When I was in my late twenties, I lived the good life, dining at restaurants and buying whatever…read moregroceries I needed at Nosh and Farro's. I never needed to buy anything more than pate and champagne, or maybe bacon and eggs for breakfast, and a fresh baguette of course. I was out producing TV programmes and music videos, and life was good, and money plentiful. These days I'm a married man with baby and a mortgage, the high life has dried up, and I've got bills to pay. This also means that I've got to save my money and budget for the things I love. Plus I've got to spend smarter... And spending smarter means visiting Gilmours. Gilmours is limited in what they carry, but the prices are excellent, and if you do have a business card, then the overall savings can be huge. Just by buying my alcoholic drinks for a party did I save close to a hundred dollars. It is a mission to get all your goods there, but smart planning can save you big dollars, and just looking at the trouble Europe is in, saving is not such a bad idea.

Every time I walk past Household Linen it makes me wish I owned my own home and that I am in the…read moreprocess of decorating it. The furniture, bedding, nightwear and other bath/bed related products are all beautiful and of the highest quality. Recently the window display was entirely red and white, with a fresh crisp white duvet cover, red pillows and throw and white nighty - it looked amazing and lured me inside. I wanted to buy everything! Though some things in store are quite pricey, most of the products are pretty reasonable and the quality is definitely worth paying for. And with the friendly approachable sales assistants, the entire shopping experience is lovely. If you want smart, durable, matching bedding and household products, Household Linen is the store for you!

From the owner: HouseHold Linens is a New Zealand owned business that began in the Auckland home of Avis Nelson…read moreover 45 years ago. Starting in manufacturing, moving to wholesale and progressing to retail it has become a truly vertical organisation. HouseHold Linens creates and designs its products in Auckland and imports from around the globe. Three brands - Pan Cottage, HouseHold Linens and A.N.D differentiate the product available. Each brand encompasses different fabrics, qualities and styles. Through innovative and inspiring design, engaging store experiences and by communicating with people in a way that connects to how they live, work and play, our brands are constantly evolving to meet our customers' needs. The HouseHold Linens and Pan Cottage brands are strongly loyal to cotton. There is barely a moment in every day when cotton doesn't touch our lives, much as it has for generations of families. Its unique qualities and ability to breathe have been understood for over four millennia as cotton has woven itself into the fabric of virtually every society on every continent. And its future is as colourful as its history ... there is no limit beyond imagination to the fantastic range of patterns, designs, fabrics and weaves that continue to express our love of cotton. Our fantastic team of people enables us to bring you the finest design and fabric that the world has to offer. HouseHold Linens has grown to six stores... four in New Zealand and two in Australia.

Bulk Barn, this is a small shop tucked in the middle of Totara Avenue in New Lynn. I have been in a…read morefew times to buy rice, spices, and the like, in bulk. The bonus of buying in bulk is when you only need a specific amount for that once off recipe you are keen to try out, or if you are travelling and are on a budget cooking for yourself, then you can buy as much or as little as you want. Their prices are reasonable, staff try to help where possible but won't go out of their way; communication breakdown's have happened a couple of times for me.

Great little bulk store. The staff are super friendly and the new owners(?) have done a great job…read moretidying the place up and making it more open and everything more accessible. In my experience the dry goods have always been fresh/bug free. They have a decent range of cleaning products & pet products, although they are primarily seeds etc, for birds. They also have a range of unusual (to me) Asian goods if your interested in trying new things!

I was after a can of coke, and walked past this produce store in Te Atatu Peninsula shops…read more Why would I buy a can of coke in a vege store? Well the coke sign out front read $1 cans of coke, so I thought why not, turns out they had diet coke and coke zero but not the real McCoy. That didn't stop me I grabbed a can of Schwepps duet for $1 instead, bargain. The store even sold Bongos which come from the city, I grew up in so I was quite happy as I went to pay for my drink and snacks. I was told I could redeem my receipt at the next door cafe for 50 cents off a coffee. Tony fresh produce as the name indicates is also a fantastic veggie and fruit produce store; you can get a variety of very fresh fruit and veggies for the home, and be well impressed with the little price you pay. I great find in the Peninsula and will be back on my next visit.

