Around 2 million eligible New Zealanders will see an extra $116 in their bank account on Monday – the first of three monthly cost of living support payments totalling $350.
It equates to an extra $27 per week.
Breakfast compared prices for some of the cheapest staple items - 1 litre of milk, a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, butter, potatoes, carrots, bananas, a four-pack of toilet paper, and one can each of tomatoes, baked beans and spaghetti - at Pak'nSave, New World and Countdown.
Pak'nSave came out on top at $21.23, followed by New World at $25.55. At Countdown, the total cost added up to $28.19, with Kiwis having to put back two cans of food to keep costs down.
READ MORE: Cost of living support payments begin today
The cost of petrol, too, is on the rise.
The payment could see a Toyota Corolla, which does 14 kilometres per litre, travel 126 kilometres – the equivalent of a trip from Auckland to Hamilton.
Meanwhile, $27 worth of power saw Breakfast pleasantly surprised.
The average home spends $2200 per year on power, or $6 per day. For $27, Kiwis could get 4.5 days of free power or 25 hours of free heating with a 3.5kw heat pump.
When we look at rent, the median New Zealand rental price is $580 per week. If the payment was to go towards rent, it could add up to eight hours.
But with the payment, you still wouldn’t be able to visit an after-hours doctor, the dentist, buy two large blocks of cheese, get a haircut from Just Cuts or pay for a WOF at VTNZ.
North Harbour Budgeting Services' David Verry told Breakfast how Kiwis can budget for the future. (Source: Breakfast)
“We’ve seen a 7.3% increase in the cost of living since last year so people are only now eyeing today what they’ll get in terms of this extra money coming in,” North Harbour Budgeting Services financial mentor David Verry told Breakfast.
Verry said the three lump sum payments “does give a tiny bit of leeway” for Kiwis doing it tough.
He urged eligible Kiwis to ensure that the IRD knows what their bank account is, adding that there are 164,000 Kiwis who could miss out on the payments.
He called on people who are behind on their bill payments to try and use the first lump sum to “try and catch up with some of your bills you’re behind on”.
Verry also suggested using the payment to stock up on essential food items “that you’re going to need over the next two or three months, not the perishables but just things that you’re going to be able to stick in the pantry”.
“Make sure you do it at the right place – the place where it is the cheapest that you can do it. Don’t do it at the corner store. Really, really tempting.”
READ MORE: Govt's 'duty' to support Kiwis amid cost of living crisis - Ardern
He said to bring a shopping list or shop online so you don’t get sucked in by specials for treats and other non-essential items.
“Try and be disciplined. Try and put it towards something that’s going to be essential. It might be grocery vouchers that you can use for those perishables a little later on. It might be petrol vouchers so you can go and top your car up.”
Pre-paying for power was another consideration.
“If you’re not behind, maybe you’re up to date but we’ve still got a month of winter to go … I’m ready to go in terms of when the next bill comes through, I’m not going to be hit by it.”
He also suggested establishing an emergency fund for house and car payments, as well as doctors visits.
“If you’ve actually got that money aside, maybe you can latch into that and it just saves you a whole lot of stress in terms of those sorts of bills."
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