Financial learning for life

Every year, MAS helps graduating students get ahead with a free financial health check-up with a MAS Adviser and the chance to win $3,000. Jesse Te Riini (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāi Tamarangi), a first-year house officer working at Tauranga Hospital, was this year’s winner.  

Meeting with a MAS Adviser for a free financial review was Jesse’s first step in improving his financial literacy. 

Jesse, a 26-year-old house officer (a doctor in their first year of employment following their registration), says he grew up without much awareness about money but wanted to make sure he was making good financial decisions from the start of his career. 

“I've always been pretty terrible with that stuff, just because you never learned that kind of stuff during high school. And it's not really something you learn in medical school as well,” he says. “Doing the financial review made me start thinking about that sort of stuff, whereas I never thought about it before.” 

Career encouragement 

Jesse says he grew up in Kawerau, Bay of Plenty, thinking he wanted to be a doctor from a young age, and was given extra encouragement to make it happen. 

“There was this Māori group, Whakapiki Ake, who go into rural communities and encourage high school students to pursue careers in health. And they kind of sparked the idea of going to medical school.” 

Working at Tauranga Hospital, he says he is finding the job “super interesting.” 

“You get to see a lot of interesting cases, and you're privileged enough to see people at their worst and, at times, at their best as well. I'm enjoying it so far.” 

It has been an adjustment getting used to the workload and hours. And after years as a student with absolutely no spare money, it’s a different feeling to be finally receiving a regular salary, but that creates pressures too. He says that knowing he can get in touch with MAS’ Advisers to help him figure out his financial goals is a weight off his shoulders. 

“As I'm going forward and starting to make a little bit of money, it's nice to have MAS there as an option and have the advisers there if I have any questions.” 

Building financial capability 

Jesse was the winner of MAS’s annual Grad Campaign, which encourages graduating students to take part in a financial review with a MAS Adviser, who will talk through options for insurance and KiwiSaver to best meet the individual’s needs. 

Jesse says he was interested in taking part in a review to find out the different types of insurance and what would be best for him, as well as building on his financial literacy. 

He met with two MAS Advisers: Sid Suchdev to discuss KiwiSaver and retirement savings and then Ryan McLeod, to discuss Income Security and Life insurance. 

Jesse says it was easy for him to understand all the information during the review, and to ask questions when he was unsure. 

“Both Sid and Ryan did a good job of making it easy for someone like me to understand; someone who has no prior experience with that stuff. And if there were parts where it wasn’t easy to understand, they were great at answering my questions.” 

Following the review, Jesse signed up for Income security insurance, as well as ​the ​MAS Retirement Savings Scheme.  

“Tauranga Hospital gives you 3% employer contributions to ​a ​KiwiSaver​ scheme​, and they'll give you an additional 3% if you have a superannuation fund, so it just seemed like a no brainer to open that up.” 

On the need for Income Security insurance, Jesse says he was initially unsure if it was something he’d need because he’s young and doesn’t have any dependents or health conditions that he needed to worry about. 

“It’s that ‘what if?’ factor – what if something happens in my life and I’d need that cover.” 

He also transferred to​ the​ MAS​ KiwiSaver Scheme​ and says part of the decision making for that is knowing MAS is a responsible investor. 

“It's nice to know, at least your money's not going to things like weapons and fossil fuels.” 

MAS’s mutuality also appealed to Jesse, knowing the company was started by doctors for doctors, and having that extra level of support through the advisers. 

“It’s nice knowing there aren’t any external shareholders, so that’s one of the reasons why I transferred to the MAS KiwiSaver ​Scheme.​” 

Jesse and his partner flat in Tauranga and he says one of their main money goals is buying a house. But first he is saving for his wedding this coming summer, and the $3,000 he won from the grad campaign will go toward that. 

“The main goal is definitely a house but that's been put on hold for a little bit, just because I'm getting married in December, and that's super expensive. Buying a house is a financial goal but it's just kind of on the back burner at the moment.” 

He says he’ll make time to speak with a MAS Adviser once he is serious about saving for his first home. 

Supporting the transition from student to professional 

MAS Adviser Ryan McLeod says starting your working career with good financial habits from your first pay check is often easier than trying to change bad habits later on. 

“Most students are used to living with no extra money – so when they get their first salary payment it’s a great change – but it also comes with lots of choices. If you choose to start a regular saving and investment habit right from the start, you’ll be setting yourself up to be able to make real choices later in life,” he says. 

Ryan says people who create good money habits early, have far more choices as their life progresses. 

“You might not know what direction your life is going to take you when you start working, but the people who start investing early are the ones who have the ability to make choices when opportunities arise in a few years' time.  

“Some people want to buy houses, some people want to start a family and work less while their kids are young, others might want to take extended time off for travelling. Everyone’s life path is different, and setting good money habits as early as possible will give you the freedom to create your own path,” he says.   

Ryan says there’s MAS Advisers available to talk to anyone who wants to start their first career job with good money habits.