Who knew that tucked in the backstreets of Otahuhu was this beautiful green oasis?!…read more This was my first visit to the garden centre, Natural Tree Products (NTP), who have the largest range of indoor plants in NZ, and I must say I was impressed. There were Cycads, Ficus Trees, Queens Palms and a whole host of Sub-Tropical plants. My green fingers were quite literally tingling as I walked from greenhouse to greenhouse. Whilst Natural Tree Products specializes in Plant Hire, their nursery is also open for the public from Monday to Saturday and with prices lower than most garden centres, this place is well worth checking out. On my trip to NTP, I also discovered (and fell in love with) Woolly Pockets. Originally hailing from San Francisco and sold locally by NTP, these clever little planters are an accessible and affordable way to create your very own living wall. Made 100% from recycled plastic and starting at only $50 a pop, these things are genius and as soon as our kitchen is renovated I will be installing a succulent wall ASAP! Also good to note, is PalmCo, the big palm professional is down the same driveway.

For anyone with a green thumb this place is heaven! I could get lost for hours walking through the…read morearray of palms, ferns and specialty plant life. I get so bored of the limited selection and quality at standard garden centers so was absolutely chuffed when I heard of this gem in Otahuhu that has an enormous selection and premium quality without the premium price tag. These guys know their plants too so can offer some great advice and help plan for every type of garden. If you are lucky you might spot the adorable sausage dog Frank who is lucky enough to call this place his second home. Get in quick before the rest of the green thumbs out there discover this hidden sanctuary!

Palm trees palm trees palm trees! So many palm trees! Everywhere you look there are palm trees!…read more As the name suggests, Danny's palms specialises in both growing and selling palm trees. Danny himself sells his palms out of a little caravan-type stall located on the edge of his palm tree paddocks off Hobsonville Road in West Harbour. Although I've never bought one of his palms, nor do I really plan to - I have to admit it is pretty cool seeing that many of them in one place. What jumps out at me the most about Danny's palms is how cute and country it is. You just wouldn't find something like it in central Auckland. Paddocks of trees, a tiny yellow caravan, the farmer actually selling his babies - it all has a really friendly, local, community vibe, and it's great. Danny's palms also offer free landscaping advice, so if you're planning on purchasing his trees, you may as well get his help with growing them and learn about what other plants and trees compliment the palms.

From the owner: Landscapers, we also are a wholesale palm nursery, better pricing than standard landscapers, plus…read moreFREE Landscape Design advice

TLDR: Terrible customer service when you need it…read more Been shopping there for years, spent thousands of dollars. A few weeks ago, I've bought ~9kg of Scotch fillet for over $200, the expiry date was for 2-3 weeks after that since I was buying the same day the meat was packaged. Put it in a chilly bin and brought straight home to the fridge. The next day when I first cocked some of the meat my husband and I noticed a terrible flavor of expired / rotten meat... Long story short, we got in touch immediately with Gilmours, sending pictures of the other 8.5kg left, expiry date, invoice and everything else, but after some messages back in forth they told us they wouldn't do anything, our loss. So if you ever buy something that's bad, that's your problem. We had to throw all the meat in the trash as we wouldn't offer that to anyone. Never shopping there again.

Gilmours is a bulk wholesale food and beverage store located in Mt Roskill. Stocking over 12,000…read moreproducts, you can get anything from toilet paper and washing powder to cartons of M&Ms and boxes of wine at Gilmours. If Gilmours sounds too good to be true, that's because it kind of is. You have to be a 'Gilmours Customer' to be able to shop there. Their customers include business owners, restaurateurs, bar owners, schools etc., as it is a company designed to cater to places that require bulk items at cheap prices. If you are a new business owner, it's definitely worth signing up to be a Gilmours customer as it could save you thousands! My friends and I are lucky enough to have parents that are Gilmours customers, so we have been able to use their cards to stock up on goodies and necessities before camping trips like Rhythm and Vines over New Year. Oh the fun we have stock piling alcohol, lollies and chocolate! We acted like kids being let loose in a candy store - which I guess is exactly what we were! Tip: Though many things are significantly cheaper at Gilmours, sometimes in order for it to work out that way you have to buy in bulk. Items may work out being similar prices as in the supermarket if you buy them individually, so make sure you're double checking as you pile up your trolley or you'll be in for a surprise at the checkout!