There's actual behavioural science behind why we freeze up around money, and it's the same science that Mark White-Robinson has built a business around solving.

Mark is the co-founder of Feijoa, an app that rounds up your everyday purchases and tips that spare change straight into your KiwiSaver.

Seven months in, his users are on track to build millions in retirement savings.

The trick to money is usually small habits, over a long time. That's it. But there's a real science to making them stick.

In this episode we get into:

• Why doing nothing is usually the worst financial decision you can make
• The three things that stop people taking action with money (and how to get around them)
• Why 1 million eligible New Zealanders are missing out on over a billion dollars a year in free KiwiSaver contributions
• The behavioural tricks built into Feijoa, and how to steal them for your own money life
• What open banking has changed for everyday Kiwis

This episode of Making Cents is proudly supported by Odoo. Go to https://www.odoo.com/r/hpl now and try it for free, for 15 days.

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Production and video editing by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Filmed by Fanaticals

Frances Cook joins Jim Mora on RNZ Sunday Morning to cover the latest in money news, from why the job market feels so tough right now and where the work actually is, to the AI investment boom, social media spending traps and whether nicking the hotel soap counts as a financial strategy.

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Your side hustle is making real money. Now what?

Because when the income is real, things are growing, you can suddenly realise the whole operation is held together with sticky tape and good intentions.

Income from a job, income from side work, all of it landing in the same personal account with no clear picture of what's coming in, what's going out, or what any of it means for tax time.

This week on Ask the Experts, James Gibson, head of Revolut Business, walks through exactly what to do when a side hustle outgrows its informal beginnings.

It’s a question that a lot of self-employed New Zealanders will recognise: how do you set up your finances properly when your side hustle starts making serious money?

This episode is proudly supported by Revolut Business. Sign up online and get a one-month free trial at this link https://get.revolut.com/e9Jc/makingcents1 T&Cs apply, subscription fees will apply at the end of the trial, see website for details. Revolut Payments New Zealand Pty Ltd.

This episode covers:

• When to open a separate business bank account for your side hustle
• How to manage multiple income streams without losing track
• What happens if you mix personal and business finances, and why it matters at tax time
• How to track self-employed income and expenses without an accountant
• Budgeting and cash flow basics for first-time business owners
• Simple financial systems for the self-employed that don't require a finance background
• How to structure your money when you're employed and self-employed at the same time

If you have a letter you’d like us to answer, please send it through to [email protected] and you might feature on our next episode!

Follow me everywhere!

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Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribe

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#MakingCents #FrancesCook #MakingCentsPodcast #InvestingPodcast #MoneyPodcast #FinancialFreedom

Production and video editing by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Filmed by Fanaticals

There’s a wealth transfer ready to happen right now, but only if you know where to look for it.

A generation of baby boomers built their businesses over decades. Now they're ready to retire. But they can't find buyers.

Which means there are businesses out there right now, with existing customers, existing income, existing systems, waiting for the right person to take them over.

Jeremy Pak has a ringside seat to all of it. He's a chartered accountant and managing director of Velocity Capital, who spends his days helping New Zealanders buy and sell businesses worth millions.

What he's learned about how wealth actually gets built in this country might change how you think about your own options.

In this episode we cover:

• When to buy a business, vs starting one from scratch
• How to fund a business purchase even if you don't have cash sitting around (including vendor finance)
• What Jeremy is seeing in the market, and why he's forecasting a threefold increase in business sales next year
• How to stress test a business before you buy it
• Which types of NZ businesses Jeremy thinks have the potential to earn the most

This episode of Making Cents is proudly supported by Odoo. Go to https://www.odoo.com/r/hpl now and try it for free, for 15 days.

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Production and video editing by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Filmed by Fanaticals

Financial freedom sounds great in theory, but what does it actually take to get there as a normal person?

In this webinar, Frances Cook is joined by Sheppard & Ormsby chartered accountant Bronwyn Candish and EnableMe national coaching lead Katie Wesney to break down what financial freedom really means, how to find the money to invest, the biggest mistakes people make along the way, and one thing you can do this week to get started

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Being weird with money is the smartest thing you can do, to get financial freedom.

Most of us are following the same money playbook, and it’s not working.

Around 30% of New Zealanders don't have $1,000 in savings, and over 60% couldn't cover a real emergency.

