Budget advice in action

The main reason we can continue to offer a free service is because of the many hundreds of NZFFBS budget advisers (at last count there were more than 800) that want to give something back to their communities! These advisers worked with over 40,000 client families last year and are just everyday people who have a real desire to help others.

Each NZFFBS member service decides if they want more budget advisers. If you think volunteering might be for you then go to the Find a Service section on our website and talk to your nearest budgeting service, or call 0508 BUDGETLINE for more information.

Benefits of volunteering

There are many benefits to becoming a volunteer budget adviser. In fact, NZFFBS certificated budget advisers enjoy their work so much that many of them are still doing it ten years later, even twenty, or more! Some of our advisers have had to move to different towns for other commitments and the first thing they did was to seek out another NZFFBS service to keep volunteering! Some of our advisers are previous clients who found the whole process so life-changing that as soon as they were back on their feet they started training as an adviser to pass on their new skills to others.

So what makes being a budget adviser so rewarding?

Being a budget adviser can be very rewarding

First, there can be a sense of instant gratification that many other types of volunteering can’t offer. Negotiating with creditors to stop a client’s electricity or phone being cut off for instance can give you quick results and a sense of achievement.

Secondly, the in-depth work advisers do with their clients can offer a real deep sense of satisfaction. The process is truly life changing. Every adviser has that one story of a client they helped from deep debt crisis right through to financial independence (some have heaps of stories like that!). And because you often work so closely with the client’s family/whanau you can get a real buzz from knowing the whole family is now better off.

Then there’s the training. The Budget Adviser Introductory Course is a comprehensive initial training program developed and improved by budget advice experts over 30 years. And there is also ongoing training: every year we’ll increase your skills with things like consumer rights, insolvency law, benefit advocacy, identifying addictions, culture awareness, advanced negotiations and that’s just to name a few.

Finally, the resources, support and networking benefits of being an NZFFBS budget adviser are second to none. The NZFFBS takes care of all of your resource needs. We print and distribute all the pamphlets, posters, forms, guides and stationery you need to allow you to concentrate on the advising. Your budgeting service will provide all the support you need. Regular in-service training and support sessions allow you to confidentially discuss difficult cases and senior advisers and service coordinators / managers are always on hand to help you out.

And then there’s the network… remember that when you volunteer at your local service you become part of one of the largest community organisations in the country. This gives you the opportunity to attend district and regional meetings and the biennial conference where you can meet other advisers and feel a real sense of being part of something big.

Interested in progressing through the organisation?

There are many different positions throughout our Federation, many are voluntary while others are paid. Within budgeting services there are advisers, senior advisers, community educators, SIO supervisors, coordinators and managers, and the varied roles of boards and management committees as well as other volunteer roles such as administrators.

Within the NZFFBS there are district representatives, regional and Tangata Whenua representatives, as well as the National Board roles, tutors, training quality and review team, and training committee members.

Within the national office there are a number of roles managing the Federation training, information and projects, as well as managing the office and staff, a number of Field Officer roles supporting services in the regions as well as different volunteer roles that come up from time-to-time. What else you can expect to get and what we expect from you:

• Meet people from all walks of life
• Receive initial training and ongoing professional development
• Work in a supportive environment
• Learn new skills and develop a career path
• Contribute real value to your community
• Help relieve the stress of families/whanau struggling with debt crisis
• … have fun!

Volunteer today! Contact your local budgeting service and speak to the coordinator.