can shop, I would recommend wet markets if you can get to them but not that practical for us. Initially we were spending alot more on stocking up the store cupboard but now I think this is about right but without any beer wine etc, which can put your bill up substantially. We do spend alot on meat as I don't like buying the stuff that has already been previously frozen so we buy organic chicken and fresh australian mince. We also spend alot on dairy products which are quite expensive here. We do try and find the cheaper household products and there can be a big difference in price, always worth looking at which I never did at home. If you buy more conservatively I think $4000 is ok for food alone but would'nt include any luxuries or extras.
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Family of 6 with a weekly bill of $1700. Definitely don't scrimp & eat really well with spare change for luxury goods. 10k's pretty excessive....you could eat out on less!!
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Well, I've done a little research of my own amongst my friends & collegues since this thread started, and it appears that the $10-$12K which I spend each month is pretty average and not excessive. I will also add that I forgot to mention that my shopping bill always includes wine/beer (quite a bit actually!), so perhaps the bill would be a bit cheaper if we were tea-total!LOL
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I agree with Sapphire; We spend at least 12K/month on food/toiletries, often much more-and we are not dining on filet mignon every night, (in fact, sometimes we just have a vegetarian soup!) though we do not easy Chinese meat. If you consider that an Australian pork tenderloin will cost you around 150-200 HKD for a family of 4 plus helper, it is easy to see how that adds up. Other expensive items (as compared to US prices) besides imported meat/poultry: milk and dairy products, coffee, imported produce, dried fruits and nuts.
We also eat out every weekend and costs are nearly double average US prices; about 400 HKD at inexpensive restaurants per dinner for 4 of us, and up to 700 at moderate restaurants/clubs.
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PS: forgot to say our children are older so eat closer to small adult portions!
Also: in a large house,(over 3000 square ft) our electric bill averages a shocking 5000/month (2000 in winter, 8000 plus in summer!) Gas: 1200 or so. Phone is super cheap-only a few hundred a month at most even for lots of long distance calls abroad. Cell phones also cheap.(Only thing cheaper than in US for us anyway.) Water/sewer isn't too bad either.
Helper is also somewhat a bargain at about 5000/month plus insurance plus food plus extra electricity, and plane tickets and travel money home. (Cheaper than a weekly housecleaning in the US!)
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Just to put things into perspective ... we're not here on a huge expat package ... we're just an average family, on an average package, living in a very average apartment, without a full-time helper. Food for the family is something I don't like to compromise on ... we like to eat well, and although I don't feel that I waste money on luxuries (except maybe occasionally as a treat), I do like to buy decent meat etc. like Babette mentioned, I don't buy Chinese meat/poultry, but tend to buy the more expensive Australian/US. I guess it depends on what you're happy eating.
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gabb
20 yrs ago
Chinese meat mainly comes from the Mainland and that's the major source of health problem (hazard)!
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ritad
20 yrs ago
ha.l..okay all in all i spend 34 ooo plus in a month.and i am also a family of four...
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s1
20 yrs ago
we spend about 3k per dinner. up to 5k sometimes. there is normally 10 of us. that is every week :((( my hubbie normally pays as i think he earns the most. :(((
where do u guys go for chinese??? i am not even talking about hotels here.
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3K-5K for dinner? I understand there are 10 people but that seems really high. Where are you eating? Even the dinner buffet at Cafe Too in the Island Shang won't set you back that much (5K). And if you are spending that much regularly, a lot of restaurants offer 10-15% off to good customers or holders of certain credit cards (presumably not an issue if you are spending $3K for dinner regularly). I guess this is not Chinese, because usually $3K at a Chinese restaurant involves 8 to 10 courses banquet style and that's considered extravagant, not to mention unhealthy if eaten every week.
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Well here is my input on dinner... We typically eat at restaurants in NT (Sham Tseng for instance)say three adults & three kids with a meal such as couple pigeon, fried rice, prawns, choi sum, clams in black bean sauce,jug beer, soft drinks total around HK$450 for all with the red bean desert thrown in! Sure if we splash out and get certain fish or lobster its more (maybe double) but that is still less than HK$1000, guess it depends upon where you go & what you eat.
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s1
20 yrs ago
wht can i say. we ordered soup on sunday but my hubbie's niece didn't like it so my in law's asked would u like sharkfin. the 7yr old said yes so i just smiled. her soup alone was $250
:((( i am sure i would not let me son have something so expensive. i guess my problem is a family problem. mmm... in laws!!!
tsuiwah, i think it is too extravagant on eating considering that i live in a 766 sq ft shoebox.
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s1, now I understand. It's those inlaws who are causing the problem with your dinner budget. I think you need to start inviting your inlaws to Pizza Hut for dinner :) and explain to your niece that shark's fin soup is not good for the environment :)
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Kse4, is EVERYTHING grown/raised in China a health hazard? (I'm willing to believe it is, but would like to hope there might be exceptions).
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s1
20 yrs ago
ksed4, i feel the same too. :(((( it is so expensive when i have this mentality. i have noticed that organic does taste better. i really have to save money some other way so i can move out of my shoebox.
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gabb
20 yrs ago
Or, next time when your niece said, "Sharks Fin!" or "Bird's Nest!" Tell her that, "OK, but you'll have to work for this, otherwise aunty won't have the money to buy it. Why don't you help me with my household chores for 2 weeks? Deal?"
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