If you are finding it harder to balance your budget, it will be no surprise to learn that last month food prices had their biggest jump in 30 years, according to Stats NZ.
Consumers paid about 12 percent more for their groceries in February than a year before.
Checkpoint has been keeping tabs on the price of 36 items likely to be a in a family's trolley since May last year.
On 15 March, reporter Louise Ternouth went for another supermarket shop to compare.
"I dont know how people feed their families - we spent $200 on the bare minimum," one shopper told Checkpoint.
Other shoppers said they had noticed about a 20 percent increase at the till, mostly on fresh fruit and vegetables.
Compared to Checkpoint's supermarket shop in May 2022, a whole crown pumpkin was $3 more; up to $6.99 - an increase of 75 percent. A whole cabbage had risen 11 percent in price, from $4.49 to $4.99.
However, not everything was more expensive.
Cucumber and capscicum had both come down in price. Capsicums were 30 percent cheaper at $1.99 and cucumbers were half the price at $2 each.
For a family meal of chicken and coleslaw in May 2022, it cost just over $20. In March 2023 it is closer to $24 - a 16 percent increase.
Checkpoint's shop cost $250.36 in March 2023. In May last year it cost $217.30 - an increase of $33.
The highest price increase was for eggs, which shot up 84 percent from $4.62 to $8.50 for a dozen barn eggs.
With Easter around the corner, chocolate eggs were priced around the same.
For 210g of Colgate toothpaste there has been a 16 percent increase, from $5 to $5.81.
Washing powder has risen a lot, up 27 percent from $22 for 4kg of Persil sensitive washing powder in May 2022, to $27.99 in March 2023.
For many shoppers it has been difficult to scale back. One shopper said they were already only purchasing essentials and struggling to keep up.
"What can you do? You've got to just buy what you need. You can't just say you don't want it anymore because it's expensive."
