Copyright thespinoff
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a retired empty nester explains how and where they spend, and why being retired is like running a startup. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Male. Ethnicity: Pākehā. Role: Retired, empty nester. Salary/income/assets: No salary, no super – too young still. Drawing $4,000 per month from my investments. My wife does the same. My living location is: Suburban. Rent/mortgage per week: Home owner, no mortgage. Student loan or other debt payments per week: None. Typical weekly food costs Groceries: $450 for two. Eating out: $150 for two. Takeaways: Not much. Workday lunches: Nil. Cafe coffees/snacks: $100. Savings: It’s all about the spending now. Retirement is like running a startup – you have to get the burn rate right. Too high and you run out. Too low and you aren’t living your best life. I worry about money: Never. Three words to describe my financial situation: Comfortable, choices, lifestyle. My biggest edible indulgence would be: Chocolate, after dinner most nights. In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: Low for me, but my wife likes a glass of wine with dinner. In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: No petrol (we love our EV). <$10 on the bus. Charging the car would be around $10 a week unless we go out of town. Local trips are on the ebikes. I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: $1,200. My most expensive clothing in the past year was: $350 for a lightweight cycle jacket. My last pair of shoes cost: $250 – tan suede Adidas Gazelles. My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: $400 for haircuts. My exercise expenditure in a year is about: $2000 – bike maintenance, clothes, pilates. My last Friday night cost: $30 for chicken chow mein and half a dozen wontons. Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: $500 worth of diesel for a Toyota Hilux we hired. Holy crap, 14l/100km – why do people like them?! Most indulgent purchase (that I don’t regret) in the last 12 months was: An expensive road bike to replace my previous main bike. $12,000 isn’t that expensive right? One area where I’m a bit of a tightwad is: Phone bills and power bills. Five words to describe my financial personality would be: Tight, unless it’s a bike. I grew up in a house where money was: OK, but not plentiful. Solo mum. The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: Last month (forgot to transfer money). In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: About the same, spending a bit less of my money as I’ll have Super. I would love to have more money for: Donations. Describe your financial low: Post-separation, 10 years ago – it coincided with the end of a contract job and a difficult contracting market. A lot to think about, but I landed on my feet and met my gorgeous (now) wife. I give money away to: Environmental groups, The Spinoff, my children.
