Making Cents

They say that the first $100,000 invested is the hardest milestone, but also most important. Once you’re there, compounding starts to do more of the heavy lifting. But getting there, well, you’ll have to scrap for it.

Today’s guest, Jane Joo, reached that milestone by age 25.

So how did she actually do it?

This episode cuts through the noise to unpack what works in the real world.

No trust fund, no extreme deprivation, and no finance degree. Just consistent habits, deliberate choices, and a clear goal.

Jane shares how she started investing while still a university student, why she focused on small, regular contributions instead of waiting to feel “ready,” and how she balanced earning more with spending intentionally. We talk about avoiding lifestyle creep, negotiating fixed expenses, side hustles, and what is really took to build her first $100k.

We also dig into her investing approach - from early stock picking to a growing preference for index funds - plus the mindset shifts that helped her stay consistent through market ups and downs.

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

This podcast was filmed & produced by Fanaticals

Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

#MakingCents #FrancesCook #Investing #FinancialFreedom #CompoundInterest #IndexFunds #InvestingForBeginners #MoneyMindset #WealthBuilding #SideHustle #LifestyleCreep #SavingsHacks

An investment property to fund retirement is part of the Kiwi dream to many - but what if it’s not the smartest move?

In this Ask the Experts mailbag episode, a listener in 50s asks, should we keep our rental property, or sell up and invest in index funds instead?

So how do you compare property vs shares in real life?

EnableMe head strategic coach Katie Wesney is in the expert hot seat, ready to help us break down:

• index funds vs property for retirement planning

• the role of diversification, liquidity, and risk as you get closer to retirement

• whether selling in a flat property market makes sense

• how debt, tax structure, and cashflow strategy can change the picture entirely

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!

Links

Follow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

This podcast was filmed and produced by Fanaticals

Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne 

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

If you’ve ever put off investing because the sharemarket felt scary or “not for people like you,” this episode is your shortcut to getting past that.

I’m sharing the five things I wish I knew before I started investing: the mindset shifts, the beginner mistakes, and the $5 habit that changed everything for my financial future.

We’ll talk about why starting small is a superpower, why you don’t need to be an expert to invest, and how the sharemarket actually makes money (in plain English). You’ll also get the behind the scenes of my first big investing crash during COVID, and how that one moment taught me more than any book ever could.

If you're a beginner investor, trying to understand index funds, nervous about market volatility, or stuck in analysis paralysis, this episode will help you build confidence, start investing sooner, and grow wealth over time, without the hype or jargon.

You’ll learn:

• Why shares aren’t “just for rich people”

• How $5 a week can kickstart your investing journey

• What to do when the market tanks

• Why you don’t need to pick stocks to succeed

• The two ways shares actually make money

If you want to learn more, my free Market Memo newsletter breaks down sharemarket investing each week in simple, practical steps. Sign up at francescook.co.nz/invest

Links

Follow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

This podcast was filmed and produced by Fanaticals

Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne 

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Saving $80,000 should feel like a major milestone. But when you’re trying to buy your first home, it can leave you asking a very real question: is this actually enough?

In this Ask the Experts episode, a listener who’s fed up with renting wants to know whether they’re genuinely ready to buy, or about to take on more than they can afford.

They’ve built a solid deposit, but recent spending has shaken their confidence, and now they’re stuck between waiting longer or jumping in too soon.

So what does “ready” really look like for first-home buyers in New Zealand?

Vanessa Williams from realestate.co.nz is ready to help us break down the hidden house buying costs people often forget to budget for, how much buffer you really need, and what to do if you slip while building toward a first home. There’s also deposit rules, borrowing options, and how to pressure-test your plan before you make one of the biggest financial decisions of your life.

Links

Follow Frances Cook on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZ), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/)and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknz?lang=en), or join the Money Memo newsletter (https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribe) for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

This podcast was filmed and produced by Fanaticals

Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne 

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Saving $80,000 should feel like a major milestone. But when you’re trying to buy your first home, it can leave you asking a very real question: is this actually enough?

In this Ask the Experts episode, a listener who’s fed up with renting wants to know whether they’re genuinely ready to buy, or about to take on more than they can afford.

They’ve built a solid deposit, but recent spending has shaken their confidence, and now they’re stuck between waiting longer or jumping in too soon.

So what does “ready” really look like for first-home buyers in New Zealand?

Vanessa Williams from realestate.co.nz is ready to help us break down the hidden house buying costs people often forget to budget for, how much buffer you really need, and what to do if you slip while building toward a first home. There’s also deposit rules, borrowing options, and how to pressure-test your plan before you make one of the biggest financial decisions of your life.

