2025 was one of the strangest years in money we’ve seen for a long time.

AI shot up so fast it started giving people Dotcom Bubble flashbacks.

Bitcoin lost more than a trillion dollars in value almost overnight.

KiwiSaver turned into an election promise.

Interest rates dropped, but didn’t truly soothe the money pain.

And a lot of New Zealanders quietly admitted they’ve given up on buying a home.

So if your money felt a bit off this year, you weren’t imagining it.

In this live edition of the Making Cents podcast, I’m joined by Stuff’s money editor Damien Venuto and AdviceFirst financial adviser Leon Leonardo to unpack why everything felt so unpredictable, and what actually matters for your KiwiSaver, mortgage, and investments as we head into 2026.

We get into:

• why AI looks a lot like the early 2000s tech boom

• what triggered Bitcoin’s massive wipe-out

• why KiwiSaver is suddenly political

• the confidence crash in housing

• the surprisingly good news with open banking

• and how to take back control when the system gets weird

If you want a clear, grounded look at what changed this year, and what to do about it, this one’s for you.