Beating Christmas debt: heaps! users saving more, spending less than most Kiwis

Christmas excess can put a strain on both waistlines and finances that can be very difficult to recover from.  But an online resource that has already helped thousands of Kiwibank customers save significantly more and spend less than most Kiwis is now available free to all New Zealanders. 

Figures released by Statistics New Zealand recently show that as a nation, we’re still spending more than we earn. On average or the last five years we spent $1.06 for every dollar we earned, reducing to $1.02 in the 12 months to 31 March 2010 as Kiwis tightened their belts in response to the economic climate.  In contrast, initial analysis indicates that heaps! users are spending around 91 cents for every dollar they earn – which means nearly 10% of their income is available for savings or paying down debt.   

heaps! (www.heaps.co.nz), which won the Commerce and Innovation sections of the TUANZ Innovations Awards last year, was developed by Wellington-based company Social Capital in conjunction with Kiwibank and launched in March last year.  Until now, it’s only been available to Kiwibank customers.  But now, heaps! has been made available to all Kiwis free of charge, no matter who they bank with.   

Social Capital CEO Tim Norton says more than 23,000 people have registered with heaps! to date – and the sign-up rate has doubled since Christmas as people look for ways to get their finances back in shape.   He says one of the reasons behind the success of heaps! is that it makes key aspects of good financial management like budgeting and goal setting much easier.  

 “For example, the first step to getting out of debt is to set - and stick to - a budget.  The trouble is, many people find creating a budget very difficult. 

“The beauty of heaps! is that it analyses your bank transactions and essentially creates a budget for you – so it’s much simpler and much more accurate than the traditional process of sitting down and trying to guess how much you spend on different things. heaps! uses actual transaction data to create your budget and you can see instantly whether you’re sticking to it – and where you need to make changes.” 

Another key benefit of heaps! says Tim Norton, is the ability to see exactly what you’re spending your money on. 

“Many people have trouble managing their money because they don’t really know where it goes. heaps! gives you the ability to bring all your bank accounts and transactions together in one place. It uses that information to break down your spending into different categories, so you can get a complete picture without having to trawl through your transactions.  And because it’s presented in a simple graphical form you can see at a glance where your money is going. 

“For many people it’s the first time they have been able to see exactly how much they actually spend on specific items like clothes, entertainment, food, alcohol, etc.  That knowledge can be quite a shock - and it can lead to big changes in behaviour. 

“You can also set financial goals – for example saving for the deposit on a home or an overseas trip -and heaps! will calculate how much you need to save to reach them, automatically incorporate this into your budget, and show you your progress.  That makes your goals seem more achievable and helps you stay motivated to achieve them.” 

Kiwibank General Manager Wealth Tracey Berry says heaps! is an important part of Kiwibank’s financial literacy programme. 

“We think it’s part of our role to help Kiwis manage their money better and we’re concerned that as a nation we are still spending more than we earn.  That’s why we worked with the team at Social Capital to develop heaps! and why we’ve now decided to make it available free to all Kiwis. 

“We’re delighted with the results so far.  They show that if you give people the knowledge, information and tools to understand and manage their finances, you can make a real difference.”