COVID-19 Sees Record Numbers Flock To Sorted For Financial Help

The financial effects of COVID-19 saw New Zealanders flock to the government’s money guidance service Sorted during lockdown.

The sorted.org.nz website saw a four-year record in user numbers in April - more than 150,000. New users rose 26% compared to the same time last year, and 37% more people registered with the site so they could save their calculations and receive further information.

The most popular tool was the mortgage calculator, followed by the budgeting tool and a guide on seven things people could do in response to the crisis.

The public’s need for financial guidance prompted the Commission for Financial Capability (CFFC), which runs Sorted, to create a live TV show with TVNZ called My Money: What Now? It was watched by nearly 200,000 people and is now available at TVNZ OnDemand.

CFFC’s Sorted at Work financial education seminars were turned into webinars to address money concerns of employees and members of community groups – more than 1000 people took part in the first and a second will be available from late May.

Sorted in Schools provides financial education for secondary students through online resources aligned with the curriculum. The resources were popular while students were learning from home, with more than twice as many users of the Sorted in Schools website as this time last year.

Sorted editor Tom Hartmann said it was heartening to see New Zealanders turning to Sorted as an independent source of financial guidance during this difficult time.

“For some, there’s an immediate impact on their finances – we can help point you in the right direction for Government support. For others, it’s a good time to take a breath to assess what you could do right now to protect yourself, your family and your money from future financial shocks.”

As the country enters Level 2, Hartmann said Sorted was focusing on helping New Zealanders move forward, with new guidance on how to deal with the financial effects of redundancy, and how to use the disruption to set new priorities for their money.

“We know many people have a long, hard road ahead. It’s more important than ever that they can access impartial financial information they can trust. We at Sorted are glad to be here for them.”

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