I’d like to get better with money. Where do I start?

What do wise pūtea decisions look like? There are a few tips and tricks we’ve put together that we think can really help when you are starting out on your pūtea journey.

Have a kōrero with someone who is really onto it with money

There’s usually somebody in our whānau who just seems really switched on when it comes to all things pūtea. They always seem to know what to do when things get tricky financially, and if we think about their journey over time with pūtea, it seems like they make wise decisions.

Having a kōrero with them kanohi ki te kanohi is a really good place to start. Ask them:

• How do they think about money?
• How did they learn to understand it?
• What did they do when they had a bit of a financial wobble?

Don’t be whakamā about this kōrero. We think you’ll find people are really willing to help their friends and whānau get ahead.

The more you talk about it, the less difficult it will seem. Learn more tips about having a kōrero about pūtea.

Buckets of moni can help you get sorted

Sometimes it’s really helpful to think about separating your moni into buckets.

• A bucket for buying things you want now, like a new pair of shoes
• A bucket for things that might cost a lot more money in the future, like going to university, a car, or buying a house
• Another very important bucket that is only for emergencies, like when a car breaks down or somebody in your whānau gets sick
• A bucket of moni set aside for giving, for things as simple as shouting your friend some kai, or providing a koha to a local kura 

Think about putting a little bit of money into each of these buckets each week. Each bucket will be a slightly different size, to represent the amount of money it holds.

Your emergency bucket doesn’t need to be very deep, but always try and keep it full. Your bucket for spending now is probably the one that gets filled up and emptied a lot. But try not to buy the thing you want until the bucket is full.