Am Loolah

Ahhhh, this is the site I'd previously heard of ...

Living Off The Smell Of An Oily Rag

ExKiwilass

omg, living off the smell of an oily rag? hahaha now that takes me back.

I'm actually being serious. The Pakn' save, bulk buying, NEVER using the dryer because godforbid the electricity bill is exactly how I was brought up in Nu Zulund.

Bo-Jangles

Thrift and friugalism are indeed the new black and we're bang in trend here. Being frugal and living within one's means is now ultra cool and savvy. There's a whole movement of people around the world who have embraced the frugal living trend, who are into more sustainable, greener lifestyles, who frown upon wastefulness, are growing their own and making-do and mending. I think NZ is actually quite a way behind in this stuff and most certainly not on the ball when it comes to the massive shift towards the sustainability, environmentally friendlier or healthier lifestyle aspects.

You only have to look to the internet to see the screeds of websites dedicated to the subject and people proudly blogging left, right and centre about creative ways to save money and making what you do have stretch a little further. There's no longer any shame or stigma attached, with reams and reams iof editorial and books about the new art of living within one's means and it's being followed by people even if they don't HAVE to.

I hear it from family conversations and people around me, people are doing it without even thinking about it; shopping around for the cheapest deals is now for many a way of life. It's far more acceptable for people to to say things like "let's do xyz instead because it's cheaper". Living as simply and cheaply as possible is the new buzz and people find that it can be rather fun beating the marketing guys at their own game and shunning the consumerism of the past.

Expat Kiwi

Have you asked them how they feel about living somewhere else and do they know how hard you're finding it?

Expat Kiwi

Old habits gained in NZ die hard. I still shop around for second hand furniture before buying new, will never buy a tumble dryer, wait for petrol to be on the lowest price point for the week. The only difference now is that I keep less and give more to Op shops than I used to.

bourbon-biscuit

wrt cleaning products- I buy one multi purpose spray and dilute it down into three bottles. One disinfectant spray then does kitchen, bathroom, loos- the lot. Only other cleaning stuff I buy is washing powder (see post above), dishwashing powder (concur with Genesis- use half) and washing up liquid (again, dilute it). I swear the stuff you buy is so strong you can easily half or triple dilute and one sort will do it all- no need to buy separate rubbish.

Charismatic

Have you thought about eating the dog?

Genesis

Felix would like to live in the UK near his rellies, he's 10. But Kate and I don't think he would not be able to cope with such a huge move. The twins Isabelle and Elise would be happy anywhere and can cope with anything..they have me as their main care giver!!! The kids would be loathe to give up the lifestyle we have here that we could never dream of emulating in the UK on a nurses job. Kate is incredibly well paid here as a senior nurse and she would be unlikely to find such a niche job that she has here in NZ in the UK. As far as how I am feeling goes I am fairly content...I like a moan and a whinge, what pom does not? I think I am too long in the tooth to start all over anywhere else to be frank. We have spent 6 years making our home amazing and we have a reasonable social circle....better than it was in the UK. We want for nothing here. I hear " shut up moaning and thank your lucky stars". And I do. If I did not rant about all the shitty things in NZ I could never appreciate all the amazing, positive things NZ gives us. Looks like we are staying eh?

Charismatic

My best money saving tips:
- Wire hot water and room outlets past your electric meter. This will lower you bill substantially.
- Most universities offer free washing facilities (including dryers), cafeteria "food" and gym services, just pretend to be a "mature" student.
- Don't pay to see films, buy music or read magazines as www.piratebay.org has heaps.
- Get elected as a local MP, you can put anything on your ministerial credit card.

In truth though saving money is a fools game. Things get more expensive, thats how inflation works so you really need to be prepared to tell your employer to pay you more (by at least the rate of inflation, don't get into the trap of taking a one time "bonus" either) and have a plan to walk if they don't. Keep your options open by sending people your resumes and taking interviews. Work will be quite a substantial part (half?) of your life so you really shouldn't settle.

dorrick

Thought I would add a saving I recently discovered - maybe others do it all the time - use de-humidifer overnight for a whole rack of towels - MUCH cheaper than the tumble dryer.
Also the one it seems everyone recently from UK hates - cold washes in the washing machine. Works fine with the right powder - do a hot wash every 5 or so washes to remove soap build up. Wish I had realised both of these years ago with kids still at home - lots of saving over a year

bourbon-biscuit

Mmm, thing is though- after a while of doing cold washes, particularly with kids, everything just looks tired and grubby, ime.

Genesis

Does anyone have cheap rate night leccy? Even if your machine does not have a timer mode you can buy timers in the W'house for a few bucks. Go to genesis electricity to see if they do your area. Its half price during the hours of 11pm-7am. And they only load you 1 cent on the day rate which means you pay less than 5 % extra during the day but you get 50% off during the night. We run all our high wattage stuff like spa and pool, dehumidifiers, washing machine et al during this period. We even bake bread on the cheap..you could do a casserole over night.

bourbon-biscuit

I like that idea Genesis- I'll look into what our leccy deal is

Bo-Jangles

Is yours still half price for the night rate? Ours has just gone up a huge amount and not much difference now between night and day.

21.84 cents per kwh for day rate and
18.56 cents per kwh at night.

It was until very recently only 10 cents something at night. It's so blooming convoluted and hard to compare, because it seems we're now on a lower day rate than their standard anytime rate of 23.13 cents.

ETA: Just playing around with Genesis pricing plans, there are vast differences between regions, even from one side of Auckland to another and yes some are still on the sub 10 cents something for night time rates - one I looked at was as low as 8.85 cents All very weird!!

Genesis

10.62 cents at night..all other times 23.31 cents, plus GST LESS 10% for prompt payment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Daily charge is 85cents. That is Manawatu region.