Source: Radio New Zealand
The fall of interest rates has done little to ease the financial stress many New Zealanders are experiencing RNZ
Many New Zealanders are starting the year feeling stressed about money despite interest rates having fallen, one bank says.
Westpac surveyed just over 1000 of its customers and found 28 percent said their holiday spending would probably or definitely cause financial stress in the new year. Another 23 percent thought it might.
Just under 20 percent said they planned to use debt to cover their costs. Just under three-quarters said they were very or moderately concerned about the cost of living.
Westpac managing director of product sustainability and marketing Sarah Hearn said there had been an increase in the number of people applying for debt consolidation loans as well as increases in the amounts they were asking for.
“While we have seen a reduction in interest rates over the last year it’s clear that people and our customers are still feel very much the cost of living and the pressure of finances is present still.
“At this time of the year, though, we would tend to see in the coming months more debt consolidation going on as people look to kind of get their finances in order and simplify the debt that they may have into the one.”
Almost a quarter said additional costs in January and February added pressure, including annual bills and the cost of sending kids back to school.
“A really high portion of people said that they’d be expecting more financial pressure at this time of the year.
“One in four people pointed out that it’s the annual bills that would be coming through, life insurance and paying off summer holidays, but it’s also the additional expenses like children going back to school. paying off the summer holiday. So some of those incidental expenses that you typically see more in January, school uniforms, books, laptops, all those sorts of things, there’s a real spike. So that puts additional pressure on top of what is already a cost of living pressure that people are feeling.”
Hearn said people were sometimes consolidating by now pay later debt, or credit card and personal loans.
If the problem was bigger than debt consolidation could fix, she said people should speak to their banks to work out what options could be available.
Loan Market mortgage adviser Bruce Patten said he was dealing with more people who wanted to top-up their mortgages to clear other debt.
“With the current market conditions there are a lot of people getting top ups to consolidate debt due to the cost of living pressures, so car or boat finance is being extended over a longer period under mortgages to provide some relief.”
This can mean lower repayments in the short term but cost more overall if the loan term is extended and people end up carrying the debt for longer.
Sign up for Money with Susan Edmunds, a weekly newsletter covering all the things that affect how we make, spend and invest money.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
