Pay yourself first.
When your income (wage, salary or benefit) gets paid into your account, deposit a fixed amount into your savings account straight away. Make it $5 or $10 then later increase to 10 or 20% of your pay if possible. Don't try to save whatever is left at the end of the month. Chances are there won’t be anything left. Decide how much you're going to put away for a rainy day. Set up an automatic payment from your paycheck to your savings account. You can do this online or call the bank for help. Example: you get $250 a week put aside $10 a week and you end up with $520 a year that’s $1,040 in 2 years - that’s only for putting away $10 a week! How simple is that!

Have a piggy bank
A glass jar or tin can will do. When you get home from school, work or after you’ve been to the shops on the weekends place all “loose change” in your “piggy bank”. It won’t take long and you will soon have $50 bucks or more. If you get a tax refund or bonus place it in the “piggy bank” as well. After six months count your “loose change” and ~~Surprise! Surprise!~~ you will be amazed how much money you have actually saved! Deposit this in the bank as an emergency fund. Do this year after year and you will find it so easy to put money aside.

UNLOAD YOUR DEBT
Even if you have debt try to put something into your savings each month. When you're debt-free take the money that was going toward debt and put it toward your savings.

Pay off your credit cards.
You may have heard that you should first pay off the credit card with either the highest interest rate or the lowest balance. Also consider tackling any card that's near its limit, because maxing out cards hurts your credit scores and can trigger penalties. Put as much as you can toward the first debt. When that amount is paid off, take the total amount you were paying and add that to the minimum payment of your next debt.

Cut up your credit cards and pay with cash.
This forces you to spend only money you actually SEE and have in your pocket. Keep one card ONLY for emergencies. If you think you cannot control yourself then ask someone to keep it for you. Pay bills as soon as they come in or set up and pay through automatic payment. Most bank cards give a discount for prompt payment.

Where does it all go?
The less you spend, the more money you'll have for savings and debt reduction. Take a hard look at your expenses. Depending on how much you want to save, you may need to make some difficult decisions on cutting down your spending. Think about what's truly important to you, and make cuts you can live with – give up your Starbucks latte a day or cable TV perhaps.

Reference:www.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/Your5MinuteGuideToSavingMoney

SPEND LESS
Learn the difference between needs and wants. The key to controlling spending is distinguishing between the two. Food, shelter and transportation are needs; shopping, jewellery and driving a $40,000 SUV are not. Beware of bulk buying Temptations lurk in every aisle of a store, so you'll often buy more than you need. Buy only what you need or if possible stock up on specials Example: soap, shampoo, toilet cleaners etc.

Don't get hooked on big-name brands buy whatever is on sale. Buy store brands when items are on special as mentioned above. Paper products (tissue or toilet paper) in particular are available at half the price.

When cooking use less salt, sugar and oil. You'll save money and be healthier.

Take your lunch to school or work When you make dinner, pack a serving directly into your lunch container to save time the next morning.

STASH IT AWAY
Once you have a savings plan, open an account that's specifically for savings. Banks offer basic, low-interest savings accounts and higher-interest money-market accounts. Here are other places to stash your money:

• Kiwisaver for retirement allow your money to grow faster than at a bank savings account. Your employer and the government matches your savings dollar for dollar, that's free money, so it pays to contribute enough to get the full match.
• Online savings account offer a higher interest rate than a regular bank account, and you often can get a premium interest bonus on top of the regular interest rate ONLY if you do not make any withdrawals in a given month.
• Money market funds are investment opportunities with low-risk securities.
• Certificates of deposit mature and pay interest in 30 days or more, usually with a higher interest rate for longer terms.

For your short-term savings look at money market funds, CDs and savings accounts. Kiwi Saver have penalties for taking out money before retirement. Avoid temptation: don't get debit cards that give you instant access to your savings.

Every little bit adds up
Saving money takes time and patience, but a little boost never hurts. These tricks can help you set aside money in ways you'll scarcely notice:

• Try this twist on the traditional change jar: Set aside certain denominations, such as $1, $2, or $5 whenever they make their way into your wallet. Put the coins into a jar as you get them. They'll add up fast.
• Round off pay per hour Save the "change" from each hour. Deposit that amount into the savings account.
• Save your raise When you get a raise at work, increase your savings and retirement deposits by the same amount. You won't notice the change, but your savings account will.

Reference: moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/Your5MinuteGuideToSavingMoney

Te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere; te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga nōna te ao - The bird who partakes of the miro berry owns the forest; the bird who partakes of education owns the world.

HIPPY understands the critical role parents play in their children’s education. The programme builds on the bond between parents and children while supporting parents as they provide their children with the necessary skills and confidence to begin school with a positive attitude toward learning. Research shows that the most powerful learning happens at home. A parent is a child's first and most important teacher. HIPPY helps parents understand and become more involved in their child's learning. Children can start HIPPY when they are 3 years of age. 

How HIPPY works

Parents are given storybooks and activities to do with their child. 

Parents work with their child:

• 15 minutes a day
• 5 days a week
• 30 weeks each year

HIPPY Tutors who are teaching HIPPY to their own child support parents once a week through:

• A weekly home visit where tutors role-play activities with parents to show them how to teach their child.

Your child will learn about:

• Books, letters, numbers, colours and shapes
• listening and following instructions
• logical thinking and problem solving
• explaining and experimenting
• taking turns and so much more 

HIPPY children enjoy learning, settle into school with more confidence and achieve higher in reading, writing and maths. 

To enrol your child:

Contact us and we will visit you at your home to enrol your child.

A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. – Dave Ramsey

1. A budget is a guide that tells you whether you're going in the direction you want to be headed in financially. You may have goals and dreams but if you don't set up guidelines for reaching them and you don't measure your progress, you may end up going so far in the wrong direction you can never make it back. Can you imagine the government or a major corporation operating without a budget? No, and neither should you.
2. A budget lets you control your money instead of your money controlling you.
3. A budget will tell you if you're living within your means. Before the widespread use of credit cards, you could tell if you were living within your means because you had money left over after paying all your bills. The use of credit cards has made this much less obvious. Many people don't realize they're living far beyond their means until they're knee-deep in debt.
4. A budget can help you meet your savings goals. It includes a mechanism for setting aside money for savings and investments.
5. Following a realistic budget frees up spare cash so you can use your money on the things that really matter to you instead of frittering it away on things you don't even remember buying.
6. A budget helps your entire family focus on common goals.
7. A budget helps you prepare for emergencies or large or unanticipated expenses that might otherwise knock you for a loop financially.
8. A budget can improve your relationship. A good budget is not just a spending plan; it's a communication tool. Done right, a budget can bring the two of you closer together as you identify and work towards common goals and reduce arguments about money. 
9. A budget reveals areas where you're spending too much money so you can refocus on your most important goals.
10. A budget can keep you out of debt or help you get out of debt.
11. A budget actually creates extra money for you to use on things that matter to you.
12. A budget helps you sleep better at night because you don't lie awake worrying about how you're going to make ends meet.
                                                  Reference: About.com Financial Planning