As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a health worker explains where and how they spend and save money.
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Gender: Female
Age: 30
Ethnicity: Chinese
Role: Full time worker in healthcare.
Salary/income/assets: $96,000 salary, $34,000 savings, $6,000 Sharesies, $10,000 in KiwiSaver and 23% equity in my home.
My living location is: Urban
Rent/mortgage per week: Living with my two cats, paying $850 per week in mortgage (75% of my salary).
Student loan or other debt payments per week: Still have $28,000 on the student loan to go, estimated to be paid off in just over three years.
Typical weekly food costs
Groceries: I spend about $120 a month on groceries. Mostly just fruit, frozen veggies, and other household items. Whenever I can, I always buy in bulk so I don’t need to make so many trips to the supermarket. Ultimately, I eat out a lot so not much is spent here, especially with meat being the most expensive part of the groceries. I also spend about $30 per month on wet cat food, their dry food I buy a large bag for $120 which will last about five months. Cat litter costs about $30 per month as well.
Eating out: Currently, I’m spending about $350 per month on eating out and takeaways. In months where I cook more at home, my eating out cost decreases to about $220 but my groceries increase to $240 for the month. So I’m fairly consistent with the amount of money I spend on food. I don’t go out for dinner with friends or family so they’re mostly solo meals (ranging $15 to $25 per meal) or just some quick takeaway individual meal like a $7.50 Sub of the Day or a KFC $10 meal. I don’t drink alcohol either, so all meals are with water, which keeps cost low.
Takeaways: Included as part of my eating out budget.
Workday lunches: Included as part of the eating out budget. About $150 of the $350 is spent on workday lunch (mostly Sub of the Day and sushi of the day and the occasional meal from the cafeteria at work).
Cafe coffees/snacks: I don’t drink coffee so don’t go to cafes.
Savings: I’m not really saving much at the moment, I’m focusing on paying down the mortgage as quickly as possible. At the end of the fortnight, I have about $200 left but that gets put aside for utilities, rates, insurance, etc.
I worry about money: Never.
Three words to describe my financial situation: Secure, comfortable, relaxed.
My biggest edible indulgence would be: Large tub of Tip Top peanut butter cup ice cream (got my last tub for $7.50 on sale).
In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: $0.
In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: My petrol costs $35 per week now that I have a hybrid. I also use the bus on some days, which is $18 per week.
I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: Probably spent around $300 maximum on clothes. Majority of that was on two dresses which cost $80 each. The rest were clothes I bought during sales. Mirrou does really good sales on items, up to 70% off.
My most expensive clothing in the past year was: Two dresses from Portman’s, both on sale for $80 each. One is a ankle-length leopard print dress and the other is a knee-length floral dress.
My last pair of shoes cost: A pair of leather boots for $250 (down from $450). My union helps with shoe cost per year, up to $150, so the boots only cost me $100!
My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: None. I don’t wear make-up or follow a beauty routine. I haven’t found a hairstyle I want to cut my hair in, so I haven’t had a haircut in nearly three years now.
My exercise expenditure in a year is about: None. I don’t use the gym or attend any classes. I go for walks and occasionally do Parkrun, which is free.
My last Friday night cost: $35. I went to the My Fried Chicken all-you-can-eat fried chicken.
Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: Yoghurt maker for $28. Only used once.
Most indulgent purchase (that I don’t regret) in the last 12 months was: A cat tower I got on special for $130. The cats love it.
One area where I’m a bit of a tightwad is: Clothes. I usually can’t justify the higher price tags of new items and happy to wait until end of season or some other sale to get them for much cheaper. Functionality is more important to me than style so I don’t mind buying the cheaper clothes which may not have been so popular.
Five words to describe my financial personality would be… Responsible, savvy, bargain hunter, disciplined.
I grew up in a house where money was: Tight. My parents don’t have much money and we were raised with the help of a lot of government benefits. So being secure enough to be able to save up money, own my home, and not worry about upcoming payments is huge for me.
The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: Never.
In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: Student loan paid off, hopefully nearing 50% equity in my home.
I would love to have more money for: Travel overseas. I would like to travel but it feels too irresponsible to me to spend it on travel rather than paying off my mortgage. Plus, the weak NZ dollar makes everything so much more expensive overseas.
Describe your financial low: Probably when I first graduated from uni and struggled to find my first full time job. I worked three different casual jobs to make ends meet.
I give money away to… My parents. They’re the whole reason I can call myself successful.
