A bunch of people at The Spinoff (and some of our kids) on the things we’ve saved for.

From beach trips, babies, bikes and books to plants, pants and Pokémon cards, savings goals can be smart, silly, maybe even a little bit shallow. This list covers all the bases.

A mountain bike

I grew up riding bikes constantly. Every weekend a neighbour friend and I rode up Makara Peak and “did jumps” down the big concrete steps at the teachers college. But I didn’t have my own bike. With eight older siblings, there was no way my parents were buying me a bike after they bought my older sister one already (I rode it more than her) and my older brother one a decade earlier (which we all learned to ride as our first bike).

My friend had money, and he got a new bike seemingly every Christmas that I would beg for a turn on. So when I got a paper run in intermediate, my $120 fortnightly paycheck went to three things: hot chips, dairy lollies and saving for my own bike.

I researched bikes constantly, weighing up how much I could stomach spending as an 11-year-old vs how cool I wanted my bike to be. I kept an eye on every sale at the big bike stores and finally, six months after I started earning my own money, I bought my own Avanti mountain bike. It was light blue, had disc brakes, front suspension, was a little bit big for me to grow into, and was on special for $599. It was perfect.

I felt sick handing literally all of my money over but I rode that bike into the ground for years, used it to commute to college for a while, and eventually sold it to a local kid when I went to university. / Mad Chapman

Art stuff

I’m saving for a giant play kitchen and ice cream. As an adult, I’ll save for a phone, a phone case and a computer. I want to be an artist or a book writer – so I’ll need to buy paper and art stuff too. [I’ll also need to hire] a bus driver to drive my rainbow bus. / Desi (age 5)

An emergency fund

I grew up in a frugal household, so I have a pretty anxious relationship with money. While I tend to spend a lot on things I like, I hate the feeling of being in a position where I don’t have a safety net. So I started a savings account that is not very visible to me. I transfer money every now and then in case life throws me a curveball. So yeah, I’m saving for a curveball. / Isaiah Tour

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A Euro summer

To this day, the most amount of money I’ve ever spent at one time was on my first overseas trip when I was 18. I mopped floors and served burritos (in a restaurant that now no longer exists, rest in pieces Zambrero K Road) for three years through high school so I could finally get out of this stupid milkloving piece of shit dumbass mean spirited sale at Briscoes racist sexist 40% off deck furniture piss country and perhaps experience some culture.

I remember going to a travel agent after saving my first $3,000, booking my return flights and feeling both dazed that doing something so big could be so easy, and incredibly amazed that I actually managed to get to that point after growing up with such a big scarcity mindset. Suffice to say I had the best ever time blowing my hard-earned cash on cheap piss almost every night on a two-week Contiki tour then making up for my sins with a two week solo trip checking out the art and history in Rome and Paris.

I was saying to a friend who grew up in a similar financial situation recently, that not being born into wealth means you walk the world with limitations built into your brain: I cannot have this thing, because it was never meant to be mine anyway. Experiencing true financial freedom like that really made a massive difference to my self-confidence and my ability to dream. / Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

Gaming stuff

I have been saving real money for a long time now. I’m saving for Robux. I don’t really know what I would save for as an adult. Oh… a VR headset! And a house. If I’m going to be a gamer, I will need to save a lot for gaming stuff and a green screen. / Milo (age 8)

A drum machine

I knew time was running out. With our first baby due, I desperately wanted one last hobby hurrah. I’d fixed my sights on an Elektron Digitakt, a $2,000 drum machine, my final stand against impending time constraints. Every spare dollar, every skipped luxury, went into that fund. The day I finally bought it felt like pure victory. For a week, I was lost in its beats, a brief, blissful escape. Then, we came home to a kicked-in door. My new Digitakt was gone, lost to a robbery. The sting was immense, a cruel end to my creative dream. But the story had one last twist. The insurance money, meant to replace my stolen gear, ended up buying something far more essential: a child seat. My last grasp at personal freedom was transformed, ironically, into a necessity for the very life that had prompted my desperate purchase. A stark, undeniable surrender to the new reality. / Guy Annan

Clothes (that I get to pick)

When I was little, I never got to choose my clothing. It was all hand-me-downs. Last year I decided I wanted to choose my own clothes especially because I’m going to a high school that doesn’t have a uniform. I started looking online and in stores and created a plan for saving. That included pocket money and a few cake stalls, as well as a “chore menu” for my parents. So far, it’s going well. I’ve saved nearly $100. / Tessa (age 12)

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Christmas

I’m not really saving for anything. Oh actually, maybe a Christmas present for myself, but I dunno. As an adult maybe I’ll save for a house, a phone, a car. You need lots of things as an adult. / Henry (age 9)

Albert, the love of our lives

In 2021, my now husband and I decided to go all-in and combine our families. Which meant four kids under one roof – very expensive. We started thinking about the things we wanted as a family – holidays, treats, schooling, a dog. We really wanted that last one, so we started saving.

Browsing on Trade Me one sunny afternoon, there he was, last of the litter, a little guy who the breeder thought was too small. Having that money saved meant when Albert’s wee face popped up, we were able to make a quick decision. Albert is the absolute best dog, he has gotten all of us through some hectic times. We would not be us without him. He loves coming to The Spinoff with me and brings beautiful joy to people’s hearts. Pretty bloody priceless. / Bec Murphy

Investments

I’m saving to invest in some company’s [companies] and to buy a valuable Pokémon card. I hope to grade it and then have the price go up. / Wynn (age 10)

My first motorbike

In my early 20s I was working at my first Real Grown Up Job in publishing. I was making barely minimum wage and had recently given up my previous favourite sport due to a gnarly knee injury. My boyfriend was interested in taking up off-roading, and managed to score an ancient Honda XL250 for free. I was game to give it a try, and clad in a bunch of ancient way-too-big motocross gear, learned to slowly maneouvre the clutch, gears and so on.

After that, I was hooked, and had to get a bike of my own. I saved up and eventually settled on a small 4 stroke DR-Z125. It was the first major purchase I’d made in my life. It was intimidating to hold that many notes in hand. We had to go to two separate machines to withdraw it all. That little yellow bike took me on a ton of adventure. It taught me basic machine maintenance, and I got to see parts of the country I’d never have been able to access by foot or car. / Sacha Laird

A beach trip

I’m saving for a trip to Australia. And bikinis. / Wilder (age 13)

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Secondhand books

In 2020 I read Lolly Willowes, a novel by deceased UK author, Sylvia Townsend Warner. I loved it so much. I became obsessed with everything the author had ever written, and why and how. Trouble was, most of her books were hard to find and very expensive. But I had to have them.

I started a book savings account and tucked money into it as often as I could. A couple of years later I was selected to go to Edinburgh Book Festival on an international exchange programme. The trip allowed me a diversion down to Dorset where Townsend Warner lived. I knew many of her books would be secreted away in the town’s second hand book stores.

When I got there, I found first editions of Sylvia Townsend Warner’s biography, diary collections, and more. The savings were drained. / Claire Mabey

*You can earn bonus interest as long as on the last day of the month your balance is $20 greater that the last day of the month prior. The $20 excludes interest earned on the account and/or Westpac fees charged to the account.
**Account T&Cs and fees apply. Westpac New Zealand Limited.
*** This tool doesn’t take into consideration your current financial or personal circumstances. Westpac New Zealand Limited.