The Prosperity Project

Buying an established business can give you customers, systems and revenue from day one. But how do you know whether the asking price reflects what you’ll actually earn? On The Prosperity Project , Nadine talks to The Comic Accountant Sam Harith about the checks to make before buying a business. They discuss financial statements, debt, cash flow, the difference between buying assets and shar...

What if, instead of trying to stick to a budget yourself, you handed over your pay and let someone else manage it? Australian budgeting service MyBudget has launched in New Zealand, offering to receive clients’ income into a trust account, pay their bills, put money aside for future expenses and savings, and transfer back an agreed amount for everyday spending. It’s an unusual model &m...

If you suddenly became unable to make your own decisions, would your spouse or family automatically be able to step in? Not necessarily. An enduring power of attorney allows someone you trust to manage your finances or make decisions about your personal care and welfare if you can’t. Without one, your family could face an expensive and stressful court process at an already difficult time. In...

No new taxes. Free GP visits. Cheaper public transport. Solar subsidies. KiwiSaver changes. The election promises are coming thick and fast — but what will they actually mean for your finances? On The Prosperity Project, Katie Bradford joins Nadine Higgins to unpack how the major parties’ policies could affect your wallet, from tax and rates to KiwiSaver, student loans, solar panels, s...

Buying a home used to mean checking the LIM, getting a builder’s report and sorting the mortgage. But natural hazards, insurance restrictions and increasingly complex property issues mean buyers now have much more to consider. Solicitor and Landley Law director Sue Foley joins Nadine Higgins to explain the red flags buyers should look for, why insurance needs to be considered early, what sel...

How often should you review your KiwiSaver — and what should you actually be looking at? In this episode of The Prosperity Project , we talk through what matters when reviewing your KiwiSaver, from your retirement goals and contribution levels to fees, fund types and provider performance. Financial commentator Russell Hutchinson explains why you shouldn’t just chase last year’s t...

What happens when you simply can’t afford to pay your debts? FinCap financial mentor Charlotte Whitakker joins The Prosperity Project to explain the options available when debt becomes overwhelming — from negotiating with lenders and hardship applications to KiwiSaver withdrawals, debt repayment orders and bankruptcy. Plus, why buy now, pay later can fuel a debt spiral, when you should...

Buying or selling a house is a complicated and often confusing process that real estate agents are smack in the middle of, and stand to benefit from.  So what should we share when dealing with an agent, and what should we keep close to our chest? Barfoot & Thompson real estate agent Ryan Harding joins Nadine Higgins to explain what you need to consider as a vendor or a buyer, the things a...

Moving into a retirement village can offer community, convenience and freedom from maintaining a family home — but the financial arrangement is very different from buying property. Anthony Harper law firm partner Jenny Baldwin explains occupation right agreements, ongoing fees, capital gains, deferred management fees, exit delays and the potential cost of moving into aged care. Plus, what re...

Are you raising a child who thinks money just appears? From pocket money and piggy banks to KiwiSaver, first jobs and the temptation to bail them out, the lessons start much earlier than many parents realise. So, should chores earn cash? When should children start investing? And when is it better to let them make a mistake? Hayden Mulholland from Become Wealth joins Nadine on The Prosperity Projec...

Buying your first home can feel impossible, but you may be closer than you think. Mortgage adviser Michelle Isemonger joins Nadine Higgins to explain how to prepare before applying for finance, what banks are looking for and whether you really need a 20% deposit. They also cover pre-approval, KiwiSaver, auctions, insurance, buying with friends, credit card limits and the common mistakes that can d...

The OCR has risen, but does that automatically mean your mortgage rate will rise with it? Economist and commentator Bernard Hickey explains what really drives fixed mortgage rates, why New Zealand’s banks remain exceptionally profitable, and whether the Reserve Bank has moved too soon while the economy remains weak. He also decodes the jargon surrounding monetary policy — including haw...

