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I come from a traditional working class family in the north of England, but I was very lucky that both my parents went to grammar schools and pushed themselves to have a good career.
At that time, it was very unusual to have a well-paid working mother and they were both excellent role models. As they earned better salaries, we moved from an industrial area to a beautiful town with the countryside on our doorstep.
Money was definitely not tight, but my parents only spent on worthwhile things and were very careful not to bother with rubbish. I’m sure that had a huge impact on me.
I went to my local comprehensive school, which was a post-modern secondary school, I got top grades in my O and A levels and was the first person from my school to get a place at Cambridge University.
As was the norm at the time, the local authority paid my tuition fees and my parents gave me the same amount of money as the full grant. I worked in finance in London during my summer holidays, to boost the coffers, subletting a friend’s bedroom.
That’s when I realized that London is amazing, but very expensive and maybe very gloomy if you don’t have real money. I also realized the advantage of geographical accident. For example, a young PA who lives with her mum and dad in Kent could travel to the City and earn a bomb. Those jobs were not available in the North.
After university, I joined investment banking in the City. It involved a lot of international travel and I was based in Europe a lot of the time, living in Spain, Italy and Portugal for quite significant periods. It was very demanding work, but I earned well and bought my first three-bedroom flat in north-west London in my early twenties.
My employer offered a cheap mortgage as a perk that insulated me from high interest rates. This would be completely unattainable now without the great help of the Bank of Mum and Dad.
In my late twenties, I decided to do an MBA because I wanted to move on from the intensity of the City. I paid my own fees and, having recently married, my husband picked up the slack for our living expenses for my year of study.
However, a few years later we got divorced – we were both traveling too much for work so we didn’t spend much time together. I took the opportunity with my employer to move to New Zealand. I liked the country from previous holidays and it was very easy to settle in even though I was concerned about the cost of living. Everything seemed to be twice as high as in Britain.
I met my now husband 20 years ago. We both realized that people who had real money were entrepreneurs and had their own businesses. So, after having a good idea, we decided to follow that.
It was hard, demanding work and we both took huge efforts – including taking the terrible risk of investing a lot of our savings because we didn’t want to take on debt. The businesses were always profitable and we grew steadily and carefully.
Vital statistics:
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Age: Late 50s
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Annual income after tax: Several million
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Mortgage: Nothing
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Bills: £21,000 (home insurance, electricity, gas, water)
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School fees: £25,000
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Donations: £2,000 (Sky, Netflix, Disney+, Spotify, magazines and newspapers)
Day 1
I wake up at 5.30am and start the day with eggs and toast and our trusty coffee pods. It’s the start of an administrative week. Our personal accountant needs a lot of information to complete five tax returns but it doesn’t take long and I send all of this to him.
I go to the post office to send back a bundle of our shirts that friends left us when they stayed with us at the weekend (NZ$11.50). I proceed to the wholesale flower market to buy a bouquet. They are a third of the price of our posh local florist (NZ$61).
Then the local grocers have to stock good quality fruit and vegetables, which costs me NZ$59. I also have to pay the annual premium for our safe, it gives us offsite safe storage options but it sets me back NZ$800.53.
I go home to have egg salad for lunch and stay in for the rest of the day. I also pay the monthly Disney + subscription (NZ$14.99) as well as cloud storage (NZ$3.49).
Total: NZ$950.51 (£461.55)
Day 2
I wake up early again so I can spend a few hours reading board reports and monthly financials and prepare some questions for the managers.
By 8.30am, I’ll be heading to the supermarket for coffee pods, green-lipped mussels and fresh bread (NZ$143.19). At 9am, our housekeeper arrives. She is excellent; she cleans the house from top to bottom and changes the beds every week. We pay her NZ$400 a week, which is very good for six hours.
At 10.30am, I go out with my husband and son to look at glamorous cars at the nearby dealerships. I guess they thought we were “tire kickers” (someone with no intention of buying) which suits me just fine as I am.
The three of us then go to a sushi restaurant (NZ$56.10). That’s the last thing I spend money on today. I cook the mussels with a salad for dinner and we go for a long walk as a family with the dog afterwards.
Total: NZ$599.29 (£291)
Day 3
Today was a day full of tasks. At 8.30am, I leave our dog at the groomers and then run home to let in the landscapers who are helping to remodel our garden.
