BUDGET PRONE by Jane Emery The old Maori tupunas were ‘budget prone’. The very nature and means of their primitive existence made them so. Their seasonal foods, along with the rest of their tribal needs, were painstakingly husbanded and conserved with ritualistic care and industry. Experience had long taught them to do this or expect the consequences of their harsh and cruel times. Realistically they looked their circumstances in the face, and made adjustments to meet their needs. Their patakas inside their fortified pas, long laid to rest in the past, are mute records of their storage habits. The planned husbanding and conservation of their basic requirements — food, shelter, clothing and defence—exercised the minds of the rangatiras, some more so than others. Their mana, prestige and dignity rose and fell, not only on their war prowess, but equally as much on their ability to feed and clothe the tribe without stifling their exuberant joy, their spontaneous fun and laughter in the zest of living. The ruling rangatiras set the standards for the tribe, sought their co-operation and put into action the plans for their self-servicing, self-sufficient community. The tupunas did not live on chance, or reap the wind. The tribal production of their food and material needs, the long-range storage project of their assets for future use or for sudden emergency, and their happy relaxed hours, taken after toil and tasks well done, were a permanent part of their make-up. Not one iota of their labouriously won bounty was wasted, and not one member of the tribe went hungry and cloakless. With their defences secure and their patakas full, the old tupunas felt happy and free to don luxuriant cloaks with ornamented borders and relax as only a true Maori knows how to. In the manner of their forefathers, from the blue Pacific, they swept along on the poetical lilt of their songs to the heights of fun and happiness. Added to this was the language of their shimmering hands, dancing feet and eloquent eyes, bringing the utmost joy and satisfaction to each and all.

Cultural change With the upheaval of cultural change from the stoneage tupunas to the present day Maori, the emphasis has long shifted from the tribe to the family unit; from the pataka to the bank; from communal labour to individual employment; from self-sufficient servicing to special skills. The thing which emerged from this head-on shattering crash of Maori Culture with Western might, is the dominant use of money. On it, be it called the ‘gold standard’ or the ‘almighty dollar’, nations have risen or fallen. It would be extraordinary if no guileless Maori floundered on it, when its own protagonists have fallen countless victims to this medium of exchange — this powerful taniwha of progress and advancement — money! In history all taniwhas or rampaging dragons with fiery tails have been slain or tamed by brave knights or astute men. Maui lassoed the fiery sun dragon and forced it to travel at a speed which met his needs. With purposeful planning, the ‘money taniwha’, like the errant sun god, can also be harnessed to serve our needs. It can be told where to go and what to do. It can be stopped from slipping through our fingers! You may well ask how — with the cost of living soaring, and the multiple problems arising from it that perplex and worry. You are not alone in this. Up and down the country, all over the world, other families are wrestling with it too. The tried and successful home managers know the answer is simply — to budget! Budgeting like dieting is much disliked by many because of the ‘hoha’ of the extra thought and effort needed to make it work, or for the plain reason, false pride!

Budgeting means planning Budgeting is essentially a matter of planning. A husband and wife concentrating their combined thought-power on obtaining things they need and want most, can find budgeting a saviour and a most agreeable, absorbing exercise in happy home management, to their mutual advantage. A budget does not stifle joy. It builds a man up ten feet tall knowing he owes no one nothing he cannot pay. His ‘put-it-away’ days take care of the future. The tupunas said ‘Eat your treasures care-