She's on ACC, his work as a tradie is weather dependent. What does it cost to feed this Wellington couple and their son?
How old are you? I'm 38.
And what’s your profession? At the moment I'm off work on ACC, but I was a receptionist.
How many people live in your house? Myself, my partner, and our three-year-old son.
What does your partner do? He's a tradie, he's paid hourly, and his work is weather dependent, he can only work when it’s not raining (and we live in Wellington).
On an average week, how much money would come into the household? I get $680-something a week (80% of my former wages). And my partner usually gets about $1400 fortnight. So it’s about $1300-$1400 a week, combined.
How much would you spend on groceries in a week? We reckon it’s close to $500, one big shop and a few top-ups.
And do you shop around for that? We've been talking about looking at the butchers to see if the prices would be any better. But usually it’s just the one shop we go to, Woolworths.
Have you noticed the cost-of-living crisis over the last 18 months? Yeah, we’re just sort of living paycheck to paycheck. It's quite scary. And I know there's a lot of people that are doing the same thing. I’ve just gone through the rigmarole of getting a KiwiSaver withdrawal to try and catch up on rent arrears that we we've found ourselves in again.
What essentials do you always make sure you have? Toilet paper, standard vegetables like potatoes and onions. We eat fairly healthily and we try to keep fruit and vegetables stocked up as best we can. We try not to have frozen veggies too much, but we've always got them in the freezer. Pasta and rice are always in the cupboard. And just whatever's cheapest, whatever’s on special. The prices fluctuate so much.
And what would be the biggest luxuries you'd allow yourselves? Every now and then we get bottle of wine or, I guess, ice cream if it’s on special. It seems like everything else has gone up in price but wine has gotten cheaper.
Do you ever get takeaways? No, no, no. Every now and then we get something, if my partner finishes work late, and we've got busy, but it's never anything too extravagant.
What about going out for dinner? No.
Do you buy takeaway coffees? No, nothing like that.
Do you make coffee at home? Yes, well, I do. Just instant coffee. He doesn’t drink it.
Are there things that you used to buy, that you don't buy anymore because of the prices of things? Smokes! We both used to smoke, so that’s one thing we don’t buy anymore. I also used to colour my hair at home, but now I avoid that aisle as much as I can.
Are there specific foods that you buy for your son? Maybe some little cherry tomatoes, if they're cheap enough. But he pretty much eats what we eat.
Do you take him to the supermarket with you? I try to avoid it at this point, because he's just sort of thinks that he can help himself.
Do you buy cheese? Every now and then. But we've gone back to that Everyday brand, it’s not super nice.
How often do you have meat? Most nights. Cheaper cuts and we’ll make a casserole.
Growing up, was money tightly watched in your household, and did you learn to budget? No, I didn't. That's probably something that woud have been beneficial. But my family were a lot older – I was the best mistake my parents ever made. They had a family that had grown up and moved out (before me), so I was more or less an only child, and they were all sorted. My dad was working full time, and in my mother was able to be a stay-at-home mum, which I know a lot of people can't do now either.
Okay, some quick questions: Brown bread or white? Brown.
Marmite or Vegemite? Marmite.
Chocolate or ice cream? Ice cream.
Two, three or four-ply toilet paper? Two.
This interview has been edited for clarity and concision.
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