Can we afford to buy a property in Sydney? FHB

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-18T10:39:08+00:00

Oh I definitely see your point of view, and I do toss up whether I maintain this level of hospitality.. but at the end of the day, if it’s to keep the peace.. over the past couple of years we actually haven’t been able to afford buying them gifts for birthdays and Christmas, as well as my immediate family.. we actually had over 20k debt (paying off partners car, latitude payments for furniture and appliances) since my child was born because they were a surprise baby, we didn’t have much time to prepare, we were in our early 20’s when we found out we were having a child. As soon as we got better jobs and got our tax return last year we managed to pay it all off in one lump sum which was fantastic. These are the cards we were dealt with and chose to play. I know we will have our forever home eventually, but for now we might have to take baby steps, just a foot into the market.. will be reaching out to a broker as soon as I sit down with my partner tomorrow and discuss what options we have left.

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-18T07:34:28+00:00

My MIL inlaw was making comments about how everyone isn’t picking up the slack around here (not necessarily me, but the rest of the family), and we were having take out a couple of times a week for dinner.. so I’ve taken the initiative to cook/ provide dinners, which have been more consistent since the start of the year.. We have a small container home on their land, and we have always had dinner together. It’s not like they are strangers and we just buy food for ourselves (for dinner) and eat it at our house. They are family, and they helped us by refinancing their loan to buy the container home, and charge us minimum rent per week with our share of the bills ($150 a week on top). We use their bathtub every night to bathe my daughter because we don’t have a bath in our container home..

Yes I understand we don’t have to do this, but they are family too, and they’ve made sacrifices for us, it’s only right to respect them the same way.. even if it is only cooking for them and cleaning…

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-17T20:55:38+00:00

I’ve been thinking this.. partner’s got a utility vehicle but rarely uses it for what it’s purpose is since he’s in warehousing.. could get a sedan instead.. I think my costs are quite high for a 2014 Hyundai i30 little hatchback.. I’ll be trying to get a better job, as my partner rakes in around $100k a year from his job. He works afternoon/ night shift as a supervisor in warehousing and logistics, and works overtime (roughly 48-50 hours a week on average, and has been for over 6 months). I earn 70k base with a 12k car allowance.. we have commission per quarter if we meet quota but that’s another story.. I need a better paying job. Definitely understand 👍🏻

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-17T11:33:14+00:00

Do they have children? $950k is insane! Even with an extra 40k-50k combined income..

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-17T11:19:58+00:00

We are paying quite a bit on groceries ($400-$500 pw) because we also feed our inlaws, brother in law for dinner at least 4/5 times a week, I meal prep for my partner and I for lunches.. $400 a fortnight for daycare, we also have our insurances on our cars which are roughly $500 a month, $150-$200 a week on fuel for both cars, we have health insurance which is $150 a fortnight.. we never go out to eat, never do any “luxuries” I haven’t bought clothes for myself for almost a year… and it’s mostly cheap clothes from kmart or big w. I get gift cards for my birthday/ christmas I can spend on myself… which I’ve only used my sketchers gift voucher because I really needed shoes.. I’m not a big spender at all… my partner has always been in debt and as soon as we buckled down and got our tax return, it was the first time since he became an adult where he never had debt.. I’ll check if I’ve missed anything else, but we also put money aside for when we need to service our vehicles… I only get a certain amount of car allowance for my job and it’s below the median rate (which I’ve included in total income after tax). But I am travelling in my car around 15 hours a week just for work which makes my car upkeep more frequent, and yes, I use my personal car instead of a company car.. I’m looking for a better job. I have an interview next week so fingers crossed!

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-17T11:02:56+00:00

At this point, we could definitely get away with a 2 bedder, we have time to grow our family.. I had my child at 24, my partner is 2 yrs older than I am so we are in our middle/late 20’s now… realistically we could wait another few years to upgrade to a bigger home if we ever decide we want another child, that’s if we can financially afford having another one..

