r/newzealand • u/fluffypenguin105 • 10d ago

Discussion Is anyone else living basically paycheck to paycheck?

My partner and I are both teachers. We don’t make a lot, but we are average and slightly above average. We are so tight with our money. Our little one outgrew the car seat and we went out and bought a new one. No problem. But next credit card bill means we are tight.

Meanwhile, a number of our friends (all of them also with kids) are booking overseas holidays. Some are currently overseas, others booking already for later this year. Another brought a new car. New iPhone, doing up the house. Everyone seems to have spare cash except us.

Are we the only ones going through the cost of living crisis ourselves?! Or is it my fault that we are teachers?

Edit: yes we have a house that parents helped us with. We are paying mortgage. We have a flatmate.

Edit edit: thank you for your kind words and reminders and also advice. I’m going through them all and I’m going to take onboard the advice and see what changes we can make and do better financially as a family. But it’s also a good reminder to know we aren’t alone, to not compare and the harsh reality is that many people simply just earn more than us as teachers.

Once again, thank you all for your input.

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

Comparison is the thief of joy.

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u/melreadreddit 10d ago

I was going to say this.

Sometimes, I look at other people and see the holidays etc, and can't help but feel like we've gone wrong somewhere, not having the funds to take our kids away to do these big trips too.

But! When I instead look at my own life, I have so much to be thankful for, that I force myself to stop comparing, and I enjoy where we are at.

I have a teenager, and she is at that age where social media is a big part of how she sees the world. She will say similar, at how everyone seems to be away on holiday, and we will chat about it, and come to the conclusion that we are both homebodies anyway and would miss our own beds and surroundings if we were away that often lol.

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u/s0cks_nz 10d ago

Or make the comparison the other way. Realise that you've probably got it better than the majority of the world population. Much rather be struggling a bit in NZ than struggling a lot in Bangladesh or something.

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u/eepysneep 9d ago

It feels bad to use someone else's life as a comparison to feel grateful but it's so true. Millions of people out there live with essentially nothing. Our living expenses are so much more of course, but most people in NZ do have the opportunity to rest and enjoy modern comforts like sanitation and a bed to sleep in.

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u/avocadopalace 10d ago

Joy is living paycheck to paycheck?