A collage featuring a vape, a travel card, and a wine bottle against a red graph background. The text "The Cost of Being" is on the left in green and red.
Image: The Spinoff

Societyabout 5 hours ago

The cost of being: A uni tutor who spends on vapes, samosas and the odd night out

A collage featuring a vape, a travel card, and a wine bottle against a red graph background. The text "The Cost of Being" is on the left in green and red.
Image: The Spinoff

As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a 21-year-old flatting in Wellington explains how she gets by.

Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.

Gender: Wahine.

Age: 21.

Ethnicity: Māori.

Role: Tutor at Victoria University.

Salary/income/assets: About $100 a week during teaching weeks, plus $316 Studylink loan living costs.

My living location is: Urban.

Rent/mortgage per week: $960 split four ways, $240 each.

Student loan or other debt payments per week: I don’t earn enough to have student loan deducted. If I’ve been shopping recently, maybe $20 on Afterpay.

Typical weekly food costs

Groceries: We don’t share any groceries, so a usual shop for me is about $100. That includes coffee beans (I can’t give them up) and I buy different toiletries/personal care items at the supermarket so it doesn’t sting my wallet when I run out of multiple things at once. I’m a vegetarian as well, so I always get one “luxury” vegetarian item so I’m not just eating chickpeas and beans – like vegetarian sausages or falafel.

Eating out: $20-$30 once a fortnight if I’ve stayed in budget.

Takeaways: As above. Usually pizza or kebab on Uber Eats.

Workday lunches: If I don’t have leftovers for lunch I’ll spend max $10 at the supermarket on snacks/bakery kai for lunch at uni.

Cafe coffees/snacks: $6.50 a week. Every Friday I go to my favourite cafe – it keeps me sane during the week knowing I have that waiting for me at the end of the week.

Other food costs: Nada.

Savings: Can’t afford to save – I pull money out of my savings from summer job every week. Something always comes up.

I worry about money: Always.

Three words to describe my financial situation: Insecure, fluctuating, depressing.

My biggest edible indulgence would be: Samosas from the New World deli. They’re only like $6 and such a rip-off but I get two every time I go to the supermarket and they bring me so much joy.

In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: $10 if I don’t go out (Jacob’s Creek I love you).

In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: I top up my Snapper card $15 each week.

I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: At least $3,000. I had a bit of a shopping addiction last year, when I was making more money. Lost a lot of weight too and had a “professional” job over the second trimester and summer, so a wardrobe refresh was necessary.

My most expensive clothing in the past year was: A Kathmandu puffer Jacket for about $250. I’ve worn it twice, but I know the second I sell it I’ll want it back.

My last pair of shoes cost: My Docs for $300. Favourite shoes ever.

My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: Probably $750-$1,000 over the last year for skincare, makeup and hair removal. Sensitive skin and cystic acne is a bitch.

My exercise expenditure in a year is about: Nada. Even if I could afford it, I probably wouldn’t go to the gym. I bought a yoga mat last year for $30, and that’s my exercise.

My last Friday night cost: $150. Courtenay Place deludes me into thinking I can afford it. Definitely a once-in-a-blue-moon situation.

Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: A Nutribullet that my flatmate broke. I didn’t use it often, but still.

Most indulgent purchase (that I don’t regret) in the last 12 months was: Do vapes count? Indulgent, yes. Do I regret them? No. But will I in 20 years? Absolutely.

One area where I’m a bit of a tightwad is: Basic food. Why buy name brands when Pams and Countdown brand is half the price and the same thing.

Five words to describe my financial personality would be: Irresponsible but a great budgeter.

I grew up in a house where money was: Not talked about when we had little, and complained about when we had lots. Money was always flying out the door in the form of koha, even when we didn’t have much money – some might say that’s irresponsible, but I think it’s proof that you can still give back and support others who need it more than you do.

The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: Never. I obsessively check my account balance.

In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: Paying off my student loan on a public service salary (if there are any jobs left to get at that point).

I would love to have more money for: Travel. By travel I don’t mean seeing the world or going on trips around the country. I mean being able to afford to have my car in Wellington (WOF, gas, parking, insurance, small repairs). It’s currently sitting at my brother’s house 10 hours away, and I just want a way to easily get out of the city, and to go to Pak ‘n Save. Also flights. I want to go home, I want to go to iwi kaupapa, I want to see my nieces and nephews, but mostly I want to go see my grandparents. I know they won’t be around for much longer, and I’m scared I’m wasting so much time living far away from them that I could be spending with them.

Describe your financial low: Second year uni, first year flatting. I have persistent depression disorder, but for the first time I experienced a major depressive episode. I couldn’t work, couldn’t go to uni, but of course I still had to pay the bills and buy enough food to sustain myself. I blew through what little savings I had in the month that I barely left the house, and the following months I experienced the “fuck it at least I’m still alive” mentality and indulged a lot. When I came down from that, shit was tight.

I give money away to: People on the street. If I have spare cash, it’s going in the cap or the cup. People always tell me I shouldn’t give money to people on the street because they’ll spend it on alcohol or drugs – well, I was going to as well, and I sure as shit would too if I was on the street. I feel like it’s something that should make me feel good about myself, but it really doesn’t. I just feel bad that I can’t give money to everyone.

Keep going!