As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a rural professional unpacks the costs and benefits of living on a farm.
Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.
Gender: Female.
Age: 27.
Ethnicity: Pākehā/Māori.
Role: Rural professional.
Salary/income/assets: $75k per year salary, I’ve got $70k split across savings, term deposits, and investment schemes.
My living location is: Rural.
Rent/mortgage per week: Nothing – it’s just my husband and I for now, the house comes with his job (working on a farm). Technically he gets a rent allowance so a bit of tax does come out of his paycheque for it.
Student loan or other debt payments per week: Nothing – all paid off!
Typical weekly food costs
Groceries: It fluctuates – we don’t have a proper supermarket nearby so might spend $60-80 for the two of us at the local shop each week but we’ll go to town every few months and spend closer to $300 at the supermarket. Our living situation means we don’t have to buy meat, milk or eggs, and I (try to…) grow most of our veges.
Eating out: Town days often end up being an exhausting 16-hour round trip so we’ll end up eating our way around. Might spend $200-300 for the two of us if we end up catching up with people and eating both lunch and dinner out.
Takeaways: $50 every couple months.
Workday lunches: Usually I eat at home or take lunch, will spend $15 once a month or so if I’m traveling for work.
Cafe coffees/snacks: Nothing.
Other food costs: Most of our meat is either from the farm or hunted so that’s “free”, but we also have our own milking sheep, and I keep poultry for meat and eggs – we’d spend $100/month on animal feed and $100/year for vege garden stuff. Getting our food this way probably isn’t any cheaper than buying it, especially factoring in the massive amount of time we spend at it. Plus, there are other costs like our electricity bill being a bit higher due to running a giant freezer. But we enjoy it, and it gives us access to quality food in an area where options are very limited.
Savings: $500/fortnight goes into my investment account automatically, and I transfer lump sums into my savings account when I remember every couple of months. No particular goals at the moment – kids I guess…?
I worry about money: Never.
Three words to describe my financial situation: Secure, comfortable, low-cost.
My biggest edible indulgence would be: Whittakers.
In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: Nothing – some health issues have taken all the fun out of alcohol for me. Which is a good thing I guess?
In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: I’ve got a work vehicle and don’t go out much under my own steam so most weeks, it’s nothing. Town trips are a full $120 tank of fuel. What’s public transport?
I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: $250, most of that being the jersey (see below) – work pays for my weekday clothing.
My most expensive clothing in the past year was: $120 for a NZ wooly jersey that I wore nonstop all last winter. I bought it at the end of the previous winter… Just like I buy my shorts at the end of summer.
My last pair of shoes cost: $340 for a pair of hunting/tramping boots.
My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: $200 – I don’t wear makeup and I’m stingy so my shampoo lasts forever, but I spend a lot of time outdoors so invest in good sunscreen and moisturiser.
My exercise expenditure in a year is about: My exercise is all hunting and tramping, so a new set of boots every couple years, maybe some fuel if I’m going further afield, that’s about it.
My last Friday night cost: Nothing – cooked some steaks and played board games with friends.
Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: One advantage of living so far from town is you are forced to really think through purchases before you get there. Yes, online shopping, but rural shipping is a killer and I’m too tight fisted to justify it. So no regrettable purchases!
Most indulgent purchase (that I don’t regret) in the last 12 months was: A big tunnelhouse – we bought the frame second hand and a new plastic cover for it, all up we spent about $1,000 on it. (Plus a lot of time faffing about but I don’t even regret that).
One area where I’m a bit of a tightwad is: Anything that I haven’t sat on and thought about for several months.
Five words to describe my financial personality would be: Just like my grandparents (almost).
I grew up in a house where money was: Not the only form of wealth. We didn’t have a lot of money (I still have foot problems from too-small school shoes because I felt guilty about complaining) but growing up on family land we hunted/grew/fished our kai and had acres of space to play around on. It was a safe haven for many cousins and strays which probably didn’t help the financial situation.
The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: About six months ago, but it was a card/machine glitch not a money problem – I had enough cash to cover and it worked fine in the next shop.
In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: It all depends on the kiddie question… But I feel very well off and secure now, and have no reason to believe I won’t still be comfortable in five years, whatever happens!
Describe your financial low: A few times at uni, my student allowance would come through a couple days late and in order to not miss the rent payment I couldn’t afford food. It would happen to the other flatmates on the allowance too so we’d all be hard up at once. We got by nicking crops out of the university fields on more than one occasion. Never stole any sheep as I have heard rumours of others doing though.
I would love to have more money for: I have more than enough and feel guilty for what I have already, especially with what’s going on in NZ and around the world at the moment. But I wish my parents would actually let me give them some.
I give money away to: Anyone selling raffle tickets outside the shop (usually kids fundraising for camps or the rescue chopper guys), food banks, international aid efforts.
