You know about saving. But have you heard about "revenge saving"?
As the world continues to recover from the altered spending habits of the post-pandemic period, "revenge saving" is the latest trend that commentators say is taking hold.
Instead of revenge spending – where people spend on things they don't really need after a period of restriction, revenge saving is where people try to make up for their poor financial habits by being extremely frugal.
This could be anything from a light-hearted "no spend challenge" to a permanent move to cut right back. It could be driven by wider concerns about the economy and job security or more individual worries about having overspent.
Liz Koh, founder of Enrich Retirement, said it was another example of how people's emotions could drive their financial behaviour.
She said people driving themselves to save hard could be driven by fear and uncertainty.
"It is a natural instinct to hoard when fearful of the future."
She said some people would not be able to revenge save.
"Many have lost their jobs or their businesses and are struggling to survive, let alone save."
But for others, it would be a limited exercise.
"There is a limit to how long people can revenge save for, as you can't delay spending over the long term unless it's for highly discretionary items. I would say this will be a temporary phase which will end when people's fears are allayed. This kind of behaviour only delays economic recovery which relies on a return of consumer confidence and spending."
Marketing expert Bodo Lang at Massey University said the idea made sense when times were tough.
"When there is certainty and when consumer sentiment is rosy, then they are more likely to spend money. But when there is uncertainty and consumer sentiment is negative, then they are more likely to prepare for what may be bad times ahead.
"This rate of saving in times of greater uncertainty is likely to be moderated by how much disposable income households have. Those with higher disposable incomes will be able to save more, whereas those with lower disposable incomes are likely to save less, making them more vulnerable if there is a crisis in the future."
First Retail Group spokesperson Chris Wilkinson said earlier this week that it was affecting retailers. Many people were sticking with the habits developed during the downturn of paying off debt more quickly and restricting spending, he said.
"Consumer behaviour has become quite entrenched from the higher interest rates … as opposed to being back in consumer mode. It will take time for that to change."
But while people might be "revenge saving" overseas, the evidence was mixed to what extent it was happening here.
Households had $264.5 billion in deposits with the banks in August. That's slightly down from July but significantly more than the $249.2b last August and the $235.8b the year before.
Jarrod Kerr, chief economist at Kiwibank, said people were also paying down debt more quickly. They were often keeping repayments the same when their home loan interest rates fell, he said.
But Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold said the data seemed to show that there was spending happening – although it was going on durables so was not reflected in the GDP data.
Miles Workman, a senior economist at ANZ, agreed. He said the saving rate was still negative, which was normal for New Zealand. He said home loan repayments in full had been increasing, which could indicate that some households were choosing to liquidate other assets to pay off their debt.
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