It will come as no surprise to many that record numbers of people are seeking help with budgeting and debt.
And many of those are not beneficiaries, but working people who can't make ends meet.
You don't have to be on the poverty line to feel the pinch when the cost of almost
everything is going up, and wage packets are staying the same.
Some families are turning to debt to pay for groceries and household bills, a step that creates a cycle of financial difficulty as repayments mount.
And many of those struggling to stretch their pay packet to the end of the week will also find Blair Fitzsimons' plight a little hard to swallow.
The convicted fraudster has fronted up to court this week claiming he can only afford to pay $100 a week in reparation.
That's despite taking home $1100 every week.
Many people in Hawke's Bay would love to have that kind of money problem.
In fairness to Fitzsimons, it hasn't been made clear what his financial obligations are, what debts he has, or how many dependant children.
But assuming he has a family to support, I'm sure there are many households in Hawke's Bay who could give him a few tips on making his budget stretch further.
Or perhaps he could get some advice from Hanover Finance boss Mark Hotchin, who was reduced to a court-ordered $1000 a week after his assets were frozen by the Securities Commission.
Even if Fitzsimons meets his court-ordered payments, his victims will still see only a tiny fraction of what they lost.
He's been ordered to pay $250,000, just one-sixteenth of the $4 million they lost.
And at $100 a week, it will take 48 years to pay back.
That's a long time to wait for a little bit of justice.
