Advice From a Financial Activist

Words by Irihapeti Edwards (she/her) and Janhavi Gosavi (she/her)

Irihapeti Edwards is a 23-year-old international business consultant and a financial literacy champion. Proudly from Whangarei, she’s of Ngāti Manawa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hikairo, Ngāti Whatua ki Kaipara, Te Arawa, and Ngāti Awa descent. 

At the age of 18, she became the youngest person to ever work at Deloitte, one of the ‘big four’ firms in the world. Iri went on to become a Prime Minister’s Scholar and now she travels all around the globe for her work. 

Poverty was very prominent throughout Iri’s childhood. She was a welfare baby raised by her great-grandmother, and she tells me that when it came to their finances, her family “was stuck operating in survival mode”. Moving past this mindset is part of what motivated her to develop her own financial literacy and seek out a career in finance. 

Iri and I have been online friends for two years and I greatly admire her passion for sharing knowledge—no gatekeeping, only girlboss-ing. I’ve recently found myself wanting to upskill my financial literacy, but consuming the advice of generationally wealthy folks usually makes me feel icky. Iri embodies what it truly means to be ‘self made’ from Aotearoa, so I reached out to her for fiscal advice that was specifically tailored to young people. 

Here are her top tips for students wanting to better their personal finances! 

🔑 Assess your current relationship and mindset with money. Our financial success starts with the way we think about money and all of us have a different ‘money personality.’ Are there any limiting beliefs (e.g “money is the root of all evil”) that are influencing your financial habits? Oftentimes, you’ll find your ideas and perspectives on finance may stem from your childhood and may now be obsolete. Decondition yourself of these beliefs and be open to new ideas and perspectives.

🔑 Track everything. Depending on your personal learning style, having a visual presentation of your personal finances often reveals our financial strengths and weaknesses, especially what financial habits are holding us back. Some banks, including ASB, allow you to track your spending online with a specific tool. Iri uses the app Notion, as well as old-school Excel, and also recommends Mint of Goodbudget. 

🔑 Keep your financial goals easily accessible. This helps a lot with motivation and keeping us cognisant of what really matters (#manifestation). For example, if you want to raise an emergency fund of $5000 (which is a great idea), set aside time to talk with an accountability partner, as well as 15 minutes to journal and reflect on this specific goal, make a vision board, etc. 

🔑 Exercise caution with financial obligations. This includes “buy now, pay later” apps and subscriptions. This sounds self-explanatory, however, many third parties exploit vulnerable groups, including students. This tip may require self-control, but if you have other options it is worth it. To help with this, specifically, you can…

🔑 Allocate your income either weekly, fortnightly, or monthly. This will depend on the person! Iri likes to do 25% savings, 25% investments, 30% needs, and 20% wants. Sometimes, the lines get a little blurry. But you should create a structure that works for you, and ensure that you do not operate outside of those brackets. Finding other streams of income will also allow you more disposable income. 

🔑 Surround yourself with financially-savvy resources. Follow social media accounts or podcasters such as @girlsthatinvest, @realandready, and @whanauwhutures. Try and find ‘locally-sourced’ accounts, as some advice is not always applicable to Aotearoa audiences. Books will always go a long way, and Iri’s personal favourite is Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.