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Cost of living concerns still top of mind ahead of the festive season.

4 Dec 2025

Westpac NZ is encouraging New Zealanders to draw up a festive season spending plan, as new research shows households are continuing to struggle with cost-of-living pressures.

A survey of nearly 1,100 Westpac customers showed 73% of respondents are either extremely or moderately concerned about the cost of living – a similar level to 2024. Added to this, 42% of survey respondents said they expected to spend less than last year on the holiday season, compared with just 15% expecting to spend more.

Helen Ryder, Westpac NZ General Manager Consumer Banking & Wealth, says getting ahead of the holiday season by drawing up a spending plan can help people manage costs.

“While it’s encouraging to see from the survey that 27% of people have followed a budget to plan for the holiday season, 40% said they hadn’t yet done anything in particular to prepare themselves financially. Taking some action now to plan your spending can help avoid a cash crunch or debt hangover down the track.”

The survey showed financial pressures have impacted people’s spending throughout the year, with 74% of respondents indicating cost of living pressures had prompted them to cut back. Of those, 90% said they’d reduced spending on non-essentials like dining out, shopping and entertainment.

Those themes appear to be continuing into the festive season, with holidays one area where survey respondents indicated they were planning to spend less – 39% of holiday travellers (those who travelled last year or plan to travel this year) said they’d be cutting back on their travel budget, while 46% of holiday accommodation users (last year or this year) said they planned to spend less this year.

“This year has been tough for many New Zealanders, with prices continuing to creep higher despite inflation coming off its highs. Our survey shows people have been responding by cutting back on spending and some New Zealanders may be choosing to stay closer to home for the holiday season this year,” Ms Ryder says.

“We hope people will get a chance to relax with their families over the coming weeks. To reduce financial stress, we recommend sitting down as a family and putting some time into planning out your summer spending and then sticking to your plan.”

Westpac has some key tips on ways to keep spending on gifts and other aspects of the festive season in check, including:

Use a budget calculator to know your limit and then stick to it.
Budget for the essentials first, like food and travel, before allocating leftover spending money on items like gifts and decorations.
Talk to friends and family before going gift shopping to discuss whether you are doing presents, and if so, whether you should set a price limit.
Make a gift list and check it twice to avoid impulse buys.
Think about grocery shopping earlier rather than later as often items get more expensive closer to Christmas
Before paying with credit, see if you can reduce costs or use your savings, to reduce the amount of debt that needs to be paid back in the new year.

ENDS

Editor’s note: The summer spending survey was conducted on The Westpac Customer Panel from 10 to 17 November 2025. It was completed by 1,087 Westpac NZ customers aged between 25 and 84, with the margin of error 3% at a 95% level of confidence.

*The calculator is intended as a guide only and does not provide financial advice. The calculated figures are illustrative only and it is not to be considered as an offer of finance by Westpac nor is it a recommendation or opinion in relation to the relevant products. It does not take into account your personal financial situation or goals.

2025 survey results

How concerned are you about cost-of-living pressures? By cost of living we mean the amount of money needed to cover basic expenses such as housing, food, transport, and healthcare.

Extremely concerned	32%
Moderately concerned	41%
Slightly concerned	22%
Not concerned	5%
Not sure	0%
NET Extremely concerned + Moderately concerned	73%