As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, an arts sector creative explains where they spend and how they manage a highly variable income.

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Gender: Nope!

Age: 46.

Ethnicity: Pākehā dual citizen with another western country.

Role: Arts sector creative and semi pro interior designer/hammer swinger/house painter. Parent to two kids with my partner.

Salary/income/assets: Salary:$0. Income: wildly varied but usually $50-90,000 a year. I had a couple of banner years with income >$500,000 around five years ago. Assets: $2-2.5m jointly with partner, 80% in property.

My living location is: Urban.

Rent/mortgage per week: None. Own the house free and clear. Rates utilities and insurance are pretty chunky though.

Student loan or other debt payments per week: None.

Typical weekly food costs

Groceries: $300-400 for family of four. We choose to get reamed by the local New World because time is short and the cheaper shopping options are 15 minutes further away.

Eating out: Couple of times a month, maybe $200 total. Often on the business card since dinners are primarily professional.

Takeaways: Fish and chips with the family most weeks, $30.

Workday lunches: Rarely. Mostly I eat a sorry cheese sandwich and a carrot and get crumbs in my computer.

Cafe coffees/snacks: $10 a week? Once or twice a week, in a semi-professional social context. Charged on the business card.

Other food costs: Greens in the garden; perpetual spinach and kale. $50 a year on seedlings.

Savings: $50 a week in KiwiSaver. Home improvement is also a savings stream. Hard to quantify but I would confidently say this represents $1000/week.

I worry about money: Sometimes.

Three (or 18) words to describe my financial situation: Obscenely fortunate from a couple of lucky property plays but plagued by nail biting stretches without cash income.

My biggest edible indulgence would be: Eating my kids lunch biscuits after they are asleep.

In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: $50. Mail-order wine largely imbibed while cooking dinner for the kids.

In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: Varies! On a good week I walk or bike exclusively, but on a hectic week I’ll find myself driving and getting dinged $30 a day in parking and spending $20-30 on petrol.

I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: $400. I have a scorching penchant for Trade Me but only if I can get a screamer bargain.

My most expensive clothing in the past year was: $110 on an exquisite cashmere topcoat straight off Savile Row. I’ll hardly ever wear it but if you see me in it you’ll assume I’m a high roller haha.

My last pair of shoes cost: $45. A barely worn pair of tobacco brown Belgian loafers off Trade Me. Champagne style on Shampayne budget.

My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: $300? Four haircuts at $50 at my barber, plus some product.

My exercise expenditure in a year is about: $300. Bike maintenance. I make the commute my gym time. I also pinched two 30kg sandbags from some local roadworks that I use as free weights.

My last Friday night cost: $35. Family takeout and half a bottle of Pet Nat.

Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: Flights to the US that I had to cancel last minute.

Most indulgent purchase (that I don’t regret) in the last 12 months was: A pre-owned soundbar for the TV, off Trade Me. got a great deal but still a decent spend.

One area where I’m a bit of a tightwad is: Full price anything. There’s always a deal to be found. Feels great to get a saving!

Five(ish) words to describe my financial personality would be: Irrationally sanguine in the face of huge income irregularity. Our financial advisor regularly has conniptions. But actually, having an advisor, and using the tools they provide to give a clear overview of expenses has been hugely freeing. Life costs our family about $10,000 a month. Knowing that figure is almost always the same allows me to be more relaxed about the occasional $30 parking fee or dinner out.

I grew up in a house where money was: Neither short nor wasted. My parents came from families of modest means, and they lived with care but not worry.

The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: Maybe never? If I’m close to the wire the card doesn’t come out. But having said that, the first half of this year was pretty rough. Neither I nor my partner made a dollar in the preceding year and our savings got perilously low.

In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: Ideally, with another $500,000 in assets.

I would love to have more money for: My kids. They are growing up in a complex time and I would be tremendously meaningful to have the money to ensure they can thrive.

Describe your financial low: I lived my 20s and much of my 30s with exceedingly thin finances. I’m acutely aware of the grinding, utterly exhausting experience of being poor. I’ve been incredibly fortunate in the last decade but I’ll never lose the awareness of what not having money is like.

I give money away to: Progressive political causes, environmental groups and friends/family in moments of crisis.