WHEN Suzy Jones’ accommodation situation changed she found herself in an untenable and nerve-racking financial position. Her name is changed to protect her privacy.
With substantially increased rent rates, three credit cards and no foreseeable monetary relief she felt her situation was dire and couldn’t see any way forward.
“I felt like it was getting out of control,” says Ms Jones. “I didn’t know how to get rid of them all [credit cards]. I was paying off more than the minimum payments each time, which was crippling me and they were still not going down.”
She didn’t want friends to know her situation and found it very hard to cope. Without her own home and confused by banks and financial terminology, Ms Jones wanted help before her circumstances spiralled out of control.
Courageously she contacted the Pakuranga and Howick Budget Service and started working with a volunteer budget advisor.
“I was worried about fronting up and even walking in. I was worried people might notice me and I didn’t want anyone to know. But I needed to go.”
Presenting all her financial records, bills, shopping receipts and explaining her predicament embarrassed Ms Jones, but the volunteer, Murray Ross, was calming and non-judgemental.
Mr Ross recommended clearing her credit card debt with a bank personal loan.
Arranging automatic payments of essential bills reduced Ms Jones’ stress and cutting up her credit and EFTPOS cards empowered her.
“Using an EFTPOS card is not like handing over cash. It’s easier to let things run away with you.”
Mr Ross wrote everything down in simple language so Ms Jones was fully prepared before confronting a personal banker. “I said, ‘this is what my budget advisor has told me to do’ and she [personal banker] said, ‘no you don’t need to do that’.
“Having written information worked, because she was trying to get me to do something else which confused me. I couldn’t have tackled her otherwise,” says Ms Jones.
With restored confidence, Ms Jones has resisted further efforts by banks to reissue credit and EFTPOS cards.
The now reformed spender feels she would be in more debt if she had first approached the bank rather than the budgeting service.
“It was hard to go into the bank because they said, ‘we’ll just swap this credit card for this one’ and ‘you have to have a credit card’.
“I kept telling them ‘my budget advisor says I shouldn’t have a credit card, so I’m not having a credit card’.”
Negotiating Ms Jones’ budget included her fortnightly pay, emergency payments and special treats for her sanity.
No longer living from one wage packet to the next, she’s saving money for a long-awaited visit to family overseas.
Ms Jones recommends others financially stretched should seek advice from a free and confidential service such as the Pakuranga and Howick Budgeting Service.
