In December, inflation rose 7.2 per cent. Last month, national rents rose 4 per cent. The clean-up from Cyclone Gabrielle had an early estimate of costing more than $1 billion.
The increasing costs of virtually everything seem neverending. No wonder the proportion of people in the latest ANZ Consumer Confidence survey who believe it is a good time to buy a major household item fell to 35 per cent, the lowest level since the 2020 lockdown.
For many people, pay packets have simply not kept up with inflation.
While I never considered myself financially frivolous, I have never been a penny pincher either.
But things have changed. And so has my mindset.
Is that 3pm can of Coke really needed? Why drive when I can bike or bus? Baked beans and toast for lunch are just fine.
I now fill out meals with tinned goods such as lentils, avoid driving, have stopped beauty therapies and it’s been more than a year since I last visited a hairdresser.
But I’m lucky. There are many other people feeling the cost-of-living pain far more than I do.
Several days ago, this paper reported on pensioners “quietly starving”, scrimping on meals, and struggling to make ends meet.
One pensioner is resorting to splitting her frozen meal for one into two meals, and we reported on another who can’t afford travel into town.
My heart breaks. How can people simply cut back on costs when they are already living off crumbs?
I don’t believe things are going to improve anytime soon.
We haven’t yet seen the Government’s existing fuel subsidy lift. And recent weather events have hammered our nation’s most productive produce areas such as Pukekohe and Hawke’s Bay - so I’m worried increased costs for onions, apples, and lettuce is bound to hit soon.
But, as we also recently reported, it can be hard for many people, especially the elderly, to ask for help.
Maybe it’s a Kiwi thing - people just don’t seem to like to talk about money. But ignoring the subject isn’t making it go away.
Just like my own spending habits, this has to change.
