An Aussie couple has shared how moving to Bali not only halved their everyday expenses but also significantly boosted their day-to-day lives.
First-time parents Ben and Lou were paying a fortune in rent and daycare fees in Sydney and after their latest visit to the popular Indonesian island they wondered if they should move there permanently.
The idea was made even more appealing after they left their corporate jobs to run their own business from home which gave them more flexibility.
Sick of paying $4,200 a month to rent a two-bedroom apartment and handing over $2,300 a month in full-time childcare fees, the couple decided to run their business Strapsicle, which sells straps that make holding e-books like Kindles more comfortable, out of Bali.
I went to Bali for a retreat and met up with an old school friend who had moved there with his family and he showed us his villa and how everything worked and that pushed us a little bit further towards that, Lou told Kidspot.
With their business booming, they took their three-year-old son Archie to Bali in September on a two-month tourist visa.
To stay longer, they paid $1,500 for a 12-month Indonesian E33G visa and havent looked back.
Lou claimed the standard lifestyle they led in Bali was far better than in Sydney - and was half the cost.
Lou (pictured) is living it up in Bali while running a business with her husband
Ben and Lou (pictured) packed up their lives in Sydney to live in Bali with their son Archie
They rent a two-storey, three-bedroom villa in the family-friendly beachside area of Sanur for $3,000 per month - $1,200 less than their tiny Sydney apartment.
I overlook a tropical garden and the pool from my home office and Archie does swimming lessons every week with an instructor who comes around for $20, Lou said.
They even have a housekeeper who spends four hours a day, six days a week doing their dishes, making the beds, washing and ironing, and general cleaning for just $300 a month.
For $70 a month, a gardener manages to do everything outside, while a nanny works 32 hours a week for just $150.
Shes with Archie in the mornings, gets him ready for daycare and drops him off, and then picks him up at 3.30pm and spends the afternoon with him, and does the bath routine before one of us puts him to bed, Lou said.
One night a week shell stay late so we can go out for dinner.
Their sons full-time daycare costs the family just $400 per month.
The daycare and Balinese nanny combined costs less than half of what they were paying for childcare in Australia.
Lou can run Strapsicle from her home office which made moving overseas easier
The couple rents a much bigger place in Bali for $1,200 less per month than they were paying to live in a small Sydney apartment
The couple have no need for a flashy car meaning they dont spend their hard-earned cash on expensive fuel like they did back home.
If I go somewhere on my own Ill book a scooter and thats about $1, and when the nanny takes Archie to school in a car, thats about $2 and its only an eight-minute drive, Lou said.
Food is cheap too.
We get our groceries delivered, but we can also order anything from restaurants, such a $3 vegetable stir fry, and it makes life a lot easier. Nappies are $6 a pack and the same one was costing me $15 in Australia, Lou said.
Despite living in Indonesia, the couple said medical services were much more accessible with a consult with a GP costing just $5.
Lou said she and her family had no plans to return to Sydney to live any time soon.
Weve been given an elevated lifestyle and the things we wanted in Australia are a reality here. We have it so good that it will be very hard to leave, she said.