New Zealand is a country with a high standard of living and high prices. At first, the cost of food, accommodation, household items can be significant. We have collected nine lifehacks for you that will help you save your expenses.

1. Buying food

Choose the right supermarkets

As a rule, the lowest prices for groceries are in Asian stores, while vegetables and fruits are the cheapest in the bazaars and markets. From the network giants, pay attention to Pack’n’Save, Countdown and New World, although the products will cost you more. Don’t forget to look closely at the Specials in stores, you may find nice prices.

Markets

Vegetable markets include large weekend markets such as Avondale Sunday Market and Otahuhu Saturday Market, which offer fruits and vegetables, as well as other products at prices lower than in city retail chains.

Water

New Zealand has quality drinking water, so you don’t have to buy bottled water. Buy yourself a reusable quality travel bottle and fill it with water.

Discount shops

You can significantly reduce the cost of a grocery basket, purchase body care products, household chemicals, etc. using Why knot and Reduced to Clear discounters. Be careful, these stores specialise in expiring products. Sometimes on the shelves, you can find goods with good terms, because the goods are in abundance from the supplier and put up for sale at special prices.

2. Cafes and restaurants

Take a closer look at Asian food courts

Typically, a trip to a cafe in New Zealand will cost you about 20 NZD. On an ongoing basis, this can eat up a fairly large hole in the budget. Therefore, if time does not allow you to cook at home, look out for Asian food courts. They not only cook really quick there but there are more affordable prices and larger portions.

Take one portion for two

The portions in cafes and restaurants are quite large, almost 100% true if it is from the Main section (main dish). Feel free to take one for two. Enough for everyone! If you ask the waiter to divide one portion into two plates, it is likely that they will put a little more.

3. Internet

Reasonable approach

For many visitors to the country, the cost of mobile Internet, as well as significant restrictions on the use of public access points, is an unpleasant surprise. Choose the tariff that suits you best, including consider sharing extra SMS /kb/minutes with family members.

Also, inquire about additional services and offers from your provider. For example, the telecom operator 2degree offers its subscribers the opportunity to use the Internet for 1 hour a day for free, for this you need to install the Data Clock application on your smartphone. In addition, in the summer, the company invites subscribers to participate in an augmented reality game and collect up to 10GB of additional data to their account using the Data Hunt application.

Read about mobile operators in New Zealand in our article.

4. Heating of a house and electricity

Rent a well-insulated home

There is no central heating in New Zealand. Also, most homes are single-glazed, so even with heating, bills during the cold season will be significant. Before renting a house, take a look at how well it is insulated. You will be very lucky if the house has a WORKING fireplace (wood or gas)… Or stock up on warm pyjamas.

The right electrical company

When choosing an electricity supplier, compare rates and also pay attention to special offers.

5. Fuel

Know the best price

The cost of fuel at gas stations in New Zealand differs in the range of 10-15 cents per litre. You can find out the best offer at the moment using the Gaspy mobile application.

6. Lifestyle

Quit smoking

Quite strange advice, but now you will understand the scale of the problem. A pack of cigarettes in New Zealand will cost you from $ 20. That’s $ 600 a month for heavy smokers. Therefore, it is better to say goodbye to a bad habit while still at home.

Go to Libraries

Because of the excellent library service in New Zealand, the cost of purchasing books for both adults and children can be avoided. Libraries in all parts of Auckland offer all kinds of activities for children. They are usually free of charge or for a nominal fee. You can find out about upcoming events in the city’s libraries here.

Cheap Beauty Services

Can be found at universities that teach beauty industry students. You will pay a token amount for the students’ work.

7. Recreation and entertainment

Entertainment book provides substantial discounts on almost everything: recreation and entertainment, cafes and restaurants, all kinds of services and travel offers. By purchasing a membership, you get one year access to discounts and specials in the selected city of New Zealand or Australia.

GrabOne and Groupon also offer you a wide variety of products and services. Before planning an active holiday, you should pay special attention to BookMe, here you will find perhaps the best deals, especially if you are planning your vacation in advance.

8. Purchase of clothes

Buy things only during discount times

Almost everyone knows about Christmas sales and Boxing day, but note that in addition to the Christmas period, many shops and retail chains hold their planned promotions, timed to coincide with the end of the season and holidays. These days, shopping malls are working longer, expecting a greater influx of buyers. Shops hold discount promotions. For example, the Briscoes household goods and appliances store often pampers shoppers with substantial discounts on a wide range of products. Thus, depending on the store and the time of the sale, the prices of goods can fall by up to 80%.

Buy clothes from the Op shop or Recycle store

If you are unpretentious in clothes, you can save on buying it, as well as buy expensive and high-quality brands at a very nice price. In fact, these are second-hand stores. Here are examples of some of them: Recycle Boutique, Tatty’s, The Attic, and very budget offers can always be found in the SaveMart chain of stores.

9. Buying other items

Use the TradeMe website (Analogous to AVITO and OLX), and also register on the Neighbourly.co.nz website. Here you can find very nice offers for the sale or donation of good but already unnecessary things for the owners: furniture, toys, dishes, household appliances, and so on. Interesting offers for used furniture and household items can be found on Facebook Marketplace.

Garage sale

Another nice feature of the local culture. Arriving early at the sale address, you can buy all kinds of things from the hands of the owners, who no longer need them. Garage sale announcements can be found on FB or on the Neighbourly.co.nz website, on information boards in stores and community centres, and sometimes on information boards along the street.

The Kiwi Education team wishes your income to consistently exceed your expenses.

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