‘I found the best way to ease the stress of our expensive rent'

A Melbourne mum-of-two under severe pressure from the high cost of living discovered a way to increase her income by nearly $300 a week without working any more hours.

“We’re earning an extra $285 a week by not doing much more at all,” the Melbourne mum reveals. “If anything, it’s given us extra help with the kids as well as our bank account.”

When Zoe and her family moved to Melbourne from New Zealand last year, she hoped the cost of living would cause less strain on her daily life as a working mum. 

Much to her and husband David’s surprise, however, it turned out to be quite the opposite.

“We couldn’t afford to keep living in Auckland, but our expenses here turned out higher than we thought they were going to be,” the 37-year-old tells Kidspot. 

“We can’t access childcare subsidies, so that costs us $600 per week for one child. We’ve had to keep food costs down more than we normally would. Power bills are absolutely huge. We are definitely having to be cautious with our money.”

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Zoe and her family out with Japanese student Asuka who rents a room from them.

"We thought it would be perfect for a student"

Zoe and David are paying $950 a week to rent a four bedroom home in Melbourne’s suburbs, where the public transport commute to work in the city is still a whole hour each way. 

A few months after moving in, they unexpectedly found themselves with a spare bedroom when their children, Indie, 7, and Quinn, 2, preferred to sleep in the same room rather than the separate ones originally planned.

That change led the parents - who both work full time - to consider ways they could earn extra income from the free space.

“We had a room available and we live close to a university, and we thought it would be perfect for a student, so the idea went from there.”

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Zoe says renting a room ro Asuka has helped with her families cost-of-living concerns.

"We got a lot of applications"

Zoe began the process in January by seeking approval from her landlord, then advertising the room on flatmates.com.au.

“We researched the website and worked out what was fair to charge, and we got a lot of applications,” the mum-of-two says.

“I only ended up getting six or seven of those to come and look at the room as I was being very cautious about the type of people we wanted to have.”

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Asuka will help out at home with the children, and Zoe hires her for baby sitting services.

"They need to be comfortable there"

One of those ended up being the person they selected: Asuka, a 21-year-old student from Japan who is studying English, six days a week. 

Asuka was originally staying with another Melbourne family at the time through Homestay Australia, but needed to transfer to another location.

In order to welcome Asuka officially into her home in February through the organisation, Zoe was required to register with the website.

To rent Zoe’s room, Asuka pays $285 per week, which also includes breakfasts and dinners.

“You have to be conscious that you’re sharing your home with another person, and they need to be comfortable there,” Zoe says of the process in hosting an international student rather than a standard ‘flatmate’.

“Often these students are away from home and their parents for the first time so it’s about providing them with a ‘home’, not just a place to stay. We include Asuka in many things we do. If we go to the beach, she comes with us, and we travelled to the Twelve Apostles recently, and she joined the trip. She isn’t obligated to come but is always welcome to, and often does.”

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Asuka with Zoe's youngest daughter Quinn.

"We all eat together at night"

Zoe says the small compromises the family has to make to keep everyone comfortable are barely noticeable in the family’s daily life.

In fact, they are far outweighed by the multitude of benefits that having Asuka in their home has provided.

“We all eat together at night, so we have another pair of hands at dinner time, which can be busy after work with young kids,” she says. 

As a bonus, Zoe also employs Asuka for occasional babysitting gigs, so it’s a win-win for both. 

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Asuka with Zoe's oldest daughter Indie.

"Having that extra $285 a week makes a big difference"

While their mutual agreement with Homestay Australia came to an end last month, both parties are eager to continue the arrangement independently, and Asuka plans to remain in Zoe’s home until she finishes her studies next year. Once she departs, they plan to have another international student come and stay after that.

“Having that extra $285 a week makes a big difference, and we can actually save a bit now for the future.”

For Zoe and her family, the rewards in hosting their ‘flatmate’ have far exceeded their expectations in every way.

“She’s really lovely and mature,” she says of Asuka’s warm personality.

“It’s a great scenario for everyone involved because she wants to practise her English and she plays with the kids so well as she plans to go onto study early childhood education. It’s been really wonderful having her around.”

Originally published as ‘I found the best way to ease the stress of our expensive rent'