As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a master’s student explains their attitude towards money.
Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.
Gender: Female
Age: 24
Ethnicity: Māori & Pākehā
Role: Master’s student
Salary/income/assets: I have a $680 weekly income from a combination of student loan, scholarship payments, and help from my (sole) parent. My assets are spread between $95,000 in KiwisSaver, $15,000 in Sharesies and crypto (which fluctuates a lot as about half of my portfolio is high-risk), and about $11,000 in cash savings.
My living location is: Urban
Rent/mortgage per week: $0, I am lucky enough to live rent-free at a member of my family’s house.
Student loan or other debt payments per week: $0, I have no paid employment and therefore make no student loan repayments. I will note though that my loan is sitting at around $80,000.
Typical weekly food costs
Groceries: Typically, I would spend around $60 per week on meat and speciality ingredients. Though, the member of my family that I live with covers most of the staple groceries in the house (oil, pasta, onions, seasonings). They are vegetarian, so if I would like to eat meat, I would purchase this myself. So when I do, it’s pretty decent quality. I’ll note that I can request whatever I’d like in the weekly grocery shop, and it will appear in the fridge/pantry (though I’m not very good at requesting what i want in time for the weekly shop, so end up spending on eating out).
Eating out: I think I would spend at least $80 per week on eating out. I probably have at least one dinner out each week, in which I might enjoy a glass of wine or two at a mid-tier restaurant. I’ll note it’s quite often that someone buys my dinner, as I’m surrounded by people that are rather relaxed about money. Some weeks, when I know I have a rather busy social calendar and will find myself having dinner out just about every night, I’ll still dine as I usually would, though probably end up spending at least $200 on dinners alone. It’s not in my nature to tighten up my spending around food, as it is nearly always a social occasion for me as well as an opportunity to nourish myself.
Takeaways: I am not a fan of most takeaway foods, so don’t spend any money in this area.
Workday lunches: I spend about $120 on lunches on or around campus in a week. Lunchtime is a very social time for me, and I am more than happy to share my kai or shout someone with me something if I notice they aren’t eating.
Cafe coffees/snacks: Yikes… probably about $150 per week. I average two cafe coffees per day, everyday, and might get something small to go with it, as well. I don’t typically eat breakfast at home, so this cost includes a meal for me.
(side note: how confronting! I think if I bought a coffee machine it would have paid for itself within a month. Even then, I probably wouldn’t use it because I almost enjoy the ritual of leaving the house early to get a coffee more than the coffee itself).
Other food costs: I enjoy herbs, fruit, and veggies from our garden regularly – this is all free to me and available in abundance as my family member hires a gardener which helps our garden to produce an abundance of edible produce. Recently, we have enjoyed feijoas, new potatoes, artichokes and apples. I use the kawakawa out the front of our whare for tea (and as an anti-inflammatory). Both my boyfriend and dad regularly go fishing or hunting, so I enjoy kai moana pretty regularly.
Savings: I’m not entirely sure how I ended up with $11,000 in savings (some cash there from inheritance shoutout grandma) because I swear I transfer money from my savings to my chequing account just about every few days. I’m not really actively saving, but I will be going to Europe to hang out with some friends in a few weeks, so I suppose I should cut down on the coffees a bit.
I worry about money: Rarely.
Three words to describe my financial situation: Prosperous, leisurely, speculative.
My biggest edible indulgence would be: Meredith Dairy’s goat cheese in olive oil (maybe $23).
In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: I might buy one or two bottles of wine (specifically the Oyster Bay Pinot Gris) and a glass of wine out, so around $35-55.
In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: $60 in petrol, $5 on the bus (I don’t get it much because I walk a lot).
I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: I’m at a net positive here – I am great at listing things on Designer Wardrobe, Facebook Marketplace and Depop when they fall out of my regular wearing rotation. I don’t buy cheap polyester clothes that need to be replaced regularly. If I don’t think potential listings will earn me at least $40-ish (i.e. not worth my time nor the admin of responding to “Is this available?” 20 times), then I will just donate it to one of the op shops I know Depop resellers don’t regularly ransack.
My most expensive clothing in the past year was: I bought a vintage peridot and diamond ring on Trade Me for $390 (steal!)
My last pair of shoes cost: Can’t remember. I go to the cobbler though, so my last repair cost me $150 for a pair of black leather sandals I’ve been wearing for years and will continue to get fixed for the rest of my life.
My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: Eyebrow threading, lip flips, skincare and quarterly hair cuts cost me around $2.5k. Mwah.
My exercise expenditure in a year is about: $1000. This includes replacing running shoes a few times in a year, casual yoga classes and swims at my local public pool.
My last Friday night cost: $180 for one bday BYO (meal, wine, corkage, and paying for my povo friend), three Ubers and an OK-ish bottle of wine at a bar.
Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: The bag; totally not worth the cognitive decline. Happy to share the goods though!
Most indulgent purchase (that I don’t regret) in the last 12 months was: A few different overseas trips; probs looks a bit questionable to be travelling during a cost of living crisis, but I’m not claiming to be a broke student by any means. Plus, I usually stay with a friend or family member, which cheapens things up and stops me from getting scabies in a hostel.
One area where I’m a bit of a tightwad is: Travel. I love finding a cheap flight, and don’t care if it means I end up flying aside an active war zone following a 12-hour layover.
Five words to describe my financial personality would be… Savvy, insouciant, magnanimous, anti-labubumatchapolyesterAI… high-horse (neigh!)
I grew up in a house where money was: Talked about. I grew up in a single parent home, so I was hyper aware that my mum was at mahi to put food on the table for me specifically. She encouraged me to take risks with my finances by investing, while my grandma encouraged me to have fun with my dosh while I’m young and have no dependents. My siblings and I were all encouraged to get to financial independence as soon as we could – I did this at 16 when I got my first full-time job, then flatted for six years. I later moved in with a family member to save money while I study postgrad.
The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: Within the past week – I don’t keep much in my chequing account, and transfer money over from (and to) my savings on an ad-hoc basis.
In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: Getting paid in USD and close to breaking free from student loan debt (as long as they quit upping the interest rate on overseas repayers). Ka kitz suckaz, this brain is getting drained!
I would love to have more money for: I don’t particularly want for anything, but I would love to be able to support my mum in her retirement. Don’t 4get ur rootz e hoa mai!
Describe your financial low: Hyper-stinginess in the period that I was working full-time. I was way too precious about my dosh and investing ethically, and was way less social in order to fatten my cash cow. Now I just invest in the companies that I used to preach against and hang out as much as I want – feels way better!
I give money away to… My unemployed friends – more in the form of spotting, but I don’t ask nor expect them to pay me back. I also consider any investment on the NZX a donation, as aside from the fact the returns are comparable to the amount of piss you leak out into the loo after a glass of water (less than what one puts in), it’s likely that the IRD will probably freeze and take hold of my shares once I forget about repaying my student loan for good.
