 All right, welcome back to my channel this week. You are not going to want to miss what we're covering this week. It's going to be so great. We're talking about the 11 ways that you can save money because who doesn't want to save money when you're backpacking through New Zealand? And I have Robin here from NZ Pocket Guide who is just the expert in this area. So me and my family, we do a lot of what they call tramping here. It's not backpacking, but yeah, I don't know all of the ins and outs for travelers that are coming. So that's why I have Robin here with us today. And so it's going to be good. And you're going to want to check out the NZ Pocket Guide website. It has everything on it. It's free for you to use just anything and everything you need to know about New Zealand. So here we go. 11 tips. Are you moving or traveling to New Zealand? Well, I have a resource for you that is going to be so helpful. I know that journey. I have done it firsthand. I've even done it twice. I understand what you're going through. It's so exciting, but so daunting at the same time. You have so many questions and have no idea exactly what to do about different situations, especially if you've never even been to this country. And so this resource is something that I have created. It's called the New Zealand Training Hub. And what it includes is video training on how to set up life here, understanding the culture, understanding how things work here. And so it gives you like that head start. So if you're a planner or someone that like kind of there's enough new things that it would be nice to just understand how to do things in a new country. So if you are that person, this training hub is for you. Not only does it do all of those videos, but it has a community built in. So when you join the training hub, you get access to the community of people on the same journey as you. These people could be like your best friends and they probably will, because all of us have made a friend when we first moved here that we're kind of going through the same thing. And that's who we learned everything from. But they also didn't have someone like me helping them out with some video training. And in addition to that, you will have access to me every month. I'll do a live Q&A just to answer any questions that might not get answered in the training hub. You can also request additional trainings. There's really no reason to not check this out. So why does it make sense for an American to be talking about what life is like in New Zealand? Well, let me tell you why, because a New Zealander knows no different. And so it needs to be someone who has come into the culture and saying, Oh, this is different. Now, I don't know everything. I only know my own experience, but I am a really good resource to say, Hey, this is how they do this here. This is probably not how they do this in your country, or maybe it's different. And so you really need that outside person that knows the differences. So if you're moving or traveling to New Zealand, this training hub is for you. Check it out. Should we get started by explaining what is backpacking in New Zealand for you, America? Oh, yes. Because it's slightly different. It's basically your classic gap here, right? It's taking a year off coming to New Zealand, explore New Zealand. Well, I think in the US, you guys take that as long term hiking, like multi-day hikes. Is that what you're just putting back? Yes, it would be called backpacking. Because you carry everything on your back. Okay. So in New Zealand, it would be more like taking a gap here into New Zealand, having an overseas experience, your classic OE. Right. But just so you know, in the US, they don't really take a gap year. It's not really a thing. You guys should start doing that. Yes, you should. I am so mad that I didn't, to be honest. Because it's like it's not a thing. First tip, take a gap year. Yeah, take a first tip. Take a gap year. All right. Definitely. All right. Here we go. We got lots to get through. And you're going to want to stay tuned to the end because we got lots of tips after we get through these 11. Indeed. This is going to be a long video. Okay. First tip, you want to make friends along the way. So when traveling around, you probably, especially when if you're taking a gap year, you're probably going to come solo. You may want to make some friends at the hostel to do some activities with them, to hitch a ride with them. You also want to make friends when you settle in some areas, just to have a little bit of work, you know, working and, you know, kind of saving up a little bit of money for your next journey or the next leg of your trip. Make some friends along the way usually opens a lot of different doors and opens many, many different opportunities. So that's the first thing. Don't be shy. Step out of your comfort zone and make some friends. Number two, I have make your own meals. When traveling around New Zealand, you can stay in