What a drag
Stubbing out to save cash
Stephanie Erick leads antismoking group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), and for her there are few greater drags on personal finances than having a nicotine addiction.
Stubbing out the habit, hard as it may be, gives people’s household budgets a big lift, and Erick has found that when smokers get financial capability training, they are more likely to succeed in quitting smoking.
Do you consider yourself financially savvy?
Yes, I think I have financial ‘knowhow’, as in know how to spend money and how to survive within my means.
What are your best money traits?
I’m good at saving money, I learnt that habit since ASB visited my primary school and introduced me to Kashin ‘the elephant’. I also enjoy finding ways to save money and time.
... and your worst?
Bargain spending. My husband and I have picked up a habit of over spending in US outlet stores because we think we won’t be back there for a while and the savings are so great.
Did your upbringing shape your attitude to money?
Absolutely, my parents had seven children and I’m number two. My dad worked on the trains and mum was a fulltime parent until the youngest was about three. She decided to complete a degree and went straight into service management before completing post-graduate studies. So I grew up around hard work and the need for everyone to contribute to chores.
What was the first paid work you did?
Pak N Save Glen Innes, in the Fish Bar. I loved earning money. I think I started on something like $4.70 an hour. It was liberating; I bought my first pair of new Reebok shoes after so many ‘hand me downs’.
What’s the best, and worst, investments you have made?
Apart from buying a good piece of land in Glen Innes 10 years ago, I am really happy I invested in university studies and good friends. My worst investments have been in gym memberships that were hardly ever used.
Tell me about the drag on a family’s finances of smoking?
I have plenty of family and friends who are current or past smokers and from what I’ve seen, smoking takes money, time and health away from the people especially those they love and care about.
How much does it cost to smoke nowadays?
Someone smoking a pack a day spends about $160 a week, which is nearly $8500 each year. Someone who is on an average hourly wage (about $29 in 2015), would have to work nearly an hour to buy a packet of cigarettes.
With money saved from stopping smoking you could: go on holiday, pay off some debts, buy a car, rent a bigger house, pay more off your mortgage, or treat yourself and your wha¯nau to a nice meal – every week!
Is it fair to whack smokers’ budgets with ever-higher tax?
Everything is going up, the tobacco tax increases of around $2.60 per packet are nothing compared to rental and house prices. So it’s tough all round.
Have you seen any evidence that learning financial literacy helps people give up smoking?
I was pleasantly surprised to hear the three key casualties of financial literacy classes are tobacco, alcohol and fast foods. I think it’s fantastic. So some struggling families have learnt to live healthier through financial classes.
If you could do one thing, what would it be?
Stop the sale and supply of cigarettes in NZ, which would get rid of the factory in Petone. What an embarrassment if we want to go smoke-free by 2025.