The Parenting Hangover: Money-saving tips and tricks for parents in 2024

As life gets more expensive, budgeting is necessary for parents, but there are lots of tips that mean kids aren't missing out. Photo / Getty Images

Join hosts Jordan Watson, aka How to Dad, and ZM’s Clint Roberts every week for The Parenting Hangover podcast, where the two dads about everything involved in raising their respective families in a modern, changing world. From tackling the big topics like the birds and the bees to talking about intimacy after kids with a qualified sexologist — these 21st-century Kiwi dads aren’t afraid to go there.

The cost-of-living crunch is leaving few Kiwis unscathed, and families are among the hardest hit by the effects of rising costs and inflation.

Many New Zealanders are looking for ways that they can further cut their budget, while still having things to look forward to in the year ahead.

So what are some simple tips and tricks that you can use to bring the budget down and cost-save with kids?

The Parenting Hangover hosts Jordan Watson and Clint Roberts are now seasoned parents; Roberts has two daughters and Watson has three. They’ve shared some of the secrets discovered along their journey through parenthood that help them to save money where possible.

One of Roberts’ tips is around fuel. In Auckland and other major cities, it is nearly impossible to find a petrol station with prices below $2.80 a litre; unless you use an app like Z Sharetank. .

“When you go somewhere that has cheaper petrol, you can buy that petrol at that price in advance, then use it later on.”

Petrol in Papamoa is 25 cents a litre cheaper than in Auckland. When he was last there, he pre-purchased fuel to use over the summer.

Now when he fills up his car, “the petrol is about 25 cents a litre cheaper, not the six or 10 cents that your supermarket receipt gives you,” he explains. “I fill up my car twice a month, I fill up Lucy’s car twice a month. And so with $23 per car per month, that’s almost a $50 per month saving.”

However, this trick works better for city dwellers than rural folk, so make sure to check whether you can make the savings first.

Watson found easy savings can be made by using “bento box style” lunchboxes, adding he never buys pre-packaged snacks for his children.

“If you buy a large pack of potato chips, and just do a little handful into that compartment of the lunchbox, you save yourself a sh*t ton of money.”

Watson has already “done the math,” weighing a regular packet of chips against the mini 12-pack chip packets to work out the costs.

“I can save two bucks just by buying a regular packet of chips and putting a little handful in that compartment each day. We do the same with crackers.”

He stresses that you should “never buy the little kids tiny teeny things” and instead opt for the bulk bags.

“It just takes you that extra 30 seconds in the morning to actually grab stuff out in bulk and put it in.”

Roberts makes sure his family uses off-peak power times to their advantage and suggests finding out when it’s cheaper to run your appliances.

“We put our dishwasher, washing machine and dryer on overnight, because our power is cheaper between 9pm and 7am. Over time, if you’re doing a load of each day, that is going to add up!”

While his electricity provider Powershop offered off-peak rates during that time, Roberts said all power companies do it.

“All you need to do is type into Google the name of your power company and off-peak power times.”

Watson likes to make use of Facebook Marketplace, where mountains of savings can be made by buying secondhand. Furniture, sports gear and anything kids grow out of, like cots and beds, usually still have plenty of life in them, he says.

“I get some people are a bit freaked up by Facebook Marketplace, because it can seem dodgy, but so long as you buy local, pick up and pay cash — aka don’t share bank info — you should be fine. You can take someone with you to collect the item if you’re worried.”

Watson and Roberts also share their parents’ best money-saving tips from when they were growing up, and discuss whether they’re still relevant.

• To find out more about cost-saving parenting tips, listen to this week’s episode of The Parenting Hangover below.
• You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are out every Thursday.
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