Kiwibank data shows cost-of-living pressure squeezing deposits and buffers alike.
New Zealanders' saving habits are proving more resilient than the economic backdrop might suggest, but a growing reliance on debt to cover everyday costs points to tighter financial buffers among the clients mortgage brokers see every day.
Habits hold, but the cushion is thinning
Kiwibank's third annual State of Savings Index, based on a Talbot Mills Research survey of 1,534 New Zealanders, found saving behaviour has shifted only gradually over three years: 59% of Kiwis maintain a household budget, and 44% now save regularly, continuing a small but steady upward trend from 41% in 2024 and 43% in 2025.
Kiwibank chief executive Steve Jurkovich (pictured) said the data shows discipline paying off even in a difficult environment.
"Three years of research shows that despite ongoing financial pressures, Kiwi continue to budget, save and find ways to make progress, from cutting spending to trying new tools," Jurkovich said.
That stability sits alongside a less encouraging figure: 40% of respondents have taken on debt over the past 12 months to cover mounting household expenses, with Buy Now Pay Later (19%) and borrowing from family or friends (12%) the most common routes. Of those not saving at all, 61% said they were effectively prioritising survival and could not make ends meet, RNZ reported.
Jurkovich flagged the BNPL trend as a notable shift in borrower behaviour.
"We are seeing a definite trend of people finding that they are having to turn to and use Buy Now, Pay Later in situations like supermarkets and other places where we probably didn't historically think that Buy Now, Pay Later would be showing up," he said.
Thin buffers raise questions for borrowing capacity
Nearly a quarter of respondents (28%) said they could not cover an unexpected $500 bill without borrowing, selling something, or relying on a credit card, a gap that widens sharply by tenure, with only 47% of renters able to cover such a bill, compared with 72% of mortgage holders and 86% of outright owners, interest.co.nz reported.
Jurkovich described the finding in blunt terms: those struggling to save are effectively living "paycheque to paycheque." Cost pressures were led by groceries, at 68%, ahead of rent or mortgage repayments (46%) and power bills (42%).
The survey also found women were more likely than men to report saving difficulties, at 66% versus 54%, and more likely to cite cost of living as the barrier, at 78% versus 68%, a gap Jurkovich linked partly to caregiving roles and reduced working hours.
With mortgage rates and living costs both squeezing disposable income, Kiwibank's findings suggest the deposit-saving journey remains as much about resilience against day-to-day shocks as it is about the size of the target itself.
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