Scott recently worked with a client in their forties who was renting, supporting a teenage daughter, and trying to stay on top of several different debts at once (a personal loan, a couple of credit cards and a store card, alongside the everyday costs of running a household). When debt is spread across that many places, it can be hard to know where to even start, and that uncertainty often does as much damage as the numbers themselves.

One of the first things Scott introduced was the debt snowball method. This approach involves listing debts from the smallest balance to the largest, making the minimum repayments on all of them, and putting any extra money towards paying off the smallest debt first. Once that’s cleared, the money that was going towards it is rolled onto the next debt, and the process continues.

While there are repayment strategies that may save more on interest, Scott has found that the debt snowball method works well for many people because it delivers early wins. Seeing a debt disappear can be incredibly motivating and helps build the momentum needed to keep going.

Together, they also looked at ways to free up some extra cash. That included talking through whether downsizing the family vehicle might be an option and discussing the pros and cons of temporarily pausing KiwiSaver contributions. Scott doesn’t tell clients what they should do – instead, he explains the potential benefits and trade-offs so they can make the decision that’s right for their own situation.

For Scott, though, the most valuable conversations often have less to do with numbers and more to do with mindset.

It’s easy to fall into negative self-talk after making a financial decision you regret, but guilt and shame are rarely helpful. In fact, they can make it even harder to stay on track and sometimes lead to more unhelpful spending.

Instead, Scott encourages people to treat these kinds of setbacks as learning opportunities rather than a reason to give up. For example, ‘I probably should not have bought that, let me understand why I wanted it and move on’ instead of ‘Ugh, I shouldn’t have had that slice this morning, I may as well have takeaways’.

He also encourages clients to celebrate the milestones along the way. Paying off a credit card or clearing a loan is worth recognising, even if the celebration is as simple as a family pizza night. Getting out of debt can be a long process, and taking time to acknowledge progress can make it feel much more achievable and break up the tedium.

The conversation also touched on the client’s teenage daughter. Financial habits are often learned by watching the people around us, and young women in particular are often not taught much about personal finance. If she grows up watching a parent work through debt with a plan and a steady head, she then carries that into her adulthood.

Stories like this are a good reminder that improving financial wellbeing doesn’t always require complicated strategies. Sometimes, what people need most is someone to break a stressful situation down into manageable steps and help them create a clear plan for moving forward.

Scott and the team at Money Maverick partner with Vitae to provide financial wellbeing services to customers whose organisation has this service included in their Vitae contract. If money worries are affecting your wellbeing, reaching out for support can be an important first step. You don’t have to wait until things feel unmanageable.