The cost of being: A first-year teacher who’s ‘obsessed with saving’

As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a first-year English teacher explains where their money goes.

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Gender: Female.

Age: 22.

Ethnicity: Pākehā.

Role: First-year English teacher.

Salary/income/assets: $64,083.

My living location is: Suburban.

Rent/mortgage per week: $0 – I live with my mother, but contribute to the bills. About $150 a week.

Student loan or other debt payments per week: $30k student loan.

Typical weekly food costs

Groceries: My family handles all grocery shopping – I contribute $30 to a meal subscription service, which gives us three dinners a week.

Eating out: Close to $100 – my friends and I are all foodies, and love to go out, usually about twice per week.

Takeaways: Rolled in with eating out above.

Workday lunches: I often partake in the weekly $2 school sausage sizzle.

Cafe coffees/snacks: I might be the only teacher in Auckland who doesn’t drink coffee – it saves me a lot of money.

Other food costs: I splurge on little luxuries from the supermarket – nice cheese or pate.

Savings: I am obsessed with saving, and have been my whole life. Apart from my restaurant habit, I control my own spending very tightly. I have $40k in savings, in the same bank account I made when I was 12.

I worry about money: Sometimes.

Three words to describe my financial situation: Tightfisted, privileged, union-dependant.

My biggest edible indulgence would be: Kikorangi blue cheese.

In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: $0.

In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: $50 on petrol.

I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: Well under $200 – I shop exclusively at op shops/thrift stores, and beg, borrow or make the rest.

My most expensive clothing in the past year was: A pair of nice work pants, $25 at Savemart.

My last pair of shoes cost: $150 hiking boots from Macpac, two years ago and still going strong.

My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: $0 – I don’t wear makeup, and I cut my own hair (badly).

My exercise expenditure in a year is about: $5 a week for my local pickleball league.

My last Friday night cost: $25 for a plate of fish, plus $6 for parking – $31 all together.

Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: A $42 plate of pasta at a posh Ponsonby restaurant… could have gotten better at any pub.

Most indulgent purchase (that I don’t regret) in the last 12 months was: A massive, $150 cake for my birthday. It was delicious, and lasted us a full week.

One area where I’m a bit of a tightwad is: Clothing. I’m regularly wearing stuff that should be thrown out, but I believe in mending everything until it can’t be worn without a public nudity charge.

Five words to describe my financial personality would be: Scrooge-ish, food-motivated, saver, thrifty, dedicated.

I grew up in a house where money was: Tight. We’ve always been a single parent household, and were on and off the benefit throughout my teenage years. Me starting work has really helped.

The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: Sometime in high school… 2018?

In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: Putting more into my KiwiSaver, moving up the teacher’s pay scale, and perhaps being a bit more confident spending my money.

I would love to have more money for: Travel!

Describe your financial low: As a child, being very conscious of where money came from and what it meant to not have enough. It wasn’t fun, but it made me appreciate the value of saving.

I give money away to: Student campaigns – Pink Shirt Day, 40 Hour Challenge etc.