Melbourne is a great place to live but comes at a cost...

Most housing inner suburbs is around $750,000, meaning mortgage interest monthly can range from $1000 to $4000. Ours happens to be around $1000. Groceries are quite expensive compared to rest of the world. We spend $1000 per month on food, $500 on entertainment, more on education for our 2 boys.

If not a professional earning executive salaries, most suburbians have a second or third job to make ends meet.

Going out for dinner costs on average $10 entree, $22 main, $8 dessert, $3.50 coffee, $4 soft drinks, so it adds up with children.

Most Aussies have 6 or 8 cylinder cars which cost $800 per month on lease if applicable or $200 per month on fuel which is around $1.40 per litre. Most new cars now are 4 cylinder engines, so the trend is changing.