I escape to the hairdressers for a really nice blowout (NZ$80) and then I’m back home to give my son petrol money for his car (NZ$50) and pick up the dog (NZ$110).
After a lunch of soft boiled eggs and asparagus, I go shopping for an outfit for an upcoming wedding. I spend NZ$899 on the dress, NZ$319 on shoes and get a second pair of shoes for NZ$129. I am very happy because I will be wearing these pieces a lot, so they are useful.
I take some jewelery for valuation. It is a requirement of the insurance company. Each valuation costs NZ$120, but the jeweler waives the fees because we are good customers.
In the evening, I can not be bothered to cook because it is too hot so I have cheese on toast and berries for dinner. I walk around the block with my husband and my dog taking the easy way because it’s so humid. We are tempted by the pub, but dogs are not allowed.
Total: NZ$1,587 (£770.62)
Day 4
While my husband takes his car to the car wash, our son washes mine and his car in the drive-thru, which is free.
I go to get fruit and vegetables from the grocers (NZ$82.29) and visit the supermarket for essentials (NZ$145.88). I also buy a lemon sorbet from the local ice cream shop (NZ$17).
My husband goes to the wine shop to replace the booze we drank over Christmas (NZ$365.86) and the Spotify bill comes through (NZ$34).
My son gets an Uber (NZ$20.42) to transport his girlfriend to our house. The driving law in New Zealand means that an inexperienced young driver like himself cannot drive another young inexperienced driver who does not yet have a license herself.
In the afternoon, our family friend arrives and brings a wonderful bottle of champagne – we feel spoiled. We all have a nice G&T at home before heading to the local gastropub for dinner where our friend covers the bill.
Total: NZ$665.45 (£323.13)
Day 5
While our friend is staying overnight, my husband and I cook a full English breakfast at home for our guest and a few other friends visit us from out of town and we all have a lovely meal at home.
In the afternoon, we head into the city to have a late lunch at a seafood restaurant. We pay NZ$933.80. All our friends return to the airport and we catch a lift home in one of their Ubers.
It’s still very hot and humid and we had the air conditioning on non-stop so we can sleep. It’s all cooled by impressive large-scale heat pumps hidden outside and each room is separately controllable from a really good app. It is the same for our swimming pool.
Total: NZ$933.80 (£453.44)
Day 6
My morning is spent wandering around art dealers galleries with the dog in tow. Our dog is clean and therefore allowed in. I see a nice picture that would perfectly fill a gap in our home. I say I’ll think about it. I always do this with almost everything, even if I really like something – I don’t buy impulse.
My husband joins me for a sashimi lunch at a local Japanese restaurant (NZ$30). I also spend NZ$5.50 for an hour of street parking which includes a 50 cent charge for using a credit card. The machine doesn’t take cash so you have to use a card and that makes the council laugh.
My husband takes NZ$500 in cash from an ATM. Our son has just got good exam results so some of that will go forward.
In the afternoon, I book our next trip to Europe. We’re getting there in a few weeks. First class flights with Emirates are NZ$35,000. The accommodation is still to be decided, but I have ideas. My husband is fine with me organizing everything because he thinks I know what I’m doing.
At dinner, we discuss buying a house in Europe because we travel a bit and it would be wise to have a base and stay longer each time.
Total: NZ$35,535.50 (£17,255.38)
Day 7
After a breakfast of toast and some fresh apricots, I pay the landscape stage invoice of NZ$1,995. At 8.30am, I arrive at the hairdressers for a blowout (NZ$65) and I take the dog with me so I can go straight to the beach afterwards to meet my friend with her dog.
I’m home by 11.30am and pay the annual theater membership subscription (NZ$20). It’s local amateur drama but it’s great fun and well worth it.
I meet another friend for catchup and gossip over lunch in the city. It’s a very trendy place but strange food and I wear a strange dress. NZ$88 for the meal and NZ$20 for valet parking.
At 4pm, I start some regulatory requirements work, but quickly lose interest when I have to update a complicated spreadsheet. Instead I browse the auction listings for the upcoming Elton John sale at Christie’s. There are quite a few that my husband would love and I wonder if I should sign up and bid.
Total: NZ$2,188 (£1,062.45)
Total for the week: NZ$42,459.55 (£20,617.57)
As told by Pieter Snepvangers.
