The Prosperity Project

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...

Recent KiwiSaver changes were meant to strengthen the scheme, but one expert says they risk doing the opposite. Mary Holm joins Nadine Higgins to break down why cuts to government contributions hit low income earners hardest, and how current settings could deepen inequality over time. So who is KiwiSaver working for? Why are some workers are missing out on employer support altogether? And what are...

Is property investing actually dead? Investor Ilse Wolfe doesn’t think so, but she says the old way of doing it is. Ilse joins Nadine to share her strategies for making property investment work in 2026. From surviving negative equity early on to building strong cashflow, Wolfe argues it’s still viable, if you’re willing to be active and rethink the playbook. See omnystudio.com/li...

Now, more than ever, it might seem like a good idea to invest in an electric vehicle, but does it make sense financially? Johnathan Sergel, the AA’s chief mobility officer, joins Nadine to dive into the costs involved with owning and running an EV, and how those costs compare to running a petrol vehicle. With rising fuel costs and EV sales surging, now's the time to do the maths and figure o...

Buying your first home is seen as a key milestone signifying success in your financial journey, while “just" renting is somehow seen as being behind. But Luke Kemeys of the Keep the Change Podcast and Next Advisory sees it differently. For him, it’s a deliberate choice – and he thinks we need to look at renting differently. Luke joins Nadine Higgins to explain why he thinks renti...

Financial education is now embedded in maths classes for students in years 0-10, and from next year it will also form part of the social sciences curriculum. Until this year, financial education in schools has been haphazard, with research showing only 20 percent of students received it in some form. Sorted in Schools learning lead Yasmin Frazer joins Nadine to discuss what our kids are being...

When news of events like the war in Iran hit share markets – everyday investors often act on instinct, but what do professional investors do? This week, Nadine is joined by Sam Dickie, a senior portfolio manager at Fisher Funds. Together they talk through what happens to investing when the world is on fire. The Prosperity Project is now available on video! Watch now on nzherald.co.nz or YouT...

Financial mentor David Very joins Nadine Higgins to unpack why 2025 hit so many New Zealanders so hard—and whether 2026 will bring any real relief. From high-income earners stretched by huge mortgages to pensioners squeezed by rising costs, he explains why financial stress is now cutting across every part of society. David breaks down where to start when you’re underwater, what actuall...

BusinessDesk journalist Maria Slade joins Nadine to discuss her new investigative podcast,  The Fall of the House of Du Val , which details how the company collapsed and what it reveals about the country’s investment rules. Listen to The Fall of The House of Du Val on iHeartRadio , Spotify , Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We hear a lot about how we need to save for retirement, but less is known about how to make that money last once you need to start drawing on it.  Tom Hartmann from the Retirement Commission joins Nadine to talk about Sorted's Retirement Navigator .  The new tool processes customisable values in order to help those nearing retirement (or already there) figure out how much they have to li...

Think paying off the family home will have you sorted for retirement? That might have been a solid plan once upon a time, but times have changed and and perhaps your retirement plan should change too.  Michael Vincent, mortgage director at Lighthouse Financial, joins Nadine to talk the dangers of relying on your house to look after you in later life, and what you should be doing instead.&nbsp...

AI stocks have exploded, with Nvidia soaring past a $5 trillion valuation. But is this growth justified, or are investors repeating the mistakes of the dot-com era? Mark Lister, investment director at Craigs Investment Partners, joins Nadine to talk about whether AI’s rally is a genuine revolution or a sign of market froth. Together they unpack the risks of over-exposure, the importance of d...

Bitcoin has cracked six figures in US dollars, but does all the hype mean it's a good investment.  Janine Granger, co-founder of Easy Crypto, joins Nadine to demystify the wild world of digital currency. From Bitcoin versus blockchain to meme coins, stablecoins, and the rise and fall of NFTs, they unpack what crypto really is, how it works, and how to invest without getting scammed (or losing...