The Māori Money Movement

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How can I use money to get to where I want to be?

Whaia te iti kahurangi, ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei.

Seek the treasure you value most dearly; if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain.

Having dreams is important

Although it can sometimes feel difficult to achieve our aspirations, it’s important that we don’t let the natural ups and downs in life throw us. Hold tight.

Our ancestors arrived in Aotearoa after a long tough journey. But they held tight.

On arrival, they were able to climb up maunga, look down upon the whenua and imagine their whānau thriving, living in harmony with te taiao, collectively drawing on each other’s talents to look after everyone. This was the treasure they journeyed for, and now we’re carrying on their legacy.

Sort your pūtea and thrive

Getting sorted with pūtea is one of the tools we now have in our hands. The more we learn how to make moni work for us, the more we can do to help our people thrive. Getting smart with pūtea means we know how to do things like growing it, by setting some aside for the future and make wise decisions like buying a whare for us and our whānau – which can increase in value over time.

It means learning about innovation in harmony with the taiao, providing delicious and nutritious kai, getting great education, all so together we can manaaki each other and continue to stand on top of maunga throughout Aotearoa.

“I’ve realised the importance of making a plan to have the things I want, but that in order to earn money, I have to work for it. In the thinking of making a plan, I learned how to save for a greater purpose. I also learned how to balance out how I save.”

Keani, 29

Free yourself up to dream big

Learning to get sorted with pūtea can sometimes feel like a drag, with words like ‘budgeting’ and ‘saving’ seeming like they’re taking away your freedom or some of the fun. Yet what we generally find is that as we start to get sorted money-wise, we often feel less māharahara , which in turn frees us to dream big and think about our aspirations for our whānau, hapū and iwi.

If you’d like to get smarter with pūtea and learn how to make it grow, we’ve got some great guides that can teach you more about all the ins and outs, from how to save, to how to make wise investment decisions like starting KiwiSaver or saving for a whare.

You can see some great stories from other rangatahi about their journey with monitoo.

Ka panonihia e koe tō wheako whaiaro mō te moni

What pūtea beliefs do you have?

We all have some kind of relationship with pūtea. What’s your relationship with money like? It’s great when this relationship is good…

What pūtea beliefs do you have?

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

Being onto it with money is really important. It will help you establish control over where you want to head in life…

Get better with money

What happens if I start to struggle with moni?

We have a bit of a “she’ll be right” belief here in Aotearoa, and for the most part that’s true. But sometimes…

What happens if I start to struggle with moni?

Re: and Sorted present

Across social media, there’s new kaupapa inspiring rangatahi to take control of their financial future. The Māori Money Movement series created in partnership with Re: jumps into the kōrero with rangatahi Māori about the financial pressure they’re facing and to have autonomy over their money.

Meet Te Kahukura

Te Kahukura speaks about her experience with moni growing up and how she’s on a journey to be a millionaire by 25.

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Wānanga with rangatahi

Honey hosts a wānanga with rangatahi Māori to help destigmatise talking about pūtea.

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Pūtea tips from Te Kahukura

Want practical advice on how to manage money? Te Kahukura shares her awesome tips on budgeting, saving and emergency funds.

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The wahine inspiring rangatahi

Two years ago, Te Kahukura Boynton had no savings and no income. Now at just 19 years old, she’s in her third year of law school and following her dream to become a Māori millionaire.

Read more