Episode 11: Where Is It More Expensive?
I haven’t done one of these in awhile, but I thought it was time to bring it back because - like everywhere - prices are changing quite a bit in New Zealand. This is most evident when at the grocery store, but I’ll address food pricing in another Grocery Haul post soon.
Gas - A big headline in the news these days is the rising cost of gas, aka petrol. Supreme (95 octane) gas is currently hoovering around NZ$3 a litre. This doesn’t sound too bad until you realize that there are 3.79 litres per gallon, so let’s do the math:
NZ$3 x 3.79 = NZ$11.37 per US gallon or about US$7.55 per gallon given today’s exchange rate.
A quick check in GasBuddy shows me that in Austin a premium gallon of gas will run me about $3.39 a gallon.
Advantage: US
Glue Stick - This may be a bit random, but it is our back to school time of year, so I’ve recently purchased a lot of school supplies. (Fun fact: in New Zealand they call school supplies “stationary.”) A Bic glue stick can be found for NZ$2.59, or about US$1.81
At Target, a single stick of Elmer’s glue is going for US$2.19 + tax, or US$2.37, while at Walmart they’re going for US$1.74 + tax, or US$1.88.
Advantage: New Zealand
New Balance Fresh Foam 1080v11 - I go through a lot of black sneakers and am thinking about these New Balance’s for my next pair of dog walking shoes. On the New Zealand New Balance site, they cost NZ$290, or US$203 while on the US New Balance site they cost US$149.99 + tax or US$162.36. The winner is pretty clear…
Advantage: US
N95 Masks - in the spirit of life with covid, it only seemed appropriate to include this one. In New Zealand, there are N95 masks and P2 masks, which are the same thing just rated using New Zealand and Australia’s mask system. A single P2 mask will run you NZ$5.99 at Chemist Warehouse or a 3-pack at Bunnings for $10. A few weeks ago, before the messaging changed to say that n95s were the way to go, I got 10-packs at Chemist Warehouse for NZ$24. Unfortunately, with the rush of demand, supply has hard a hard time keeping up.
The same 3M masks with the n95 as opposed to P2 rating are available at Target for US$8.99+ tax for a 3-pack, or about NZ $13.90.
Advantage - New Zealand*
Prices are fluctuating wildly with n95 masks as people stock up in preparation for an omicron wave. It’s tough to tell if the advantage will still be fore New Zealand in a month or so.
Advil - Also in the spirit of, “well, I’d better be prepared if I’m about to get covid” I’ve recently stocked up on some OTC medicines like Advil. In New Zealand, I got a box of 48 coated tablets for NZ$6.99, or US$4.89. A box of 50 coated tablets in the US costs US$6.29+ tax at Target.
Advantage: New Zealand
Side note: Ibuprofen would be free for under 13s if prescribed by a doctor, and the doctor’s are almost always willing to prescribe acetaminophen and other things that can also be purchased OTC to keep costs down for families.
So there you have it. A random sampling of how much every day items cost in New Zealand right now. I feel like New Zealand has a really bad reputation for being expensive, and while there are certainly some examples of this being true (gas and clothing!) it isn’t always the case. When I look at our overall budget, it is less to live in New Zealand which I go into in more depth here.
