All in this together
HOT on the heels of a long and painful drought COVID-19 has created a perfect storm for widespread financial uncertainty, but Macquarie Credit Union (MCU) Dubbo general manager Matthew Bow says there are many options available and he believes no matter what you’re dealing with, support is accessible in many forms.
“We’re making ourselves open to anyone, whether it’s just to talk about their current situation to allay their fears, or to talk about financial hardship. We’re talking to community, businesses, individuals, families that are suffering hardship; they’ve lost their jobs, or as businesses have had to shut their doors, so we’re working out ways to help.
Many members have already stepped forward to talk about their circumstances and MCU has been able to assist with workable plans. Financial stress almost always impacts your health, work, and personal relationships, which is why it is important to not bury your head in the sand, and do talk to your financial institution.
Some options may include converting a loan to interest-only for a period of time, deferring loan repayments, using redraw or advanced loan payments, consolidating debt or reducing the loan repayment to the minimum contract amount.
“We’ll assist people with doing a budget or direct them to a financial counsellor if need be. We are just trying to assist as much as possible, but it’s important people accept the situation they’re in and are willing to help themselves as well, not just sweep it under the carpet and hope it all goes away,” he said.
In Mr Bow’s experience, many people do struggle to come forward due to embarrassment.
“No-one should feel embarrassed about approaching their bank or credit union, to say, look, I can’t afford this loan at the moment, because of whatever circumstances; their husband or wife has lost their job, or there’s a sickness in the family, a relationship break-up or for whatever reason.
“With COVID-19, we’re all in this together. There’s no one party, politician, business, bank manager, car salesman, tradie, whoever, who isn’t effected by this situation we all find ourselves in.
“It’s so important that if anyone has concerns or is experiencing hardship of any kind to pick up the phone and talk to their financial institution. If they ignore the problem, and their institution has to take action against them, that can make it considerably worse,” Mr Bow said.
Macquarie Credit Union has remained open through the COVID-19 Pandemic and is practicing social distancing measures for the safety of customers and staff.