Making Cents

Frances Cook joins Jim Mora on RNZ Sunday Mornings to talk through whether financial independence is actually achievable for ordinary people and how to make it work on your own terms, followed by a run through the latest money news including the AI bubble, rising rates and what is happening in the housing market.

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Most parents want to give their kids a softer landing than they had.

But what if the soft landing is the problem?

This week's letter writer has done everything right, on paper. Bills covered. Kids never stressed about money. An investment account quietly building in the background, for a nice surprise one day.

But with the kids about to fly the nest, they're rethinking whether thiswas the right tactic. Because maybe protecting them from money stress means they've never actually learned to handle it.

Katie Wesney, national coaching lead from EnableMe has answers. Together with Frances Cook, they talk about:

• How to talk to kids about money without making it a source of stress
• Whether a secret investment account is a gift, or a missed lesson
• The right age to start involving kids in money decisions
• Should you give your kid an allowance at university, or let them work for it
• What financial independence should actually look like for a teenager leaving home

If you've ever wondered whether doing everything for your kids is setting them up, or setting them back, this is the one to listen to.

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!

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Production and video editing by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Filmed by Fanaticals

It’s time for the ultimate budget hacks to save money on food, petrol, and life.

Because a good budget should help you keep your cash for the fun stuff.

Today we’re pulling together the best tips and tricks from past Making Cents guests, so you get just their best moment on how to save money, from groceries, to apps, subscriptions, banking, food costs.

Chris Schulz breaks down the money-saving apps and budgeting apps that actually work, and the sneaky tactics shops use to take your cash. Full episode, 22 March: Supermarket Tricks, Insurance Hacks & Subscription Traps: How to Stop Overpaying.

Hannah Koumakis went viral for the budgeting system she built after nannying for billionaires on her OE — money habits that create financial security without the status symbols. Full episode, 11 Oct 2025: I Nannied for Billionaires, It Changed My Entire Money Outlook.

Jason Leong, CEO of Pocketsmith, reveals the hidden money leaks and subscription traps quietly draining your spending. Full episode, 20 Dec 2025: NZ Banking Just Changed All the Rules, Are You Ready?

Alice Taylor, chef, shares how to cut your grocery bill and food costs without cutting the flavour, with proof that good food doesn't have to cost the earth. She's been on twice: 15 Nov 2025 and 5 July 2025.

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.

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Production and video editing by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Filmed by Fanaticals

Frances Cook breaks down why the most popular index fund strategy in the world may not be spreading your risk the way you think, what history tells us about industries that have dominated the market before and what to do if the current AI concentration concerns you.

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The difference between long-term travel being the best decision you ever make and a very expensive mistake usually comes down to one thing: whether you had a plan.

This week on Ask the Experts, Frances Cook and Georgia Grange, head of Revolut NZ, answer a letter from a twenty-something who wants to take a couple of years to travel properly, but without going into debt or derailing their finances.

This episode covers:

• How much money you actually need saved before you go
• The hidden costs of international travel that drain your budget without you noticing
• How to manage money across multiple countries and currencies on a long trip
• Simple ways to make your budget last longer when you're travelling on a limited amount
• Earning money while you travel, including the choice between bar work, remote work, and the digital nomad lifestyle

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!

This episode of Making Cents is proudly supported by Revolut, the card and app for everyday spending in NZ, and smarter money on your travels. Use this link https://get.revolut.com/e9Jc/makingcents1 to try them out, spend, and Revolut will give you $40 to get started.

T&Cs apply. Spend min $1 to receive reward. Exchange rates will vary. Comparison to major bank rates based on exchanging NZD $1K Mon-Fri, within your plan’s fair usage limits. More info:https://www.revolut.com/en-NZ/nz-fx-substantiation . Revolut Payments New Zealand Pty Ltd

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Production and video editing by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Filmed by Fanaticals

There's a belief that's almost a religion to some people: buy a home, hold onto it, pay off the mortgage, and you're financially sorted.

