Mind & Matters
Understanding the hearts and minds of Kiwis.
Released 24 July 2024
Positive emotions decline
As winter settles in, New Zealanders are feeling less hopeful, less optimistic, and less motivated. Negative emotions are starting to rise as New Zealanders feel more stressed, frustrated, and anxious. Positively though, ‘hope’ remains in first place as the most widely felt emotion.
- Hope: has seen a small decline (-2%) after a constant upwards trend since February.
- Optimism: has declined (-3%) after its peak in May.
- Motivation: has slightly decreased (-2%) back to its March level.
- Stress: has seen an increase (+8%) after a drop in April and May, bringing it back to levels seen in February.
- Anxiety: has seen a notable increase (+8%) after dropping consistently since March.
- Frustration: has now been added to the top emptions as it ranked third place in June (45%), which has also increased by 12% since May.
Why seasonal affective disorder impacts our mood in winter, and how to treat it | RNZ News
Females are still more likely to feel these negative emotions, but this gap is getting smaller and smaller (79% vs 72% of men). The number one emotion for females is stress (50% vs 41% of men), and the number one emotion for males is hope (51% vs 48% of women).
Younger New Zealanders aged under 34 years are the most likely to feel stressed (56%), frustrated (55%), and anxious (53%), while older generations (over 65 years old) remain the least likely to feel these negative emotions and the most likely to feel optimistic (50%).
New Zealanders’ 12-month outlook continues to worsen
June has seen a notable drop in the proportion of New Zealanders who believe things will get better for their family in the next year (-9% since May, and -12% since April). Even though there is still a bigger proportion of New Zealanders who believe things will improve, the gap between them is getting smaller with 20% of New Zealanders now believing things will get worse. June has also seen an increase in the number of New Zealanders who believe things will remain ‘about the same’ (+6% since May).
Positive sentiment is more common among those aged under 34 years (38%). Negative sentiment remains most pronounced among 45-64-year-olds (21%), while those aged over 65 years are the most likely to feel things will remain ‘about the same’ (61%). There are no major differences between males and females.
When asked ‘what makes you say that?’, common themes emerged around the cost of living, New Zealand’s economy, and personal financial issues:
- ‘Cost of living is tough’
- ‘Everything is getting more expensive but not earning more’
- ‘Economy has to get better, it certainly can’t get any worse’
- ‘Financial strain’
- ‘Inflation is causing stress on the family, lack of funds for basics’.
Perceptions of the country’s direction remain pessimistic
The proportion of New Zealanders who believe the country is headed in the wrong direction has been in an upwards trend for the past couple of months, and it has now reached a new high (60%). North Islanders remain the most positive (41% vs 36% in the South Island). In terms of gender, males are more optimistic than females (42% vs 38% for women) as well as those aged over 65 years (45%).
Top three factors impacting New Zealand households remain the same
- Your financial situation (51%): this ties back to how people’s 12-month outlook is worsening – 3% decrease since May. Females are slightly more affected by this than males (53% vs 49%).
- The New Zealand economy (48%): again, linked to New Zealanders’ 12-month outlook expectations – increased by 4% since May. Males are slightly more affected by this than females (50% vs 47%).
- The New Zealand healthcare system (41%): has increased by 3% since April. Females are more affected by this than males (46% vs 36%).
A third of New Zealanders have little/nothing to save
In June, 33% of New Zealanders said their income covers the essentials and that they have little/nothing left over to save, representing a small improvement on last month (35%). This is more common for females (37% vs 30% for males) and for New Zealanders aged 45-64 years (40% vs 25% for under 34 years and 29% for over 65 years).
Cost of living remains a big concern
June saw an increase in the proportion of people having to ‘cut back’ on what they buy (+7%) due to inflation. There was also a drop in the proportion of those who are having to use their savings/credit card to afford what they need (-7%). This suggests more people are opting to reduce spending overall instead of using other means to pay for things.
Females remain more likely to admit that they’re having to ‘cut back’ on what they buy (42% vs 35% for men) due to inflation. Similarly, those under 34 years are most likely to cut back on spending (48%).
New Zealanders’ household expenditure categories
| Top 5 | Bottom 5 |
| 1. Food and groceries – 96% | 1. Homeware and décor – 8% |
| 2. Telephone/mobile/internet – 83% | 2. Alcohol/tobacco/vapes – 14% |
| 3. Gas/electricity – 82% | 3. Consumer electronics/appliances – 14% |
| 4. Private vehicle costs – 73% | 4. Sport/leisure/fitness – 16% |
| 5. Vehicle insurance – 63% | 5. Public transport – 19% |
If New Zealanders had to cut back on how much they spend per month, the top 3 categories they would choose to cut back on would be:
- Homeware & Décor (85%)
- Consumer electronics/appliances (70%)
- Entertainment, media, and streaming services (67%).
