Like a lot of people confined to NZ and unable to travel anywhere at the moment, we’re spending more time at home, and therefore spending more money on home.

Collectively, this little country is spending phenomenal amounts of money on boats, renovations or adding a pool to the backyard. Anything to make being confined to home more enjoyable.

We were stoked to not have a pool at our current place to be honest, we always found pools high maintenance costly experiences which never actually got used as much as you thought they would. Kids always promise to swim every day and then when you get a pool suddenly they’re too cold and don't want to. 

My husband reckoned cost per swim was about ten grand. 

He jokes, but they can sit empty and unused for many months, all the while you’re paying a fortune to maintain them. On top of that, many families travel during the summer school holidays so that’s lost time in the pool too. So we felt it wasn’t worth having one, especially when you live close to beaches.

But post 2020, the world’s changed, we can't travel and so suddenly that expensive high maintenance pool you thought you never needed, is back in the fray. Especially if, like us, you have a large family who descend with their friends over summer.

But guess when you can get a pool in, if you want one these days?

In a year’s time, if you’re lucky. 

We got quotes from people already fully booked for this year, a couple of them thought they could possibly squeeze one in, but it was doubtful. I know of someone who was quoted 2024 before they got a shell with some water in their backyard.

But it’s not just pools Kiwis are apparently signing up for, it’s also boats.

A boat maker I know of said if you want a new boat built from scratch you’ll get that in 2025 at this stage.

And that’s before we get to all the people renovating or building. There’s nothing like extended periods of lockdown to make you look around your house and find things that need fixing up.

But here’s where things get really ugly: the supply chain.

Not only do we have supply issues and construction material shortages, we also have price hikes. A builder we know told us to do a renovation at the moment would cost twice – if not more – what it would normally cost – because of the price hikes. So you’re paying double or more if you want a renovation done right now - and it’ll take twice as long. 

And there’s no sign of this abating, in fact it appears to be getting worse. I was reading that the lead time for Gib now is May or June. You’d think this would put a lot of people off, but if you’re already underway and the job starts to slow, what can you do?

So I feel for those having to build or renovate right now - and actually the building industry itself. Projects sitting empty while builders sit on their hands waiting for supplies is painful, but what's just as painful, is when the bill comes in.