Finances out of control?
Lucy Jones is a financial counsellor at The Salvation Army’s free Moneycare service on the Sunshine Coast. Lucy spoke with Salvos Online journalist SIMONE WORTHING about the services she provides and the needless barrier of shame that people often feel when it comes to seeing a financial counsellor for help.
Shame is a big barrier for people coming to see a financial counsellor. If we can’t see properly, we go and get glasses. If we’re not feeling well, we go to a doctor. If we’ve got a bung foot, we go to a podiatrist. If we’ve got bung finances, we usually stay silent and feel shame and guilt that we aren’t managing.
Most people weren’t taught financial literacy. We are just expected to manage our finances well. But where and when did we learn? It’s really tough out there for many people, and help is available.
Mortgage distress
At the moment, we’re getting more and more people coming to us in mortgage distress. Whether that has been because of illness, domestic violence, job loss, mental health or an accident that’s meant someone can’t work for a period – the reasons are varied.
It’s really tough out there for a lot of people, but help is available, and there is no shame in asking for it.
Interest rates are based on the risk a person poses to the bank and the amount they have borrowed relative to the value of their property. Although property prices have increased significantly, some people are still paying an interest rate based on the 80 or 90 per cent ‘loan-to-value ratio’ when they bought the property years ago.
What I’d really like to see people do every six to 12 months is ask their bank for an interest rate review. You can speak to the bank directly if you’re confident or get your mortgage broker to do it for you, just to make sure that you are always on the best rate available.
If you would like to make an appointment with one of our Financial Counselling Team, please call 1800 722 363 today.
Rates and fees
Another part of home ownership that people often let fall behind when the pressure starts to build financially is their council rates and/or body corporate fees.
Both those expenses, if they get too far behind, can put your property at risk and a lot of people don’t know that.
So, if you run into any trouble with your mortgage, body corporate or council rates, it’s important to reach out to a financial counsellor because, left too long, you can get into some real trouble.
Many people who leave their first Moneycare session say that they feel like a weight has been lifted off their shoulders because they shared their stories and felt less alone.
I find that when our circumstances change, our habits don’t always change with them. I’ve had people who have had financial pressure building for a decade, and they’ve just tried to keep up by taking on a little bit more debt each year.
We help you come up with options for managing your debts.
It’s a reminder that our finances are never separate from the rest of our lives. Everything in life impacts our finances and our finances impact everything else that’s going on.
For some people, there just isn’t enough coming in. And it’s really tough out there for a lot of people but help is available, and there is no shame in asking for it.
Financial counsellors
As financial counsellors, we never charge a fee or make referrals to any paid services. We are qualified professionals but, unlike a financial advisor or planner, we don’t have financial licences because we don’t advise you on how to invest your money.
Instead, we help you understand your financial concerns, consider ways to improve your financial well-being and budgeting capacity, and develop options for managing your debts.
The impact that resolving concerns and easing pressure can have on someone’s life and helping them realise they can be in control of these things, is wonderful.
That’s why I do this kind of work. It brings me a lot of joy.
For more information on Moneycare, including contact details, click here.
Go to the Moneycare Toolkit on MySalvos here
