68% of New Zealanders report money worries
68% of New Zealanders report money worries
A few months ago, The Commission for Financial Capability issued its 2017/2018 Annual report. View here
The Commission, in my opinion one of the great things previous Governments have established & supported, has amongst its key goals, raising the awareness of the value of financial capability across NZ.
The 68% of those surveyed being worried about money is a concerning figure given both the reasonably impressive growth in the country’s GDP, combined with low unemployment over the last 8 years. Some sectors have blamed our low wage economy & called for an increase in minimum wages to fix the problem. They rightly point out that our good economic performance has not been shared equally across the community. While few people would doubt that better pay could reduce some money worries I wonder if that alone will solve the problem, or do we also have address lack of basic money skills?
When 82% of current secondary school students say they want to learn more about how to manage their money, our next generation of earners will probably also suffer the same worries unless we accept there is a problem and commit to change. Teaching kids the basics of not spending everything they might receive either as pocket money or gifts, but to also to save some. More and more primary schools are signing up to the joint initiative between the great Kiwi designed money software that teaches kids basic money skills, Banqer and its sponsor KiwiBank, to improve things for our 5 to 13 year olds. As adults you too can put aside any embarrassment and ask for help, from someone you know who is financially successful or seek assistance from a financial adviser. We all can play a part in making New Zealand a more financially capable country where people don’t have to worry so much about money.
Warwick Walker