Budgeting & How do I avoid getting into unmanageable debt?
Budgeting
Where can I go for free budgeting advice?
How do I avoid getting into unmanageable debt?
Where can I go for free budgeting advice?
There are several non-profit organisations that can help you with budgeting advice.
Your local Citizens Advice Bureau can help you find a budgeting service that suits your situation. Some CABs also run regular budgeting clinics.
The Financial Capability Trust website and the Family Services directory also list budgeting services and financial mentors around New Zealand.
You can also get budgeting and debt management information and advice on the Sorted website.
You might be interested in joining a local MoneyMates groups. These are support groups for people wanting to improve their budgeting skills.
How do I avoid getting into unmanageable debt?
It mostly boils down to living within your means – in other words, spending no more than the amount you earn and only borrowing money (e.g. a student loan) if you are confident of your ability to pay it back.
You can do this by putting together a budget which lists your total income and all of your expenses. You can download a budget worksheet for free from The Budgeting Hub website or the Work and Income website, or use the online budgeting tool on the Sorted website.
A budget advisory service (see above) can help you put a budget together and work out ways for you to reduce your spending or increase your income.
The Sorted website also has advice to help you manage your debt.
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
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52.6% Human-centred experience and communication
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14.8% Critical thinking
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29.8% Resilience and adaptability
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2.8% Other - I will share below!
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
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