Almost half of New Zealanders can't be bothered with budgets, Westpac survey finds

By Amanda Morrall

Think budgeting is too hard, too boring or too much effort?

You're not alone.

Close to half of New Zealanders (45%) surveyed by Westpac NZ about their personal finance habits confessed they either didn’t know how or just plain couldn’t stick to a budget.

What’s worse, 32% of households surveyed by Westpac as part of an on-line questionnaire said they experienced financial difficulties on a weekly basis.

Callum Wilson, general manager of Strategy, Productivity and Innovation for the bank, said the results underscored just how helpless many New Zealanders are to get a grip on their finances at a basic level.

“It’s quite incredible really,’’ Wilson said of the results.

Budgeting is "boring"

“We all know how important it is to have some basic plan about where you are going, and yet for thousands of people it’s either too hard, too long or just too boring to do.’’

The bank’s survey also found that only 22% of New Zealanders have received budget advice or training.

Wilson said Westpac’s most recent app for iphones "Budget Planner, was aimed at younger time pressed customers keen to improve their money management.

Wilson said smartphone technology has made it easier for customers to take charge of their financial affairs because they can do it from any location and also because the platform is “fun’’ as opposed to boring.

“It’s a simple tap and go device, so you can do it anywhere, for example while you’re bored sitting on a bus. “

The app, which is free,  can by used by customers from other banks.

Although the budgeting app doesn’t interact with personal accounts and data, Wilson said it wouldn’t be long before that facility was available via another app for Westpac customers.

The budgeting app is the fifth in a suite of personal finance tools introduced by Westpac which has seen a 500% increase in the use of mobile banking in the last six months, 160% in the past two months.

Westpac is recording 1.2 million log-ins and transactions via mobile per month.