{"id":162250,"date":"2025-12-01T06:22:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T06:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/162250\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T06:22:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T06:22:09","slug":"top-10-but-doing-it-tough-how-the-cost-of-living-is-hitting-kiwi-households","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/162250\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10% but doing it tough: How the cost of living is hitting Kiwi households"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this age of uncertainty, we\u2019re told to trust the numbers, and here they are. According to global insurance giant Allianz\u2019s Global Wealth Report, New Zealand is among the top five wealthiest countries<\/a> per capita on the global rich list, beating out Canada, Denmark and Sweden \u2013 but ranked behind Australia. <\/p>\n

Allianz suggests that when adding up net wealth from real estate and other financial assets, each Kiwi was worth on average US$617,067 ($1,078,107) in 2024. <\/p>\n

Our official body, Stats NZ, estimates what each one of us is \u201cworth\u201d \u2013 financially \u2013 on different criteria, using a measure of everything a person or household owns, minus their debts. <\/p>\n

The numbers: <\/p>\n

To be in the top 50%: households, at least $524,788; individuals, at least $134,850. For the top 10%: households, at least $2.414 million; individuals, at least $1.226m. For the top 5%: households, at least $3.718m; individuals, at least $1.883m. For the top 1%: households, at least $8.727m; individuals, at least $4.735m. <\/p>\n

Those are the bare numbers. But we need to remember the warning, commonly attributed to Benjamin Disraeli, about \u201clies, damned lies and statistics\u201d. In Aotearoa, much of that so-called wealth is the valuation of the family home, plus or minus what\u2019s owed to the Australian-owned banks. <\/p>\n

Even more uncomfortable for a nation founded on the concept of egalitarianism: Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen points out the on-paper median wealth of the top 1% is 22 times the rest of our fellow citizens and the top 50% has 93.3% of all household wealth. <\/p>\n

Every time they go to the supermarket or open the inbox to another notice from the power or insurance company, many New Zealand households<\/a> face the reality of making do on what\u2019s supposed to be a good salary, but doesn\u2019t stretch to steak on the barbie. <\/p>\n

\"AmyAmy and Mike were renting in Auckland’s Arch Hill (pictured) but made the move further out in the city to Avondale to save up to buy a house. Photo \/ Michelle Hyslop<\/p>\n

\u2018Power goes up, food goes up, but the wages never do\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone wanted to make a movie about my life,\u201d says Amy*, \u201cit\u2019d be Groundhog Day.\u201d <\/p>\n

In her early 30s, she\u2019s a dental hygienist in a city practice; partner Mike\u2019s* commerce degree earned him a place at a major financial services institution. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s only a couple of rungs up the ladder,\u201d Amy says, \u201cbut the good thing about that industry is that there\u2019s plenty of ladder to climb up.\u201d <\/p>\n

Amy typically grosses $52,000, depending on shifts; Mike\u2019s grading puts him in the $55,000-$65,000 band, and they don\u2019t have assets \u2013 \u201cunless you count a 10-year-old Mazda and a grumpy cat\u201d. <\/p>\n

They\u2019ve been together going on four years. During most of that time they have house-shared with a rotating cast of three or four others in \u201cthe usual draughty old villas\u201d in inner-city suburbs like Grey Lynn and Arch Hill. <\/p>\n

Those might have been the good old days. <\/p>\n

\u201cPost-Covid, cocktails on Ponsonby Rd or at the Viaduct, brunch on Jervois Rd on Saturdays and Sundays, eating out most nights because no one had gone to the supermarket.\u201d <\/p>\n

They\u2019ve had the odd trip to Aussie and Pacific beaches. <\/p>\n

Then things got serious. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided we were in this for the long haul and it was time to act like grown-ups, get our own place, save up to buy a house, all that sort of thing.\u201d <\/p>\n

Goodbye, Grey Lynn. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe only place we could afford was in Avondale. It\u2019s a unit, clean, in good condition and we pay $625 a week. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe keep to a really tight budget for food shopping<\/a> \u2013 there are really good local fruit and vege shops here that are way cheaper than supermarkets \u2013 and we spend about $150 a week max. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe other good thing about living in the suburbs is public transport. We can both get into the city on the train and that\u2019s capped at $50 a week. We\u2019d pay way more if for parking and petrol if we used the car.\u201d <\/p>\n

There\u2019s a different theme to their entertainment choices, too. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe stream movies and if it\u2019s a treat night we\u2019ll get Uber Eats or maybe the Thai around the corner.\u201d <\/p>\n

In other sacrifices, Mike gave up his long-time but costly gym membership and Amy waved goodbye to her West Lynn hairstylist. <\/p>\n

