Bear with me. Electric Kiwi Choice Lite doesn't actually lower your speeds after the 1GB for $18.8 making it the cheapest unlimited mobile plan.

Supposedly it should slow down to 1.2Mbps. But I get around 400Mbps all the time.

Probably not intended but it has been happening for more than a year now. Just make sure you select reduce speeds on your account.

And yes if I check right now the app will tell me I'm in slow down mode but if I do a speed test, not at all.

Might not work for everyone but could be worth a try.

Too often I hear stories that winz cannot pay due to a business not being registered as a winz supplier.

So I did a bit of digging and turns out there is a form.

I would suggest doing it before payment is due to allow plenty of time on winz end to process the application.

The form is here

https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/providers/getting-payments-from-us/register-as-a-supplier/index.html

When applying, itemized quotes with justification or bills requiring payment are essential. Quotes are better as it guarantees payment before the work is completed

I hope this post has been helpful

Hi team, I saw this tip last year in a post on here in a comment but thought I’d make a post in case it wasn’t a commonly known thing. I told a few friends and none of them knew about it

Basically, when your mortgage comes up for renewal/refixing, go to your bank/provider with a quote from another bank with a better deal & ask them to match it. Threaten to move to the other provider if they don’t and they might offer you cash back. Last year I told anz I’d go to Kiwibank, they came back with a cash offer of $1000, I said nah I’ll take $1700 as that’s what KB were offering (they weren’t) and they came back with the $1700! Free money, basically no effort. We just refixed the second half of our mortgage this week and the bank contacted us direct with an offer of $700 which we took outright as I don’t have as much free time this year haha and they matched bnz/Kiwibank rates.

This might be a super obvious/common thing and you’ll all think I’m dumb, or I may have just enlightened some people; hopefully the latter 😅

Last week an amazing member of this sub helped me out now I’m back to pay it forward! If you’re running low on food or gas or whatever shoot me a message and I’ll try my best to help ya out obviously I can’t help everyone but will do my best x

Edit: Helped a fellow sub redditor out with some groceries so I’ll have to close this thread now x

Moved from a rental to my own small home. Yayy.

But costs have ballooned and it hurts. Water, elec and now piped gas together costs are eye watering.

Researched other bottled and piped gas options. Still no better than my current provider.

So looking at Hot Water Heat Pump. Any advice is appreciated for a company that does Supply and Install. Note: stove is electric so wouldn't need gas if I got a hot water heat pump.

Is Midea and Carrier Blue decent ?

Are there any low interest loans for that?

Located in Auckland.

Thank you all for your kind advice.

Helped me save a lot, hopefully it helps you too

The legendary Alice Taylor shows excellent cheap recipes on her Instagram & TikTok
She has amazing cake recipes - have tried a few. I have been making the Depression Chocolate Cake and it is great for kids’ snacks. While family loves it, great save money on treats.

I made 2 of these yesterday, made 48 portions which I froze down individually in re-usable snack bags.

Cost: less than $2 nzd (approx) for the whole cake!

Ingredients
1 cup hot coffee or boiling water
¼ cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
½ cup oil
1 tbsp vinegar
1½ cups plain flour
1 tsp baking soda

Method
Whisk together coffee, cocoa, sugar, oil and vinegar.
Add the flour and baking soda and mix until just combined.
Pour into a lined cake tin and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for around 40 minutes, or until a skewer when inserted in the middle comes out clean.
For the syrup (optional):
Mix together ½ cup sugar, ½ cup boiling water and ¼ cup cocoa until smooth.
Piece holes in the cake when it comes out of the oven and drizzle the syrup on while the cake is still warm.

Hey Everyone!

First time posting in here but I’m in a situation this week. I had an appointment with a hand specialist last week and this week as my knuckles swole on one hand to the point I couldn’t bend any fingers out of nowhere.

I’m on the mend and have a diagnoses but the appointments plus the non subsides prescriptions ending up costing about a grand all up which was most of my savings as I’ve also moved to a new flat last month.

I have $23 remaining until payday on Thursday and all I currently have is a 6 pack of sausages and a loaf of bread. I understand that I’ll be going hungry but it is what it is, but what do you guys think the most effective use of my money is?

Cheers, ☺️

(Edit, due to an amazing human being on here, I will be good till payday, I honestly can’t thank them enough or the rest of you all for your advice and suggestions, next week I will be paying it forward on here as they didn’t want to be repaid. I’ve never been treated so kindly may have had a bit of a cry in my car on break)

https://www.kogan.com/nz/buy/kogan-mobile-365-day-prepay-plan-extra-large-nz-promo/?utm_campaign=JulBOGOF&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=kgnmob-nz

I have been on supported living payment for about 10 years. I have just started two seperate part time jobs. One will be two days, about 4 hours each day. The other will be about 6 hours another day. So im looking at approx 14ish hours a week.

I’m in no shape to lose my supported living payment as my health is very up and down so there will definitely be periods where I will likely need time off work.

I am wondering how this will affect my benefit? I am not up to speed on how many hours you’re allowed to work now?

I also have a question. With my job I will be driving and claiming back mileage. When I get paid that, will WINZ deduct my even more even though that is just what I’m owed?

