Pak'n Save, Countdown and The Warehouse are put to the test to find out where to buy NZ's cheapest groceries. Video / NZ Herald
It'll buy you nine bags of mixed veges, washed down by almost the same in litres of milk, but low-income Kiwis will have to stretch their new $27 a week cost of living payment a bit further for a new set of luxury Italian wheels or a city-fringe home.
FinanceMinister Grant Robertson announced during yesterday's Budget those who earned less than $70,000 in the past year would receive a total of $350 over three months to help tackle soaring living costs.
About 2.1 million people will receive the payment, expected to cost taxpayers $814 million.
Based on a Countdown grocery shop, the extra $27 a week would cover a substantial amount of basic food items, although most would aim for a more varied diet.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson delivers his 2022 Budget. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The payment would buy seven loaves of Tip Top white toast bread or three 2.5kg bags of Countdown potatoes, with a couple of dollars change after each.
Find an extra dollar and recipients could buy four 9-pack Market Value beef sausages to go in that fresh bread, topped with almost 11 tins of Watties tomato sauce, which sell for $2.50 each.
The cupboard will be well-stocked for a sweet treat after, with $27 buying nine packets of Arnott's Digestives' chocolate biscuits.
The extra payment also covers the cost of a pair of shoes, with H&H adult-sized canvas high top sneakers priced at $20 a pair at The Warehouse, with a two-pack of crew socks going just over budget at $8 a pack.
More luxurious - or even just aspirational - purchases were off the cards though.
A 2018 Lamborghini Aventador Coupe for sale on driven.co.nz would set back cost of living payment recipients $579,995 - more than 21,000 weeks worth of $27 payments.
A home in a city-fringe Auckland suburb is even more out of reach, with a three-bedroom renovated villa in Ponsonby advertised on One Roof this week with an asking price of $2.095m.
Twenty-seven thousand, five hundred and ninety-two payments of $27 and its yours.
