Since moving to New Zealand from Australia to raise our new family, my partner Mike and I have been living on a small income as he is the only one who is working full time. I work part-time from home for a marketing agency, but my hours are very minimal.
Neither of us have debt, nor do we use credit cards for any purchases, so we are doing well in that regard. We have savings, but this could change very quickly if we're not careful.
So how do we manage?
First we sat down and really looked at what we could afford to spend each month on rent, food, baby necessities, internet, power, firewood, fuel and anything extra. We were pretty stunned at how little we would have left at the end of each month.
Mike suggested we eat only vegetable meals at home, so for the past four months we've been on a vegetarian diet. I was really impressed when he suggested this, as it also betters our health and helps the planet. We will only eat meat we have hunted or fished for, but that's not happened yet.
We're avid gardeners and we recently collected some old pallets and put together fairly cheap raised garden beds to grow our own vegetables. The growing season is long here, so we're pretty excited about the prospect of eating good home-grown food year round.
We hardly ever eat out now and on most weekends we can be found picking up fresh produce from the local farmers market. Aside from getting some fried fish or the odd pizza we're really turning into home cooks - and this is a huge contrast from our time in Perth.
We've been very conscious of what our baby Wesley actually needs and what isn't crucial. He is 5 months old and becoming a very active little man.
We spend a lot of time physically playing and interacting with him as I've been told that parents are the best toy Wesley can interact and learn from and we have really taken this to heart.
I buy his clothing second-hand and have been able to sell items that he no longer fits on TradeMe, which is also handy.
Another way we save is by using reuseable nappies. Most days we can get through a whole day with our reusables, although when we go out we swap to disposables to save us from any messes.
We bought a second-hand car. It's not fancy, but it drives well and is reliable.
For entertainment we have Netflix, which is $11.49 per month, and we borrow books from the fantastic Palmerston North library.
As for our home decor, we're renting at the moment, and it's taken me some time to shape it into a space we love. We've made the space ours by investing in some quality furniture that should last. The styles we've gone for are pretty classic and simple.
The one way I've been able to contribute financially, even if it is modest, is by working part-time as a copywriter from home. The company has been really flexible and I love being able to spend these important months with Wesley and also bring in some coin to help boost our savings.
Some of the changes we had to make revolved around my shopping habits as I used to spend a bit almost monthly on clothing. I'm often still running around in my maternity clothes, as they have a little more wiggle room, but as my weight has dropped I've found joy in wearing items that have eluded me for nearly a year - it's like reuniting with old friends.
Our weekend activities are pretty outdoorsy and generally cost nothing - walks in town, hiking in the hills or visiting family and sometimes fishing (this does require a licence, which was bought for the year).
We now savour the small moments like enjoying a takeaway coffee or eating fish and chips on a Friday.
Our life on a budget has been an eye opener in such a positive way and we're really pleased we've managed to get through our first year without dipping into our savings.
We are really looking forward to what the future holds for us here in New Zealand.
This is an edited version of a post that originally appeared on Holly Martin's blog.