hostels or backpackers, accommodations. Those places are super safe. They are not like the classic horror movies usually. See, they're very safe. Okay. That's good to know because I'm just not sure about that. Yes. They're very safe. They're great. But the best thing that hostel have, they usually have a big communal kitchen. That's a great place to make friends. You know, it's very easy to break the ice while cooking a meal, but you can make your own food and save a ton of money. That's going to be really different than, you know, having to literally eat out every single day. And on top of it, you can save even more money by using the free shelf, the free food shelf in every hostel. So a lot of people that kind of check out and leave and don't want to carry a lot of food, they just leave the leftovers of the food on the free shelf and you can make entire meals out of free food shelves. I did not know this. Especially in port of Entry City, such as Christchurch, Wellington, Queenstown and Oakland. Oh, really? Oh, that's so cool. And you guys will love these communal kitchens. I know it may feel weird and you're like, what is this? It was weird for me, but I loved it. And you're watching one of the people or everybody's looking at, what are you making? You know, what are you making? And then like, can I have some salt or, you know, you can borrow some things or people just like, where are you from? It's very cool. Try it. Nice. The next thing that we have is using discount. So it's pretty obvious, but you know, if you find some discount cards or all those kind of things, and we talk a lot on our website about ways to get discount, to get best deal and everything, shop around and you'll be able to save some money. The first price that you're seeing usually is not the best price. So shop around, save some dough. Yeah. And set pocket guide for all of your deals. Yes. Yes. We do have sometimes some deals in there. Not that many. I don't want to lie to people. I'm sorry. Well, you just said to go to the website. So on the website, we talk about, yeah, that doesn't matter. We're moving on. Do some woofing. Do you know what is woofing? I do, but they probably don't. So woofing is basically barking like a dog. So if you put yourself on your knees and start barking like a dog, then money usually rains from the sky. Is it right? No. No. Okay. So woofing is the worldwide organization of organic farmers. That's what woofing stands for. Oh my gosh, it does. Worldwide organization of organic farmers. So it's basically a big program worldwide where organic farmers are able to find some help for their usually smaller type of farms in order to help like kind of cultivate their crops or do whatever farming chores. I need it to be done. And in exchange, you will get free food and free lodging for the time that you are. So usually the deal is that you work for hours for a day and you get all the meals and you get your accommodation. Well, that four hours a day? Usually you work four hours a day and you get meal and accommodation. If you work extra, well, you need to be paid. Oh really? That's usually what it is. It obviously will depend on my location. I thought it was eight hours. Okay. That would be a lot for just free food and accommodation. You will not get a good deal out of that. Because it's working for a farmer, so it's hard work, right? Yeah, it is. Does that include like all the picking stuff? Yeah. So sometimes you have some of those. Remember that in order to do woofing in New Zealand, legally you do need to have a work visa because it's still considered as work, so a working holiday visa, which we'll talk about a little bit later, is a great option. Yeah, that's cool. Next up, taking a cheaper transport option. A lot of people want a rented car when traveling in New Zealand, but there is a lot of different ways you can travel around. Bus networks are extensive and extremely cheap in New Zealand. They could be a great option for you to see more of the country not having to drive, be able to enjoy the scenery and meet friends along the way. Yeah, and they're nice. They have bathrooms and Wi-Fi and you know. That is a fancy bus. It's a fancy bus. I barely have a bathroom and Wi-Fi in my house. It's nicer than some places you'll stay. Wow. Thank you. I'm not talking about your house. All right. The next thing that I have on the list is saving megabytes and saving money. In New Zealand, Wi-Fi is uneven. We're just talking about Wi-Fi right now. It's not necessarily super great everywhere and all the time, so it can cost you quite a lot of money to actually try to chase Wi-Fi everywhere and try to get vouchers for this and get different plans and everything. Just realize that sometimes you have to unplug, be okay with it and that will save you a lot of dough and time as well when traveling around and trying to find a good Wi-Fi and everything. But if you're really desperate and want to connect with home on nzpocketguide.com, we