When money is tight
What you are entitled to, what you can push back on, and what to do first.
Ends with: A list of the specific entitlements and protections that apply to you, and the order to use them in.
Nothing here is financial advice and nothing here decides your entitlement. Work and Income makes those decisions on your circumstances. This pathway tells you what to ask for and what the rules are, so you can go in knowing what exists.
Most money advice assumes you have some. This pathway does not.
It is written for the position where the income has stopped or no longer stretches, and the useful question is not how to invest or how to save but what you are actually entitled to and which problem to deal with first. That is mostly a knowledge problem rather than a numbers problem, which is why several steps here have no calculator attached. Knowing that Temporary Additional Support exists, or that a debt can become statute barred, or that your employer must pay you for work you have already done, is worth more than any figure a tool could produce.
The order is deliberate. Entitlements come before debt, because money you are owed changes what is possible. Debt comes before insolvency, because most people who fear bankruptcy do not need it. And the steps on wages, fines and disputes come last, not because they matter least, but because they are the ones people forget when everything is urgent.
One thing to know before you start: free financial mentoring exists in New Zealand, and mentors will talk to creditors on your behalf. MoneyTalks is 0800 345 123, or text 4029. Nothing in this pathway is a substitute for that call.
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Where you actually stand
Before anything else, an honest total of what comes in and what must go out. Not to feel bad about it, but because every conversation after this one needs the number.
Work out your own: Budget Calculator 8 min read -
Hardship support you may not know exists
Advances and Temporary Additional Support are separate from a main benefit, and many people who qualify never ask because they assume being employed rules them out.
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If a health condition is the reason
Supported Living Payment is not the same as Jobseeker and is assessed differently. Applying for the wrong one costs weeks.
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The card that reduces everything else
It cuts doctor visits, prescriptions and some transport. It is income tested rather than benefit tested, so working people qualify and mostly do not apply.
12 min read -
The bills that will move
Power, telco and insurance are all negotiable, and hardship provisions exist in each. Suppliers would rather reduce a bill than lose it entirely.
Work out your own: Power Bill Estimator 7 min read -
What a household your size actually spends
Before cutting, see the measured averages for a household like yours. A line far above them is where the room is; a line already below them is not the problem.
Work out your own: Household spending data 7 min read -
Why the quick loan is the expensive one
High cost short term credit is designed for exactly this moment, and it is where a temporary problem becomes a permanent one.
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Buy now pay later, counted properly
Several small instalment plans running at once behave like one large debt with a fee structure nobody adds up.
Work out your own: BNPL Real Cost Calculator 9 min read -
Money an employer already owes you
Unpaid wages, holiday pay and final pay are recoverable, and the process is free. This is the most commonly abandoned money in the country.
Work out your own: Unpaid Wages Checker 13 min read -
When someone will not put it right
The Disputes Tribunal costs a small filing fee, needs no lawyer, and handles most consumer disputes. Knowing it exists changes how a supplier answers you.
12 min read -
Fines, before they multiply
Unpaid fines attract further costs and can be deducted from wages or a benefit. There are payment arrangements, and they are far easier to get before enforcement starts.
7 min read -
Money already sitting in your name
Unclaimed money, lost KiwiSaver and dormant accounts are searchable in minutes and cost nothing to claim. It is worth the ten minutes on the chance.
13 min read -
If gambling is part of it
Gambling harm is a money problem with its own free support, and the financial steps only hold once it is addressed.
13 min read -
The insolvency options, in order of severity
The No Asset Procedure exists between doing nothing and bankruptcy, and most people who fear the second qualify for the first.
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If a disaster caused it
Different rules, different timeframes and different support apply after an event, and some of it is time limited.
13 min read
When to stop and get someone else
Free help exists and it is better than anything you can read. MoneyTalks offers free support on money matters: call 0800 345 123, text 4029, or email help@moneytalks.co.nz. Financial mentors will work through your whole situation with you, including talking to creditors. Citizens Advice Bureau is free for the rights questions. Neither sells anything. If you take one thing from this pathway, take that.
This pathway is information, not financial advice. Rates, thresholds and rules change; every guide carries the date it was last reviewed.
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