The Nelson Budget Service is doubling the size of its team in preparation for a dramatic increase in mortgage rates.
Manager Tessa Bell says the service is once again getting really busy around Christmas. The Ministry of Social Development-funded service provides budgeting advice to everyone, with most clients self-referred.
Tessa says they are finding people are having to use buy now, pay later to pay for necessities.
This Christmas her message is clear.
“Rather than spend less or save more, talk more to the people around you. What a lot of people do not understand is the amount of mental energy that is spent figuring out how to resolve financial issues. We do a lot of advocacy and education,” she says.
But with the Official Cash Rate, OCR, currently set at 4.25 per cent and set to rise again in 2023, Tessa says the service has concerns about the increases in mortgage rates on locals.
“You can’t tell people to spend less if everything costs more. If you have got spare cash, it can be okay to reduce the amount of dining out you do, but even the cost of takeaways is rising. Fish and chips used to be a cheap way to feed the family. But an increase of 5 per cent can take away the fun of life.”
Her takeaway tip for the Christmas period is to encourage people to complain.
“If your bank won’t play ball, make noise, raise your voice, but we all need to do it together to get the industry to change.”
