A nationwide survey by Canstar Blue in 2014 revealed that nearly a quarter of New Zealanders would like to improve their understanding of banking and finance, but don’t know where to go for information.
The survey, looking at customer satisfaction with the country’s banks, shows that financial literacy rates improve as people get older, as would be expected. Even so 16% of Baby Boomers want to improve their understanding of banking and finance – it’s a good idea to get that ball rolling before retirement hits. More than a third of Gen Ys want to improve their financial knowledge, highlighting that every life stage has its financial challenges, whether paying off a student loan, choosing and managing a credit card or mortgage or saving for retirement.
Encouragingly, the survey found that nearly two thirds of Kiwis stick to a budget, with the budgeting habit equally common across the generations, the regions and sexes. While budgeting is a great life skill to have though, financial literacy shouldn’t stop there. With a myriad of financial products and services in the market to get to grips with, knowing where to find help is a great first step in tackling the confusion.
Some sources of financial education
Help is never far away for those wanting to improve their financial know-how. Canstar (Canstar Blue’s parent company) provides free detailed analysis and comparisons of many everyday financial products and services, as well as easy to understand tips and advice.
Some other great sources of free general financial education include Sorted (sorted.org.nz) which is developed by the Commission for Financial Capability and Family Budgeting (familybudgeting.org.nz) which is developed by the New Zealand Federation of Family Budgeting Services. Both are worth checking out. If you need a quick kickstart, here are five ways to save money, starting right now.
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