Manage your money like a boss in just six steps

Are you worried about money? Is it causing you stress? 
 
Well, you can help ease those worries by taking control of your money, one step at a time. 
 
Let's see how six steps can help you get your money sorted. 
 
Tahi, starting an emergency fund. While we can try and plan out our spending, there's always gonna be some unexpected costs. The car's gonna need a repair, or you're gonna lose your phone, or your dog's gonna need to go to the vet. 
 
We don't know what it's gonna be or when it's gonna happen but we do know that it will happen. 
 
Have you got a safety net in the form of an emergency fund?

A thousand dollars! That's a great starting goal. 
 
If you don't have the money right now, find some creative ways to get it. You could sell some stuff that you don't need. Get your side hustle on. Turn your hobby into an income stream. You'll get the family involved in things that could earn money for the emergency fund. Why a thousand dollars? 
 
Well, that's a great start to your emergency fund. When you can, you can save more. But for now, work on putting away a grand. That is a great start. 
 
If you're paying down debt or getting started with investing, it can feel like you should direct all your money into that first. 
 
But getting sorted is about shredding your debt for good, which also means avoiding taking on new debt when emergencies happen. 
 
Rua, get your KiwiSaver on track. KiwiSaver is a great way to invest for your retirement or for your first home deposit. If you aren't signed up yet, get it. And if you do have it, then there's a few settings that you can tweak to help you get the most out of it. Choosing the right type of fund for you, contributing at least 3% of your wages or salary to get your employer contribution, and making sure you're contributing enough each year to get the government contribution. 
 
Hundreds of dollars of free money, for sure! 
 
Toru, tackle your debt. Wouldn't it be amazing to be debt free? Carrying debt can cause us stress and cost us heaps in the long run, and also gets in the way of us achieving our goals. 
 
So tackle your debt in order of how much it's costing you. Identify the debt with the highest interest rates and focus on paying that off first before the debt's with low or no interest. That's the quickest and cheapest way to financial freedom. 
 
Student loans or mortgages that don't charge high interest or fees, they're okay for now. 
 
It's the high interest debt that hurts you the most, like payday loans, credit cards, and personal loans. 
 
Whā, cover your people, your money and your stuff. Protect what's most important to you through insurances and wills. 
 
Insurance provides that financial protection if something expensive happens. It's worth considering for your car, your house and contents, your health, and even life insurance so that you and your far now know don't get stuck with a huge bill if 
something serious goes down. A will helps us provide for our far now if we die. 
 
It's not just about distributing what we own, it also includes who we'd like to look after our kids and who we'd like to lead our special gifts and meaningful things to. 
 
Rima, work out your retirement number. How long until you are retired, you reckon?

And how long do you think you'll be retired for? Don't wait till you're older to plan for retirement. Make time to work out your number, which is the amount you'll need for retirement and how much you're actually on track to have in your KiwiSaver and in your other investments by the time you get there. 
 
The difference between these two numbers, that's the number that you need to know. 
 
Our calculators can help you a lot to figure this out. 
 
Retirement might feel like it's far away, but it can take a while to afford the retirement lifestyle that you're after.

So the earlier you start the plan, the better. 
 
 
And ono, set your life goals and then smash them.

Once you've worked through these other steps, it's time to look at your life goals. 
 
We've all got aspirations of where we want to be. And oftentimes that's gonna take money. 
 
Where do you wanna be in five years, 10 years? Traveling, a new car, buying a house?

Work out a few of the big goals and research how much you think it's gonna take to reach them, then focus on saving towards what truly matters to you rather than on day to day spending.

So there you have it. Six proven steps to get your money sorted. 
 
Start an emergency fund.

Get your KiwiSaver on track.

Tackle your debt.

Cover your people, your money and your stuff.

Work out your retirement number.

And set your life goals and then smash them.

Why not get started now? 
 
Have a whānau meeting and work on them together. 
 
The more you tick off, the more you are on your way to getting your finances sorted and a lot less stress.