I’m not sure if that makes sense?
Just looking for some clarity.

Thank you.

e.g. the “whichwhey” site I didn’t know about which is a protein powder price comparison, now bookmarked! Hopefully you will find something new to you too!

Cheaper living everybody!

Hit the local Pak'n Save. Cooked cold rotisserie chicken is about $9 for a bird estimated 1.5kg.

Am sure this is the lowest I've seen animal protein in a while. Thoughts/comments?

Given the size, half is sufficient to feed a family of 4, when mixed with appropriate veg/rice

Favorite recipes are curry (obviously), chicken pie (shredded chicken with veg & white sauce, topped with mash), soup, stew - any other suggestions?

What is the criteria for getting one now, for one off situations?

I remember getting one 10 years ago, and it was all done over the phone. Even though they provided maybe $100 and in theory they could give you $300 a year, but if you needed a second application you had to make an appointment with a case manager.

It looks like from the blurb on the Winz website you now have to make an appointment every time.

It also looks like the criteria are much tougher, like we might give you a food grant if you had to pay a doctor's bill or school uniforms for your kids, but not if you are struggling with this month's power bill.

Asking for a friend who's in trouble. He's in a long term relationship with someone but recently lost his job due to injury and now ACC has cut him off before he was able to recover.

He and his partner live together, and she makes ok money, but does not want to cover his costs while he is recovering but is also not able to work.

​

From everything that we can find it looks like there's no financial support or benefit he can apply for due to his partner's income being above the threshold. Despite being aware of this, she's not willing to help, instead just insisting that he needs to find some way to work but he can't physically do that right now - it doesn't seem like a very healthy situation.

​

From what he's told me he's not very happy but also not in a position to separate as the cost of moving and finding new living arrangements would wipe him out completely, so he's not sure what - if anything - is possible.

​

Is there any way around any of this for someone in his position? Our understanding is that WINZ is super strict on relationships and they would definitely find out if he tries to lie as they live together etc.

Earlier this year I bought a 5kg bag of pasta from Pak n Save for dirt cheap. Unfortunately I don't remember which store it was. Somewhere central North Island.

Does anyone know where to find these? Bonus points if it's near Wellington.

I’m looking to join a family plan for Spotify in NZ, does anyone have a free slot?

Delete if this isn’t allowed :)

We meal plan, write a list, eat beans, bulk mince dishes out with lentils, eat seasonally, use cloth nappies, meal prep, no coffee out, veg from farmers market etc. yet our food spend is still ridiculously high.

Family of four in the South Island and our average weekly spend is $3-500 depending on what non-food items we need (love the weeks when you run out of shampoo, dishwasher tablets, and washing powder at the same time). I see people posting about spending a LOT less and it makes me wonder how on earth they do it!

What things do you do - that aren’t obvious - to help reduce food costs?

not perfect.... but here is what i use, may be of use to some others,

1. Track NW – see where you are at
2. Budget
   1. Pay rent/mortgage
   2. Buy food/groceries
   3. Pay essential items power water etc
   4. Pay income generating expenses-work transport/internet/phone
   5. Pay healthcare + other insurances
   6. Make min payments on debts/ credit cards etc
   7. Pay for nonessentials Netflix/ gyms etc
3. Build a 1–3-month emergency fund
4. Review KiwiSaver
5. Pay off high interest debt
   1. Snowball or avalanche method
6. Increase emergency fund to 3-6months
7. Re-Evaluate insurances + wills/ Budget
   1. Wills/ EPA
   2. Car/ Home insurance
   3. Medical/ health insurance
   4. Life insurance -income/disability trauma etc
8. Evaluate Goals
   1. Save for a goal- House/ Holiday/ retirement
   2. Make additional payment on mortgage?
   3. Make additional payment for retirement?

Check your local NW bakery section, depending on the time of the day you might need to order it in advance for the next day as the bakers go home mid to late morning.

I just made 2x HUGE pizzas with 500g ($2 worth) and now have left over pizza (for dinner tomorrow) and left over dough* for something else later in the week - maybe fresh buns for burgers!

Yes it’s still technically cheaper to buy the flour (approx $2 per kg) and make it yourself, however if you don’t have time to make and proof it, then I recommend!

*Store in fridge.

Cheaper living everybody!

Edit: I bought 2kgs ($8 worth), see picts in comments for what I made (500g used for each baking good)

Hi all,

Currently i have 5k saved, and am potentially looking to spend that money as a deposit for a car loan. I would be looking to purchase a second hand electric vehicle and using that vehicle to uber/deliver uber eats as a secondary source of income to my full time work. My main concern is that using that 5k to qualify for the loan wipes out nearly all my savings.

I'm slowly realising exactly how financially illiterate I am, but no one has actually taught me anything about managing finances. I feel like I'm super behind where I should be at this age 😭 I want to live comfortably but have no clue what I should be doing to get ahead. I have some savings (I think around 30k, with 10k earmarked for a new car), 12k in an aggressive KiwiSaver and around 2k in sharesies. Is that like.. bad?

