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

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.

Figure out where your money goes to help make a plan

Have a think about how much money you have coming in each week. This is essentially what you earn. You need to get a good sense of where this money comes from, how much and how often, and then you need to think about all the things you spend it on each week.

We like to call this a mahere pūtea. See how you can make a plan.

Dream up what you want to save up for

Often we think about what we are going to do with any moni we have left over, but it’s more helpful to think about how moni can help us reach our goals.

Think about these goals in terms of something that we are keen to get now, or some of our longer-term dreams that might require a bit more pūtea in the future, like buying a house for whānau. If that’s something you dream of, here’s more about saving for a first home.

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.