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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →A Perth couple with two children reported combined salaries of $180,000 a year and a seven-day spending diary totaling about $437.90. The daily figures include meals, shopping, a family outing and children’s shoes—but they also allocate food from earlier shopping and include purchases for the following week, so the sum is not a clean measure of cash paid out during those seven days. The figures come from an anonymous household profile published by PerthNow on May 3, 2024, and were not independently audited.
Who is the couple in this Cash Confessions profile?
The anonymous couple told PerthNow they were both 48 and lived in Perth’s Willetton, Rossmoyne or Shelley area. They have two children, aged nine and 11, and both work full time. The husband reported earning $100,000 a year as a document controller at an energy utility; his wife reported $80,000 working in a laboratory for Wesfarmers. Their combined $180,000 is reported salary, not take-home pay or a measure of what they had available to spend after tax.
Their account is a snapshot of one household, not a typical-spending benchmark. The profile reports what the couple said about their finances and does not independently verify income, asset values or expenses. Read the PerthNow feature published May 3, 2024.
What did they report about income, assets and regular costs?
Alongside their salaries, the couple said they receive rental income from investment properties and own six properties in Australia and three overseas. The 2024 feature reported the following assets and Australian property equity figures as provided by the couple; these are not independently verified valuations.
| Reported item | Amount or detail |
|---|---|
| Combined annual salaries | $180,000 |
| Properties | Nine: six in Australia and three overseas |
| Equity in six Australian investment properties | $785,884.60; $167,031.60; $154,108.68; $71,738; $151,738; and $71,738 |
| Combined superannuation | $330,000 |
| Shares | $130,000 |
| Cash savings | $130,000 |
The equity amounts are not property prices or sale proceeds. The feature does not give a comparable equity figure for the overseas properties.
The couple estimated their regular household expenses at about $4,050 a month. Their breakdown was:
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| Expense category | Reported monthly amount |
|---|---|
| Mortgage | $2,000 |
| Groceries | $480 |
| Clothing | $100 |
| Recreation and entertainment | $450 |
| Phone, internet and streaming services | $100 |
| School contributions and excursions | $100 |
| Health insurance | $230 |
| Petrol and public transport | $120 |
| Land tax, rates, home insurance and utilities | $475 |
They also said positively geared investment properties provided about $412.40 in extra cash each month after property expenses. The profile presents that separately from the household’s listed costs; it does not provide a full cash-flow statement reconciling salaries, rental income, taxes, loan principal, or all property costs. These reported figures describe this family’s circumstances, not a current cost-of-living target for other households.
What did the seven-day spending diary include?
The diary runs from Wednesday through Tuesday. Its daily totals add to about $437.90, calculated by summing the figures reported for each day. PerthNow did not present that addition as a separate weekly total. Some food was priced from earlier shopping or leftovers, while Sunday included groceries for the coming week. The totals therefore reflect the participant’s allocation of costs, not necessarily payments made on the stated day.
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- User-Friendly Layout - The budget planner features a user-friendly layout designed for easy navigation and organization. Each month, you'll find dedicated budget pages where you can set financial goals, track your income, and plan your expenses. Additional sections include debt trackers, savings goals, bill payment trackers, and more, making it simple to stay on top of your finances.
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| Day | Reported total | What was included |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | $21.30 | Children’s packed lunches valued at $11.40 using items from an earlier shop, the wife’s frozen lunch ($3.55), the husband’s banana ($0.40), and homemade fried rice with leftover rice, vegetables and clearance ham ($6). |
| Thursday | $51.90 | Packed lunches valued at $11.40, frozen drinks for the children ($2), the wife’s lunch of leftover fried rice and laksa ($15), the husband’s banana ($0.40) and muesli bar (about $0.20), and chicken katsu takeaway with vegetables (about $22.90). |
| Friday | $29.40 | Packed lunches valued at $11, leftovers for the wife, the husband’s banana ($0.40) and muesli bar ($0.20), and Costco pizza and Pepsi ($17.80). |
| Saturday | $115.70 | Snacks valued at $6, a family visit to Jurassic Kingdom ($60 after a reported 50% ticket discount), Nando’s dinner listed at $47.50 using a birthday voucher, and movie snacks and dessert valued at about $2.20. |
| Sunday | $190.00 | A family breakfast deal, reward fries and drinks (about $18.95); shopping at Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, Costco and Spudshed ($130.16); netball shoes ($60); and dinner ingredients ($12). |
| Monday | $18.00 | Packed lunches valued at $11, leftover lunches for the adults, and dinner made from previously purchased clearance and shopping items, valued at $7. |
| Tuesday | $11.60 | Packed lunches valued at $11, the husband’s banana and muesli bar valued together at $0.60, and dinner made with ingredients already bought during the week. |
This was a week with both routine food and occasional spending: packed lunches and home cooking sit alongside takeaway, a family attraction, a grocery run and netball shoes. The diary also counts some pantry food by estimated value, credits a reward and voucher, and mixes in next week’s shopping. It is useful as a record of how this household described its week, but it is not a standardized survey or a like-for-like cash-spending comparison.
What did the couple say shaped their finances?
The husband said he migrated to Australia at age eight, did not speak English when he arrived, and that his family came with AU$500. He recalled that the couple began working for about $16,000 each per year, bought their first home in 2006 for $218,000 after starting work, and later lost around $100,000 through financial mistakes. He described learning about money through reading and trial and error. These are his recollections, not a verified financial history.
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The interview also describes major changes in family and work circumstances. The participant said the couple went through four rounds of IVF before their first child, had a period with one income while raising children, and that his wife was made redundant before finding work again. He reported trips to Hong Kong at the start of 2024 and local travel during Easter. That context matters: the diary and asset figures sit within a longer account that includes changing income, family responsibilities and setbacks, rather than a single budgeting tactic.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What money habits did the participant describe?
The participant said the couple made plans one to three years ahead and reviewed them annually. He described budgeting realistically, planning purchases, timing some spending around sales, and using free events, loyalty points, rewards and credit-card programs. He said they planned ahead for items such as shoes, clothes, a replacement car, household supplies and holidays, and bought many branded clothing items on sale.
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Those practices explain the approach this couple says it used; the profile does not establish that the same methods caused their reported assets or will suit another household. A practical way to adapt the planning idea is to separate recurring bills from irregular costs, set a review date, and include obligations such as property expenses and school costs before deciding how much is genuinely available for discretionary spending.
Quick Recap
How to read the figures fairly
- Keep salary distinct from spendable income. The $180,000 is the couple’s reported combined annual salary; it is not their take-home pay.
- Keep assets in their own categories. Superannuation, shares, cash and property equity are not interchangeable measures of money available for weekly expenses.
- Keep the diary’s accounting method in view. Its daily figures include allocated pantry food, leftovers, rewards, a voucher and shopping for a later week.
- Treat the profile as one household’s account. PerthNow’s Cash Confessions series features different West Australian households, but comparisons require consistent definitions of income, costs, household size, housing and what a diary total counts. See the PerthNow Cash Confessions series.
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