How much are we all earning? How does your profession add up? How are women your age spending their money? Is everyone in debt? And is the cost of living crisis biting everyone?
It’s time for some honest, candid conversations about money and budgets as we steer down a recession – so welcome to our series ‘Money, Honey’, where we’ll be diving deep into the bank accounts of wahine across the country to truly get a sense of what’s going on in our piggybanks.
Up this week it’s Auckland teacher Courtney!
Name: Courtney
Age: 38
Location: Tāmaki Makaurau
Living situation: With husband and 5-year-old-child
Job: Deputy Principal
Salary per year: $117k approx
Any other income: Yes, from a rental property
Total income for your household per year: Approx $280,000 – our salary plus rental income.
Take-home pay per fortnight: $3143
Investment returns: $900 p/w (our rental)
My situation: My husband and I are both deputy principals. We put money in a joint account which covers our bills and expenses etc, and we leave some money in our personal accounts to spend how we like. My husband is more likely to spend nothing for ages then buy a $300 pair of football boots, whereas I spend more frequently.
Weekly budget:
Rent/mortgage: $1500
Food: $200 – $250 for the household
Bills: $250-ish
Childcare: N/A
Investments: N/A at the moment
Debt payments: For my credit card, maybe $30 a month
Savings: Eek, a few hundred where possible! Sometimes more, sometimes less
Spending: $300-$400
What’s inside your bank account?
Savings: 10k-ish
Kiwisaver: I’ve changed providers and don’t know how to access it! Last I recall, maybe $55k?
Anything else: My inheritance – a six-figure amount
How do you approach budgeting? I have set up a separate calendar for bills to anticipate what bills are coming up and try to put a bit aside for those times.
Are you a spender or a saver? It varies. Sometimes I go through phases when I am really strict with money. Other times I take the approach – life is too short, spend the money!
Do you have any debt, and what is it from? Besides the mortgage, I have a credit card that has a small limit.
How has the cost-of-living crisis affected you and your spending? Mortgage repayments, groceries, gas, electricity and water are noticeably more expensive than they’ve ever been. As a household we are able to cover these increased expenses but I recognise that I am in a privileged position compared to a lot of other people and I really feel for those doing it tough.
What are your financial goals? The ultimate goal would be to retire by 50-55. I know I need to make smart decisions when investing the money I’ve earned and inherited (shout out to Girls That Invest) while balancing that with living for now and creating memories with loved ones.
What’s the best thing you’ve bought in the last three months? A trip to Bali and Fiji with my family.
What’s the thing you regret buying the most in the last three months? Buying my daughter school shoes that she scuffed in the first week.
What (if anything) are you saving towards? We’ve just built a new house and ran out of money for the landscaping so probably that.
Aside from the big stuff (rent/mortgage, bills etc) what’s your biggest source of discretionary spending? Probably food, alcohol and personal grooming – hair, nails, lashes.
Do you worry about money? Sometimes. Mainly when there are unexpected bills/extra costs that crop up around the same time.
How much money (honestly) do you think you’d spend on an average day? Probably $10-15. I’m a sucker for the GF Spinach and Feta muffin from a local cafe that is conveniently on my way to work. It’s pretty easy to add on a trim hot choc to the order too.
Where do you think it’s worth spending money, and where do you think you can save it? I think it is worth spending money on things that fill your cup and for me that is people. So that looks like eating, drinking and travel mostly! I could definitely cut down on weekend brunches, expensive lunches and Uber Eats!! I am definitely guilty of ‘donating’ to the gym too so I should go more or ditch the membership!
Do you have any money-saving tips you’d like to share that work for you? I think having a good look at where your money actually goes. It’s amazing how spending money on lots of little things really adds up. Investing into things like Sharesies and looking into ways to grow the money you have is a good idea too.
What’s the first and last thing you would cut from your spending if you had to make some savings? The first thing would be to delete my Uber Eats account – you really do pay for the convenience and the last thing would be things that bring my family, especially my daughter, joy.
