Help each other in hard times - budget advice

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 8, Issue 378, 19 March 1991, Page 5

Help each other in hard times - budget advice

Did you know many people spend $200 more than they intended when they travel out of town chasing bargains? One of the co-ordinators from the Waimarino Budget Service discusses hard times in the Waimarino. "In a small community everyone is important. Our business people need us and we need the service they provide but many are struggling at present because so much money is being spent outside this area.

"Let us all be more supportive of local businesses so they can continue to be there for us. We are all aware that is is cheaper to shop at K Mart, for instance, but the cost of getting there -90kms at 29-33 cents per kilometre - must be added to the price of the bargains. Then there is the cost of meals away from home and the odd spot of impulse buying which could total $100 extra for the day's outing. "Let us all become more parochial in our attitudes to our small - towns and help them to survive these hard times. I am able to look back a long way and have seen recessions come and go in the past, so I am reasonably certain that if we can 'hang in there' for a while longer, our situation will improve. "Raetihi and Ohakune will never again be the bustling places they were in the hey-day of the timber milling era. That period has passed, and we are left with country towns, servicing large farming areas. But small towns have a charm of their own which city dwellers would love to experience for a week or two. "I think Raetihi looks quite lovely since the ugly old power poles went underground, with the green gardens breaking the wide expanse of the main street. Ohakune is quite unique

with a stand of bush forming one side of a busy street. We could look at promoting our towns as summer holiday resorts - tramping, mountain climbing, trout fishing & hunting - not with any get-rich schemes, but just to bring prosperity to our area. "We live in a beautiful part of the country with tourist potential hardly touched apart from the brief ski season. It is a great place for a summer holiday - especially since we have all been made aware of danger from the sun's rays. The accommodation facilities are already in place. We are friendly hospitable people, so do not be shy about visitors. They need us as much as we need them. "We read of Taihape's Gumboot day. Why not promote our own Rodeo Day, with all of us living it up as a wild west town. As it is the Rodeo happens down at the show grounds and the town hardly seems to notice. "There has been much anxious talk about health services and the need to travel away to see specialists. This is not necessary as our local health centre (hospital) has regular visits from a gynaecologist, obstetrician, orthopaedic, and paediatrician. Dentists and opticians visit regularly too. "