As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains where and how they spend money.
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Gender: Male.
Age: 50.
Ethnicity: Māori and Pākehā.
Role: Teaching, current relieving by choice after burning out on Permanent Full Time.
Salary/income/assets: Around $100,000 including side hustles, but I’m generally working three or four days a week by choice. I’ve got money squirrelled away in various pockets. I don’t want to own a house.
My living location is: Urban.
Rent/mortgage per week: $475 which is a good deal. I live with my adult son and he gives me a nominal contribution, none of which goes on the actual rent.
Student loan or other debt payments per week: I paid off a wad (a WAD) of debt in January. Student Loan knocked off ages ago. No debts now.
Typical weekly food costs
Groceries: Probably close to $200 for the two of us.
Eating out: Maybe $60, once a week I go treat myself somewhere. I also do a weekly trip across the road to the pub where I have two or three beers and read my book.
Takeaways: $40 or so.
Workday lunches: I always take my lunch, being a teacher where if you’re lucky you get 20 minutes of actual sit down time a day.
Cafe coffees/snacks: Probably only $10 or so.
Savings: Yep. On a full salary I could save a few hundred a week. Currently more like $100 a week. I received an inheritance a few years back so there’s lots of savings. I don’t really touch it but it gives me a great sense of freedom knowing it’s there. I save up for a couple of overseas trips a year as well, purely funded by side hustles.
I worry about money: Rarely.
Three words to describe my financial situation: Budgeted, lean, but comfortable.
My biggest edible indulgence would be: Takeouts, but they’re quite varied.
In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: $50 plus. A few beers in the pub, plus a six-pack or so.
In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: $50. The odd bus trip, but the rest is petrol. I try and walk but the school I mainly work at is the best I’ve ever seen and is worth the commute.
I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: Not much. I have two full closets. I need to shed some clothes.
My most expensive clothing in the past year was: Jeans in Shenzhen, China. I’d had a wardrobe malfunction during a stopover. The $$ amount wasn’t much, but have you ever tried getting changed in a dirty squat toilet booth? Expensive mistakes.
My last pair of shoes cost: Like $70, on sale from HeyDude but they were too small so I was refunded.
My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: Skincare, eyecare, lip care, etc. But only $50 a year; I know all the shortcuts.
My exercise expenditure in a year is about: $7 a week for the gym.
My last Friday night cost: It was a daytime thing – $45 lunch (including takeout for my son) and $30 jug of beer.
Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: Those jeans I mentioned. They were knockoffs, and have no hole to put the top fly buckle through. Also I had to rip the pocket holes as they were sewn shut.
Most indulgent purchase (that I don’t regret) in the last 12 months was: Ah… my trip to Europe. Go to Naples, people. Don’t listen to the naysayers, the place is magical, edgy and vital.
One area where I’m a bit of a tightwad is: I will not spend money in dairies and I will not buy food products that have shrunken in size over the years.
Five words to describe my financial personality would be: A lot wiser nowadays.
I grew up in a house where money was: Tight as.
The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: A long time ago, but I will have laughed it off. Let’s say June 2005.
In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: Accumulating but still living the life.
I would love to have more money for: Others.
Describe your financial low: Oh man, I had gone back to Uni and was getting student allowance plus working for families for my son. Then suddenly the allowance stopped, as I had turned 40 and the allowance entitlement halved to what, 100 weeks down from 200? Thus I’d used my allocation and pretty much had no money. I was going to quit my teaching degree and go back to a soul-destroying job. But luckily I found work at uni and borrowed loan living costs. (Adding another 12 or 13 grand to my student loan). The law needs to be changed – it’s ageist!
I give money away to: Charities on a whim, but mainly i buy the odd thing for friends (also on a whim). So whimsical.
