It has been another busy and interesting year in our region. We revisit some of our most popular premium stories from 2022. Originally published on July 23.
For some middle-income earners, the line between a good life and a rocky one is blurring as the cost of living bites.
Budget Advice is seeing more working families struggling to make ends meet, but most sit just outside the limits of support from Work and Income and the IRD.
Food prices were 6.6 per cent higher in June 2022 compared with June 2021, according to Statistics New Zealand, and grocery food was the largest contributor to that.
With inflation at 7.3 per cent in the three months to June, and petrol prices also spiking, three families, from the Bay of Plenty, gave us a look at their weekly budgets.
Their stories help show how a middle-class lifestyle has and continues to shift. Plus, they offer their tips on making your food money go further.
The Grant-Mackie family
Weekly spend: $771
The details
Single mum Tiaki, 35, is a part-time junior lawyer at Te Whenua Law and Consulting.
She has three children - Kingi, 8, Elsie-Ley, 6, and Mauurere, 5, who has autism spectrum disorder.
As well as earning a small income (less than $30k a year), she receives Government financial aid.
Each week, her expenses are $771, and of that, a "minimum" of $300 goes on groceries, while the rest is divided between power, insurance, rates, petrol, internet/phone, house maintenance, and TV subscriptions, car maintenance and registrations.
Her last two grocery receipts, both from Pak'n Save show she spent $299.49 on 43 items; and $228.98 on 39 items.
Tiaki
I qualified from the University of Auckland in my early-20s and reached a comfortable position by my late-20s, allowing me to become a homeowner. I am now freehold.
I have $650 to $700 a week through Government assistance to house, feed and transport my children, but I'm not entitled to an accommodation supplement or temporary assistance allowances. Therefore, I work part-time to make ends meet.
I have no debt so I can afford to spend my working for families tax credits on food. Toddler formula is by far my most expensive grocery item - $20 for the cheapest tin at full price.
My youngest suffers from Pika (the eating and craving for things that aren't food), meaning he has a very narrow diet. I buy formula so he gets his nutrients; he's still in nappies. I buy Pams or Budget brands, but even they're becoming expensive.
Buying meat is also ridiculously expensive; as is pet food - we have a dog and a cat.
I've stopped buying alcohol and packaged and processed food. We have mandarin and lemon trees that save on fruit costs. I've also tried to cut costs elsewhere - my children moved from a private to public school as inflation rose. Their new school, Sunset Primary School, does an amazing job for families. When I need extra (basic) pantry items, the school provides; and they've helped with uniforms; shoes; free transport and food during school hours. I'm downsizing my car for something more economical. We rarely eat out, unless someone is buying for us, like my 60-year-old dad, who is moving down from Auckland to help us. With three kids, the price of one burger alone is usually $10, and a trip to the bakery is easily $25. We save money by staying home. Church Living Well has helped to fix things around our house. I work remotely and attend hearings virtually. My children are my priority, even though I would be more financially safe with a higher income. Without my support networks, I would be in poverty. Financial literacy and returning to the whenua "turangawaewae" (a place to stand) where you can grow your own food are going to become crucial long-term.
The Smith family
Weekly spend: $1500
The details:
Husband and wife Emma and Stefan Smith have three children, twins Jasmine and Ethan, 17, and Nathan, 15. They also have a boarder, "T", 22.
Stefan is a mechanic and Emma, is a nurse specialist.
The family spends a conservative $440 a fortnight on groceries. They are freehold in their Rotorua home but have expenses with the phone, petrol and power (made higher with owning stock and additional power needed for fencing and farm equipment); medical expenses (two family members have cardiac conditions), and they pay private school fees for all three children. Emma:
We are big on living within our means and don't believe in borrowing money or incurring debt.
I grow most of our food, including a summer and winter garden; make my own sauces and pickles, and swap produce with others. Our main grocery expense is milk and bread. We use 3l of milk and two loaves of bread per day. We have chickens, but when they're not laying, I buy 50 eggs a fortnight. On the weekend, it's not unusual to have 10 teenagers here for dinner. We have a barbecue on Saturday and a healthy, traditional roast on Sunday. I do my main shop at New World; and when we don't have homekill, Mad Butcher is my go-to. Bread comes from Couplands Bakery, and we allow for one takeaway a month.
To further cut our costs, I use veggie scraps to make stock and refuse to cook when there are leftovers.
We've implemented "fend for yourself Fridays" - this ensures food gets used up.
Hacks I've learned are: you can freeze red meat again after cooking; freeze eggs and reuse them in baking. I bake on a Sunday for the week ahead.
In summer, we catch and eat a lot of seafood - I love nothing more than fresh pipi steamed in a good wine.
We are also fortunate to have somewhere we can raise animals for homekill. Due to this, I feel we eat well in comparison to others.
We have weaknesses though, the hubby is prone to chocolate, and I - kombucha and coffee.
I used to always make lunches for our kids and only just stopped last year.
My children are at the age they need to be independent in making good food decisions. I refuse to buy junk food - they can use their own money if they want it.
In order to combat food poverty, I think we need to look at how healthy food is taxed and encourage more people to donate food. Free lessons on making food from scratch would be helpful.
A lot of homeless people are in fact working, and the stigma gets to me. You often need to work in a centralised industry to make an adequate income, but the ability to access that income is limited due to fuel affordability.
I worry that children are going to bed hungry and have taught my children to always give kai. I'm not sure where in our history having access to kai became a privilege.
The Tamlin-Lea family
Weekly spend: $1200
The details
Married couple Robyn, 35, and Robin, 37, have two children, Lyla, 5, and Taytum, 20 months. Robyn has her own health business and works from home, and Robin is an application manager for a trade company.
Robyn
On average, we spend $350 to $400 on groceries per week. We mostly shop at Pak'nSave, sometimes Countdown. The rest of our money goes to rent ($640), child care, petrol, electricity, and internet. I estimate it at $1200 a week, probably more.
Most grocery money goes on formula, nappies, dog food (our three most expensive items), milk, fruit and vegetables.
To save money, we are trying to use less formula and transition our son to plain milk.
To further cost-cut, we've just started ordering fruit and veg online from a grocer, which is cheaper. We always shop from a list and swapping out chips and fizzy for water, veg and fruit can be a huge money saver. I also use cloth nappies as well, but then we potentially spend more money on electricity to wash them.
My husband and I take Herbalife nutritional supplement shake for breakfast, which equates to just $2.50 per meal.
We eat well, as food is important to us, but we don't eat out much.
The combination of food prices, gas, and rent going up are frightening. The cost of living feels daunting and overwhelming at times, but I feel grateful that we might be in a better position than others around the world.
Unfortunately, I think this is only the beginning of things to come with inflation.
If we can unite, support and trade homegrown food with one another, we can weather the storm together.
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How you can save on your grocery bill
• Look for a "unit price", which shows the cost per 100 gram or ml, and whether a bigger item is better value than a small one. One study found shoppers who used unit prices to compare products, regularly saved 13 per cent on their grocery bills. • Buying big or in bulk doesn't always equate to savings. If you can't store the product properly it could spoil. The same rule applies to multi-buys. Think about whether you need, or can store, the extra item. • Bold and bright special and value offers are used to entice. This doesn't always mean the price is different to last week, or next week's pricing. • Shop with a list and stick to it - navigating only the aisles you need. The more time you spend walking around the more likely you are to spend on unnecessary items.
• The pricier items are usually placed at eye level. Look at the higher and lower shelves for better-priced buys.
Source: Jessica Walker, Consumer NZ