The things we are going without to beat the cost of living crisis

Friday, 4 November 2022

Stuff asks Wellingtonians the things they're giving up due to the rising cost of living.

Pay this week’s rent and bills, or eat for the week? Healthier, more nutritional food options or cheaper, less healthy options?

As the cost of living continues to rise, many New Zealanders are having to make increasingly difficult choices.

For Rose Gerrard, keeping her head above water financially has become even more difficult since rent increased from $500 to $750 earlier this year.

“It’s just really hard,” she said. “It’s just crazy.”

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For Cannons Creek social worker Rose Gerrard, the cost of living crisis means she is struggling to meet rent and pay all her bills. (File photo)

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Gerrard spends a fraction compared to what she used to at the supermarket, but is still struggling following her rent increase. (File photo)

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Sean Mintey, recycling collector for Waste Management, says it pays to shop around when shopping for food. (File photo)

The Cannons Creek social worker is now constantly having to juggle between making rent on the four-bedroom home she shares with one other person and paying her bills and other living costs.

“We just can’t seem to meet that,” she said, adding paying rent meant she was falling behind on other payments.

While Gerrard’s weekly grocery bill had dropped from about $340 to just $60 since children she was caring for on behalf of Oranga Tamariki had returned to whānau, she was struggling without the additional income they also provided.

She had lowered her food bill by being a “real basic eater”, but was struggling to implement the nutritional and healthy changes she wanted.

Gerrard said the stress of it was “too much” at times and she was looking to get some financial support from a budget adviser. She was also considering drawing from her KiwiSaver under hardship.

Te Ataahia Castorina with daughter Māreikura Anna, 4, is grateful to have fresh produce to eat and trade.

For Sean Mintey, there’s been a bit of respite at the pump but not much elsewhere.

“Everything just keeps going up. The only thing that’s good is the price of gas is coming down.”

The Waste Management recycling collector focussed on paying his bills and then budgeting from whatever was leftover.

Mintey said the pinch was greatest when it came to shopping for food.

“I used to go buy willy-nilly. Now I think you can make things at home.”

Davide Castorina and son Mario Kapua, 7, tending to potted tomatoes at their Masterton home.

He said it paid to shop around and compare different prices.

“It’s not I want, need to have that particular brand. It’s what’s the cheapest at the time. At the end of the day you’re just paying for brand packaging.”

Weekend markets like his local in the Hutt were also good to get cheaper, fresh produce.

He felt lucky it was just him, adding it could be harder for families, especially those with young children.

Masterton woman Te Ataahia Castorina was grateful for her family of four’s 10m2 māra kai (garden) which she estimated helped save at least $30 a week in groceries when it was thriving.

“Buying a broccoli for $6 [at the supermarket] or being able to get one straight from your garden every day, might sound small but it adds up.”

Castorina (Rangitāne, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa) and her husband Davide started the garden, mostly planted in pots, during the first lockdown but have come to rely on it more in recent months.

Her husband had dropped to working a four-day work week during Covid-19 which meant he could better develop the “māra kai we had always dreamed of”.

“We’ve started growing enough vegetables to not have to buy them all the time at the supermarket,” she said. “It’s pretty awesome since we don’t have a lifestyle block and we certainly don’t have a farm.”

She said it was something many whānau had been doing for a long time, and they often swapped excess produce with others.

“I would say that’s a correlation to the rising cost of living.”

Castorina said the family had also cut down on meat and were making their own cleaning products.

While the ideal would be for families to be fully sufficient this was not necessarily realistic, she said, adding most couldn’t “afford to be at home five days a week working land”.

That’s why the collective sustainability model worked so well, she said. “It gives us a bit of a hope.”

Many Wellingtonians spoken to by Stuff had also dropped some grocery items on their lists, along with cutting back on social outings.

Tawa resident Joseph Gallagher said there was a lot less fresh fruit and cheeses in his shopping basket these days.

He’d also opted for the cheaper milk and started using more budget-brand versions.

Recent graduates, Annie Barnard and Lily Roberts, both found fresh produce too expensive, which they felt was leading to less healthy eating. In some instances they found it cheaper to buy ready-made takeout like curries.

Luiggi Riccio, of Houghton Bay, said he went out to restaurants less often and was “very mindful” of what he bought at the supermarket, preferring to only buy things on special or if there was a sale.

“It’s gotten quite expensive.”

Felicity Taylor, of Mt Cook, had also cut back on going out for drinks and social activities on weekends.

“I’m a vegan, so we’ve also cut back on fake meats and treats like ice cream and chocolate.”