Making Cents
Making Cents is a personal finance podcast hosted by Frances Cook, a best-selling author and award-winning journalist. The show aims to help listeners achieve financial freedom without sacrificing their daily coffee. Each Monday features an interview with someone who has accomplished something interesting with their money, such as paying off debt or investing for independence. Thursday episodes feature industry experts answering listener questions on topics like earning more, investing, and budgeting. Bonus episodes appear sporadically.
Episodes
How Much Do You Really Need to Retire in NZ?
Do you really need $1 million to retire? Scary headlines say so, and that falling short means facing cold, miserable years ahead.But for most people, that massive benchmark is unhelpful, daunting, and causes people to give up before they even start.Katie Wesney, Head Strategic Coach at EnableMe, joins Frances Cook on Making Cents to dismantle the $1 million retirement myth and help you find your a
NZ Food Prices: What The Supermarket Debate Is Missing
We grow enough food in New Zealand to feed 40 million people - eight times our own population. So why does your weekly grocery bill feel like it’s eating your entire paycheque?Angela Clifford, CEO of Eat New Zealand, joins Frances Cook on Making Cents to unpack why our food model feels broken and how everyday eaters hold the power to fix it. Living on a North Canterbury permaculture farm where her
The 80% Rule: Why I Turn Down Most Sponsors
Two years into running Making Cents as an independent business, I sit down with the TVNZ Business Breakfast team to talk about what I got right, what went wrong, and what I wish I had known before I jumped.Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribeBecome a confident sharemarket investor by signing up to the Market Memo
Kiwis Want Time More Than Money: Here’s Why
What matters more to you, money or time?Nearly half of us would accept getting paid less just to get more time back in our lives. Not more stuff, not a bigger house - just time.Yet in reality, we are getting squeezed on both fronts with less money and less time. New research from Revolut and YouGov shows 44% of Kiwis would take a pay cut for a four-day work week, while six in ten are working overt
How Some Kiwi Families Keep Their Wealth for Generations
Building a comfortable money life for yourself is one thing - building wealth that outlives you is a completely different game.The problem is that when people get this wrong, it is not just the money that disappears; families often fall apart trying to figure it out. From mismatched expectations to the old saying that wealth is lost in three generations, passing down money without a clear plan can
Overtime, Property Prices, AI Shopping and $608 Billion in Debt: Your Money News Roundup
I join Jim Mora on RNZ Sunday Mornings to work through the latest money news, from new data on unpaid overtime and the cost of living crunch, to Auckland house prices dropping below a million for the first time in six years, and whether Meta’s AI shopping agent is actually a good idea.Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/s
Auckland House Prices Just Hit a 6-Year Low - But The South Island Is Booming
For years, buyers have complained the property market wasn’t on their side - but that has just changed in a way New Zealand hasn’t seen in six years.Auckland’s average asking price has dropped under $1 million for the first time since 2020, and with 34,000 houses on the market across the country, buyers have serious choice and negotiating power.But while listings pile up and prices stay flat, why
From Employee To Owner: How She Bought The Magazine She Worked For
Ever wanted to turn to your boss and say, "I could run this place better, and you should let me"?In reality, you probably want to phrase it a little more diplomatically than that. But it is possible - because Sarah Murray did exactly that.Sarah Murray, owner and editor of FQ, shares the raw reality of stepping from employee to business owner.From valuing a legacy media brand and writing a winning
KiwiSaver Is An Election Bidding War
With the election ramping up, promises to change KiwiSaver are flying thick and fast. Time to break down what each party is suggesting, what the experts think is missing from the debate, and what it could all mean for your retirement savings.Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribeBecome a confident sharemarket inves
My Car Costs $13 to Fill Up... Should You Go Electric Too?
