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Building a financial safety net that actually works

Summary

In this recorded Money Month webinar, Alice Taylor, Matthew Coyle, Kelly-Aroha Huata and Tom Hartmann share practical ideas for building a financial safety net that works in real life. In it they:

Explore how everyday tools – like small buffers, insurance and trusted support – can work together
Share practical ways to reduce pressure and recover faster when something goes wrong
Answer audience questions.

About the panel

Alice Taylor – celebrity chef

Alice Taylor is a 26-year-old pastry chef and food creator. Her professional food career began when she placed third on MasterChef New Zealand shortly after graduating.

Her passion for food, however, started much earlier. As a child, she loved baking and cooking alongside her father, creating meals for their family. Following her success on MasterChef, Alice went on to work in some of New Zealand’s leading professional kitchens, honing her skills as a pastry chef.

Today Alice’s focus is on helping people cook affordable, delicious meals through her social media platform, @alicetayloreats. She and her partner, Orjon, run the brand together, which has grown to a community of more than 800,000 followers.

Matthew Coyle – services director at CAP

Matt is the services director at Christians Against Poverty, bringing expertise in service design, project management and over a decade of leadership in the charity sector. He is passionate about helping people feel confident making money decisions and is committed to ending money chaos in Aotearoa. Through his work, Matt focuses on what genuinely helps individuals and whānau move from surviving to thriving.

Kelly-Aroha Huata – student hub advisor at AUT

Kelly-Aroha is a proud Kahungunu wahine who is passionate about uplifting whānau through kaupapa Māori and financial capability. Through her work, she creates spaces where whānau can grow their confidence around normalising te reo Māori, pūtea, home ownership, investing, and building a stronger future for the next generation. Grounded in aroha, mātauranga Māori, and a deep commitment to her people, Kelly-Aroha is dedicated to helping whānau thrive and create lasting intergenerational wealth.

Tom Hartmann – personal finance lead at Sorted

Tom is Sorted’s personal finance lead, focusing growing New Zealanders’ long-term wellbeing by helping them get ahead financially. He contributes to the Sorted ecosystem of websites, campaigns, calculators, seminars and publishing, as well as workplace, school and community programmes. He also regularly comments in media, particularly around KiwiSaver and personal finance issues. His background in journalism and finance dovetails to support the Retirement Commissioner and the team at Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission to lift financial capability across the country.

About the host

This webinar was hosted by Sorted and chaired by Kate Hannah, who guided the kōrero with panellists, keeping the conversation practical, supportive and easy to follow. .

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