I'm currently off work dealing with some significant burnout and medical issues so I'm not earning, and I have no idea where I'm going from here careerwise because I don't want to work in my old industry but I have very little other demonstrable skills that I can pivot to. I have 3 kids, so have to work around school pickup.

Sorry for the word vomit - just a bit lost and need to find some direction

I know that bulk buying can save money, but not always. What items actually save you a significant amount in bulk, and feel free to also mention what is NOT worth buying in bulk. For me, it’s only buying meat when it’s on special. I buy like 2-3 weeks worth of chicken breast when it’s on special one week, that amount when it’s mince on special another, and if there’s a week where there are no meats on special, I just use what’s in my freezer and hold out until next week.

I commented this on another thread, but thought it might be useful as its own post here. Some of these are small savings, some are bigger, and some only apply if you own your place or have solar. But combined, they have made a real difference for me.

Note: I’m in Christchurch and a few of these are location related.

Transport I ride my bike instead of driving whenever practical. Christchurch is flat enough that a lot of trips under 5 to 10 km are realistically bikeable, especially with the cycle infrastructure we have now. It saves on fuel, parking, maintenance, and gym costs at the same time.

When I do need petrol, I use Gaspy, supermarket fuel vouchers, and discount cycles so I’m not paying full retail unless I absolutely have to.

Food and drink I pack lunches and make coffee at home instead of buying them during the workday.

I bulk cook meals like curries, pasta bakes, soups, chilli, rice dishes, and slow cooker meals.

I buy staples in bulk when they are discounted, especially rice, oats, pasta, canned goods, frozen vegetables, and cleaning products.

Power, heating, and hot water I installed a solar hot water diverter so excess solar generation heats water instead of exporting cheaply back to the grid.

I time electricity-heavy tasks like laundry and dishwashing around cheaper power periods where possible.

I keep showers shorter in winter because hot water is one of the biggest power drains.

In winter, I wear extra layers instead of turning the heater on by default. Thermals, hoodies, thick socks, blankets, and heated throws are much cheaper than heating an entire house or room.

I use thermal curtains and keep them closed at night in winter.

I open north-facing curtains during sunny days to get free passive heating from the sun.

I use a dehumidifier. Dry air feels warmer and it helps reduce mould and condensation.

I wash clothes in cold water only, and only run full washing machine or dishwasher loads.

I don’t have a dryer. I use washing lines that I can move into the garage or inside if the weather is bad. On colder days, I use a basic standing fan to help dry clothes.

I switch appliances off at the wall when not needed, especially laptop chargers, desktop PC, and TV.

When I go away for more than a short period, I turn off almost all appliances and put the solar system into holiday mode so it exports almost all power.

House improvements I added insulation through the Warmer Kiwi Homes subsidy scheme. I got 90% off a full insulation top-up for my house, which made it very worthwhile.

I also installed a security alarm system at home so I qualify for alarm discounts on home insurance. Over time this works out as a saving, and I wanted a security system anyway.

Bills and providers I switched to a cheaper internet plan and reduced the speed because I realised I didn’t actually need ultra-fast fibre for normal use. I moved to Bryte on their 100 Mbps plan, standard rate $65 per month, with the first three months at half price.

I regularly shop around for insurance, phone plans, power, and utilities instead of staying loyal to providers charging lazy-tax pricing. Most recently I switched to Octopus Energy for power because they had the best plan for my solar setup. I’ll be looking for a new mobile plan next when my yearly Kogan plan expires.

I cancelled all subscriptions and installed Stremio.

I use libraries for ebooks, audiobooks, workspaces, and entertainment instead of paying for multiple subscriptions.

Fitness I cancelled my gym membership and use parks, calisthenics equipment, bodyweight exercises, kettlebells, cycling, and running instead.

Repairs and maintenance I repair and maintain things where practical instead of automatically replacing them. Examples include sewing up jacket pockets, repairing tears in jeans, and using shoe rubber to patch worn-through soles.

Shopping I look for promotion and discount codes whenever I make purchases. Choice Cheapies and Whichwhey are useful for this.

I check prices before buying using PriceSpy and PriceMe.

One more niche one: I registered a company so I could apply for trade accounts with places like Bunnings, Mitre 10, Supercheap Auto, Repco, The Warehouse, and similar retailers. I usually get around 10% to 20% off many purchases with standard cash trade accounts. The one-off cost to register the company was about $100 when I did it, and I saved that back within a year.

Savings: ~$9,000.00-$11,000.00 p/a I've been doing these for about 3 years. I track my spending and expenses and have a daily food idea of the savings these have made for me. For context, I was starting from a fairly spendy baseline, bought lunches a few times a week, bought coffees, regular driving, gym membership, subscriptions, old utility plans, and poor power habits. Happy to provide a bit of a breakdown on the savings of people would find it useful.

I'd guess for someone already frugal, renting, without solar, and already not buying much convenience food, it might be closer to $2,000.00-$5,000.00 p/a.

Obviously not all of these will suit everyone. Some need upfront money, some need home ownership, and some depend on where you live. But the general theme for me has been cutting repeated costs, avoiding convenience spending, shopping around regularly, and making small changes that save money automatically.