There is increased demand for free financial counselling services through a non-profit organisation as cost of living pressures hit home.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Mid North Coast Financial Counselling Service, which is state and federally funded through the Kempsey Neighbourhood Centre, offers support, information, options and advocacy to people in financial difficulty.
The service's Port Macquarie-based financial counsellor Alan Naylor covers the Hastings including Wauchope, as well as Lake Cathie.
The need for help is on the rise. There is a fortnight wait for an appointment and that wasn't the case six months ago.
"There is definitely an increase in the need for the service and the reality is the service is still a fairly well-kept secret," Mr Naylor said.
He is seeing more residents struggling to pay their electricity bills and people in financial strife due to buy now, pay later schemes and payday loans.
"I am finding there are clients becoming more exposed by multiple payday loans," Mr Naylor said.
The financial counsellor is also seeing Centrelink recipients applying for advance payments, households in rent arrears, small businesses in debt with unpaid tax through the GST component of their operations, and motorists without car insurance facing bills after crashes.
There is also a trend of people moving out of town to secure cheaper rents, but on the flip side, high fuel prices eat into their available funds.
The Mid North Coast Financial Counselling Service operates from Grafton in the north to the Great Lakes in the south.
Call 1300 662 540 to make a free appointment.