Manawatū Home Budgeting Service turns 60 and changes name to Moneywise Manawatū

Moneywise Manawatū manager Miriam Peel and financial mentor Jeanette Parsons. The charitable trust empowers the Manawatū community to be moneywise. Photo / Judith Lacy

The piggy bank is having a thorough check-up with his financial mentor using a stethoscope to learn what's happening.

You don't need to bring your piggy bank when you visit Moneywise Manawatū but the piggy bank medical appears on the organisation's new branding.

Moneywise's financial mentors educate, support and empower clients on their financial journeys. It's a free and confidential service that started in March 1962 as Manawatū Household Budgeting Advisory Service.

In the same decade, it became an incorporated society and the name was changed to Manawatū Home Budgeting Service.

The change to Moneywise reflects the wider services the organisation provides around money management and education for the community, rather than just budgeting advice, manager Miriam Peel says.

The principle remains the same - to support people without judgment around finances and budgeting needs.

Moneywise still has the first minutes book, with the typed and glued records showing the service was started by the community in response to need.

Then mayor Gilbert Rennie attended the inaugural meeting and Palmerston North City Council support continues to this day. Mayor Grant Smith attended Moneywise's 60th anniversary morning tea last month.

He said the organisation has provided a vital service to city residents and earned a well-respected name and reputation for its capabilities and the help it offers.

For a business to have totted up 60 years is no mean achievement but for a non-profit it's even more remarkable, Smith said.

Peel says the key is to build clients' financial capacity so they can make their own financial decisions and understand their options.

The process is client-directed, focusing on their goals and using a strengths-based approach. Moneywise's new logo looks like a stylised M but is also two people in partnership, reflecting that the service is not directive, she says.

Financial mentors can negotiate with creditors on behalf of clients or support them to do so, provide options to manage debt, help clients understand their rights in the lending space, and support KiwiSaver financial hardship applications.

The six financial mentors are professionally trained and qualified, and from a broad cross-section of life and professional experience, Peel says.

The service is for everybody no matter their personal finances. The earlier people get in touch with Moneywise the more options and help mentors can provide.

Peel says it has been a tough two years for everybody because of Covid-19 and now the rising cost of living. The basics are taking a larger chunk out of people's budgets and a wider cross-section of the community is needing to access its services.

Over the past 12 months, there has been an almost 20 per cent increase in inquiries.

In the past 10 years, more than 4000 people have accessed Moneywise's one-on-one support and a further 2000 have attended community education events and seminars.

Currently, it is helping about 400 people a year.

A growing part of Moneywise's work is providing money management programmes delivered through community groups, high schools, Red Cross, Manawatū Prison, and Housing Advice Centre.

Peel says money is an enabler and financial stress undermines people's mental and social health.

Moneywise is a charitable trust. It has a contract with the Ministry of Social Development and receives grants from a range of organisations, including the city council.

Moneywise Manawatū is in Hancock Community House. Ring 0800 228 343 or visit moneywisemanawatu.org.nz.