Weeds, snails, road deaths and a ‘bum gun’ instead of toilet paper: the lengths that Kiwis will save money

With food prices rising, the cost of petroleum and power soaring, and rising interest rates, New Zealanders are gathering tips to survive the cost-of-living crisis.

For some, it goes beyond buying special offers and turning off the lights when you leave the room.

Weeds, garden snails and even roadkill are on the menu for more radical fans of thrift, who may also end up without toilet paper, taking cold showers, or eating other people’s leftovers.

Extreme frugality is becoming more mainstream in Aotearoa, with forums and groups growing on how to live cheaply and sustainably.

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Tauranga student Samuel Taylor used to worry about whether he would ever be able to afford to buy a house. Now he worries if he can afford a cup of coffee.

Taylor, who is studying economics and politics at Harvard, says he was shocked when he went to buy coffee this month when he landed at Auckland Airport, and it was $ 8.

“I knew prices were going crazy here, but I was like, wait, when I was last here not long ago, coffee was only $ 4,” Taylor says.

“It’s the talk of all my friends, whether they are studying or working, not what they work for or what they want to do in life, but how they can afford to eat every day and pay for gas. We all share tips to save money. ”

Looking for food is an obvious way to eat cheap or free. Julia Sich regularly eats the weeds from her garden, and holds Tauranga workshops on how to use them in recipes.

Sich advises people to learn what is edible and what is not. Some weeds or mushrooms can be poisonous or have other effects. Avoid private land unless you have permission, and choose according to the season, she says.

“There is a lot of chicken forest now as the weather is damp and cool. It can be used in salad, soup, smoothie, pesto or a green sauce. It is soft and not hairy or bitter and has a pleasant aroma. ”

Ubiquitous dandelion can also be a recipe staple food. “It has a bitter taste, but stimulates digestion and the release of saliva to activate digestive enzymes and bile.”

Save on buying expensive salad in the supermarket by chopping up plantain, nasturtium or osoogel daisies that can be found along the way, Sich says.

“Onion weeds are like spring onions, but they are free. Add it to stir-fry, scrambled eggs and soup. ”

Sich says it is possible to look for fruits and nuts from trees in parks and deserted places such as walnuts, olives and avocados that would otherwise be expensive to buy. Communities can map their own falling fruit spots on fallingfruit.org.

Kate Todd even eats the snails from her suburban garden, encouraged to live frugally by her “green finger” mate.

“We fed them oatmeal for a while to get all their poop out, and then cooked it with garlic. Tough but good. ”

Todd’s mate would even eat road dead for a meal if an animal like a rabbit or bird or deer had died on the road and was still fresh, but she had not done it herself.

Dumpster diving, a method used by extremely frugal people to get the free food thrown out at supermarkets or restaurants, is illegal in New Zealand.

Many supermarkets and cafes in Tauranga donate leftover food to food rescue organization Good Neighbor instead of throwing it away. This charity collects food that is “good enough to eat but not good enough to sell”, and distributes it to local community organizations.

Some fans of free food say there is no shame in eating items that other people have left on their plates in cafes or restaurants and that would otherwise be thrown away.

More FM radio broadcaster Paul Flynn admits to being a “free food smoker” in food courts, picks up containers of sushi and tempura left on the table by other eaters, and even once asked a waiter at a “fancy winery” or he can eat the pizza left over from the next table.

“There is nothing wrong with it, it will just be thrown away, so you can just as well eat it. Some people leave so much food. ”

Christchurch mom Emma Healey has been blogging about her money-saving tips since 2015, but noted that it is now becoming more “new” to talk about frugality and use resources wisely.

“I definitely think people are more interested in creative ways to save money than they were even a year ago.”

Healey, a mother of two, saved money in simple ways such as buying an espresso machine instead of take-away coffee, as well as more radical steps such as downsizing her home.

“The $ 15 coffee machine at Trade Me saves us more than $ 3,000 a year, since my husband and I used to spend $ 11 a day on flat whites.”

