Source: The Spinoff —
With the cost of living front-of-mind for so many, ‘mortgage anxiety’ is on the rise. How do we make sure this doesn’t leave people feeling hopeless about their financial situation?
Money isn’t everything. But for most of us, it’s easier to deal with anything else in our lives if we know the bills are getting paid. So when household budgets come under pressure from cost of living increases – especially when those increases include the mortgage that keeps a roof over your head – it’s easy to feel concerned. But while mortgage anxiety is a real phenomenon, it’s how you deal with it that really matters.
“It’s almost a bit of a misnomer to call it anxiety,” says psychotherapist Kyle MacDonald, “because when we think about anxiety, we think about a mental health symptom where the feeling needs treating. But I think, actually, it’s probably better to think about this as a reasonable fear.
“Because, you know, if you have a mortgage and the interest rates are going up, and we’ve been told every day that we’re heading towards a recession and things are gonna be calamitous, then it’s pretty reasonable to be worried about that.”
It’s not so much the worry, it’s what we do when we’re worried. One of the markers of anxiety, he says, is avoidance. But that’s where obvious and practical advice can be very useful.
“If we’re prone to avoidance behaviours with anxiety, we’re going to tend to just not open the email with the bank statements and ignore all communications and just cross our fingers and hope for the best, right? Which is not a great approach.
“But if the fear and the worry actually motivates you to take action, then I would suggest it isn’t problematic anxiety… Hopefully the fear prompts us to do something which reduces the stress.”
It’s advice echoed by ANZ Home Loan Coach Marie-ana Tupo.
“Many homeowners are feeling the impact of higher home loan rates and day-to-day expenses,” she says. “If you are experiencing financial challenges, or think you might in the future, it’s important to reach out to your bank early so they can explore any options available to you that may help relieve the pressure.”
It’s also important to think ahead – and even to think of the worst that could happen. When Dan* and his partner borrowed $700,000 to buy an apartment in the inner Auckland suburb of Kingsland eight years ago, he says, they didn’t just look at what they could afford at the time.
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