Minimise your cost of living in NZ

"The $100 a week budget was inspired by necessity"

The cost of living in New Zealand can be shocking, but there are ways to minimise your weekly outgoings as Lyn Webster tells ThisNZLife.

LYN WEBSTER is becoming a celebrity in New Zealand for her dedication to a family budget of just $100 a week.

First came a website, Pig Tits & Parsley Sauce, then a newspaper column in the Taranaki Daily News, and now Television appearances, sharing her recipes for toothpaste and washing powder.

"The $100 a week budget was inspired by necessity," explains Lyn. "I ran out of funds."

She says she got into difficulties with an inability to adjust to living within her means when petrol and other goods became more expensive, "That was the real problem."

So she decided on a budget at the nice round figure of $100 a week.

"At the beginning it was hard, and if I blew the budget I had less to spend the next week to get back on track," she says.

Home made toothpaste & washing powder

"Then I discovered the home made laundry powder, toothpaste, cleaner etc., and now I am getting rich."

Yet this hasn't stopped her ambition, and since it's become a bit too easy, the budget is to be cut to $75 a week.

"We will not go back to the way we wasted money before. The budget has become our lifestyle now," she says.

And she praises her children for their support. Without which the task would have been so much harder.

"Danni (17) and Stevie-Marie (11) have been amazing. They bought into the idea from day one and have had no trouble adapting. We are not doing without - just buying more sensibly."

The experience has made Lyn critical of overspending, and the sometimes greedy attitude humans can display.

"Unlimited choice leads to waste and excess. Switch on your brain before approaching supermarket. It is not your right to waste money just because you have some," she says.

Yet she's very pleased of the attention her lifestyle choices have received, as it has "enabled me to help others save their cash in difficult times."

"If others have as much success with this as I have, and there is no reason why they shouldn't, then it will be an extremely positive experience for all concerned," she adds.

You can see the recipes and tips, and follow Lyn's ongoing story at Pig Tits and Parsley Sauce.

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