The cost of living in New Zealand

You don’t want to see your hard-earned money going on food, accommodation or anything else. Here are a few tips that will (hopefully) help you save a little money easily.

Finding your job before your home

Ideally, you should find accommodation after you’ve found a job. If the job is actually quite far from where you live, you’ll incur significant transport costs. What’s more, if the job you find is outside the city centre, rents in the area are likely to be lower than elsewhere. This will save you time and money on transport.

Housing

Rent can be rather expensive if you’re traveling solo. To reduce the cost, why not get two or three people together in a shared room. The price of the room is then a little higher than for a single person, but remains cheaper for the people sharing the room.

There will be less privacy (you’d better get on well together), but it will still be nicer (and cheaper) than a bed in a dormitory with 10 people. Backpacker flats are often organised like this.

If you’re thinking of staying in a youth hostel a lot, consider becoming a member of a hostel chain (BBH or YHA). Not only will you save on the price of a night’s accommodation (-10% or NZ$4 discount), but you’ll also have access to numerous discounts on bus or ferry fares, for example. Please note that these discounts do not generally apply to weekly rates, so the card is more advantageous for nights here and there.

Food

You’ll soon realise that the basic food of every good backpacker is Chinese noodles. Inexpensive, quick and easy to prepare, they can be served with vegetables or meat to suit all tastes. If you need to take your lunch with you, make it the day before or at home in the morning (sandwiches, for example). It’s cheaper than going out to buy something. If you’re sharing a flat, consider the possibility of doing your shopping online as a group. This saves everyone having to go shopping themselves (in supermarkets that are sometimes quite far away) and deliveries are free above a certain value. Unfortunately, Pak’nSave, the leading discount food shop, does not offer this service.

Finally, there is a sizeable Asian community in New Zealand and you’ll find plenty of supermarkets catering to this clientele. Don’t hesitate to go and have a look, as prices are often quite low, especially for fruit, vegetables and, of course, noodles.

Every week, supermarkets offer discounts on a large number of products: the “Specials”. These discounts are really advantageous, as the price can be halved. If you’re not attached to particular brands, you can cut your budget considerably by choosing only discounted products. Many supermarkets also offer a free loyalty card that gives you access to even more discounts.

Good to know: when you’re driving, you’ll regularly come across small roadside stalls selling seasonal fruits and vegetables. Farmers or even individuals can sell produce from their fields/gardens directly to their door. There’s no vendor and you deposit your payment directly into an honesty box provided for this purpose. This principle works on trust and allows you to have local, seasonal produce at a lower cost since there’s no intermediary between the seller and the buyer! For example, during the kiwi or apple season, you can buy 2-3 kilo bags for only $2, free range eggs for $5 (compared to $9 in the supermarket), bags of lemon for $2 or avocado bags for just a few dollars… Always have change in your car, you need to have the exact amount!

Furnishing and clothing

If you’re looking for cheap furniture, visit Salvation army’s Op Shop. You can buy second-hand furniture or mattresses for less and do a good deed at the same time (the money raised goes to fund the Salvation Army’s integration programmes in New Zealand). Similarly, if you’re looking for clothes (particularly work clothes), don’t hesitate to visit the Op Shop (second-hand shops), where you’ll find everything you need. There are Salvation Army shops, Red Cross shops and many others. If you want something new and you’re not too fussy about the quality of the products, look at The Warehouse and K-Mart, which offer decorative items, clothes, shoes, etc. at fairly low prices.

Internet

In addition to McDonald’s and Starbucks, which offer free Wi-Fi Internet access (if you buy a drink), you can also turn to libraries, which almost always offer free Internet access. You don’t need to be a member to take advantage of Wi-Fi. However, the connection is sometimes limited to a few hundred megabytes per day.

For nomads and working holiday makers with a vehicle

Even if you don’t have to pay any rent as such, there are a number of important expenses to consider:

Petrol: Choose vehicles that consume as little fuel as possible (even if this means cutting back on comfort, which you can always try to improve later). Your petrol budget can rise very quickly if you can only cover 350-400 kilometres on a full tank. Follow the advice given in the Transport section of this guide. And don’t hesitate to ask for the AirPoints, Flybuys or Mobil discount cards, which give you a 6-cent discount per litre.

Food: Buy large quantities of non-perishable food (tins, dry groceries, etc.) to benefit from reductions on the price of petrol at the pump. For your sandwiches, choose spread butter or Philly cheese rather than butter: they keep better and longer in a vehicle or even in a small cooler.

Campings: DOC campsites are often cheaper than private campsites. Feel free to download the campsite brochures (or pick them up free of charge from the DOC centres) to find out where they are, how much they cost and what facilities are provided. Don’t hesitate to alternate between basic campsites (often free) and slightly more comfortable campsites where you can do your laundry or take a shower, for example. Otherwise, in summer, opt for the solar shower and the showers near the beaches, which are cool but free. DOC now also offers a monthly ($99) or annual ($198) campsite pass which gives you free access to many DOC campsites.

If you have a car and are looking for work on a farm, don’t hesitate to ask your employer if they have a place where you can set up your van. For a few dollars a day, you can often settle in and take showers.