Budgeting & money saving tips.

Know what you're spending

When you know what you're spending day to day, you're better able to make informed decisions on where you're money is going or could be going. This is where a budget and a savings plan will work for you, and for some, knowing what the true cost of borrowing is. It's valuable to investigate what you're going to spend across the life of the debt (including fees, and interest). Check out Sorted's debt calculator¹, to discover where your money is going so you can help pay off debt first and saving for that holiday later.

^{1 By clicking on this link, you will be redirected to a calculator hosted on the Sorted website. Westpac NZ and Sorted are not associated companies, and Westpac NZ does not endorse the accuracy of this calculator. You will be governed by Sorted's Terms & Conditions when using this calculator.}

Make it easy

By establishing good habits, it is easier to pay down debt or establishing savings.

This might mean you set up something like our Salary Splitter (money bypasses your main spending account and goes straight into a bills and / or savings account). Or you make use of our Westpac One® online banking alerts so that the minute you get paid you can send money into your savings account if you like to do things a bit more manually.

Talk to your bank or financial provider to see what tools they have to make things easy.

Expect the unexpected

We all know that the unexpected happens and a lot of us seem surprised when it does. Those that are the most financially resilient, are those that are able to ride through the unexpected without it effecting their finances significantly.

You can expect the unexpected by planning for it. Insurances might be a great help but might not cover everything. While it's great to have savings set aside for your goals e.g. new house or a holiday, it's also important to have savings set aside for the unexpected events that may occur in life – this might be as basic as emergency car repairs, or as something more pricey like having money to cover expenses if you happen to lose your income.

How much you have set aside is up to you. Experts recommend having at least three months worth of income set aside, or six months if you're self-employed.