“We also scaled down to a two-bedroom unit with two children to reduce our bills. This put us in an area where we could walk everywhere we needed to go, including school and supermarkets and my husband could cycle to work. That means we only need one car and we hardly use it. ”

A daily shower is unnecessary, says Healy. “It peels the skin of unnatural oils. You only have to do it when you are particularly dirty or sweaty. ”

When you take a shower, make it fast, she says, or take a military shower – by turning off the water while soaping. She also recommends turning off the thermostat and washing clothes in cold water.

Healey makes her own laundry powder and does not buy any detergents as she makes her own with white vinegar.

If space allows, she recommends a bidet, which can save households hundreds of dollars on toilet paper.

Toilet paper is a popular topic among frugal living groups with debates over the best bargains, with some going so far as to weigh the full rolls and measure the cardboard inside to see if they get the best value for money.

Others save even more by giving up toilet paper altogether. While this is not for everyone, people who do not use toilet paper, for those who poop-poop the idea, point out that it is just the same as reusable diapers and period products.

Nancy Jull uses cotton torn into square cloths which she keeps in a “nice zipper bag” near the toilet next to a lid bucket of water and Dettol stored in the shower. “I saved a lot of dollars once it became a routine.”

For six years, Jocelyn Kroll has been using flannel sheets bought in the store instead of toilet paper, as well as what is known among savers as a “bum gun” – “a spray bottle with water as a hand bidet”.

There are many simple recipes for making your own beauty products, says Mig Millan, who makes toothpaste for the whole family. Cutting or coloring your own hair rather than expensive trips to the hairdressers can save hundreds, even thousands per year.

Cheryl Hunia from Auckland says she has not bought hair products for five years. “I use natural hair soap bars and condition with a solution of apple juice and water, my hair now needs to be washed less.”

Bartering is another way to save money, says Vanessa Sneglar.

“We exchange a lot … building, gardening, food. So we swap with neighbors and friends, swap stuff you need for stuff someone else needs or some labor … or someone who takes stuff to the landfill will swing by and let you go through it all to see or you can use something, “she said.” It saves them landfill costs, recycles well and helps people out. “

Community exchange groups such as crop exchanges, food cooperatives or clothing exchanges are also a way to maximize resources.

Ally Watson started a Rotorua Clothing Exchange last year, and has not had to buy clothes since. It already has more than 2000 members.

“We found a place in the town and every week we saw a few hundred families through the door. “People can request clothes in their own size or for their whānau, and all we ask is for good condition clean clothes to exchange, so that we can keep the cycle going.”

Susie Omundsen solved one of the world’s biggest puzzles – as well as saving money – by buying just the same black socks for the whole family, so it’s never a problem if one goes missing.

“In fact, I’ve never bought socks for 20 years after buying the same black socks in bulk for everyone for $ 1.”

With power costing a large household, some turn off the heat completely and keep them warm in low clothing. Coromandel wife Gayle Duncan makes the family’s ‘ponchos’ of blankets to wear in the house, as well as warm gloves and socks.

Others recommend sticking bubble wrap to the windows, or heating only one room. To save power by boiling the kettle, Justine Turner cooks it once a day and puts it in a thermos.

Aucklander Barbara Caisley started intermittently fasting as a way to lose weight, but discovered that it also saves money.

“I fast for 22 hours – I only drink black coffee and water – and only have a two-hour dining window every night between 18:00 and 20:00. It’s definitely a way to reduce the grocery bill! ”

Although bulk purchases of items such as rice and legumes are a good way to cut costs, the downside may be weevils as the container’s lids are regularly opened and closed. To counteract this and still save costs, a good tip is to freeze your bulk purchases for a few hours to kill any cattle.

Many people who live frugally have told Stuff it is not a miserable life or being “cheap”, on the contrary, it can be very fulfilling to use your creativity to save money and the planet as well.

“To be frugal is to choose to be happy with the resources you have and to look for free and cheap sources of food, fun, clothing, etc.,” said the frugal convert Sonya Bissmire. “It’s about not wasting anything and using the time you save not to go shopping to make things new, fix them, repair them, etc. It’s a mindset rather than a collection of tips. ”