What could you do with $15,246? Buy a reliable second-hand car. Cover six months' rent in Lower Hutt. Fly your family to Australia and back four times.

Or you could spend it on groceries in Wellington. Which is what the average household did in 2024.

As RNZ reports, soaring bills have put household spending on ice. The food price data shows exactly why. Wellington's annual food spend climbed from $12,357 in 2020 to $15,246 in 2024. That's $2,889 more per household in just four years. (Source: Stats NZ, food-price-index-regional)

But here's the catch: these are nominal figures. They don't account for inflation, which ran at roughly 20-25% across that same period. Strip out inflation, and Wellington households are spending about the same on food in real terms. They're just paying more to stand still.

The trajectory tells the story. In 2020, the average Wellington household spent $12,357 on food. By 2021, it was $12,673. Then 2022: $13,680. Then 2023: $15,020. Then 2024: $15,246. Every year, the number climbs. Every year, your dollar buys less.

This is why bank mortgage rate cuts matter less than you'd think. Sure, a quarter-point drop on your home loan saves you maybe $30 a week. But if your grocery bill is up $56 a week compared to four years ago, you're still behind.

And Wellington isn't special here. This is the national story. Food prices have tracked inflation almost perfectly, which means households are treading water. You're not spending more on food because you're buying more. You're spending more because everything costs more.

The 50-year dataset shows Wellington's food spending has climbed steadily since 1975, but the 2020-2024 spike is sharper than most periods outside major economic shocks. Four years, 23% growth in nominal terms. Families notice that. Budgets feel it.

So when economists talk about households putting spending "on ice," this is what they mean. Your power bill is up. Your rent is up. Your food bill is up $2,889 compared to four years ago. There's nothing left for the extras. The new couch waits. The weekend away gets postponed. You buy the budget mince, not the premium.

Meanwhile, Wellington approves high-rise developments that promise to ease housing costs eventually. Eventually. Right now, your grocery bill is eating the savings you'd need for a deposit.

That $15,246 isn't just a number. It's six weeks of a median Wellington salary, before tax. It's the thing you can't cut without eating less. And it's going up again next year.