Making Cents

KiwiSaver is changing, and you need to know what that means for your money. The Government has changed the rules, and they’re coming in to force now. Your own contribution rates, government contribution rules, and employer payments are all shifting. And depending on your income, age, or how your salary package works, the impact on your take-home pay could be very different. In this episode of Ask...

What would it take to quit your job, take your kids out of school, and spend a year travelling Australia in a caravan? For Kellie Dawson, it took years of careful planning, property investing, budgeting, and building enough financial freedom to press pause on normal life and ask a bigger question: what do we actually want? In this episode, Kellie shares: - how they planned a year of family travel...

Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to talk about why "playing dead" is the best response when your money is hit by a global crisis. Follow me everywhere! Facebook / Frances Cook - Journalist Instagram / Frances | Money | Investing (@francescooknz) • Instagram profile TikTok / Frances Cook on TikTok Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week Newslette...

Some of the most praised money advice is also some of the worst - depending on your stage of life. Buy a house as soon as possible. Never sell an investment. Stop wasting money on coffee, drinks, and fun. Always chase the biggest return. Always chase the next pay rise. Sounds responsible, right? Except real life is messier than that. And if you follow these rules too blindly, you can end up making...

Investing can transform your financial future, but many avoid starting because it’s too intimidating. Markets go up and down, there’s endless advice online, and the fear of making a costly mistake keeps many stuck on the sidelines for years. So what actually goes wrong when people start investing? And more importantly, how do you avoid those traps? Author, and host of the Money Money Money podcast...

Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to talk about the ways to save money on daily life, and maybe even earn some extra cash, to get through the cost of living crunch. Follow me everywhere! Facebook /  https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZ Instagram /  https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz TikTok /  https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknz Join the Money Memo newsletter for a...

Losing a partner is devastating. Then on top of the grief, there’s paperwork, big life changes, and financial decisions that feel urgent and overwhelming. In this episode of Ask the Experts, we’re answering a listener question from a woman in her early 50s who recently lost her husband. They had just finished putting their kids through school and were about to ramp up retirement savings. Instead,...

When you’re working hard, ticking the boxes, doing everything “right”, yet still not getting the promotion or pay rise? It’s easy to feel stuck. You’re not imagining it. New Zealand’s job market has cooled. Job listings are down. Businesses are cautious. Pay rises are harder to secure. Career progression can feel slower. But when things get tight, that’s when strategy matters the most. Enter Jarro...

A small change to a payment strategy can save hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of repayment time from your mortgage, cutting one of the biggest expenses most people will face. A replay of Frances Cook's column for Stuff.co.nz, read here with permission.  Follow me everywhere! Facebook /  https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZ Instagram /  https://www.instagram.com/francesc...

What do you do when you’re stuck between two bad options? Sell a home you bought near the peak of the market, even though it’s now worth hundreds of thousands less, or stay put in a house that no longer fits your life? That’s the dilemma facing this week’s listener. They bought in late 2020, welcomed kids, watched their house value fall by around $250,000, and now feel trapped: too much mortgage p...

For decades in New Zealand, property wasn’t just an investment, it was THE investment. The safest bet. The biggest capital gains. Often tax-advantaged. And for many households, the clearest path to building long-term wealth. But that narrative is starting to shift. House prices remain high. Debt is expensive. And a growing number of New Zealanders are questioning whether residential property is st...

In this episode of Making Cents, Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to talk about the growing "resist and unsubscribe" movement, how everyday New Zealanders can use their wallets to make a statement, and why your KiwiSaver might be one of the biggest votes you'll ever cast. Follow me everywhere! Facebook /  https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZ Instagram /  https://www.instagram...

What if you genuinely can’t earn more? Are you stuck financially? In this Ask the Experts mailbag episode of Making Cents, we tackle a question that so many teachers, nurses, and public sector workers quietly wrestle with: what do you do when your income is capped? Today’s letter writer is a teacher. She’s hearing the usual advice, to “earn more”, “start a side hustle”, “increase your income”, but...

