Our relationship with money has changed, but what does that mean?

Over the past two years, our relationship with money has changed dramatically. Now, as we enter what looks to be the reopening of Aotearoa to the world, here is some expert advice from Anhar Khanbhai at Wise, on how you can have your cake and eat it too. 

Our relationship with money has changed dramatically over the past two years. 

When the pandemic first hit, many Kiwis were made redundant, while others had their pay cut or were asked to take banked leave to clear it off the company's books. 

Many of us were truly worried about how we would make ends meet. Our relationship with money changed forever.

Then an interesting thing happened right as we worried most about money - as the pandemic kept us indoors and unable to travel or socialise, many Kiwis were able to save more than ever before. 

It’s no surprise this changed our routines, our hobbies and our behaviours. But as we spent a lot more time with our friends and family in confined environments, it also sparked many of us to start having more open, candid conversations about money. 

Before, many of us were simply too busy out there living and spending to take much notice and look at the bigger picture. But with a whole load more time on our hands and a dose of vulnerability, we finally moved to learn, understand and work on our financial literacy. 

We accessed our financial situation, reevaluated our savings goals and many of us started investing. We’re more mindful, more engaged and more conscious about money than ever before. 

It’s a social openness towards money we’ve never experienced before. 

Two years on, we’re all still being impacted by the downturn the economy has taken in response to the global pandemic. 

It’s simply impossible to ignore, even if you try. Headlines have been dominated by recession, rising house prices, the climbing cost of living, inflation, the fastest-ever bear market (yeah, I know what that means now) and the “great resignation” as Kiwis prepare to travel again. 

It’s a lot for anyone to keep up with. But what does this mean for us as individuals with our newfound relationship with money?

After all, our dreams and aspirations haven’t been downgraded. We still want to travel, buy our first homes and experience life. But rather than change our goals, we’re channelling our energy into finding ways to have our cake and eat it too. We want to be responsible with our money, but still find ways to have that girl's trip to Melbourne. 

We now consider shifting the money which may have originally been sitting in a bank account earning less than 1% interest, into shares or long term deposits. 

It’s not that we’ve lost our goal of home ownership. But we understand our money has opportunities to work harder while we focus on living life.

This has been brought to the forefront by the rise of personal growth and financial literacy influencers (‘finfluencers’), such as The One Up Project and Girls That Invest. These platforms are dedicated to breaking down the intimidating and not-so-well-taught world of investing and growing wealth in relatable and easy to understand ways.  

We now have the freedom and confidence to balance wants and needs in ways aligned with our values and aspirations.

This translates to everything from shopping purchases, to experiences and travel. We want to spend our money and time on experiences - not lost subscriptions we don’t use, hidden fees we weren’t anticipating, or with complicated time-consuming processes. 

This is something we understand and value at Wise, where we charge as little as possible with no subscription. You can spend overseas without the hidden fees that come with your bank card, and send money internationally cheaper and easier than with old-school banks. 

As we prepare for not only travel’s comeback, but the rise of the experience economy, it’s not just about money, it’s about the power to use your money in more engaged and more conscious ways. 

It’s about being able to have the cake and eat it too.