actually have all, I think there is 12 of them, or 12 favorite free Wi-Fi spots which actually have really good Wi-Fi. Better than what we currently have in this house, just saying. Oh, that's really helpful. We have really terrible Wi-Fi in this house. Okay. The next one I have is just a hard question. To ask yourself in front of a mirror, look at yourself in the eyes and say, do you really need to do all those activities which are all $500 each? Do you need to do three different skydive, two different bunting job, et cetera? You don't necessarily need to do all. Oh, you do? Yes. Okay, what do you do? If you do, well, here you go. You don't make it rain. If you don't, then you hit save money because that's the theme of that video. Maybe you want to, I kind of realize. We're going to farm. Yeah, you also want to have a look at which one you want to do all this. Right. And for those activities, you decide not to do it at point number eight. You're going to want to go for a walk. Yes. Go for a walk. There's plenty of amazing heights in New Zealand, isn't it? Guys, it's, it is the thing to do here. So there's really a ton of amazing hikes. They usually are free to do. And so that's a great way to fill up a 19-year-old with fantastic once in a lifetime experiences without having to break the bank. Moving on, the next one we have is a working for accommodation. We just talked about it, about woofing, but there's other ways to work for accommodation. You can actually help out in hostels. You can actually stay with locals. There's many different ways to work for accommodation, which is not just woofing. And I'd be able to save you big bucks. Yeah. Yeah. Because I've had a lot of culture for stay with me as they're kind of going through. And then they get like a nanny job and, or like they'll stay with somebody and work at the local cafe. So there's lots of cool options. So yeah. And what we're talking about accommodation, when picking a hostel, what about you pick a hostel that has good perks rather than having to stay in a hostel. And then after having to pay for kayaking tour or surfing trip or anything like that, what about you stay in a hostel that has inclusion, such as free surf ball higher or free kayak higher, et cetera. Oh, that's nice. That's a huge tip. I didn't know that. There's plenty of a hostel that have like, especially free bike hires, for example, many, many hostels will give you bikes for free. And that's a view, you know, you rent a bike for about a day in cities in New Zealand, it's between 50 to 70 dollars. So that's a good saving. Yeah, it won't be the best bike in the world, but you know, you will get the free bike. So why not? So check out what perks you have. We make sure that we mention the kind of perks that we do like for each hostel when we talk about each hostel, either on our channel or on the website. So yeah, when picking your hostel, don't just look at trying to get the best deal, look at, you know, what kind of inclusion you can have. Right, the whole value that you're getting. Yes, yes. There's, there's a fantastic hostel in Ragland, for example, that will give you free surf board, free bike hire and even have a jacuzzi right in the middle of the, you know, the hostel and it's all free. So that's pretty damn good. Is it close to the beach? Like, can you get right? It's right there. Yeah, it's not, it's really not bad. Anyway, so there's plenty of hostel. It's like the surfing area of the North Island. So, and then the last tip is definitely find a travel buddy because that can cut down costs, right? Because then you can share costs. Yeah, definitely. So I'm not saying travel with somebody because usually when you travel, I'm a big proponent of traveling alone and we probably will talk about that later on your channel again. But yeah, so I'm a big proponent of traveling alone but finding travel buddies along the way for the activities that you want to do along the way is always really good. Like, I can't remember how many times I've got a family pass with a couple of other backpackers that was traveling around. Oh, that's a good idea. Those are much cheaper. Yeah. Exactly. First we cram ourselves at four in the car. So like that, we don't have to sort out on transportation to go there. Right, the transport. And then we get ourselves a family pass and bish, bash, bash, you all sort and you save big bucks. So yeah, just this kind of things. Finding travel buddies along the way is always a good idea. Okay, nice. And also you share money on like, you know, usually after that you make food at the hostel, which I always like doing it. You know, you all put your money together. We all put it together. I don't know, that's true. So it's cheaper to cook for multiple people than just for one person. No, that's true. Yeah, that's a good idea. Well, that's really good. I learned a lot there. I hope that these are helpful for you. We also have prepared some extra tips to talk to you about