"People should be able to work hard, pay their bills, and still have enough left to live a decent and stress-free life."
Respondent 223: 45-54 · Woman · Pacific Peoples, Other, New Zealander · Marlborough | Te Tauihu-o-te-waka · Casual · Between $30,000 and $49,999 · Family with children
Between 6 and 31 August 2026, NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi surveyed our Together database about the lived experience and impacts of the cost-of-living crisis.
Respondents wanted a decent and dignified life. One where they are able to pay housing costs, heat their homes, buy healthy food and see a doctor and dentist when needed. A life where they can visit family, have a coffee with a friend and know that an unexpected bill will not throw their household into crisis.
But the 683 people who completed the cost-of-living survey were not able to experience that very ordinary life. Their experience was one of financial struggle, skipping out on the necessities, and a loss of dignity. They found our economic and political system wanting.
Participation was self-selected and no questions were compulsory. The survey was not designed to produce a statistically representative sample of the population, and the results should not be read as such. Its purpose was different: to hear directly from people about what rising costs are doing to their households, their health, their relationships, their work and their sense of security.
