As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a government worker explains where they spend and how they save.
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Gender: Female
Age: 30
Ethnicity: Indian
Role: Senior advisor in a government department
Salary/income/assets: $107,000
My living location is: Suburban
Rent/mortgage per week: Mortgage is about $1800 per fortnight split between my partner and I.
Student loan or other debt payments per week: I’ve been student loan free since my mid-20s. Prioritised paying it off so I didn’t have to worry about it during my OE.
Typical weekly food costs
Groceries: $150-200 per week for two people. We recently started shopping at Pak’nSave and noticed a considerable difference in cost of our weekly shop. Not being baited by the various grocery rewards systems anymore!
Eating out: $150-200 once every 3-4 months. We will go to a fancy restaurant for birthdays or when friends/family are visiting.
Takeaways: $20-25 once in a blue moon, on the very rare occasion I can’t be bothered cooking. Cooking dinner is like therapy for me, but free.
Workday lunches: $15 every week, as a treat to myself for surviving another week at a 9-5 desk job. RIP.
Cafe coffees/snacks: $3, once a week. Donut or other sweet treat from local cafe (but only after 2pm as everything is half price).
Other food costs: Recently set up my own herb garden for about $80, and hope to get a vege garden going very soon (estimating another $80-100).
Savings: Used a significant portion of my savings when purchasing a house. I have $35,000 in cash savings, $25,000 in a term deposit, and $3,000 in KiwiSaver. Currently saving for an overseas trip in the next 6 months and some house renovations.
I worry about money: Sometimes.
Three words to describe my financial situation: Comfortable, cautious, (occasionally) chaotic.
My biggest edible indulgence would be: Graze skinny dipped almonds!!!!!!
In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: Only drink occasionally when catching up with friends. $15-30 for a nice glass of wine or two.
In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: $50.
I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: $500. Mostly things I don’t really need. I’m easily tempted by a sale, especially when it comes to sleepwear/nice pyjamas.
My most expensive clothing in the past year was: $200 for a pair of nice running shoes. They were on sale, down from $320.
My last pair of shoes cost: $80 for some replacement sneakers. My last pair had holes in them, and I’d end up with a shoe full of water and very wet socks if I got caught in the rain.
My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: $600 for a haircut and treatment twice a year, and hair products. $150-300 (maybe even less) to replace make up or skin care products I’ve finished.
My exercise expenditure in a year is about: $150 per month for the gym.
My last Friday night cost: $12 for a book I bought on my Kindle. I was sick and desperately needed some reading material to keep me from doomscrolling on TikTok.
Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: My Rains backpack. I bought it on sale, but holy shit it’s so uncomfortable. I tried to make it work for a good few months but now it sits at the back of the closet.
Most indulgent purchase (that I don’t regret) in the last 12 months was: DIY gel nail kit! It was $180-200 to get everything I needed but I’ve already saved so much $$ doing it myself. Zero regrets.
One area where I’m a bit of a tightwad is: Takeaways/buying lunch! I need to make sure I’m getting the best bang for my buck.
Five words to describe my financial personality would be… Cautious, intentional, future-focused and realistic.
I grew up in a house where money was: Available but tight. My parents never wanted my sibling and I to miss out on any opportunities. We went to every school trip, played any sports, dance classes, activity or event we wanted to attend. We went on an international trip every year and road trips around NZ every school holiday. There was always fresh food on the table, and warm clothes for us to wear. But even as children, it didn’t go unnoticed that my parents were always eating leftovers and had holes in their winter coats.
The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: Probably when I was at university and livings costs hadn’t been paid out for the week. 2016?
In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: Financially stable, quietly thriving, and making my money work harder than I do. I would love to diversify my investments and have a bit more freedom.
I would love to have more money for: Treating my family and friends!
Describe your financial low: I was 22 and decided to go to Europe for four weeks on my own. Paid my way through it using some cash savings, but mostly a credit card. Racked up close to $8,000. I didn’t understand how credit cards worked (and thus did not understand credit card interest). I thought I could slowly chip away at paying it off and was confused as to why the balance kept rising. As I was unemployed and couldn’t get a stable income job for months, my parents had to bail me out. Super shameful, but also a huge teaching moment for me. And yes, I did pay them back!!
I give money away to: Local charities that help low-income families and kids.