today. So I'm going to go through a couple of them and then I'll have Robert explain them. So traveling alone, what do you mean by that? Well, I just spoke about it. I'm a big proponent of traveling alone that allows you to make no compromise, not having to pay for activities that you kind of not necessarily want to do, but the person you're traveling with really want to do. It's a great way to also meet more people because it's less scary to kind of approach people, make friends along the way, rather than having like, you know, like couple or three people a group. It's less scary. So you'll meet more people and you'll save money along the way because you get to do only what you want to do. And it's usually better in my opinion. Okay, another extra tip, make a budget and stick to it. I know it's hard. Yeah, that's, I mean, that's pretty separate. It's hard in life in general and really hard on holiday. It's very hard. But yeah, like seriously, just know how much money you have to spend for this holiday and stick to it and know when you need to make some cuts and when you need to do a hike rather than do a bungee. Right, because those bungee jumps are expensive. Yes, and very scary. You can see a video on my channel where I chickened out and it's pretty funny. And then I turned to Roy and I said, well, then you have to do it. And you know what? Both to the rules. She did it. So yeah, she's, she's my better half for money. So did you actually do it? I did a bungee when I was younger, but I didn't do this one. Oh, you actually got scared. Oh, I almost passed out. I mean, I'll show you the video. It's pretty. Yeah, we'll have to see the video. But like, yeah, my kids did bungee jumping this year. They're teenagers. They didn't even hesitate. My son just went. Oh, I did it when I was younger. I did it like, you know, I was one of the silly people. I didn't make it. I'm screaming, but he's, yeah. It's, yeah. No way. Hi, just carry it. I'm just trying to imagine myself being like, boom, like that. Anyway, you know, I've done money skydiving. I love skydiving. I just, you love skydiving. Have you like skydived like by yourself? No, you need special eyes and you do. It's like, it's more of a process. I don't know. I'm not in that world. Skydiving. I've done the fake skydive, you know, like the wind tunnel. Well, you don't skydive. It's about the same. It's not. Yeah, it is. You're great. You're an adventurer. Hey, baby steps, baby steps. Okay. Okay, Mr. I didn't get off the bungee. Okay. Yeah, I don't really have a, I don't have a stand to stay on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You don't have a leg to stand on. There it is. Leg less rubbing today. Okay. Number three, plan according to your travel time. Because sometimes, you know, are you saying like you want to build in time for fun things that you see? Yeah. And also like it would cost you more money to try to do too much. Not just because of activities because you're more, but just because you will have to go back and forth and you go to too many places and everything. So realize how much time you have and make the most of each spot you are. It always costs less money to actually go to a, you know, let's say three points in one week and actually have a couple of days to do those kind of things and settle somewhere rather than kind of try to go everywhere. No, it's true. I have learned that lesson as well. Yeah. And then travel on the shoulder season. That's a good point, like before and after summer, right? Yeah. So the busy season in New Zealand is usually from December to February. That's Liti, where all the locals and all the international tourists are traveling. Not all, but like a vast majority of them are. So if you travel outside of those months, you will be able to save money and have a better experience in New Zealand because there's going to be less people around. Yeah. It's so true. If you can do that time period, highly recommend it. Okay. Pick the best transport option for you. So we talked a little bit about that a little bit before, but yeah, there's many different transport options around. And even when it comes to just buses, let's say you decide you're going to be traveling by bus, there's so many different bus show companies and there's even like bus trans, like just international bus, like things that you have like a little bit like Greyhound in the US, but like classy. But classy. That's a really good way to put it. Yeah. And so and even just when using Intercity, you have different options. You can buy your bus ticket from one point to the other, but there's also something called a FlexiPass or a travel pass, which are two different ways to travel. You travel by trips or you travel by hours of travel. And that allows you to be able to save some money along the way. There is plenty of comparison online, so you'll be able to check that out and see which one is the best option for you. But there is really everything in the