Money, Jeremy Tauri: Time to count the positives

Jeremy Tauri.

With Covid-19 flare-ups around the world, it might be easy to be feeling a bit negative right now.

Parts of Australia and the UK are locking down and numbers in the US are still worrying.

But while we're no longer in zero-case territory in New Zealand, there are still a lot of things to feel optimistic about.

Businesses need less support than expected: The second round of the wage subsidy is likely to pay out much less than the Government budgeted. As of July 3, $1.6 billion of $3.9b set aside for the scheme had been claimed by businesses with revenue down 40 per cent. That indicates that many are back to something more like normal.

Job ads are improving: Job advertising on Seek lifted 46.9 per cent in June following a 71.7 per cent gain in May. It's worth keeping in mind that overall job ads are still just over a third below normal — but at least the trend is in the right direction.

House prices are holding up so far: Whether this is positive depends on whether you're an owner or a would-be buyer, but recent Real Estate Institute stats showed a market virtually back to normal.

Kiwis have money to spend: People who are still employed aren't able to holiday overseas, so a good chunk of that money will be spent with local businesses instead, be it on local holidays or jobs around the house.

More business support has been announced with an additional $40 million for the Regional Business Partnership. While this is part of the Covid response and recovery fund, the focus on efficiencies, understanding and improvement will seed investment for your business in the long term.

The pandemic is bringing the world together (virtually): The pandemic has given a lot of businesses a crash course in working online, which removes a lot of traditional boundaries. Increasingly, Kiwi companies are able to work with people all over the world and there are opportunities available for those looking for them.

Keep your focus on the positives and get ready for a strong recovery.

Jeremy Tauri is an associate at Plus Chartered Accountants