More often than not, it's not true. And if you let that belief guide you, you could miss real opportunities for building wealth, because you feel like you're ahead when you're actually not.

Janika ter Ellen knows this better than most. She's a property reporter for Stuff, covering these issues every day.

So when she finally sat down and ran the actual numbers on her own home, what she found surprised her, and not in a good way.

Turns out there are hidden costs to owning a home, and missed opportunities while you're paying off that mortgage, that change the story we've all been sold.

So if your home isn't quite the investment you thought it was, what is it? And does that change whether you should buy at all?

In this episode:

• Is buying a house a good investment in New Zealand, and what happened when she ran the numbers on 11 years of home ownership
• Why city and regional property markets tell completely different stories
• House vs shares returns over 10 years
• What she'd have been worth if she'd invested her deposit instead of buying
• The hidden costs of home ownership
• Renting vs buying a house
• The difference between a home as an asset versus a home as an investment
• Auckland house prices vs regional house prices

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.

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Production and video editing by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Filmed by Fanaticals

If it feels like getting a pay rise is harder than ever, you're not imagining it.

But even in a tough market, there are strategies that work, and people using them to get ahead.

Frances Cook is joined by University of Auckland senior lecturer Dr Kenny Ching, MyCareerBrand career coach Kaela Hindle, and Side Hustles NZ founder Rachel Mills to break down how to actually earn more in this environment.

We're covering:

– Which skills are gaining value right now, and which are losing ground

– How AI is reshaping the job market, and how to protect your career from it

– The script and tactics that actually work when asking for a pay rise

– How to find your most monetisable skill and turn it into a side hustle that pays properly

– Whether a portfolio career beats going all-in on one thing

You can't control the wage stats. But you can control your strategy.

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The highest number of June listings just hit the NZ property market, since 2020.

But the impact isn’t what you would think.

Despite the flood of listings, prices haven't moved.

Nationally, prices have barely moved in three and a half years, even as listings pile up. The picture also varies sharply depending on where in New Zealand you're looking, with wide swings across regions, within that national average.

Vanessa Williams from http://realestate.co.nz is ready to break down the story behind the numbers:

- NZ property market update June 2026: why listings are rising while national house prices stay flat

- Regional house prices vs national average NZ: which areas are outpacing the rest of the country, and why

- OCR interest rate rise 2026: what it means for mortgage holders, first home buyers, and savers

- How to sell a house in a slow market NZ: pricing and marketing strategy for a stock-flooded market

- First home buyer tips NZ: avoiding overwhelm and knowing your non-negotiables when house hunting

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Production and video editing by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Filmed by Fanaticals

There’s nothing quite like starting young. But most of us don’t build a business before we can vote. Never mind several of them.

Hamish Sutherland is 17 and already on his fourth business.

He felt the spark to get ahead early on but turns out it’s hard to get a job when you’re eight. Rather than let a tricky thing like employment law hold him back, he just started his own business instead.

By 13, that was a lawn mowing and water blasting business. At 15, he wrote a Kindle book that made $60,000. Then he moved into a property investment project. Now he’s building AI-focused businesses, fresh off an entrepreneurship intensive in Malaysia.

The world of work is changing fast, and it’s easy to freeze when you’re not sure where you fit into that change. Hamish isn’t freezing. He’s looking for the opportunity in it.

In this podcast we talk about:

• How to start a business as a teenager with no money or experience

• Making money on Kindle direct publishing, and how his book made $60,000

• Investing in property young

• AI business ideas for 2026, and where he’s focusing next

• Using social media to grow a business as a young entrepreneur

• Gen Z entrepreneurship, and why young people are more willing to take the risk

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re too young, too late, or too unqualified to start something of your own, this episode is the reminder that none of that has to be true.

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

With the OCR on the rise and inflation heading up again, Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to explain why the safest place for your money depends entirely on when you need it and why bank accounts are not always the answer.

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