As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a content and events coordinator explains how they spend.
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Gender: Female.
Age: 31.
Ethnicity: European (I’m French).
Role: Full time, 40 hours a week as a content and events coordinator.
Salary/income/assets: $65,000 a year before tax, no other assets.
My living location is: Urban.
Rent/mortgage per week: $345 rent per week, including expenses.
Student loan or other debt payments per week: I moved to New Zealand after my studies in France, so I’m student loan free. I got my first credit card less than a year ago for emergencies, but end up transferring most of my salary into the account weekly and use the card for day-to-day banking, so no debt payments there either.
Typical weekly food costs
Groceries: $35 every second week for a veggie box, and about $80 to $120 in groceries every week on top of that.
Eating out: More often than I should, about once or twice a week for dinner, around $30-$50 a week not including drinks.
Takeaways: I’m not big on takeaways and will always opt for dining out instead.
Workday lunches: I try to make enough food for dinner so I can have leftovers for lunch, but realistically still buy lunch from my workplace (I work in hospo) or neighbouring spots about twice a week, averaging $20 to $30.
Cafe coffees/snacks: I’m fortunate to work for a coffee roastery, so the entirety of my caffeine intake at home and on work days is free. I would usually go out for coffee either Saturday or Sunday, and I like fancy pour overs, so I’d spend about $7-$15 on it.
Savings: I used to be able to put about $100-$200 aside each week, but I’ve recently started weekly therapy sessions ($140), which means no more savings for now.
I worry about money: Always.
Three words to describe my financial situation: Day-to-day, anxiety-inducing, uncomfortable.
My biggest edible indulgence would be: Lollies – Haribo Tangfastics. I can’t help myself. Maybe once a week?
In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: Between two to six beers out, and the odd six-pack. $60 on average?
In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: I put $80 of petrol every second week – about half a tank.
I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: $200-$400. I’ll spend months without spending a penny, then go rogue one week and get new jeans and a skirt and blow the whole budget for the remainder of the year.
My most expensive clothing in the past year was: A pair of Levi’s 501 that don’t suit me. $200+ down the drain.
My last pair of shoes cost: Classic black Crocs, about $100. I wore them everywhere in France over August, including to swim in rivers. A very smart purchase.
My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: Virtually no makeup or beauty treatments. My skincare is about $100 every three to four months. I cut my own hair and use box dye if needed.
My exercise expenditure in a year is about: I cancelled my expensive gym membership earlier this year in favour of walking and yoga. My running shoes were about $100 and my work gives us $150 a year for health and wellbeing expenses, so it usually covers all my exercise needs.
My last Friday night cost: More than usual – $90, including a set dinner and a couple of glasses of wines to celebrate with a friend. Otherwise, I stay home a lot over the weekend these days.
Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: The expensive jeans I never wear. And the thousands of dollars I spend on cigarettes every year…
Most indulgent purchase (that I don’t regret) in the last 12 months was: Weekly therapy sessions. $140 per week, over $7k a year. The best financial investment I’ve ever made.
One area where I’m a bit of a tightwad is: Makeup – I can’t imagine spending hundreds of dollars every month when I can get basic stuff for a tenth of the price.
Five words to describe my financial personality would be: Responsible, inconsistent, careful, moody, day-to-day.
I grew up in a house where money was: Initially not a problem, then inconsistent. My parents sheltered us from the details of their financial situations, but we went through a long-ish phase of living on my mum’s salary only, and I could sense that it wasn’t secure anymore.
The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: It used to happen a lot when I was earning way less and constantly transferring from my savings account. I can’t remember the last time it’s been an issue though.
In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: Honestly, not much better off. I can’t see my salary increasing by too much, and I can’t see the cost of living going down. I’m hoping to move to London in the next couple of years, but I don’t imagine this move translating into huge financial gains.
I would love to have more money for: Travelling. Every year, I spend about $4k to $5k to fly back home, which is every penny I can muster to save each year. I’m privileged to be able to do that, but really 80% of that goes into flying there. I can only afford to go back to Europe yearly because I then go hide in the countryside with my parents, where I don’t have to pay for accomodation, transport or food. I’d love to use the opportunity to travel to other European countries while there, but I just can’t afford it.
Describe your financial low: The last time I really stressed about money was earlier this year, when my car bill wiped all my savings. I had no credit card at the time and it was incredibly scary to live with absolutely no buffer. It was a sad realisation for a 31-year-old – no assets, no savings, no buffer. Ouch.
I give money away to: Nothing, unless it’s for friends who need a temporary handout.