With petrol prices spiking to record highs, hitting $3.52 a litre, switching to an electric or hybrid car can look like the ultimate way to wipe out a massive daily living cost. But is it actually the right financial move for your lifestyle, or could hidden ownership costs end up costing you more? Financial journalist Frances Cook breaks down the real numbers on petrol, hybrid, and fully electric
Bernard Hickey: The Money Issues That Will Decide This Election
Election season is here, and every political party is lining up to promise fixes for your wallet. But behind the political promises on KiwiSaver, grocery prices, and power bills, are any of their proposed solutions actually going to fix the real problems?Independent financial journalist and founder of The Kaka, Bernard Hickey, joins Frances Cook on Making Cents to pull back the curtain on the econ
Other Sharemarkets Are Booming... Not NZ
While global sharemarkets are booming, New Zealand is sitting quietly near the bottom of the table. I break down why our market is built differently, what that means for your returns, and how to think about whether you should be investing here or looking overseas.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZInstagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknzTikTok / https:
What AI Actually Gets Right About Your Finances (And Where It’s Failing You)
AI can build you a full financial plan in 30 seconds flat, but what happens when that plan meets the real world?Chatbots sound confident, use big words, and can make you feel completely sorted with your money. But generic tools don't know what questions to ask, often affirm whatever you tell them, and can easily ignore massive blind spots like debt, emergency buffers, or market risk.Katie Wesney f
The 3 Things That Decide Your KiwiSaver Balance (In Order)
There’s a new person setting the rules for our retirement savings, so are we going to see changes for KiwiSaver?David Boyle has just stepped in as New Zealand’s Retirement Commissioner, bringing decades of experience helping people navigate wealth, funds management, and financial education.He joins Frances Cook on Making Cents to break down what’s really working, what’s broken, and where our retir
Three Mortgage Myths Which Shouldn't Stop You Buying
Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to bust the mortgage myths that are putting people off buying a home, from the 20% deposit rule to whether your Uber Eats habit will tank your application.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZInstagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknzTikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknzJoin the Money Memo newsletter for
Dark Patterns: How to Escape the Subscription Trap
If you have ever felt like the world is designed to drain your bank account, you are not imagining it. Online shopping and digital services are full of sneaky money traps - known as dark patterns - built to make spending effortless and canceling nearly impossible.This week on Ask the Experts, Jan Verberne, Senior Legal Counsel at Revolut, pulls back the curtain on how these manipulative online che
The 5 Ways Regular Kiwis Are Buying Businesses
When the job market feels completely stuck, what if you could create your own job by owning a business? And instead of starting from scratch and hoping it works, what if you bought an established business with a proven track record?Buying a business isn't just buying yourself a job - run properly, it’s an asset you can grow, earn from, and eventually sell.Jess Shaw, Director of Vesta Finance joins
Values Based Spending: How to Enjoy Your Money Now and in the Future
Frances Cook and Lighthouse Financial wealth director James Blair dig into values based spending, and how to create a financial plan that isn't about hoarding cash but about making sure your money is working toward the life you actually want, now and in the future.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZInstagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknzTikTok / https
You Sent Me 14 Money Questions. Here Are My Honest Answers
Time for a raw, unfiltered Ask Me Anything episode of Making Cents! Financial journalist Frances Cook sits down to tackle your biggest money questions.From practical strategies to break out of feeling stuck in a cost-of-living squeeze, to whether you should pay off your mortgage or invest in shares, Frances breaks down the plain-English rules of the money game.In this episode:Why trying to priorit
How Ilse Wolfe Built A $20 Million Property Portfolio
When headlines scream about the worst property downturn in 30 years, is it time to panic - or is it the buying opportunity you’ve been waiting for?Prices are down, listings are flooding the market, and buyers have more choice than they’ve seen in years. But picking up a bargain isn’t as simple as buying any cheap property and hoping the market does the heavy lifting.Ilse Wolfe, property investor a
I Got Deepfaked. Here's How To Spot A Scammer.
Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to talk about the AI deepfake scam using her likeness to lure people into dodgy investment groups, and the red flags that can help you tell the difference between genuine financial advice and someone trying to take your money.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZInstagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknzTikTok / h
What Do You Do When Your House Is Worth Way Less Than When You Bought It?
