Find out the smart ways Kiwis are saving money!

Life isn’t cheap! The cost of living continues to go up making things more and more difficult for all Kiwis. 

We understand the pressure that many households are facing at the moment so we put the call out to our neighbours on Neighbourly asking for new and innovative ways to save money. 

We got a number of responses with Kiwis chiming in to tell us their money-saving tips! So we’ve compiled them all into one list for you.

Read on to find out the best ways you can save your hard-earned cash! 

1). Ask yourself: do I need it or want it? 

It’s simple but super effective. When making buying decisions, stop and ask yourself this key question, “Do I need it or want it?” If you need the item, then buy it! But if you only want it and it’s not essential to your life, then chances are you should hold off from buying it. Whether it’s new clothes, technology or the chocolate bars near the checkout, asking the question, “Do I need it or want it?” will ensure that you don’t waste your money!

2). Grow your own vegetables and fruit! 

Many Kiwis claimed to be saving quite a bit off their grocery bills by growing their own fruit and veggies. So set up a garden in your backyard, plant your produce into pots or join a community garden if you’re short on space. Not only will you be saving heaps, you’ll get fresher and tastier fruit and vegetables! 

Don’t forget to think about how you’ll water your plants. Think about getting a tank that collects rainwater, using adapters on your gutters to direct rainwater into a connected bucket or use excess water from showers or baths. These are all great ways to save on your water bill!

3). Plan out your meals 

Meal planning! Setting out what you’ll be eating for each meal during the week will help you stick to buying only the essential foods that you need. Write down a list and plan it all out. This will help you stop buying anything unnecessary. When it comes time to cook, you can make your meals in bulk and pop them all in the fridge or freezer and ration them throughout your week. Meal planning also saves power, water and time! 

4). Buy on special and in season!  

Make sure to take advantage of any special deals or prices that are on. Buying a little bit more of a certain item when it’s at a discounted price and storing it for later could help you save in the long run. This goes hand in hand with buying fruit and vegetables when they’re in season. This is when produce is at its cheapest and also its tastiest! 

If you’re wanting to compare grocery prices and find out where to get the best specials and cheapest prices then go to Foodme.co.nz!

5). Overpay your bills to build up credit

You need to start overpaying your power bills! We know, that sounds crazy right! How is that saving me money?! Well, it’s all about building up credit for when your bill spikes in winter (when you’ll be using more power). For instance, if your power costs $120 a month but you’re paying $150 a month since January then come July when your bill increases, you’ll have an extra $180 in your account to help with the more expensive bills. Having some money sitting in your account by winter time will help lessen the shock when you see those higher bills come in!

6). Get creative with left-overs! 

Too often we find ourselves chucking out left-over food. So a great way to cut costs is by using up anything that’s in your fridge or pantry by putting it towards your next meal. Look at your recipes and see if you can substitute some ingredients for things that you already have in your kitchen. This will save you heaps and cut down on food waste. A win win! 

It’s not only food though! Find a new life for those old pieces of clothing or material. Maybe it’s using old buttons to make necklaces or saving those old cardboard boxes to build forts. Whatever it is, using these left-overs is a great way to keep the little ones entertained! Plus, it’s all free for you!

7). Wash and dry efficiently 

It’s a good idea to be smart when using your washing machine and dryer as they take up a lot of power and water. When using the washing machine, make sure to only do full loads at a time. Or adjust the water level to how much clothing is in the machine. When it comes to the dryer…don’t use it. If you can, hang your clothes up on the line outside. During winter, pop the clothes rack in the garage. Otherwise, use the dryer as sparingly as possible! 

8). Share with your neighbours!!

Sharing is caring…and saving! Doing swaps with your neighbours and locals in the community is a great way to save money. Swap your excess veggies, fruit, clothes or get hand-me-downs and toys for the kids. If you want to go even further, then set up a swap outside your house where everyone in the community can come and trade. This is a great way to interact with your community, reduce waste and save on having to buy anything new!  

9). Change your habits

Old habits don’t have to die hard! Often our habits in life can end up costing a lot of money. Things like alcohol, coffee, takeaways or online shopping are all things that people find they spend too much money on. But it’s not impossible to change your habits! Start with a small change. Maybe get a smaller pack of beers, make your coffee at home, reduce your takeaways to fortnightly or buy second-hand clothing. Whatever it is, just remember that small consistent changes will pay off in the long run!

10). Use free hours of power! 

Free hours of power?! What are they you might ask? Well, it’s a new feature in power plans where you can use as much power as you want during a certain time period for FREE! So you can do all those power-sucking chores like vacuuming or running the dishwasher, all without having to pay a cent. To learn more, click here!

Don’t forget to compare! 

There’s just one more thing you can do to save money…COMPARE! 

Comparing your broadband, power and financial plans can save you hundreds of dollars, get you access to special perks or benefits and set you up on a plan that meets your exact needs. 

Sounds amazing right! But how can I compare, you may ask? 

USE NZ COMPARE! 

NZ Compare is a comparison website where you can compare all your plans quickly and easily for FREE!!

Simply jump onto our website, enter in a few details, select some filters that match your preferences and then you’ll see all the plans available to you! 

You can compare the plans side-by-side all on one page!

Alternatively, if you’d rather talk to a kind human, then give our friendly customer support team a free call on 0508 22 66 72.

So while things continue to get tougher for everyone, it’s clear that Kiwis are still finding plenty of clever ways to save money! 

So why shouldn’t you?? 

Get out there and start saving!