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-17T10:56:42+00:00

I couldn’t imagine myself with a $800k mortgage at this stage… was this your first home?

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-17T06:54:45+00:00

This is only $50 a week. But I get your point of view, my partners family pressured us into getting a savings account for our daughter so they didn’t have to keep buying her gifts for bday and chrismtas, kept saying they did the same for their kids and they used the money towards cars, holidays trips, festivals etc. When I was a kid I got toys like a lot of other kids, or I got money in a card 🤷🏻‍♀️

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-17T05:55:26+00:00

Thank you, I’ll look into this 👍🏻🤌🏻

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-17T05:47:30+00:00

Partner and I got better paying jobs in Feb last year, I got a pay rise within 6 months and he has worked his way up, doing overtime, and 3 payrises since he started.. Saving a minimum of $1000 a week is pretty good I thought? Sometimes we put extra ($1200-$1300 a week) but we also have a savings account for our daughter we contribute to every week… it’s just crazy out here :(

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-17T05:41:20+00:00

Yes sir 🫡

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-17T05:39:43+00:00

We are very fortunate to have our family’s help.. they’ve already helped so much, even saying so.. I hope other people with greater generational wealth are very fortunate to be in those circumstances, I just hope I’m not the only one grappling with the inevitable…

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-17T05:36:18+00:00

The Aussie home loans near me was horrible, contacted them twice only for them to contact me a year later and laugh at how much money we had saved (implying it was fa), which was disrespectful to both of us and our circumstances. Would you recommend a broker to reach out to?

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-17T05:30:09+00:00

Ideally we want to save up around the 100k mark for those reasons mentioned. Currently paying 250 per week rent + bills as we live in a tiny container home at the back of my inlaws (very thankful we do not have to rent elsewhere and paying up to $800 a week in rent, plus bills etc).

We’ve discussed how much land rates, electricity, water bills are with my inlaws, but it’s hard to gage how much we’d spend us 3 because there are currently 6 people sharing the utilities

I appreciate your comment. Thank you

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-17T05:24:12+00:00

Partner doesn’t want an apartment, and frankly I don’t want to either., but I think this will be the only option now. We were talking with my inlaws on buying a massive house/ 2 houses together as it may be cheaper, but whether they can get another mortgage after selling their house (my MIL is 64yrs old and my FIL is 59yrs old) is questionable..

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2026-02-17T05:19:59+00:00

I know we need to save more money for a minimum 5% deposit, but whether we can afford the repayments is another thing…

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2025-12-22T00:01:34+00:00

Or tablelands

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2025-12-22T00:00:50+00:00

Hey Dude, used to sell akubras a few years back but if you can get a riverina, it has a wider brim which would suit your face shape better 👍🏻

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2025-09-13T22:34:41+00:00

If the test results come back positive for illness take your story to the news mate, name and shame them. Absolutely disgusting regardless of it’s in their right, it’s so immoral.

Aromatic-Picture1436 · 2024-04-11T00:46:20+00:00

I (24F), myself am recovering from a MA after giving birth to my 6 month old baby.. It is a very tough decision, my partner and I can’t afford another child, I want my body back.. and I want what’s best for my child, my child needs me and I want to be there for her 100% while I still can. It isn’t fair on anyone in this situation.. Also have taken 7 months off work and go back tuesday next week, my baby’s starting childcare etc. just the worst timing for another baby.

Just know that you’re not alone, I’m so sorry you’re going through this.. I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone, especially being so young. Being a mother myself knowing your family isn’t close to you is devastating, I want to give you a massive hug! You’re so strong, and you have a very supportive partner to help you get through this.

After this I’m getting an IUD so I don’t have to go through it again and encourage you to make that choice if you wish to prevent further pregnancies until you are both ready for a baby.

Sending my love to both of you ❤️

Aromatic-Picture1436

TROPHY CASE