Power companies put their prices up on April 1. I read about it on RNZ, which also mentioned a Government comparison tool I hadn’t heard of before. That was enough to check it out even though I haven’t even been with my current power provider for a year.

“I’ll never be able to afford to buy a house in Auckland.”

That’s what I kept telling people five or six years ago whenever real estate came up. I had given up on the idea and made peace with renting for as long as I stayed in Auckland. Moving somewhere cheaper was an option but I preferred renting in a place I loved over owning a home in an area I didn’t want.