Fast financial fixes that really work for your wallet and wellbeing

Automate your savings 

If you’ve been googling ‘easy ways to save money’, here’s your number-one hack. Make saving a no-brainer from here on out by spending two minutes setting up an automatic payment with your bank that’ll whisk whatever you can spare out of every pay cheque and straight into a savings account before you have a chance to miss it. It’s called ‘paying yourself first’, and even a few dollars transferred on the reg will have you feeling more confident and secure about your future. 

Get investing 

Hot money tip: saving’s one thing, but it’s investing that lets you take advantage of the secret to building wealth – compounding interest. You don’t need to wear a pinstripe suit, know everything about investing or be rolling in it to begin. It’s all about starting sensibly as soon as you can with whatever you can. Inform yourself via this short video and easy-to-understand info, and you’ll be on your way. 

Create a safety net 

Want to be among the 64% of people who’ve set up an emergency fund in the past three months and agree they ‘feel very optimistic and confident about my future right now’*? Open a high-interest bank account – maybe a joint one with a member of your whānau – and set up an automatic payment to save into it. Before long, when an unexpected expense pops up (for emergency travel, tangi, fa’alavelave, car and appliance repairs, vet or dentist bills...), you’ll have it covered stress free. 

Pick a path out of debt 

Even just having a strategy for tackling debt can make a massive difference to your mental health. You could list your IOUs from highest to lowest interest, then focus on paying them off in that order so you don’t get stung for any more than you have to. Or you could rank their balances from smallest to largest, then pay off the smallest first to boost your motivation to keep the ‘snowball’ rolling. Jump onto our debt calculator to see your quickest way out. 

Set some goals 

Sorting your money’s much more meaningful when you know your reasons for doing so. Maybe your dream is to buy a home, maybe you need ‘FU money’ or a family holiday; with support from our goal planner, you do you.  

Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission (the Crown entity that runs Sorted) staffer Shristi Singh can confirm that setting goals is a big win for her. “One of the most effective habits I’ve developed is using my banking app to create purpose-driven accounts, each with a clear financial goal, like ‘Future me’ for long-term savings, ‘Tithe’ for giving and ‘Emergency’ for unexpected expenses. This system keeps my finances organised and empowers me to make intentional choices with my money.” 

Have a good chat 

Did you know you can get free advice from a financial mentor? This guide explains how they can work with you, so you don’t have to go it alone.  

Those in a committed relationship could give this and this a speed read to help you have conversations about money with your partner. When the two of you are on the same page, you’ll be better able to fast track your progress as a team. 

Give your KiwiSaver some love 

Newsflash: if you’re a KiwiSaver member, you’re already an investor. Many people slide into a default fund chosen by the government or their employer, and that could be okay – but you stand to get more out of switching to the best fund type for you, which our KiwiSaver fund finder makes easy. The quick win here: getting your money working harder. The slow burn of the long-term gains: well worth waiting for. 

*Source: Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission Financial Sentiment Tracker, April–June 2025.