range. Oh, that's great. Okay. So speaking of which, what I see a lot of people coming in that they're coming in for their gap year is they buy a car because they can kind of camp in it. You know, you always see the mattresses in the back and the little things through the shades for the windows or when they're sleeping. So yeah, so buying a car and then you sell it at the end when you leave. Yeah. So let's talk about a couple of things here. First, don't get scammed. There is a lot of usually backpackers. Buying cars are going to be the one that people and locals are going to try to sell, literally the rundown dead lemon car basically, like the worst thing ever. All rusty and everything you can see on our channel is being scammed. When buying cars. So just, you know, you have to know a little bit about vehicles in order to kind of make sure that you can do a couple of checks yourself. It's something you can do some homework at home before traveling to New Zealand. The next thing that you want to keep in mind is all the self-containment rules that they have changed recently in New Zealand. You cannot camp everywhere just because you have a mattress at the back of your car. You have to have to meet certain self-containment requirements and you have to make sure that you are abiding by the bylaws of all the local council. There is plenty of information on our website. It's a very boring subject to talk about, but it's something you really need to... Like you just need to have a porta patty, right? No, that's the thing. There's much more to that. So no, that is a misconception. Don't do that. You cannot have a porta potty and just a mattress. That doesn't work. So what if I get caught doing that? Don't get fined? Yeah, the finer has just been increased recently, I think. I don't want to say anything wrong, but okay, this is no official whatsoever. It is several hundreds. I think it's close to $1,000 for the finer. It has been increased tremendously lately. And they do a lot of check because that's a good way for the local council to raise some tax money. So they check that a lot because it's easier... So can it change by area of New Zealand? Yes, it does. So that's what we have. Even on our website, which we talk about quite a lot, we cannot give you the general idea. And for each of the region, we actually point out to this specific page on the bylaw of the local council website, which usually has a map, and we'll tell you the red and the green areas and where you can be. And that changed so regularly that even for us, it's very unpractical for us to be able to just publish those things all the time. And we just send you straight away to the council website because by the time you're planning your trip to the time you're coming to New Zealand, it might have changed. So that's why we do it like that on the website, because it just changes so often. Okay. No, that's really good to know. So I'm definitely going to need to read that. Make sure that you use Facebook backpacking groups. It's helpful. It's a great way to meet people. Yeah, that makes sense. I even find somebody that's selling their car at the end of the trip and be able to get a good deal out of it. Just make sure you check the car well. But yeah, there's plenty of good opportunities there. You can get like surfboards on the cheap, a guitar. You feel like you want to be that white boy with red logs playing guitar at the back of the hostel. There's always one. You know, you need to be, you need to be that cliché. You need to be that cliché, right? So one of you guys have to do that. So, you know, maybe you want to be that guy. I just, yeah, you need to be the one that comes in and you're like really good at guitar. You're like movable. Yeah, you have met that one. But you know, the one that do scratchy scratchy, that is money. Scratchy scratchy. Okay, I can tell you wear your shoes out. Okay, I just want to say one thing with this is make sure that you get, if you get really nice hiking shoes, that New Zealand isn't the first time you put them on. Yeah, that's 100% sure. Make sure you test your hiking shoes a lot. Yes, a lot. But yeah, aside from that, you do a lot of hiking. It's free activity in New Zealand. It's great also. Yes, and wear them out because it's so good. And load up on the free activities. Obviously, most of the most amazing places in New Zealand are free to get with. Definitely. All of the beautiful outdoors. But yeah, there is even some iconic activities in New Zealand which are free. You can check out the Te Papa Museum, which is the national museum in Wellington, which is an absolute gem of a museum. It's free to visit. And the Wellington Museum right next to it is also great. Yep, there is also a fantastic Gannett Colonies, which are absolutely amazing to watch all the seal colonies are free. There's really a lot of free things to do. And to be fair, that's the thing that we talk the most. People always ask us free things to