As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a part-time student of the jobseeker benefit explains their financial situation.
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Gender: Female
Age: 55
Ethnicity: NZ Pākehā
Role: Jobseeker benefit, part-time student/volunteer/casual worker
Salary/income/assets: $55,000 before tax – usually about $920 a week after tax.
My living location is: Suburban
Rent/mortgage per week: Own home almost paid off, so low repayments of just $141 a week – but when you add rates and insurance it goes up to about $1000 a month.
Student loan or other debt payments per week: No consumer debt, and no student loan repayments until next year.
Typical weekly food costs
Groceries: I live alone and my teenage son spends half his time with me. I aim for a budget of $200 a week for food – if I do well on the groceries we get takeout one night a week.
Eating out: Very rare, maybe once a month with friends. I usually just have a side dish or an entree.
Takeaways: Once a week if I underspend on the groceries budget.
Workday lunches: We always make lunch at home!
Cafe coffees/snacks: Very rare – as a beneficiary I get a food parcel once a month from a local bakery which is our TREATS: donuts, pastries, croissants.
Other food costs: No, but I have been buying meat from a butchery rather than the supermarket as it seems cheaper and just as good.
Savings: Definitely not saving at the moment, but I do have savings which takes the pressure of week to week – if I have extra costs like kids’ sport or repairs etc I can access a savings account with over $10,000 in it that is invested carefully.
I worry about money: Rarely.
Three words to describe my financial situation: Temporary! I found my career was a dead end so am retraining into a similar kind of job with a lot more potential.
My biggest edible indulgence would be: The cronuts in the food parcel box.
In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: $30. Two bottles of wine, one for me and one to share!
In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: No public transport. One car is an EV which costs little day-to-day but every year I pay for RUC which is around $1200. that will come out of the savings account. I do have one larger, older vehicle that runs on petrol but i would only spend about $80 a month on that, it’s only for long trips or taking lots of passengers somewhere.
I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: $500.
My most expensive clothing in the past year was: A new, very warm and cosy fleece jacket from MacPac – it was half price in their sale so just $89.
My last pair of shoes cost: Walking shoes, $239. They will likely last at least 10 years like the previous pair so worth the investment.
My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: Now that I am not working, it is very little, maybe $50 a month. As soon as I get a job I am off to the salon for highlights though – that will be around $300.
My exercise expenditure in a year is about: None – I have some old sneakers that are still OK for walking or jogging. I do exercises at home, weights and calisthenics.
My last Friday night cost: Zero! I rarely go out.
Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: I can not think of anything I regret buying.
Most indulgent purchase (that I don’t regret) in the last 12 months was: I did buy a lovely jacket from a high end store when I was working, last year, and I love it. It is timeless and makes me feel stylish and warm.
One area where I’m a bit of a tightwad is: Pretty much everything. It does not make me feel sad, but I often ask myself “do I really need this?” There is very little I actually need.
Five words to describe my financial personality would be… Balanced, organised, disciplined, goal-oriented…
I grew up in a house where money was: Discussed as if it was scarce, even though my parents had significant assets. They saw wealth as prideful and did their best to hide any signs of their own good fortune. There was no help through university or when we bought a first home. Even now, if they get a new car it is always the same colour as the old one so that the neighbours won’t think they are rich.
The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: I can’t remember, but I have had to move money between accounts to pay for things every now and then.
In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: Much better off. Fully mortgage free and earning well again. This time I will be investing more carefully.
I would love to have more money for: Investing for my retirement. The runway is short!
Describe your financial low: A couple of years ago: single lady on a part-time salary, paying off my own mortgage and trying to get ahead with a rental property. I bought it after carefully working out affordability based on the law. The Ardern government removed deductibility of interest AND increased the brightline, so I couldn’t sell it nor could I afford to keep it, and ended up $12,000 in debt to a family member before I could sell the house. Lost money. There are no handouts for landlords, I assure you.
I give money away to… Charities, missionaries, people I know are doing it tough.
