Property Investment
2 min read
Author: Andrew Nicol
Managing Director, 20+ Years' Experience Investing In Property, Author & Host
Could you live on $538 for a week?
That’s what a single person gets on NZ Super. So I tried it for a week.
You see, there’s a lot of debate about good old NZ Super.
Is it really enough to survive?
Some retirees say: “Oh yeah, you can live on NZ Super quite comfortably.”
Others say: “Are you kidding? Not when it’s just $538 a week.”
And that’s the point – it depends on you and how much you tend to spend.
And that’s why I created this ‘Living on Super Challenge’.
I woke up on Monday, and for the next 7 days, I wouldn’t let myself spend more than $538 for the week.
Was it enough to pay for all my groceries? Petrol? Life admin? And my social life?
Started strong – $37 on groceries to meal prep. Made a frittata for breakfast. Figured it would last the week.
$20 on coffee beans, $10 on protein bars.
Skipped lunch … wanted to save money. Got to 4pm and thought “f*** this”.
Spent $31 on lunch. $17 on dinner.
Total for the day: $115. Nearly 20% of the budget gone on day one. Must do better tomorrow.
Only spent $56. Forced my friend to buy me lunch to save money. (Probably not sustainable)
Then the power bill landed: $1,687 for the month (not a typo).
Between the spa and heating the house in Winter … I couldn’t afford to live in my own house if I retired just on Super.
Dinner meeting. My lawyer ‘forgot’ to pay. (I’m really milking my friends.)
I picked up the $327 bill. Brutal. The weekly budget’s already blown.
The frittata went bad. Had to bin it. So much for saving.
Weekend = chaos. Took my daughter and her friends to the park.
They didn’t care about my budget. They wanted ice cream.
By Day 6, I’d spent $1,456. Nearly three weeks of Super … in one week.
Safe to say … I blew the challenge. I couldn’t survive on Super for a week.
You sometimes read about retirees skipping meals to get by. I used to think: “Do people really do that?”
But less than 24 hours into the challenge … that was part of my Super survival strategy.
What I learned
Now you might say: “Andrew, you clearly didn’t try very hard. You needed to change your lifestyle more. Just spend less.”
And you’re right.
That’s the point of the challenge. To show you (and me) how much we’d have to give up if we just live on the pension.
And even if you could cut back and survive on the $538 a single person gets per week … is that really your/my definition of living?
It’s easy to say, “I’ll just cut back in retirement.”
But when you’re skipping meals or saying no to your grandkids’ ice cream?
That’s not retirement – that’s regret.
This challenge is your retirement reality check.
And there are only 2 outcomes:
Outcome 1:You get to Sunday and think: “Piece of cake. I can live on Super happily for 25 years.”
Great! You’re sorted. You never have to worry about retirement again.
Outcome 2: You think: “No way I couldn’t do this for 25 years. I need to save or invest.”
And that’s the power of it. This makes retirement real for you.
So forget the generic question: “Is NZ Super enough for Kiwis?”
Instead, ask: “Is NZ Super enough for me?”
Take the challenge and find out –
✅ One week
✅ $538 budget
✅ Exclude mortgage
✅ Track every dollar
P.S. If you try it – hit reply and let me know how it went. I’d love to hear your results.
Managing Director, 20+ Years' Experience Investing In Property, Author & Host
Andrew Nicol, Managing Director at Opes Partners, is a seasoned financial adviser and property investment expert with 20+ years of experience. With 40 investment properties, he hosts the Property Academy Podcast, co-authored 'Wealth Plan' with Ed Mcknight, and has helped 1,894 Kiwis achieve financial security through property investment.
