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Money and your whānau

Starting financial wellbeing conversations

Thinking about your finances can feel hard enough, let alone discussing money with your friends and whānau. These conversation starters could help.

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It’s time we talked

Finances. It’s a topic that can evoke boredom, guilt, even fear. It wakes us at 3am. Or we stick our head under the covers and ignore it entirely. In fact, one in three of us rarely or never discuss our finances with others because we feel embarrassed—.

But having open conversations about your finances can have a positive impact on your financial wellbeing—, which makes regular discussions about your finances even more important. 

Because the sooner you start, the sooner you can make small adjustments, and the better off you could be.

When to discuss money

Over coffee, in the car, at the supermarket, or on a walk. You get our drift. Almost any time is a good time to chat about your finances (OK, maybe not 3am). 

Where and when’s your call, but the more you commit to constructive chats about money – especially your savings goals – the less awkward and more productive they become. 

How to kick off your money chat

The more we discuss finances in a relaxed environment – like chatting about savings goals at a barbecue – the more we normalise it. 

We’ve cut it down into bite-sized pieces to help you have more meaningful money conversations. Try these suggestions to help get your conversations underway.

Topic 1. How do you slice up your income?

Meal times are a great opportunity to work out how to divide your income, or incomes. Remember, there's no right or wrong way to do this, but if you're stuck on where to start, the 50-30-20 budget rule— may be a helpful hack.

It means splitting your after-tax income into three buckets for needs, wants and goals. For some people, this might be 50% of your money to your needs, 30% to wants and 20% to savings.

Play around with the percentages to find what works best for you – you might prefer 80-15-5 or 70-20-10. 

Whatever split you choose, it’s helpful to get into the habit of moving your money into your buckets the moment your pay lands.

Organising your accounts

Topic 2. What do you spend on needs and wants?

Chat about needs versus wants over a cuppa with your partner, flatmates, or just yourself. 

It all comes down to balancing genuine necessities, like food and power, with things that are nice to have. If you need a little extra focus in addition to your caffeine hit, read about how to plan your spend.

How to plan your spend

Budget calculator

Plan your spending and saving with our budget calculator. Plug in your after-tax income and main expenses to create a budget that works for you.

Budget calculator

Topic 3. Ready for a savings challenge?

There’s nothing like a little healthy competition to keep you on your savings game. So how about you and your partner or a friend agree on a savings goal? Maybe a holiday, a new bike, or an emergency cash cushion for anything unexpected that might crop up? 

There’s nothing like a second set of eyes on the prize to keep you committed. This could also be a good time to get familiar with microsavings or setting SMART savings goals.

Set a savings goal

Topic 4. Are you prepared for unexpected expenses?

This might be a good time to chat about what you can afford to set aside. 

If you can afford it, building up a separate savings buffer – say $1,000 – could be a helpful safety net if, for example, you get an unexpectedly high power bill or your fridge breaks down. Thanking you, emergency fund.

Steps to financial wellbeing

Our financial wellbeing programme can help. Try one step or two, or work through the programme's six steps in any order.

Set a savings goal

Start with microsavings – putting aside a bit of money each payday – and build up to a goal.

Set a savings goal

Plan your spend

Tips to understand your needs and wants, and then track how you spend your money.

Plan your spend

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Important information

This material is for information purposes only. Please talk to us if you need financial advice about your situation and goals or about our products and services. See our financial advice provider disclosure (PDF 39.9KB).

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