This coincides with lift in the use of BNPL, Consumer NZ says
A worrying 65% of New Zealanders save less than 5% of their income or nothing at all, reflecting how Kiwi households are getting squeezed by the cost-of-living crisis and sparking concerns about people’s saving levels, according to Consumer NZ.
Speaking about the latest figures from Consumer NZ’s Sentiment Tracker, Gemma Rasmussen (pictured above), Consumer NZ head of research and advocacy, said half the population now were either anxious about their level of savings, or have none at all, which is “the highest level of concern that we’ve seen in two years.”
“It’s expected this situation will worsen with more than four in 10 New Zealanders anticipating their savings will decline in the coming year,” Rasmussen said.
This savings dilemma is also impacting people’s standard of living.
“About a third of New Zealanders said their standard of living had declined compared with a year ago,” Rasmussen said.
One Kiwi who is struggling with the ongoing high cost of living is Ashley. She is a mother of a three-year-old boy and earns more than $120,000 after leaving an unhealthy relationship.
“I earn good money but with mortgage, daycare, insurances, living expenses and so on, I’m struggling to save – let alone replace insulation and a dodgy shower,” she said.
“I don’t meet eligibility for any support – and I’m worried about having a slush fund for emergencies. Twelve months ago, I was financially privileged. I had thousands in savings. Now I can only dream of saving $200 a fortnight.”
Many New Zealanders now are unable to save. This has coincided with a rise in the number of people using Buy-Now-Pay-Later services, Consumer NZ reported.
“Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) is surging in popularity, with users of the service jumping from 23% to 29% of the population in a year,” Rasmussen said. “Our latest banking survey found more than 40% of BNPL users were using the service to pay for essentials, like groceries.
“Households with incomes less than $50k are more likely to use BNPL to cover the cost of essentials. Spending on essential items like bills, groceries and fuel is now taking a broader chunk of paychecks with many New Zealanders racking up debt just to get by.”
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