What do you do when your home is worth less than what you paid for it, and the layout no longer works for your family? Can you actually renovate your way out of negative equity, or does pouring six figures into an extension just dig a deeper financial hole?This week on Ask the Experts, Vanessa Williams from http://realestate.co.nz breaks down the real property data on what buyers are paying for, w
AI Is Making Mortgage Fraud Easier. Here's What Changes
It seems everyone is using AI to make life quicker and easier - and apparently, fraudsters are too.From doctored bank statements and inflated income to fake paperwork that used to take serious skill to forge, AI is making mortgage and insurance fraud easier to pull off in minutes. The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) is actively investigating, and honest borrowers are the ones left competing agai
The Price of Playing It Safe With Your Money
Frances Cook breaks down low beta investing, the middle ground between hiding your money in a bank account and braving the full volatility of the share market, including the real cost of playing it safe and whether the gentler ride is actually worth it.Become a confident sharemarket investor by signing up to the Market Memo newsletter https://www.francescook.co.nz/investFollow me everywhere!Facebo
What KiwiSaver Actually Needs to Change, According to an Adviser
Five minutes could be enough to add hundreds of thousands of dollars more to your KiwiSaver.There are simple, low-hanging fruit changes that can mean serious money landing in your account - but simple changes cut both ways. There are costly traps to avoid, and easy tweaks to your settings that can make a massive difference to your balance over time.This week on Ask the Experts, Katie Wesney from E
Biggest Mortgage Myths: What Banks Are Actually Checking In 2026 (It's Changed)
What if the home buying rules you think are holding you back don't actually exist anymore?Between outdated advice, myths about needing massive deposits, and the fear of trying to buy on a single income, it is easy to assume you are locked out of the property market before you even start.The truth is that many old lending rules have expired, and with the right strategy, getting into your first home
Prices Are Going Up. But Not Always for the Reason You Think
Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to explain excuseflation, the trend of businesses using wall to wall inflation headlines as cover to hike their own prices, and what you can actually do to fight back.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZInstagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknzTikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknzJoin the Money Memo new
Why Your Money Disappears (And The Fix That Actually Works)
Is your Afterpay habit hurting your financial future and stopping you from hitting big life goals like buying your first home?Every financial decision leaves a digital footprint, and banks and mortgage lenders use that data to check your creditworthiness, spending habits, and loan affordability. But with so much scaremongering and myths around credit scores in New Zealand, it's easy to panic.This
From 0 to $1 Million And Financial Freedom - In 10 Years
What if financial independence is something you could build for yourself, before you even hit 40?Katie and Alan Donegan did exactly that.No lottery win, no trust fund, just a determination to live simply, stack their cash, and build a life where they didn't have to answer to anyone else.They retired at 35 and 40, and now travel the world while running Rebel Finance School, a free money course that
Take the 50k or Flip for a Million?
Frances Cook joins the Seven Sharp team to unpack a coin flip experiment that reveals how Kiwis think about risk and money, and why we will happily put it all on red but get nervous about the kinds of risk that actually build wealth.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZInstagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknzTikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknz
The Best Way To Add Property Value - And The Mistake To Avoid
Renovating to add value is the dream, but overcapitalising is the nightmare that can turn your dream reno into a costly mistake. So how do you tell the difference before you've spent a single dollar?This week's Ask the Experts letter comes from a homeowner who badly needs more space and is weighing up an extension to their house.Vanessa Williams from realestate.co.nz joins Frances to pull back the
The Mortgage Advice That Fails in NZ: With Aaron Cattell (The Mortgage Man)
Time to fact-check the mortgage advice taking over social media, and see what actually holds up.Mortgage adviser Aaron Cattell (aka The Mortgage Man) is ready to go myth-by-myth through the mortgage advice doing the rounds online, and find out what actually survives contact with someone who does this for a living.We cover:The "pay a dollar a day" trick, the viral claim that resets your mortgage in
The Easiest Shortcuts To Save Money
Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to share her favourite apps and websites for cutting power bills, saving on groceries, eating out for less and upskilling for free, all with as little effort as possible.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZInstagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknzTikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknzJoin the Money Memo
Get Ready For ‘Excuse-flation’ - That’s About To Drive Up Cost Of Living Even Further
"Excuseflation" is the secret reason your groceries, petrol and power keep going up.Why did butter come down a third in global price... and only drop two cents on the shelf? Why does petrol rocket up in a day but crawl back down for months? There's a name for this: excuseflation, when real inflation gives businesses cover to hike prices for no real reason at all.In this episode, financial journali
Simple KiwiSaver Mistakes That Cost You Thousands (And How To Fix Them)
You sent in your KiwiSaver questions, time for us to answer them.KiwiSaver is one of the biggest financial tools most New Zealanders have, but just a few changes can mean tens of thousands of dollars more for you.Personal finance journalist Susan Edmunds, author of the new book Your KiwiSaver Questions, Answered, is on the Making Cents podcast and ready to sort it out.In this episode:The most comm
How to Build Financial Independence Without Living on Instant Noodles
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.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZInstagram / http
Have I Set My Kids Up, or Set Them Back?
