House Prices

Conquering the debt mountain

Debt is becoming a big problem for New Zealanders and about 15 in 100 are finding it unmanageable.

Monday, June 20th 2005

But the biggest cause is not useful mortgage debt.

Consumer debt, for things such as TVs, stereos and cars, is often driving families into a payments crisis, says the Federation of Family Budgeting Services.

Last year, it gave 33,000 people crisis debt-management help. That figure is down from more than 40,000 five years ago, but the decline is because of a lack of volunteers, rather than a drop in people running into arrears, says Jarrod Rendle, the federation's information and development co-ordinator.

Rendle says a clear trend has been the steady increase in the amount of debt people can easily incur.

Now, when a person contacts the service they are likely to be $2700 in arrears. The total debt of people helped by the federation is about $346 million.

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