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How to save money

Reading time: 5 minutes

One of the best habits we can get into is 'paying ourselves first' and making it automatic by setting up a savings plan. The more we get into saving money, the easier it is to achieve our goals and get ahead. In most cases, it’s cheaper to save for things – a phone, a car, a holiday – than to go into debt to buy them. Saving for the future also gives us more options later on and keeps us prepared for anything unexpected.

In this guide

Set up your savings plan

An emergency fund can save you

Saving for retirement

How to save money

Set up your savings plan

Set realistic saving goals

Serious about saving? Then it’s important to set realistic goals. Savings plans often don’t succeed because we’re too ambitious. There are lots of ways we can be tempted to break our grand plan – and even falling off the wagon just once means it’s that much easier to ignore the

It's common to overestimate what you can achieve in a year, but underestimate what you can achieve in five years (just think back five years to see how far you've come). The best time to start is now - little and long is the key!

It's a good idea to leave a little bit of room in the budget (remember the days of pocket money?). That way we can have the occasional splurge without sacrificing our hard-earned savings.

If you're not sure where to start, try the Sorted Goal planner.

Start small and stick to a plan

Learning to be a regular saver is a giant leap towards having enough money for the things we want. Here’s how to save and get started:

Work out some savings goals – whether it’s buying a house or going on holiday.
Start saving now – the sooner we start, the sooner we’ll get there.
Have a clear plan to keep the savings on track.

After coming up with a few savings goals, our savings calculator helps work out how to get there as fast as possible and how much to set aside for a savings plan.

It’s simple to work out a realistic savings plan with our budgeting tool.

Keep it simple, set realistic goals, and watch the money grow.

Pay yourself first!

Before all the other bills and other expenses get paid each month, we can save money by “paying ourselves first” (find out wtfinance this means over on the blog). Setting up a savings plan this way makes it much easier than trying to save whatever’s left over at the end of the month.

Even just small amounts can make a big difference and get us ahead.

Paying ourselves an amount that works for our budget is one of the easiest ways to get saving. And by making it automatic, chances are we won’t miss the money as it grows in its own separate account.

Make it automatic

Once you’ve worked out how much you can afford to save, it’s time to set up an automatic payment so the money goes into your savings account on pay day.

Or you can ask your employer to set up a salary deduction so the money goes directly from your pay into your savings account or retirement fund, rather than your regular bank account.

KiwiSaver and other workplace savings schemes work this way – our contributions come out of your pay before you see it. And what you don’t see, you probably don’t miss!

Set up separate bank accounts for your savings

Setting up a savings account online can take as little as five or ten minutes, but there are different kinds of accounts to choose from. Generally, you'll want the one that earns the highest interest and charges the lowest fees. Some savings accounts require you to keep a certain amount of money in them, and some have set-up costs.

Interest and fees information on can be found on each bank’s website. Or compare interest rates and savings account details at interest.co.nz.

An emergency fund can save you

It's a good idea to put money aside for emergencies. Start by saving up $1000 as quickly as you can.

Ideally, over time we should aim to save up the equivalent of three months’ expenses – but every little bit helps when life throws curveballs our way, like big bills on the car, a job loss or unexpected illness.

When setting up a savings plan, keep that 'rainy day' fund separate from savings and everyday accounts.

Saving for retirement

Saving for when we’ll eventually stop working is easy to put off. But retired people who are now enjoying the benefits of their own savings will say that starting a regular savings plan early was one of the best decisions they ever made.

KiwiSaver is an easy way to save for retirement. It can also help us save for a first home.

See our Guide to retirement planning and Guide to KiwiSaver, and try our retirement planner tool.

Don’t know where to start?

Check out our 6 steps to get your money sorted.

Head to the 6 steps

6 steps to get your money Sorted

Start your emergency fund

Get your KiwiSaver on track

Tackle your debt

Cover your people, money, stuff

Work out your retirement number

Set your goals, then reach them!

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How to save money

Reading time: 5 minutes

In this guide

How to save money

Set up your savings plan

Set realistic saving goals

Start small and stick to a plan

Keep it simple, set realistic goals, and watch the money grow.

Pay yourself first!

Make it automatic

Set up separate bank accounts for your savings

An emergency fund can save you

Saving for retirement

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