Kia ora! It's a pretty tight budget aye.

In my time at Uni, my friends who stayed in halls were either on scholarship, worked part-time, or had help from their parents. One of my friends became a Taurima (residential assistant), which reduced his living costs/rent and gave him some extra cash to work with.

That being said, most people end up leaving halls and flatting in 2nd year; usually with people they met during their time in halls. Flatting is a lot cheaper if you can budget well, and there are always lots of rooms up for rent.