Working Holiday in Public: earnings and savings. I am documenting every expense and earning in Australia.

In the second half of 2025, my partner and I (Italian) decided to move to Australia. I want to document my expenses and earnings in this file, which I will update monthly. I hope these data can be of help to those planning a similar experience, with the goal of putting some money aside.

Below you will find all costs and income. Further down, instead, you find the screenshots regarding individual months and the detail of expenses incurred.

Period

We landed on November 14, 2025, in Western Australia, precisely in Perth. The summary table is updated to February 19, 2026, after 87 days in Australia.

🔻Money spent: 7.691AU$ — 4.601€

⬆️ Collected: 13.339AU$ — 7.978€ 💰 Saved: 5.648AU$ — 3.379€

Some clarifications

I want to specify that, having moved with my partner, the total rent is more burdensome compared to that of a single bed place but, as you see in the table, the expense is divided by two. Furthermore, the expense for food is sometimes rounded: it often happens that we buy goods we share (water, milk, etc.), but the figures are absolutely realistic, since my partner also tracks her data obtaining very similar results.

As can be noted from the screenshots, it took me about a month and a half to recoup the initial investment and finally go into the black.

Note well: my initial cost is higher compared to the average. I had to undergo “extraordinary” medical check-ups because of my previous travels. The cost of the flight that brought us to Australia for personal reasons (about 300€) is not included instead.

Tips for Australia

If you decide to embark on this adventure here is a list of services that could be useful to you.

Bank If there is one thing you will hear repeated for life, it’s that if you live abroad you should use Revolut or Wise to withdraw and pay. Actually, it is so. Especially with Wise, you can have a real Australian bank account with which you can receive a salary as soon as you land.

Create a Wise account

Create a Revolut account

VPN The VPN is not mandatory but very often fundamental *Here 3 months free of VPN*

Esim This is the Esim I used, never had problems and excellent prices. *Get 5 euros discount for the Esim.*

Have a good trip.