Cost of living

Filled up with gas the other day, at NZ$1.89/litre. With the current exchange rate that makes gas here a little more than US$5.75/gallon. Since oil is still climbing, I think we'll probably break the US$6.00/gallon mark before the end of the week. Some rural gas stations, by the way, have been charging NZ$2.00/litre of the past couple of weeks.

On the food front, I bought milk on 'special' yesterday for NZ$2.99/2 litres. (They don't sell big gallon-sized/4-litre sized bottles here, probably because they wouldn't fit in the tiny fridges they have here.) Boneless, skinless chicken breast was on 'special' for NZ$13.99/kilo. While the overall cost of groceries hasn't climbed as rapidly, I'd estimate that most staple items (dairy, meat, vegetables) are up about 30%-40% in the past year. If you're frugal, like we are, and don't buy a lot of crap, then chances are you've seen more of an overall cost increase than someone who buys lots of processed foods.