Adam Green: Avoid total eclipse of your finances

Adam Green, of The Hits Hawke's Bay.

There was much excitement and a welcome distraction from the antics of President Trump in the US this week, as a total solar eclipse made its way across a thin strip of the country.

It was the first such spectacle in nearly 100 years, and even said president tried to catch a glimpse, looking skyward with no protective glasses even as one of his aides yelled, "Don't look, don't look."

(I suspect, though, they might have been yelling that to the general public and photographers in the area, lest they all saw the so-called leader of the free world take a look at the brightest star in the sky with his bare eyeballs.)

Now it's purely speculation, but I think his ill-informed skywards glancing may have been an attempt to catch a few extra rays to add a hint of natural tan to the somewhat unnatural orange of his regular bottle-tan complexion.

Though we in New Zealand weren't able to get in on the eclipse unless we had a bunch of annual leave and a bank account deep enough to get us to a stateside viewing point, we do have a total solar eclipse on the horizon.

And the good news is we can predict it with frightening accuracy due to the regular nature of our planet, and moon's orbit. Almost as if the universe had been taking its daily dose of cosmic Metamucil.

When, you ask, can we Kiwis get our dose of daytime darkness? July 22, 2028, about 4.15pm in Dunedin. There are a couple of partial cover-ups before that, but for a total solar eclipse it's 3985 days. Or so.

Sure, it's a long time to wait. But think, if you save $1 a day, that's nearly four grand you'll have to get to Dunedin.

Plus, should you have teenagers in the house now, the 11 years until it gets here means they'll probably have flown the nest, and that'll bring accommodation costs down.

Speaking of accommodation, it's usually a bit cheaper to book in advance, with 569 and a half weeks up your sleeve you should be able to pick up a great deal online if you book now.

And, if you're thinking of driving, at 10 bucks a month in petrol vouchers you'll have $1300 to chuck in the tank.

So pop a calendar on the wall, get to saving, and you've got a great excuse next time the kids ask to head off on holiday: Not this year, kids, we're saving for the eclipse!

• Don't miss Adam Green and Sarah van der Kley on The Hits Hawke's Bay from 6am to 9am, Monday to Friday.