Reach out for support
Plenty of Kiwi are doing it tough at the moment, so please know you’re not alone and don’t be embarrassed to reach out for support. It’s better to get in touch with your bank or credit providers early if you’re struggling, so you can work out a plan together about how to approach things.
If you’re a Kiwibank customer, get in touch with us and we'll do our best to help you get back on your feet.
Pause or reduce repayments
If you're struggling to make your home loan repayments, think about a loan deferral. A deferral means you might be able to pause your home loan repayments for up to three months.
If you’re still able to make some payments, but would like to decrease the amount, you could consider increasing the length of your loan or moving to interest-only payments.
All of these options will mean that you end up paying more over the long term, but might be worth considering if you need some short-term breathing space. Talk to your bank about what might be the best choice for your circumstances.
Have a go on our home loan calculators to see what impact changing your repayments might have on the overall length of your loan.
If you’re worried about not being able to meet your credit card payments, get in touch to see if you can set up a payment plan. Make sure you’ve got the right credit card for your current circumstances – are you still keen to collect rewards, or do you want to reduce borrowing costs with a low fee or low interest rate option? If you have a credit card with Kiwibank, you can compare rates and fees.
If you have a home loan, you could take advantage of low interest rates and top it up to pay off other debts. If you are thinking about adding to your home loan, use a home loan calculator to work out how much longer it might take to pay off.
Build up reserves
If you’re working, but are worried about job security, now’s the time to strip back your spending to the bare necessities and build up as much as you can, as quickly as you can, in an emergency fund.
You don’t have to commit to a spartan existence forever, but a few weeks of cutting back will help you build up savings more quickly and might help you sleep easier. Treat your savings like a bill that has to be paid, rather than an afterthought. Set up an automatic payment to coincide with your pay and direct it to a separate savings account.
Talk to a financial mentor
As well as talking to your bank, it might be worth talking to a budgeting service. A financial mentor can go through your finances with you, give you advice on where you might be able to cut your spending or save some money and help you set up a budget. Money Talks offers free budgeting advice. It’s run by the national charity FinCap and is supported by the Ministry of Social Development, so it’s an organisation you can trust. The Citizens Advice Bureau can also help you find local budgeting services to help you sort out your finances.
If you’re in financial hardship
If you’re a Kiwibank customer and you feel like you’re in over your head with debt and financial worries, see our financial hardship page for more information. Our team will work with you or someone authorised to speak for you, to find a solution. The sooner you get in touch, the sooner we can work on getting things sorted.
This page provides general information and isn't intended as regulated financial advice. To review your specific situation and financial requirements please talk to one of our Kiwibank Representatives or your Financial Adviser.