Shopping Centres Help Shoppers Stretch Dollars

Media Release February 2009

Shopping Centres Help Shoppers Stretch Dollars

Two Auckland shopping centres are teaming up with independent money guide Sorted to take some of the financial sting out of the first part of the year which is notoriously hard on the pocket as families face Christmas credit card bills and the costs of the new school year.

In an innovative move Botany Town Centre and LynnMall Shopping Centre are adopting ‘smart spending’ initiatives to help local shoppers better manage their money.

The two centres are teaming up with Sorted, run by the Retirement Commission, to help Kiwi shoppers focus on how they can manage their day-to-day spending and make better use of their money.

Retirement Commissioner Diana Crossan says it’s not about stopping people spending. “It’s about encouraging people to work out their financial goals and a budget to achieve them. Your goals might be to get out of debt, pay off your mortgage faster or simply to have some money left at the end of the month to save or to spend on clothes,” she said.

Sorted.org.nz is full of calculators and information to help people manage their personal finances. It includes a tool called a spendometer to help shoppers work out the true cost of paying for things using different methods like cash, credit cards or a store card.

Senior Centre Manager Jennifer Manning says that teaming up with Sorted is driven by the view that everyone can take control of their spending and have the financial freedom they desire.

“Becoming more knowledgeable about money means people can still get what they want, while putting some savings away for bigger items like electronic appliances or next season’s wardrobe. There are many tools available, such as lay-bys and hire purchase with interest-free terms.

“What people need now is access to good, reliable information about money, of the kind Sorted provides. They can use this information to take control of their spending, so they can feel good about the purchases that need to be made.”

Sorted display stands will be set up in each shopping centre, providing free, independent information on topics like budgeting, managing debt, saving and KiwiSaver.

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