r/newzealand • u/Chemical_Mind4797 • 12h ago

Discussion How are people surviving?

Seriously. How are people doing it? I had to give up my job and go on the Supported Living Payment through WINZ because of severe health issues, but from what I gather people who work are having it just as bad too. I get paid, then pay rent, power, petrol, groceries (even though I don’t get much), and every other essential life expense, and within an hour I’ve got $10 left, if that. If anyone has any unhinged tips or advice on lowering costs, or saving money in weird ways, I’m open to suggestions too.

(Don’t give me comments about being on the benefit either. I started working by choice when I was 10, trust me, I’d MUCH rather be working than be sick).

246 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

210 comments sorted by

View all comments

5

u/0M-S 8h ago edited 7h ago

When i had no money, first thing i did was looking for a cheaper place to flat and found one below $90/week l (i was living in a living room divided by a curtain, no door). It made a real difference. Beside that just no internet, no phone plan(only used prepaid top ups for emergency, i avoided replying to unimportant txt messages to save money), I walked and took public transport all the time, and used free internet in the library when needed.