But, she says, it\u2019s dispiriting. <\/p>\n

\u201cPower goes up<\/a>, food goes up, but the wages never do. We can\u2019t see that we will ever be able to save enough to afford a house in Auckland. It looks like Australia is the option. At least we\u2019ll have plenty of friends to catch up with when we get there.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s the same story from every family in New Zealand\u2019<\/p>\n

You could call them Mr and Mrs Middle New Zealand. Tom* is a secondary school teacher<\/a> in a main centre with almost 20 years at the whiteboard and a specialist qualification. His salary just tops six figures. <\/p>\n

Jo* works from home as a tax accountant. With professional discretion, she says her income \u201ccan be $30,000, it can be $50,000. But the true value to me is the flexibility it allows me with the family\u201d. <\/p>\n

That, and their aged but comfortable three-bedroom, suburban bungalow, CV $1 million and change, puts them somewhere around the top 25% of Kiwi households. <\/p>\n

Tom is surprised; while he has a keen understanding of the haves and have-nots in his community, he would have placed them \u201caround 40% at best\u201d. <\/p>\n

The family agree they\u2019re not on the breadline \u2013 but they\u2019re not on the ciabatta line either. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll be hearing the same story from every family in New Zealand,\u201d Tom says. \u201cThis is a low-wage, high-cost-of-living economy and it\u2019s been that way forever and a day.\u201d <\/p>\n

Their priorities are their children: sporting commitments for their daughter and music for their son.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s part and parcel of family life and we don\u2019t begrudge a cent that we invest in their activities and education, but we do notice the cost. <\/p>\n

\u201cI see ministers on TV every night touting the \u2018growth economy\u2019<\/a> and \u2018green shoots\u2019,\u201d Tom says. \u201cSorry, it doesn\u2019t feel anything like that out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"EvenEven in Auckland’s affluent suburbs like Herne Bay, people are feeling the pressures of the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n

\u2018As a single parent, life\u2019s a real struggle\u2019<\/p>\n

Bridget\u2019s* jaw dropped when told she\u2019s in the top 10% of the Kiwi wealth scale. She\u2019s a 50-ish single parent with a middle-ranking role in the state sector, and owns a two-bedroom unit in a well-to-do Auckland suburb, which she shares with her teenager. <\/p>\n

Her salary is average for her role \u2013 \u201cnot six figures, if only\u201d \u2013 and the council valuation on her home is $1.2m, a slight drop from the last valuation round. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a single parent, life\u2019s a real struggle,\u201d she admits. \u201cYou\u2019ve got the mortgage, ever-growing rates, insurance, food, utility costs. It seems that every time you open the email there\u2019s another notice from the power company or the insurance company about the next increase<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are ongoing school events or requests for \u2018voluntary donations\u2019, and I have found it valuable to supplement my child\u2019s education with outside tutoring. There are other extra costs like after-school and holiday programmes. I can work from home at least two days a week, but other days I have to be in the office in the city so I have to pay for care. <\/p>\n

\u201cI try to use the car as little as possible to save on petrol and parking, I take my own lunch. We do the grocery shop online so we can manage the budget. But it\u2019ll only take one thing \u2013 say a new pair of school shoes \u2013 to throw the budget out for a couple of weeks.\u201d <\/p>\n

Bridget has tossed up a radical move \u2013 literally. <\/p>\n

\u201cI had dreams of selling up and moving out of Auckland to somewhere cheaper, but the current lowering of house CVs and the stagnant market means I\u2019m either stuck in Auckland to weather the storm or get out and hopefully afford a similar small home elsewhere because I won\u2019t get a good price for this place. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe rungs of the property ladder are greased so well that one step up has you slipping three rungs down and smacking your chin on the way down.\u201d <\/p>\n

*Names have been changed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In this age of uncertainty, we\u2019re told to trust the numbers, and here they are. According to global…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162251,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[9055,40549,192,7022,138,3013,3705,13177,4187,106671,31787,307,106667,219,12026,64227,67897,20557,29012,221,185,702,5126,106669,194,6036,4188,16507,106670,111,139,69,1118,44404,53189,106668,223,3010,13983],"class_list":["post-162250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-9055","tag-1980s","tag-are","tag-black","tag-business","tag-but","tag-cartoon","tag-clarke","tag-cost","tag-dagg","tag-doing","tag-dont","tag-drawled","tag-economy","tag-farmer","tag-fred","tag-gumboots","tag-hitting","tag-households","tag-how","tag-is","tag-it","tag-john","tag-khaki","tag-kiwi","tag-know","tag-living","tag-lucky","tag-monotone","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-pants","tag-quintessential","tag-singlet","tag-the","tag-top","tag-tough"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162250\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}