As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a rural council worker explains where they spend and how they save.
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Gender: Female.
Age: 31.
Ethnicity: Mixed/South African.
Role: Both my husband and I work for our local council.
Salary/income/assets: Combined annual income of $170,000.
My living location is: Rural.
Rent/mortgage per week: We pay about $1,500 a fortnight in mortgage repayments.
Student loan or other debt payments per week: My husband has four years left on his student loan (about $300 per fortnight).
Typical weekly food costs
Groceries: About $180 per week for a family of three.
Eating out: Maybe three or four times a year we’ll splurge on a really fancy meal out in the city for a special occasion.
Takeaways: $30 for a cheeky Dominos about once a week – we’re very limited on takeaway options in our town.
Workday lunches: $0 – we always bring leftovers.
Cafe coffees/snacks: $0 – I make sure the free coffee machine at work gets a good workout.
Other food costs: Our dog’s food costs about $170 per fortnight – she gets the good stuff. Honestly, she probably eats better than we do. We have a small flock of sheep and get one or two butchered per year for $70 a head, and that keeps us well stocked with lamb. We used to have a big veggie garden and chicken coop at our previous place and we’re working to get that re-established at our current property. It’ll be a big upfront cost of about $500 to get it all set up, but once that’s going we should be rolling in fresh vegetables and eggs! We’re also planting up an orchard, and hoping to get two beef cows on rotation and a few pigs, but it’s going to be a good few thousand dollars to get our fencing sorted first, so it’s on hold for the moment.
Savings: We both put 8% into KiwiSaver for retirement, because we believe superannuation will be long gone by the time we hit 65. Right now we’re trying to build up a $30,000 emergency fund, because we depleted all our emergency savings when we moved houses. I put $50 per week away for my son so that he’ll have a fund to either attend university or some other training when he leaves school. Otherwise we try to save a few hundred each pay day for a never ending list of things – fencing, a glasshouse, solar, a pool, a trip to Japan…
I worry about money: Sometimes.
Three words to describe my financial situation: Functioning, uneasy – but fortunate.
My biggest edible indulgence would be: Vogel’s Hazelnut and Cacao granola. It’s so good, but it’s so expensive! I only get it about once a month.
In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: $0 – neither of us are big drinkers.
In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: Approximately $180 in petrol between us, as we have a long daily commute. We used to be able to carpool, but now we have to split shifts to accommodate child care.
I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: $4,000 – I don’t buy many individual items, but I have expensive taste.
My most expensive clothing in the past year was: I love Gorman but I don’t tend to buy at full price. However I bought a beautiful dress and sweater combination for a conference last year that cost about $900. I don’t regret it though, it’s one of my current favourite outfits.
My last pair of shoes cost: $260 for a pair of Birkenstocks, but they’re my everyday shoes in summer so I definitely get good cost per wear for them.
My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: About $200 for haircuts and skincare, although I’m considering going blonde again in 2026 which will significantly up the cost of my hair care. I haven’t worn makeup since 2022. I highly recommend it!
My exercise expenditure in a year is about: $10 per week to swim at the local pool, and a $100 yearly subscription to the MySwimPro app. My husband and I bought each other Garmin watches for Christmas, which was an upfront cost of about $200 each, but hopefully they should last a while.
My last Friday night cost: $30 for pizzas at home. We watched a movie and worked on our Lego city.
Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: I bought a Ninja Creami ice cream maker during the Boxing Day sales, but we haven’t even used it yet… I am looking forward to making dairy-free ice cream, but the thought of having to clean everything before the first use is putting me off.
Most indulgent purchase (that I don’t regret) in the last 12 months was: I spent $700 on two House of Hackney cushions last year. I realise that this is an insane price for home decor, but they make me so happy every time I see them. We also bought an electric log splitter, which has already paid for itself in terms of firewood costs.
One area where I’m a bit of a tightwad is: Groceries, especially things like fresh fruit. My parents got my toddler used to all kinds of luxury fruit when they were visiting for Christmas and now that they’re gone I’m like, Watermelon? Are you crazy? I’ve also never owned a car that cost more than $15,000.
Five words to describe my financial personality would be: Push and pull – I oscillate between being cautious and forward-thinking, and then spending a lot on whimsical things. Like I’ll put off buying something useful because I can make do without it, and then impulse buy sheep on Facebook. Emotion-driven. Enabled. But I always do my research.
I grew up in a house where money was: Always available for the important things, but discretionary spending was heavily scrutinised. That’s probably why I love buying fun things now. My dad really drilled it into me that going into debt for anything other than a mortgage was a Very Bad Thing, so at least I’ve never racked up credit card or afterpay debts. I only spend what I have.
The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: I think all the way back in university, and that was due to a bank error.
In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: With a bigger savings buffer. Hopefully earning more!
I would love to have more money for: Investments – while I’m not in debt, I wish I also had the discipline to put money aside for longer-term gains.
Describe your financial low: Two years ago when we moved into our current house. We were broke from moving costs, I’d just come off maternity leave, we were temporarily on an extremely high mortgage rate, and then it turned out the house was absolutely freezing in winter and we racked up $700 in heating costs in one month trying to keep our baby’s room warm. We’ve done a lot of work to bring that heating cost right down by installing insulation and heat pumps and now our mortgage is refixed on a much lower rate, but that first winter was brutal.
I give money away to: I have regular donations set up for Forest and Bird and Red Cross, and we also make donations to various causes through our church.
