Tips for today's financial climate

Our top tips to help New Zealanders cope with the current situation in the financial world:

• Don’t panic. Take time to make considered and informed decisions.
• Have a close look at your financial situation. Do a detailed budget of all your income and spending.
• See if you can reduce spending to pay off debt.
• If you can’t meet your commitments, talk to your lender/bank about your options as soon as possible.
• Try not to miss any payments to avoid getting a bad credit rating.
• If you are having trouble paying your credit card bill, stop using your card.
• Don’t get a new credit card to pay off the bill on your current credit card. If you can’t afford the repayments, see if you can re-finance your debt into a lower interest loan.
• Remember that shares or a fund that includes shares are generally best suited for long term investing and will be affected by market fluctuations.
• Find out what your risk profile is so you can make investment decisions that you are comfortable with.
• Don’t be put off from saving, especially for the long term.  By saving regularly and earning interest on your savings, even the smallest amounts can grow substantially.
• Use the Sorted calculators to help you with your decision making. Do your homework so you can make well-informed financial decisions.

Published 17 October 2008