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 tacti
I Interviewed Dozens Of Money Experts - This Was The Best Advice
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 a
The Catch Behind a "Timeless" Investing Strategy
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.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZInstagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknzTikTok / http
How To Travel For Years Without Killing Your Career
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.Th
Is Your Home an Investment - Or Just a Place to Live?
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
How To Get Paid More In NZ - WEBINAR REPLAY
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.W
The NZ Property Market Just Had Its Biggest Change Since 2020
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
The Kiwi Teenager With Four Businesses Bringing In Six Figures
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, tha
The "Safe" Place for Your Money Is Not What You Think
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.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZInstagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknzTikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknzJ
I Put Solar On My House. Was It Worth It? (Numbers Breakdown)
Free Power Forever? The Real Cost, Payback Time, and Battery Truth on Solar in NZ18 months ago, I spent $89,000 on home solar and an electric car. I told you about it, and was flooded with questions on how this could work for other people.(You can listen to the previous episode from 1 April, titled "I Spent $89,000 on Solar And Electric Car In NZ… Was It Worth It?")This episode is the follow-up, a
How to Embrace Ambition Without Burnout, with Mindset Coach Sarah Robb
Why do so many high performers end up exhausted and burned out?Mindset coach Sarah Robb has spent years working in this area, and says that unfortunately, many of us burn ourselves out, usually trying to prove we're good enough.At 26, Sarah had lost both her parents, in difficult circumstances.What she built afterwards became the foundation for how she now coaches high achievers, business owners,
Make Money And Save Money Through The Secondhand Market
Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to talk through one of her favourite money hacks, using the second hand market to both clear out the clutter at home and score serious bargains on everything from furniture to kids clothes.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / Frances Cook - JournalistInstagram / Frances | Money | Investing (@francescooknz) • Instagram profileTikTok / Frances Cook on TikTokJoin
The Hidden Areas Of NZ Where Houses Don't Cost As Much
Are there still good property deals in New Zealand right now? Here's where to actually look.A listener wrote in with the question everyone's asking: prices are technically down, but they still feel expensive. Interest rates aren't friendly. Rents don't cover the mortgage.So is property investment still worth it, or has the window already closed?On this episode of Ask the Experts, Katie Wesney from
The $2 Daily Habit That Could Be Worth $419,000 at Retirement
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 us
Jobs, Mortgages, AI Investing and Extreme Saving Hacks: Your Money News Roundup
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.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZInstagram / https://www.instagram.com/franc
The New Rules of Running a Side Hustle in New Zealand
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
Your Income Cheat Code: How Buying a Business Changes Everything
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 rings
How to Invest for Financial Freedom - WEBINAR REPLAY
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 thin
Why "Being Normal" Is The Most Expensive Thing You Can Choose
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 freed
What Accountants Wish You Knew About the IRD
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 s
Why Being a Loyal Customer Costs You Thousands
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.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / Frances Cook - JournalistInstagram / Frances | Money | Investing (@francescooknz) • Instagram profileTikTok / Frances Cook on TikTokJoin the
What Actually Gets You a Better Price for Your House
