Frequently Asked Questions

Putting aside some money on a regular basis is an important part of building your savings. Saving is much easier if you make it a regular habit and you have a specific goal/goals you are working towards.

One easy way to avoid the temptation to spend unnecessarily is to set up an automatic payment to your savings account every payday. You don’t see the money so you don’t miss it. You just set and forget, and watch your savings grow.

When you are ready to set up your saving account(s) come in to any branch of The National Bank. If you are an existing customer you can open new accounts by calling 0800 18 18 18 or online.

Note: If you have debt (particularly high-interest debt) it may be better to pay off your debt before you start saving. If you are in considerable debt you may want to come in and talk to someone at the Bank, or seek financial advice.

Setting financial goals puts you in charge of your future. Many people don’t really know where their money goes and don’t have a plan for the future. But of course if you don’t know where you’re starting from or where you want to go, it’s pretty hard to get there!

Setting goals gives you control of your finances and makes it easier to resist the temptation to spend now. If you know exactly what you’re saving for it focuses you and makes it easier to achieve your goals.

To help you set your goals ask yourself what you want, how much it will cost and when you want to achieve it by.

Common goals include:

• Getting out of debt
• Building a fund for ‘emergencies’
• Paying off your mortgage faster
• Saving for a house deposit
• Saving towards your retirement.

However, your goals don’t need to be long term. They could be as simple as wanting to update your wardrobe or go on that holiday in the Pacific that you are hanging out for.

Make sure your goals are achievable and give each one a timeframe – this will help keep you on track.

For more information on goal setting check out our step-by-step guide and case studies.

Your budget can be your most important financial tool. You can see exactly where your money’s going, and that means you can make informed choices about how you spend it.

A budget should also illustrate where you can make savings in your current spending, and how much of your income you can afford to save and/or invest.

One way is to talk to your bank. You can come into any branch of The National Bank and talk to one of our staff. They can help you work through your situation and help set you up with a budget. We’ve found that once we’ve shown people how to do it they realise it’s really quite straightforward.

If you would prefer to work out your budget on your own you can use our online budget planner.

The first thing you need to do is figure out what you currently spend your money on. If you have Online Banking you can view, print and download your transaction summaries. This will help show where your money goes.

There are the big things like regular payments for rent, mortgage, hire purchase, credit cards, telephone, power and insurance. But there are also the little things which quickly add up, like bus tickets, newspapers, your daily coffee and parking. You might also like to make a list of annual costs like car licensing, medical expenses, gifts and holidays and divide this cost by 52 or 12 to get a weekly or monthly amount.

Remember, it’s important to keep your budget realistic. If you don’t allow enough money for day to day expenses your savings plan is more likely to fall over.

Note: Be careful about paying for advice on how to manage your day to day budget, as you may end up paying for information that is available for free from your bank and/or other sources. If you don’t want to talk to your bank, there are independent organisations that can help. Like the Family Budgeting Service www.familybudgeting.org.nz.

If you’ve got lots of different types of debt, one of the things you could do is see if you can consolidate your debt into one loan. That way it’s easier to manage and you might be able to save on interest costs as well. For example, if you have a home loan you might be able to extend it and consolidate all your other debt into your home loan at a lower rate of interest.

If you don’t have a home loan or would like to keep your other debts separate, you could consolidate your debts into a personal loan. Some people prefer this because then they know exactly when they have paid off their extra debt. We find through debt consolidation people can often save quite a bit of money and pay off their debt faster.

If you are under financial pressure at the moment we have some information that may help you. If you are in considerable debt you may want to come in and talk to someone at the Bank, or seek financial advice.

Lending criteria, terms, conditions and fees apply. Personal Loans for the purpose of debt consolidation are only available to customers who have held a National Bank product for six months or more at the time of application.

There are a range of things we can help you with including:

• Setting you up with a savings account(s) with competitive interest rates
• Providing you with a conditionally pre-approved home loan
• Our Mobile Mortgage Managers will come visit you or you can talk to our home loan experts over the phone on 0800 185 185
• Helping you work through your finances and set up a budget.

We’ve also got a special Home Ambition package which brings together a whole range of products to help you get your own home faster.

Our first step would be to sit down with you for an initial planning session so we can work out how much you need for a deposit. Then we can work with you to find the right solution that fits your particular circumstances.

If you prefer you can use our savings calculator or budget planner so you can assess your current situation, and how much you might be able to afford to spend on a home.

The current amount for NZ Superannuation is approximately $17,000 p.a. for single people living alone and $27,000 p.a. for couples, based on an "M" tax code. If you would like to have more money than this in your retirement you will need to save the difference.

To work out how much you need to save decide how much money you would like to live on each year in retirement. If you own your own home think about where that fits in. For example, will you have paid your mortgage off before you retire? Will you sell your family home and buy something smaller?

The New Zealand Retirement Commissions Quick KiwiSaver calculator can help you work out how much you can save before retirement if you start saving now.

Find out whether the National Bank KiwiSaver Scheme is right for you.

Investing isn’t just for wealthy people. It’s a way to make your money work harder for you than keeping it in a regular savings account.

Different types of investments include property, shares, bank term deposits and bonds – and you don’t need to have a lot of money to get started. For example, you can open a Call Fund with as little as $1.

Before investing you need to be comfortable with the products you’re investing in, understand how they work and what the risks are.

It’s important to note that all investments carry some level of risk. Which option is right for you depends on how much risk you can afford to take, what returns you want to make, how long you want to invest for, and how easily you need to be able to access your money.

Before deciding what to invest in you should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser, and make sure you know the level of risk involved in each type of investment.

There is always a trade-off between risk and return when it comes to saving and investing. For example, shares will generally out perform other types of investments in the long term but there is certainly a high risk they could drop in value in the short term.

You may be able to reduce your risk by spreading your investments across different investment types, different companies, even different countries. This spreads your risk, as each one may be more profitable than the others at different times. For example, if the share market is going through a bad phase, the return on bonds might well be strong.

A copy of the Bank's Disclosure Statement under the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989 is available on this website or on request from any National Bank branch, free of charge.

You can get investment advice from financial planners, insurance companies, sharebrokers, asset managers and independent advisers. Some lawyers and accountants also give investment advice. Before relying on investment advice, you should check that your adviser is an Authorised Financial Adviser.

When you go to any of these advisers they must give you a written disclosure statement before they give you any advice and before you pay them any money. The disclosure statement will tell you what the adviser can do for you, their relevant qualifications, who they are associated with, and what you will pay for their services. Read the disclosure statement of each adviser carefully. Deciding where to get investment advice isn’t something you should rush.

Note: Be careful about paying for advice on how to manage your day to day budget, as you may end up paying for information that is available for free from your bank and/or other sources. If you don’t want to talk to your bank, there are independent organisations that can help. Like the Family Budgeting Service www.familybudgeting.org.nz

Protecting your assets is a key element of financial planning. If something goes wrong it’s important to have options available if you need to replace your home, car or other assets without insurance.

If you have a family, they may also need protection through life insurance (in case you die) and income protection insurance (in case you are unable to work through illness).

You should check that all your assets are insured for their full value. New Zealanders are known to be under insured, so it’s important you have the right level of insurance in place to protect you and your family. The National Bank has a range of insurance products available depending on what you need to protect. Find out more about insurance available through The National Bank.