We asked Inge Stouffs, 35, from Antwerp how much she earns
– What do you do for work?
– I lecture in engineering at Artesis College in the real estate training programme for brokers and surveyors. I’m a civil engineer and architect by education. I’ve been teaching for six years and I really love it.
– What’s your salary and what do you think about it?
– I’m satisfied with my salary. I earn €2200 net per month. If I worked as an architect in the private sector, I don’t think I’d earn much more. Maybe I would as a civil engineer, but that doesn’t interest me as much.
– What’s your biggest cost?
– My biggest cost seems to be for childcare for my two-year-old. It cost some €400 or €450 per month for her day care and diapers. Our oldest, who is four, already goes to school.
We live in my boyfriend’s house and we don’t have anymore mortage to pay off. My boyfriend works as a freelance architect and has bought an office space, so he has to pay €1000 per month for that.
– How do you spend your free time?
– My biggest hobby is my two children. I like to read, but don’t get much time for it. I don’t do many sports, though I do always go by bike to the train station, and sometimes we go walking with the kids. We also have a pass to the zoo; that is our backyard. As a teacher, I get a discount, which is a nice bonus.
Until recently, every two weeks, we’d hire a babysitter in the weekend and we’d go, just the two of us, to see a film or to the theatre or a restaurant. We live close to the Rataplan and the Roma, two performance halls in Antwerp, and they’ll often have nice things to see. Unfortunately, our usual babysitter has stopped and we haven’t found a new one yet, so right now we’re postponing these outings.
But we also take many outings with the kids. Recently we went to the opening of the fire station on Noorderlaan where our older child was allowed to spray the hose by herself. They found that great fun!
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