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

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

This podcast was filmed & produced by Fanaticals

Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

#MakingCents #FrancesCook #FirstHomeBuyer #NewZealandProperty #NZRealEstate #HouseDeposit #MortgageAdvice #MortgageBroker #MortgagePreApproval #RentingVsBuying #KiwiSaver #PropertyMarketNZ #PersonalFinanceNZ #HomeBuyingTips #BuildingInspection

Learning about money is one thing. Actually changing how you behave with it is something else entirely.

In this special episode of Making Cents, I’m pulling together three powerful money psychology insights that genuinely changed how I handle my own money. It’s not just that they were clever tactics, but that they finally helped me put good intentions into action.

Being “good with money” isn’t about deprivation or sitting on a pile of cash you’re scared to touch. It’s about deciding what kind of life you want, working backwards from there, and building money habits that actually fit how your brain works.

You’ll hear highlights from three standout conversations with experts who reshaped how I think about fear, goals, habits, and motivation — and why so many of us keep doing things we know are holding us back.

Claire Barnes, Ecoya CEO, on how the outside perspective of a coach helped her battle a fear of failure.

James Blair, Lighthouse Financial financial advisor, on the gamechanger of values-based spending.

And Dr Brad Klontz, psychologist and multiple times best-selling author, on the psychogical wiring that can hold us back, and how to change it.

In this episode, we cover:

– Why outside perspective (from a coach, adviser, or trusted third party) can unlock progress you’ll never see on your own

– How fear, anxiety, and discomfort can be harnessed instead of fought, and used as fuel rather than friction

– How values-based spending can stop money fights with your partner and make trade-offs feel intentional

– Why knowing what to do with money is rarely the problem, and how your psychology sabotages you instead

– How concepts like the hedonic treadmill and ancient “caveman brain” wiring shape modern money decisions

If you’ve ever felt like you know what you should be doing with money, but still can’t seem to follow through, this episode is for you.

Links

Follow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

This podcast was filmed and produced by Fanaticals

Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne 

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Fast Money with Jim Mora on Sunday Morning with RNZ. Talking the end of year GDP bounce, what a Santa Rally would tell us about 2026, how to control spending over the silly season, and the forecast for our Kiwisaver programme.

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

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

#MakingCents #FrancesCook

Hitting the milestone of $1 million in the bank should feel like financial freedom, but for many people approaching retirement, it’s the moment where the fear kicks in.

When a term deposit matures and you’re suddenly responsible for a seven-figure lump sum, the pressure to “not mess it up” can feel overwhelming.

That’s exactly the situation in today’s Ask the Experts episode. Our listener is 59, single, mortgage-free, and ready to retire soon, but unsure what to do with the $1 million they’ve worked their whole life to save.

EnableMe strategic coach Katie Wesney joins me to break it all down:

• how to invest a $1 million lump sum safely
• cash vs managed funds vs shares in retirement
• how long a million dollars really lasts
• how to structure money into short-, medium-, and long-term “buckets”
• and why doing nothing can sometimes be the biggest risk of all

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!

Links

Follow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

This podcast was filmed and produced by Fanaticals

Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne 

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

New Zealand banking just changed all the rules, and you could be forgiven for not having heard about it, despite the fact this could change everything about how you handle your money.

Open banking is now officially live in New Zealand, slipping in right at the end of the year with very little attention. But this isn’t just a tech update. It’s a power shift over who controls your financial information, and how it can be used.

That matters, because open banking has the potential to make huge parts of your money life easier. From budgeting and using a budgeting app, to comparing mortgage rates, switching banking products, and even making investing simpler.

And frankly, we could all do with some help right now. There’s been growing criticism about whether the big banks in New Zealand are making it too hard, and too expensive, for customers to shop around and get a better deal. Open banking is designed to change that, by increasing competition and giving people more control over their own banking data.

But it’s not all plain sailing.

There are real questions around privacy, security, and how open banking will actually work in practice, especially in the early stages.

So how do you make the most of this shift, to simplify your finances and improve your budgeting, without exposing yourself to unnecessary risks?

In this episode of Making Cents, Frances Cook is joined by Jason Leong, CEO and co-founder of PocketSmith, to break down open banking in plain English. What’s changed, what it means for everyday people, and how to use it safely to feel more in control of your money.

Links

Follow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

This podcast was filmed and produced by Fanaticals

Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne 

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock