Living in Sydney ain’t cheap — my wallet’s been crying since day one 😂 But hey, don’t just take my word for it!
I call myself 'generation 0' — my family helped me get started, but once I landed in Sydney, I had to hustle on my own. Every $AUD spent meant something to me. I came to Australia as an international student with no idea what was waiting ahead — but I knew I had to plan smart and stay aware.
Before I arrived, I promised myself I’d track my living expenses — not just to survive, but to better understand where my money was going.
Sydney is known as one of the most expensive cities in Australia, especially for housing and everyday living — and yep, it lives up to the hype. I wanted to make my “soft landing” as smooth as possible and avoid big surprises.
So here’s what happened: I tracked every expense during my first 8 months. Then, to make sense of it all, I turned the data into a Power BI dashboard. This is just phase one — I plan to expand it later to reflect a full picture of my 2-year journey. 📊
...until tuition was paid and I treated myself back to eating out. 😅 It’s nice to discover how to reduce costs — but I still love exploring good food.