If you want the truth about retiring early as a regular person, it doesn’t come from highlight reels or motivational posts. It comes from the numbers. When you strip away the vibes, hacks, and hot takes, the numbers show what actually works, what doesn’t, and how real people build passive income that gives them real choice over their time. That’s where Bronwyn Candish comes in. Bronwyn is a charte...

Money fights aren’t really about money. They’re about expectations, and how differently we respond to them. In this episode of Making Cents, I’m breaking down the four money personalities that shape how you save, spend, budget, and argue about money. Get ready to finally understand why financial advice works brilliantly for some people and completely falls apart for others. Based on Gretchen Rubin...

From the real risks behind AI hype and whether we're heading for a crash, to the surprising weakness hiding inside Big Tech's profits, and why digital advertising might be the canary in the coal mine that nobody's watching… it’s time to make sense of the chaos. Fast Money with Jim Mora on RNZ’s Sunday Mornings, it’s time for the money update you need. Follow me everywhere! Facebook / https://www.f...

There is a lot of mortgage advice out there that is confidently wrong. And the cost of following it isn’t just money, it’s time. Sometimes years of your life spent under pressure you didn’t actually need. In this episode of Making Cents, we’re cutting through the biggest mortgage myths that trip people up both before they buy a home and long after they’ve signed the papers. From “cleaning up” bank...

If you're feeling the February slump and wondering how to get back on track without starting from scratch, this one's for you! A replay of Frances Cook's column for 1 News, read here with permission, on 7 science-backed ways to get your money back under control. Follow me everywhere! Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZ Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz TikTok / http...

This episode was originally part of the Market Memo newsletter, where you learn about sharemarket investing every week. You can subscribe to that, here https://marketmemoweekly.substack.com/ It’s never been easier to start investing. And that’s both brilliant, and part of the problem. Between constant headlines, market swings, hot takes on social media, and apps that let you trade with a swipe, in...

If you’ve ever wondered what’s actually going on behind the scenes of the 1%, beyond the headlines, Instagram posts, and glossy business profiles, this episode pulls back the curtain. Because beneath the public image of wealth is usually a highly deliberate money strategy. And it doesn’t have to be exclusive to the ultra-rich. In this episode of Making Cents, Frances Cook speaks with Andrew Clemen...

Everyone says you should start investing in the stock market, but how do you actually do that? Time for a quick roadmap to get you started. Whether you’re starting from scratch, or you’ve been investing for a while but you’re not sure you’re nailing it, this is the live session to help you feel like the confident investor you should be. With top industry experts -Kernel chief executive Dean Anders...

Are home renovations actually an investment, or just an expensive way to make your house nicer to live in? In this Ask the Experts mailbag episode, it’s time to answer the question many are scared of: have I overcapitalised my home? Which renovations genuinely add value, and which ones don’t? Is your own home an investment, or a lifestyle choice? And if you’ve already spent the money, should you e...

Quick-fire tips and tricks for feeling more in control of your money in 2026. Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to talk about it, replayed here with permission. Follow me everywhere! Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZ Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz TikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknz Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip...

Gold and silver prices are booming, and it’s being driven by something deeper: how people are feeling about their money. When trust starts to break down, investors don’t just talk about it, they move their money. Darcy Ungaro, a financial adviser and host of the NZ Everyday Investor, is seeing more New Zealanders actively asking about gold, silver, Bitcoin, and other alternatives. It’s not out of...

Opposites attract, until it comes to money. This week’s listener says she’s a saver, her partner is a spender, and every attempt to “get serious” about their finances ends the same way: frustration, guilt, splurging out of spite, and a plan that falls apart by March. Instead of moving forward, they’re cancelling each other out, and it’s starting to wear them both down. In this Ask the Experts epis...