Our phones can tempt us into plenty of regrettable purchases. Or – if we're smart about it – they can actually help us save, with very little effort on our part. Frances Cook reports.
A brief scan of the headlines is all you need to know on whether or not many of us are doing it tough.
Unemployment up to 5.6%, interest rates climbing, and inflation above target levels.
Frankly, we all need a win, and we need it to come without too much mental effort, because we’re all a bit tired.
So let’s make it happen – time to save money with a minimum of mental effort.
Here are some of my favourite apps and websites to help us stay on top of our money, without spending all our mental effort on the rising tide of bills.
Grocer and Price Pulse
We all need to eat, but not for that price, are you kidding me?
Grocer pulls prices across the big supermarkets so that you can see who’s actually cheapest for what’s in your trolley, instead of trusting whoever has the loudest yellow sticker.
Meanwhile Price Pulse is a free browser extension that compares prices across the major grocery chains, as well as their price history, so that you can tell the difference between a genuine special and a “special” that’s just the regular price with a sticker slapped on it. It will even help you switch to buy from the cheaper option.
Check out pricepulse.co.nz or grocer.nz.
Fun doesn’t have to be completely off the menu, it just might be a bit more strategic.
First Table partners with restaurants around the country to offer half-price meals to diners who book the first sitting of the evening, typically before 6pm.
Turning up on time is non-negotiable, but the discount is genuine, and the food can be great.
A date night or a catch-up with friends is far more fun when you’re not stressed about it destroying your entire budget for the week.
And hey, it’s always nice to support the hospitality scene when it’s tough for them too.
Check out firsttable.co.nz.
Gaspy
Fuel is one of the biggest costs pushing up inflation, and it’s not getting much better as we watch the Strait of Hormuz switch from open, closed, open, closed.
Gaspy helps you out with crowdsourced petrol prices, updated by actual humans driving actual cars past actual stations.
The margin between the cheapest and most expensive pump in the same suburb is bigger than people think, and it costs you nothing to check.
See gaspy.nz.
Love Food Hate Waste
This one is less an app and more of a mindset shift – they’ll help you stop throwing out perfectly good food that just needs to be used in a different way.
The website offers meal planning tools, “use it up” recipes for the vegetables that are getting sad, and portion guides so you stop cooking enough rice for a rugby team.
Wasted food is wasted money, full stop.
See lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz.
Powerswitch or Billy
Have a play on powerswitch.org.nz or billy.govt.nz, to compare power plans and find out fast if you’re getting fleeced.
A lot of power companies bank on us never checking for a better deal, but it can save you literally hundreds of dollars. Consumer NZ says the average saving for a Powerswitch user is $500 a year.
Ten minutes on these sites can beat hours of couponing.
LinkedIn Learning
Easy to overlook, because you wouldn’t think it’s a money app at first glance.
But at a time when getting a pay rise, or even a job at all, is harder than ever, upskilling is a key strategy to help you keep earning.
LinkedIn Learning has thousands of courses from top professionals, spanning everything from spreadsheets, to leadership, to coding.
Normally it comes with a subscription fee, but here’s the hack – most of our public libraries already hold that subscription on behalf of their members. If you’ve got a library card, you’ve got free access.
A course completed on a few evenings could be the difference to support that pay rise conversation, or even a shift into a new, better paid line of work.
Check out linkedin.com/learning.
TradeMe and Facebook Marketplace
Secondhand is my favourite hack, particularly for finding good quality at a much lower price. Before you buy anything at retail price, have a wee scroll.
Nine times out of ten, someone nearby has bought one, regretted it, and is trying to get rid of it for a third of the price.
Let them solve your problem for you.
See trademe.co.nz or facebook.com.
Sure, none of this will bring the unemployment rate down, or stop the Official Cash Rate going up further, but it takes back control for the things that we can control.
Don’t pay a loyalty tax if you don’t have to, keep fun in your life with a bit of strategy, and hunker down for what’s been a rough ride so far.
The information in this column is general in nature and should not be read as personal financial advice.
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