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How to manage money from your first pay

Saving early can help make things easier for you later down the track. Here are some simple tips to help you manage your money and start saving from your very first pay.

4 minute read

So you’ve landed your first role – congratulations! It’s a pretty good feeling and worth celebrating. Now is the perfect time to get into good money habits that’ll last a lifetime.  There are plenty of budgeting apps, templates, and accounts that can help with managing your money, plus provide saving tips and budgeting advice too.

Make a budget

Money can sometimes seem like water in a leaky bucket – if there are more holes letting water out than there is water going in, it’ll soon be empty. As unglamorous as a budgeting plan sounds, it’s a sure-fire way to make sure you’re plugging the leaks.

It doesn’t have to be complicated either. In fact, the answer on how to save money can be as simple as spending 10 minutes writing down all your outgoings and making sure that figure isn’t larger than the amount of money coming in. There are some helpful money tools on sorted.org.nz. 

If you find you’re spending too much, you’ll need to make cuts, which means being a bit ruthless every now and again. The thing is, if you can make budgeting a habit, you’ll become much more aware of your finances, and that overspending will become rarer by default. If you're a BNZ customer, a good starting point is talking to us about a Banking Review. Having a review is an ideal way for us to make sure your banking is working based on what's important to you know and in the future.

Start saving

With a budget up and running, you’ll hopefully find a little bit of money left over each week. A quick money saving tip would be to open a savings account, making sure you first do your research into the best savings account for your needs.

Saving can take many forms so be clear on your saving goals. It might be short-term saving for a new laptop or long-term saving for a new car. For these sorts of goals, a savings account might be your best bet.

If you don’t have a particular goal in mind, other options, such as term deposits, might be more useful to generate better returns than a savings account can manage. Plus, if the money is locked away for a set period of time, it’s a lot harder to spend it (without incurring fees, anyway).

Get your retirement sorted with KiwiSaver

It might sound strange to start thinking about retirement before you even see your first pay in your account, but an early start can pay huge dividends later – your future self will definitely thank you. Whether your parents initially opened a KiwiSaver account for you as a child, or you’re signing up for the first time, now is a great moment to get cracking with a KiwiSaver account.

A KiwiSaver fund is an easy way to save for retirement and there are a number of benefits for eligible members. This really is the best time to get into the habit of contributing, before you get used to the money you're earning. Getting into the right fund now could make a big difference to the amount of money you have when it's time to use it. First step is to figure out how much you’ll need to save for retirement.

There are a number of things to think about to help you work out the right fund for your situation. Consider things like your risk appetite or whether you plan to buy a house sometime in the future – it pays to explore your KiwiSaver options. Time is on your side, so make sure you arrange a meeting with a financial advisor, and thoroughly go over the various schemes to find the one that's right for you. You can find out more about the BNZ KiwiSaver Scheme and the different fund options available on our website.

Know when to use a credit card

If you’ve been thinking about getting a credit card, or if you already have one, there are a few things to consider. If you can use cash and savings for smaller purchases (instead of becoming dependent on a credit card), you’ll be well on your way. Now, we know that student days can be expensive, so if you find yourself with a credit card that’s at its limit, it’s not too late to do something about it.

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*Account opening and lending criteria, terms and fees apply. Service fees may apply. BNZ standard terms and conditions apply to all BNZ transaction and savings accounts. Account opening criteria and Standard T&Cs apply to term deposits. Minimum deposit $2,000.

This article is solely for information purposes and is not financial or other professional advice. For help, please contact BNZ or your professional adviser. No party, including BNZ, is liable for direct or indirect loss or damage resulting from the content of this article. Any opinions in this article are not necessarily shared by BNZ or anyone else.

References to third party websites are provided for your convenience only. BNZ accepts no responsibility for the availability or content of such websites.

BNZ Investment Services Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harbour Asset Management Limited, is the Issuer and Manager of the BNZ KiwiSaver Scheme. Download a copy of the BNZ KiwiSaver Scheme Product Disclosure Statement PDF 1.1MB, or pick up a copy from a BNZ branch.

Investments in the BNZ KiwiSaver Scheme are not bank deposits or other liabilities of Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) or any other member of the National Australia Bank Limited group. They are subject to investment risk, including possible delays in repayment. You could get back less than the total contributed. No person (including the New Zealand Government) guarantees (either fully or in part) the performance or returns of the BNZ KiwiSaver Scheme or the repayment of amounts contributed. National Australia Bank Limited, the ultimate owner of BNZ, is not a registered bank in New Zealand but a licensed bank in Australia and is not authorised to offer the products and services mentioned on this webpage to customers in New Zealand.

BNZ Investment Services Limited (BNZISL) uses the BNZ brand under licence from Bank of New Zealand, whose ultimate parent company is National Australia Bank Limited. No member of the FirstCape group (including BNZISL) is a member of the NAB group of companies (NAB Group). No member of the NAB Group (including Bank of New Zealand) guarantees, or supports, the performance of any member of FirstCape group’s obligations to any party.