Costs of living in Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA

1 South African rand = 0.09371 U.S. dollars



university residents R764O PER ANNUAL

Groceries R800 per month

clothing acc R250 per month

poket money R300

recreation R2OO per month

health R180 per month

utilities R370

Home owner, bond of about R450 000 = R6800 per month

Food - 2 adults and 1 child - total +- R2000 per month

Bread - R10

Transportation - living 10.8kilos from work - monthly petrol +- R700 (9.25 per litre currently)

Movies (big screen) - R20 per person

Beer in restaurant - +- R12

Glass of wine - +- R15

Rent R4500 1 b/r in the centre of town. saves me on transportation costs

Utilities R700. Electricity and water.

Food R1200 every 2 months. About R700 per month if I dont eat out.

Dont have healthcare

Recreation is free in Cape Town :-)

When I lived 32 kms from work I would spend R1500 on Petrol (gas)

Car pmt R2500

A dozen eggs R15,00

Cell phone R800

No land line

Night out on the town R350

Dining out at a reasonable restaurant R150 per person (2 courses)

Bond = ZAR16,000.00;

Insurance= ZAR1800.00;

Medical Aid = ZAR1800.00;

Life Cover = ZAR1800.00;

Cars (x2) = ZAR3,000.00;

Groceries = ZAR6,000.00;

Rate & Taxes (Property) = ZAR700.00;

Electricity & Water = ZAR500.00

These are indicative of the cost of living for a family of 5 with 3 small (pre-school) children and so include necessities such as nappies etc.

REnt: R2800 p/m(one bed, decent size in the city)

Food: R1500p/m

Travel: R1500p/m(petrol costs)

Utilities: R200p/m(electricity water)

Healthcare: R850p/m(medical aid)

Entertainment including local travel: R1000 p/m

2l milk = R10
Loaf of bread = R8
3 course meal including 1 glass of wine at average restaurant = R180

Rent for a room in a house R2200
Petrol R1000
Food R1400
Cellphone R150
ADSL and landline - R400
Electricity R150
Medical aid R900
Car payments R2000
Insurance R500

Homeloan interest 13% about R5611 per R500,000 capital
Rental return on 2 bedroom flat R4200pm
Levy R460pm
Value of flat (Kenilworth southern suburbs) R640,000
==========================================
Monthly Groceries+electricity+petrol 2 tanks (about 110 litres) R6000pm
Medical aid for family of 3 about R2200pm - pays hospitalization costs but not visits to doctor or dentist. Medical care is excellent and costs less in RSA than most other places.
Banking fees, card swipe charges R2,70 each swipe debit card, R0 on credit card sipe about R500pm gets appropriated by bankers to run ones bank account
Short term insurance car +house about R350pm minimum premium covering around R150K furniture and contents
Eating out costs more than in say R130 per head for a 2 course steak meal, excluding wine. Interstingly, a SPUR steakranch meal costs 80% of a 1 course meal in a top hotel restaurant! The most exploitative charge is the cell phone. At R2.00 per megabyte and R2,70 per minute (the phone cuts one off to maximise the costs - one pays the full 1st minute which is also where the cell mostly cuts out) MTN is the 3rd most lucrative company in RSA.
contact me at david.linegar AT gmail.com to swap info on property, bonds, and other costs

Rent - ZAR 13 500.00, Food, family of 6 ZAR R6 500.00 per month (nothing fancy), Litre milk ZAR 6.50, Bread from ZAR 5.89, Beef steak ZAR 90.00 / kg, chicken ZAR 34.00 / kg to about ZAR 9.90, Doctors visit ZAR 293.00, petrol coastal ZAR 7.30, average electricity bill R 650.00 per month

Rent R1100/month, out in the middle of no-where though.

Food R1000/month, Basic fruit + veg, bread, milk meat, etc.
Here some basic guides...One litre of milk R6.50, bread R7, Steak R100/kg, 100g slab chocolate R10, 10kg pocket of potatoes R35-R45.

Petrol R1300/month, as no public transport for me in the country, Used to catch train into Cape town from suburbs was R200/month.

Recreation R1000/month, this includes beers with mates, dinners out at restaurants, clubbing.

I'm am employed full-time, and living with a friend in the Southern Suburbs. My individual monthly costs are as follows:

Rent: R2500
Electricity: R100
Phone and DSL line rental: R300 (shared with housemate, excluding calls)
ISP account: R125 (3GB of international bandwidth)
Food: R1000 (I don't eat meat, though, so this might be higher for someone who does)
Armed Response: R365 (shared with housemate)
Household Insurance: R72 (shared with housemate, this covers valuables up to R60000)
Hospital Plan: R691
Mandatory Bank Fees: R300 (+-)
Cellphone contract: R200
My recreational spending varies, but amounts to atleast R1000, and is usually higher during the summer months.
I don't have a vehicle since public transport is more affordable.

Total: R6653 (+-)

If you plan to come to Cape Town as a student or a worker, it's often best to stay with someone else. It really helps cut costs, which is necessary considering the petrol and electricity price increases coming into play.

If you're reading this site for just that purpose, do yourself a favour and have a look at http://capetown.gumtree.co.za/ - there are plenty of house- and flat-share adverts there!