As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a retiree reveals what they spend on and where they save.
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Gender: Male.
Age: 64.
Ethnicity: Pākehā.
Role: Retired.
Salary/income/assets: Around $40,000 in rent, interest and dividends, own a small commercial building ($350,000) with my house above, shares and unit trusts $500,000, KiwiSaver $50,000.
My living location is: Suburban.
Rent/mortgage per week: Nothing.
Student loan or other debt payments per week: Nothing.
Typical weekly food costs
Groceries: I shop in dribs and drabs as I have two supermarkets within a five minute walk – $100 a week or so.
Eating out: At least weekly, but always cheap’n’cheerful places – $20.
Takeaways: I’ve been out of the country until recently, but the local fish and chips can provide a decent feed for $10-15 – but not every week.
Workday lunches: I don’t work, so most lunches are at home.
Cafe coffees/snacks: At least one cafe for coffee and cake at least once a day – $100.
Savings: I’m living on savings and income from investments, so there’s a bit of a decline rather than an increase.
I worry about money: Rarely.
Three words to describe my financial situation: Frugal, careful, OK.
My biggest edible indulgence would be: My coffee and cake habit.
In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: I’m a bit of a craft beer lover, so even the one bottle a night gets me to $70 a week.
In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: I take the bus a couple of times a week, at least ($10 for four trips) and go hooning some weekends so petrol costs vary a lot: $20-100.
I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: I have a huge stock of clothing built up over the years, a lot from Trade Me but some new, so my only expenditure on clothing was a couple of belts from Kmart – $20.
My most expensive clothing in the past year was: The above belts. My most expensive single item ever (apart from suits when I was working) was a black velvet jacket from Working Style ($650).
My last pair of shoes cost: $150 for some Skechers walking shoes.
My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: Two haircuts a year at the hairdresser – $100.
My exercise expenditure in a year is about: What’s exercise? I walk around a lot, but don’t need special equipment for that.
My last Friday night cost: I was out with mates at the pub, but not actually drinking so $35 for some great chips and two non-alc beers, then $13 for fish and chips. This might explain my answer to the next question.
Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: Regrettable in the sense I really didn’t want to spend $22,000 for repairs to my heart following a heart attack while overseas. I may or may not be reimbursed by my travel insurance.
Most indulgent purchase (that I don’t regret) in the last 12 months was: I spent 10 weeks travelling the USA (before things got really bad), Canada and a brief side trip to Mexico – at least $30,000. One reason to retire early was to allow travel.
One area where I’m a bit of a tightwad is: Most areas. Even when travelling, I go budget – low-cost airlines, one-star hotels, hostels, public transport whenever available. Second hand clothing has featured strongly for at least 30 years. I shop according to what’s on special.
Five words to describe my financial personality would be: Careful, thrifty, reluctant to indulge.
I grew up in a house where money was: Almost absent. Literally – I grew up on a very rural farm where we’d go to town a couple of times a year, and hardly used cash in between. My parents never had much – I can still remember their sadness one year (I was 8 or so) where we basically couldn’t do Christmas presents. Things got a bit better when we moved (I was 11) but then got much worse for my parents when they lost their health.
The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: Around 25 years ago (except for situations where I have not used the right card).
In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: If I’m still alive, I’ll have been sucking away at the NZ Superannuation for 4.5 years which hopefully mean my savings won’t have depleted any further.
I would love to have more money for: I watch lots of travel YouTubes and do envy those who’re staying in five-star hotels, eating at expensive restaurants, doing cruises and expensive tours. I don’t think I’d ever want that to be my lifestyle, but wouldn’t mind trying it out for a bit.
Describe your financial low: I’ve had two dramatic lows in my life. In my mid-20s, I wasn’t earning much and had a mortgage so my parents had somewhere to live, which I really struggled to pay. Thankfully, I had contacts through work who came up with some financing that prevented loss of the house. Then a decade later, my mental health went south, which led to me not paying my bills (even though I was able to), followed by the typical adverse consequences to my credit history. Oh, and then there was when I went on my big OE and ran out of cash the same day I finally got a job, so needed to borrow from a mate to actually get to work and eat until I was paid.
I give money away to: I’ve never really given money. I worked in a professional field, and gave my time and skills to a charity instead.