Frances Cook, financial journalist and host of Making Cents, shares exactly how embracing "weird" money habits helped her build financial freedom, and how you can do the same.

In this episode:

• Why the standard approach to money keeps so many of us stuck, and what to do instead
• The hedonic treadmill: the psychology trick that's draining your wallet
• How to figure out what actually makes you happy (it's probably cheaper than you think)
• The secondhand challenge that changed Frances's finances
• Why a cheaper daily life and big one-off experiences beats an expensive lifestyle every time
• How to stop spending on what other people want, and start spending on what YOU want

Follow me everywhere!

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Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz

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Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribe

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Production and video editing by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Filmed by Fanaticals

Many New Zealanders are overpaying tax, missing refunds they're entitled to, and leaving money on the table, simply because the system is confusing and nobody explained the rules.

In this episode of Making Cents, chartered certified accountant Baqir Hussain, founder Finex Accounting, breaks down exactly how to stop losing money to the tax system and start making it work in your favour.

We talk:

• The single biggest mistake Kiwis make with the IRD, and how it turns small issues into massive tax debt
• How New Zealand's progressive tax system actually works (and why you should always take that pay rise)
• Surprise tax bills: the most common causes and how to avoid them
• What salary earners can legitimately claim back, including income protection insurance, donations, and investment costs
• Working for Families: who qualifies, how to backdate claims up to four years, and how one family recovered $15,000 they didn't know they were owed
• Home office deductions for self-employed workers and contractors
• Why tax threshold creep means most Kiwis are quietly paying more tax every year

Whether you're a salary earner, raising a family, or running a small business, there are straightforward steps you can take right now to reduce your tax bill — legally, and simply.

This episode of Making Cents is proudly supported by Odoo. Go to http://odoo.com/r/hpl now and try it for free, for 15 days.

Follow me everywhere!

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Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribe

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Production and video editing by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Filmed by Fanaticals

Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to explain the loyalty tax costing New Zealanders hundreds of dollars a year on power, insurance and banking, and the simple habit that can win it back without even switching providers.

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You're about to spend thousands getting your house ready to sell. Professional staging. A photographer. Maybe a lick of paint on the fence.

But in a buyer's market with interest rates climbing, how do you know what actually moves the needle for getting the house sold?

Vanessa Williams from http://realestate.co.nz is back in the hot seat with the actual data on what's working right now.

We get into whether professional staging shows up in the sale price, which presentation upgrades are genuinely worth it and which ones aren't, what http://realestate.co.nz sees in listing performance when photos are good versus average, and whether the ROI on all of this changes when buyers have more choice.

If you're about to list and wondering where to spend and where to save, this one's for you.

In this episode:

• Does professional staging actually increase your property sale price?
• Which house upgrades are worth it, and which aren't?
• Does better photography get more home buyers through the door?
• How to sell a house in a buyer's market
• What sellers can do themselves vs where to spend the money
• The mistakes sellers make that cost them thousands

If you have a letter you’d like us to answer, send it through to [email protected] and you might feature on our next episode!

Something’s off, and that something is the economy.

The latest drop of economic forecasting shows exactly what’s happening with the cost of living, your job, and your mortgage. It’s not looking great. But if we know what's coming, we can actually plan for it.

To help us make sense of it all, Massey University’s Christoph Schumacher is in the hot seat. He’s Professor of Innovation and Economics, Director of the Knowledge Exchange Hub, and more importantly, he can explain all of this like a real human being.

We cover:

• Why your money is feeling so tiring right now
• How much of this is the impact of the Iran war and fuel prices
• What rising inflation means for your mortgage, your job, and your everyday costs
• The NZ productivity problem, and which industries actually have a future here
• What’s happening with AI, and how AI will change your job
• When a real recovery might arrive, what it depends on, and what you can do to make life easier until then

This episode of Making Cents is proudly supported by Odoo. Go to http://odoo.com/r/hpl now and try it for free, for 15 days.

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 in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribe

Become a confident sharemarket investor by signing up to the Market Memo newsletter https://www.francescook.co.nz/invest

#MakingCents #FrancesCook #MakingCentsPodcast #InvestingPodcast #MoneyPodcast #FinancialFreedom

Production and video editing by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Filmed by Fanaticals