Mike Casey from Rewiring Aotearoa says solar can now pay off faster than many households realise, but the biggest savings come from understanding how your home actually uses energy. From gas hot water to EVs, batteries and green loans, Mike and Nadine break down what to weigh up before going electric. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Think back to 1996. Dial-up internet, bulky desktop computers and no KiwiSaver. Investing looked very different. And most New Zealanders had never even heard of Exchange Traded Funds. In this special episode of The Prosperity Project, Nadine Higgins sits down with PJ Harding to explore 30 years of investing in New Zealand, how access has changed, and how kiwis can get started on their investing jo...

The government currently spends about a billion dollars a fortnight on superannuation payments, it's a growing problem that we're running out of time to address. So who shouldn’t be counting on getting the pension in future? Shamubeel Eaqub, Simplicity chief economist and head of policy, joins Nadine Higgins with some hot takes about the future of NZ's pension scheme and his thoughts on prop...

Landlords, capital gains tax and the future of property investing. Owner of 43 properties and founder of Opes Partners, Andrew Nicol, joins Nadine Higgins to explain why he thinks mum-and-dad investors have become an easy political targe and why he still has faith in housing despite the market slump.  He also shares his thoughts on what New Zealanders should be doing to prepare for retirement...

SpaceX has gone public in the biggest IPO in history, with OpenAI and Anthropic expected to follow. Together, the three companies could be worth more than US$3 trillion. So are they the investment opportunity of a lifetime, or the next great tech bubble? Fisher Funds portfolio manager Sam Dickie joins Nadine Higgins to break down the hype, the risks and what investors need to know. See omnystudio....

Could an old job be holding money you’ve forgotten about? In this episode of The Prosperity Project , Nadine Higgins speaks to NZBritannia founder Alun Rees-Williams about the UK pension money many Kiwis lose track of after working overseas. Some people discover multiple pension schemes from different jobs, and in rare cases, the amounts can be life-changing. They discuss why these funds are...

The IRD is ramping up crypto enforcement and some investors are discovering they owe tax on gains that have long since disappeared. Crypto tax specialist Tim Doyle joins Nadine Higgins to explain why even small investors are now in the IRD's sights, the mistakes that create nightmare tax bills and what to do if you've fallen behind. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most of us enter negotiations with a level of awkwardness and trying not to sound greedy. It's not the strongest tactic, but nor is making demands based on your perceived value.  Negotiating expert and founder of Sheer Negotiations, Noa Sheer, joins Nadine to share her advice on how to handle everything from salary reviews to buying a house, The pair discuss the psychology behind successful n...

New Zealanders owe 9.5billion dollars in overdue tax, with small business owners and the self-employed most likely to get behind. Director of Future Focused Accountants, Catriona Knapp, joins Nadine to explain what can go wrong if you don't get on top of your tax obligations and why it's better to face the debt head-on than bury your head in the sand.  With the IRD cracking down on collecting...

Interest rates are rising again, fuel prices are climbing and many homeowners are wondering what to do next. But according to Squirrel mortgage adviser Adam Clark, too many Kiwis are focusing on the wrong things. In this episode of The Prosperity Project, Adam joins Nadine Higgins to unpack the psychology of mortgages, why obsessing over tiny rate differences can backfire, and the financial habits...

It's one thing to talk about money, and and something else entirely to talk to it. But for Rachel Davies, that shift changed everything. Rachel and her Hi Money co-founder Angela Meyer join Nadine to unpack the emotional side of money. From avoidance and binge spending to deeply held beliefs about luck, scarcity and security, they argue most of us don’t have a knowledge problem, we have a re...

Helping your kids get ahead financially sounds simple, but get it wrong and things unravel fast. Wealth and succession lawyer Andrew Clements has seen what happens when it goes wrong, from family disputes to parents losing their homes. He joins Nadine Higgins to talk about why undocumented support can become a legal minefield, his one firm rule against guarantees, and why even advice from banks ca...

Imagine having a financial adviser in your pocket. With AI innovations transforming what finance apps are capable of, that reality might not be too far away. Instead of just tracking your spending, saving and investments, advances internationally are increasingly seeing the apps able to do everything from scanning the market for better deals or returns, to making recommendations and then executing...