Budget advisers in Dunedin say their services are in demand as families trying to survive on benefits and low incomes are racking up thousands of dollars of debt.
Anglican Family Day Care budget and welfare adviser Cathy Berryman said the service had 28 people waiting to be seen, more than double its usual waiting list.
Clients she dealt with were commonly in debt by amounts which could range from $2000 to $40,000.
Credit in one form or another was easy to get and clients did not want to save up for the big screen television or the latest PlayStation.
She had seen an 18-year-old who owed $12,000 and another client who had gone $5000 into debt because he wanted his children to have nice presents at Christmas.
The rising cost of food and petrol meant people were forgoing their debt repayments and getting into difficulty.
Korpac Trust senior adviser Mike Williams said the service, which gives advice to people with mental health problems, was " packed to the gunwales" with referrals.
Many of the clients were beneficiaries and being able to afford nutritional food to keep them healthy was the biggest problem.
Accommodation was also a huge problem, particularly for people who might be seeking a place on their own.
While benefits were adjusted annually, according to the Consumer Price Index, that was under 3% and recent increases in basic foods and fuel would be far higher than that.
Mr Williams said it was not unusual for a client's income to fall short of outgoings by $100 a week.
Often people had loan debts with high interest which added to their problems.
Helping clients to budget did not necessarily help their quality of life a great deal, but it did take some of the pressure off them.
Dunedin Budget Advisory Service director Shirley Woodrow is expecting the service, which has about 400 clients, to get a lot busier soon, as increased costs of food, petrol and housing start to hit home and families face winter power bills.
All advisers said it was important that people sought help early, but that was not the usual pattern.
A wise guide
- Don't spend more than you get.
- Shop around.
- Read the fine print - particularly on hire purchase agreements, loan documents, insurance policies.
- Ask questions.
- Seek advice - don't think you have to do it alone.
- Write down everything you spend money on.
- Only pay for needs not wants.
- If you can't afford the payments now, don't buy something thinking you will be able to afford them later.
- If you have two bank accounts, close one down so you have less fees to pay.
- Look for hidden costs with loans. Sometimes a more frequent payment incurs an extra administration cost.