do, obviously. But yeah, there's a ton of free things to do around New Zealand which are fantastic. So load up on those and just sprinkle those expensive activities along the way and that'll help you make your itinerary run using exceptional and not too expensive. Let's see. We get some other tips are be okay with being less connected. You kind of touched on that. That's okay. That's okay not to be on Instagram. You will survive. By the way, what's your TikTok handle in case you guys don't follow her yet? What is it? I'm Kiwi Americans across all social, just so you know. So make sure you know whatever you're on. So if you get networked at that point, you've got to say thank you to Tara for organizing all those tips for you guys. Yes, there are. Well, it's a lot of differences between you. So yeah, it would be a lot of tips on surviving your way through New Zealand. That's good. And then make sure you declare, declare when you get off of the plane. It is expensive not to declare things. Expensive. Yeah. So we talked about it in some other video of yours. But yeah, make sure to declare things if you're not sure. You know, when you enter New Zealand, there is things that you need to declare at custom and biosecurity. The biosecurity rules in New Zealand are really tight. So make sure that you declare it in case of doubt because if they catch you and you haven't declared it, then you will be fine. If they catch you and you haven't declared it, they will ask you to surrender the item, but you won't be fine. And they do catch a lot of people. So just declare. When in doubt, declare. Exactly. That's what you should do. Yes. And get an F-post card. It's electronic funds transfer point of sale is what it means. Yes. Yes. And yeah, definitely. Why do you recommend that? Just because it will save you a lot of money. I've seen Americans that come here for a gap here and then tie in and use their US credit card for all of their purchases. Oh, because you're paying the fee every time. Exactly. Every single time you pay the fee. So when you come here on the gap here, even if they tell you it's a no fee credit card, they listen that even with the exchange rate, the bank is going to make some money. If they do no fee, they start at the goodness of their heart. They are bankers. Let's be honest, right? I know I can't stand this. So yeah, so just do make sure that you all open yourself a New Zealand bank account, especially if you're going to be working here, it's going to be easier to get paid. Oh yeah, that's true. And get an F-post card because that will definitely save you a lot of money. And just like paying for things in New Zealand is so easy. You literally just transfer money into people's accounts. So if you buy something, that you need from like trade me or Facebook marketplace, I mean, yes, get a bank account. Definitely. Especially here for a year. And this may be like your only time that you ever get to New Zealand. So make sure that you plan it out, you think through and just, you know, I think it's helpful to, I've had to do that here because you can't afford everything here that you definitely want to do. So you have to pick and choose. And so if it's like the only time you ever come, you're going to want to do it. The only reason why I did this tip, especially at the end is like, yeah, okay, we just talked about saving money and try to, you know, count dollars and dimes right here for like the last 20 minutes. I also want to remind you guys that you're only going to be in New Zealand for like one time. If you're here for one time, it's okay to spend some money. So treat yourself to the couple of things that you really do want to do. So yeah, save money on like all those very easy tips that we talk about when making food and all these kind of things. But treat yourself. You probably not going to come back to New Zealand. It's an absolute luxury to be able to fly all the way across the world and have a once in a lifetime experience. And, you know, then life will catch up when you all get back home. And you'll be, you know, you'll be grinding to the... Yes, like our family motto is you can sleep when you're dead. Just keep going. Here you go. Do that. Do that. That's it. You should have seen her face this morning. She was clearly needing more sleep. Needing more sleep. All right. Well, I hope that these tips were helpful to you this week. And comment below if you have tips or things that you wish you would have known when you came on your gap year, or if you've traveled in another country or anything would be helpful. And thank you for Robin for joining us today. That was really great. So anyway. And another common prompt for you guys. If you want to tell us below what's going to be the most expensive item on your whole life in your area, be curious to know what you guys are willing to spend money on and what you're more keen to. Oh, I like that. Yes, comment below that. All right. Sounds good. We'll see you next week.