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 wh
The Truth About NZ's Economy Right Now
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, Dire
The SpaceX IPO Needs a Bright Red Hype Warning
As SpaceX hits the share market in one of the biggest IPOs ever, Frances Cook breaks down how IPOs actually work, why retail investors are getting an unusually large slice this time and whether that is as generous as it sounds.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / Frances Cook - JournalistInstagram / Frances | Money | Investing (@francescooknz) • Instagram profileTikTok / Frances Cook on TikTokJoin the
How to Plan Your Retirement as If NZ Super Won't Be There
Retirement planning is stressful enough without governments constantly threatening to move the goalposts.Means testing, wealth taxes, a rising retirement age; how much of it is real, and how much can you actually count on NZ Super?Katie Wesney, National Coaching Lead at EnableMe, joins us in the hot seat to cut through the noise.We get into whether the pension is a plan or just a foundation, what
The Investing Trap That Even the Experts Fall Into (And How to Avoid It)
Most investing mistakes don't look like mistakes when you're making them.Chris Walsh from MoneyHub joins us to break down the most common investing traps New Zealanders fall into, and the simple strategies that actually work long term.We get into why dollar cost averaging beats trying to time the market, what "invest in what you know" actually means (and how it gets misused), why borrowing to inve
HOLY SH*T WE WON
Best Business Podcast - NZ Radio & Podcast Awards 2026
You're On Your Own, Kid. Here's What That Means For Your Money
With the latest Budget signalling little relief for struggling Kiwis, Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to talk about what you can actually do to protect yourself financially when the recovery keeps getting pushed further down the road.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / Frances Cook - JournalistInstagram / Frances | Money | Investing (@francescooknz) • Instagram profileTikTok / Frances Cook
Are Shoebox Apartments About To Take Over NZ?
Could the home of the future be the size of a carpark? The government is talking about scrapping minimum apartment size rules, and one Making Cents listener wants to know if that's a housing fix or a housing trap.Vanessa Williams from http://realestate.co.nz has fresh data to help us figure this out.We get into whether micro apartments could actually ease the housing shortage, what banks will and
A Michelin-Trained Chef's Insider Secrets To Saving Money On Your Food
Adele Holland cooked for billionaires on private jets. Now she helps real people eat well for $50 a week, and she reckons the skills transfer better than you'd think.Adele is a Michelin-trained chef who spent years cooking in Swiss chalets and on superyachts before walking away from the waste and opulence of that world.Now, as the creator behind Dishes with Del, she's on a mission to make budget m
Are Small Homes A Bad Buy?
Apartments and townhouses are selling for less than people paid for them, and in record numbers. Frances Cook joins RNZ Nights to break down why smaller properties are taking a bigger hit than the rest of the property market and what it means for first home buyers, investors, and owners in negative equity.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZInstagram / https://www
The Money Timeline That Lets Normal People Build Wealth
If you've ever wondered why some people build real wealth on ordinary incomes, while others save for decades and still feel behind, this episode is the answer.Financial journalist Frances Cook breaks down the relationship between money and time, and why getting this right changes everything about how you invest, where your money goes, and how hard it can work for you.In this episode:The rule of 10
Why Overwhelmed Parents End Up Spending More Money, And How To Fix It
What if the chaos of parenthood is actually building your business brain?Renata Wiles was posting videos on the internet, with no business background, no tech background, and no real following.Now she's the founder of Roam with Kids, an app helping New Zealand parents find family-friendly places to go.In this episode, Frances talks with Renata about the messy reality of going from frustrated mum t
KiwiSaver Changes On The Cards Again - Are They Worth It?
Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to crunch the numbers on a proposed policy that would automatically enrol newborns into KiwiSaver with a $1,000 government contribution and what that could actually be worth by the time they retire.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / Frances Cook - JournalistInstagram / Frances | Money | Investing (@francescooknz) • Instagram profileTikTok / Frances Cook on T
NZ's Hottest Jobs in 2026… And How to Get Paid More in Any of Them
One in four young people in NZ can't find work. But some jobs are up 200% year on year.The job market hasn't collapsed - it's split. And if you're on the wrong side of that split, waiting for things to improve isn't a strategy.In this episode, we get into which jobs are actually booming right now, what the latest Stats NZ unemployment numbers really mean once you dig past the headline figure, and
The Lazy Investor's Guide To Building Real Wealth
Most of us assume that getting ahead financially means working harder, watching the markets, and making smart moves. The data says that’s wrong.In this episode, Frances talks with Sean Freer, Director of Global Exchange Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices, about why passive investing consistently beats active fund management, and what that means for everyday investors.We talk about:Why 86% of pro
10 Pieces Of Advice I'd Give My 20-Year-Old Self
Frances Cook shares the ten money lessons she wishes she'd known at 20, including the mindset shifts, small habits, and easy wins that made the biggest difference to her financial life.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / Frances Cook - JournalistInstagram / Frances | Money | Investing (@francescooknz) • Instagram profileTikTok / Frances Cook on TikTokJoin the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly mo
Spending Money the Right Way (Most Kiwis Miss This)
It's one thing to build financial stability, it's another to actually let yourself enjoy it. In this Ask the Experts episode, Frances Cook is joined by Katie Wesney from Enable Me to unpack a problem that's more common than you'd think: what happens when the scarcity mindset that helped you build financial security starts working against you? A listener wrote in with a $5 million net worth, and ge
Ali Mau: From TV Icon to Startup Founder at 60 (And How She Paid For It)
What does it actually cost to walk away from a successful career and build something that matters?Ali Mau is one of New Zealand's most recognised television faces, including Breakfast, Fair Go, Seven Sharp, One News.She was also made redundant five times along the way.Instead of treating each setback as a dead end, she used them as clarity. Now in her sixties, she’s co-founded Tika, a tech-for-goo
Why You Keep Buying Things You Don't Need Online
With six in ten Kiwis making impulse purchases from social media every month, Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to explain the manipulative tactics behind online shopping and how to take back control of your spending.Follow me everywhere!Facebook / Frances Cook - JournalistInstagram / Frances | Money | Investing (@francescooknz) • Instagram profileTikTok / Frances Cook on TikTokJoin the M
The 5 Levels of Financial Freedom: Which One Are You?
Financial freedom is a series of levels, and once you understand them, the whole thing stops feeling impossible and starts feeling like a plan.In this solo episode of Making Cents, Frances Cook breaks down the five levels of financial freedom, from knowing your numbers for the first time, to the point where work becomes genuinely optional.Each level builds on the last. Each one makes the next one
The Emotion Sabotaging Your Money (A Psychologist Explains)
You know what you should be doing with your money. So why aren't you doing it?You know you should ask for the raise. Start investing. Stop spending on things you don't care about. And yet, somehow, you don't.Counsellor and change therapist Charlotte Cummings has a name for what's stopping you, and it's not laziness or lack of discipline.It's your unbearable feeling.In this episode, Frances Cook si
War in Iran Is About To Hit Your Mortgage And Your Money - WEBINAR REPLAY
The war in Iran is already moving mortgage rates, and it's not done yet.Interest rates are moving, and this will change everything with your money. Beyond the mortgage, it’s also your savings, your investments, and even your job.So what's actually happening, and what should you do about it?Frances Cook is joined by Massey University’s Christoph Schumacher and EnableMe financial coach Katie Wesney
$54M Wiped From NZ Property: Here's What It Actually Means
The New Zealand property market is shifting, and the latest data from http://realestate.co.nz tells us exactly how.In just the last three months, sellers dropped their prices enough for a total of $54 million to be wiped off asking prices across New Zealand.But strangely, it could be good news, as it’s slowing from previous falls.So are we at a turning point?In this episode of Making Cents Ask the
