Making Cents - podcast cover

Making Cents

Frances Cookshows.acast.com

The podcast for people who want financial freedom, without giving up their coffee.


That means it's time to make the money world make cents. Join Frances Cook, best-selling author and award-winning journalist, to talk about the proven ways to invest your way to financial independence, buy your first home, or just get your spending under control.


Every Monday we have the week's feature interview, with someone who's done something interesting with their money. From paying off a mountain of debt, or investing for financial independence, or starting a new business, these are the ordinary people making the extraordinary possible.


On Thursday we have Ask the Experts, where industry insiders answer your questions on the money world. From earning more in your career, to investing, or sticking to a budget, they'll help make money simple.


Every now and then you'll get a bonus episode too, but the fun of those is that you never know when they're coming!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Episodes

Will a house or apartment make you more money?

Welcome to Ask the Experts, where each week we talk to people in the industry to get the inside word on what’s happening right now, and what that means for the tactics that you should use to make the most of your money. This week I’ve partnered up with realestate.co.nz, who has kindly leant us their expert Vanessa Williams, and we’re talking about house versus apartment. There are some key differences between these property types, and it can seriously impact your money. Links Follow Frances Cook...

Dec 11, 202423 min

The secret to making money doing what you love

Pepper Raccoon, artist and merch designer, shares her tactics for creating a proper living out of being an artist. There’s a common belief that when you’re making career choices, you have to choose between doing what you love, or making money. While that’s sometimes true, it’s doesn’t have to be true. Even creatives, the ones most famous for becoming starving artists, can find systems to make a living without selling out to the man. It does, however, take a strategy. After all, if it was easy, e...

Dec 08, 20241 hr 2 min

Christmas cash: How listeners are being money smart in the festive season

Frances Cook shares listener tips for being money smart over Christmas, for everything from presents, to food, and bringing in extra cash to fund it all. 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Dec 04, 202427 min

“I regret paying off my mortgage early” - financial analyst Nick Carr

Nick Carr, financial analyst from Your Money Blueprint, shares why he regrets paying off his mortgage early, and the numbers behind why he would have invested into shares instead. Paying off the mortgage early is a good thing… right? Well, one New Zealander worked hard to do that, and then decided, he’d actually shot himself in the foot. When a big accident happened, the money he’d sunk into the mortgage wasn’t available, when he could have done with some cash savings to get through a tough time...

Dec 01, 202448 min

When is it a bad idea to put more into KiwiSaver?

Welcome to Ask the Experts, where each week we talk to people in the industry to get the inside word on what’s happening right now, and what that means for the tactics that you should use to make the most of your money. This week we’ve partnered up with AMP, which has kindly leant us their expert, client adviser Devon Walen, and we’re talking about if there are times when putting more into your KiwiSaver can actually be a bad idea. Links Follow Frances Cook on Facebook , Instagram and TikTok , o...

Nov 27, 202418 min

BONUS: How do you talk to your kids about money?

Frances Cook talks kids and money with Chris Chang, on TVNZ's Breakfast. Last week I was on TVNZ’s Breakfast, talking to Chris Chang about some strategies to talk to your kids about money. Particularly with Christmas coming up, can it be a present? What’s the best way to go about it? I get these questions in my inbox all the time, and the Breakfast team were nice enough to say I could put the audio up here as well, for you to listen to. Enjoy. Links Follow Frances Cook on Facebook , Instagram an...

Nov 25, 20246 min

How this SAHM manages skyrocketing grocery costs for their family of four

Rachel Leutele, also known as the Savvy Saver, shares her tips for staying on a budget as a family, and changing your money to prioritise life. Becoming a stay at home mum is something that many people would like to do, but don’t necessarily have the funds for. It’s easy to think it’s only possible if one of the parents has a six figure income. But this mum, fresh out of getting her law degree, decided she wanted to make the stay at home mum life work even if it meant being on a string bean budg...

Nov 24, 202443 min

How to make your bank account work harder for you

Welcome to Ask the Experts, where each week we talk to people in the industry to get the inside word on what’s happening right now, and what that means for the tactics that you should use to make the most of your money. This week we’ve partnered up with Kiwibank, which has kindly leant us their expert Hayley Tito, senior product manager for everyday banking, and we’re talking about the different bank accounts that can make the most of your money. Links Follow Frances Cook on Facebook , Instagram...

Nov 20, 202413 min

BONUS: Is crypto about to boom?

Frances Cook talks cryptocurrency with Jim Mora, on RNZ's Sunday Morning. You might have noticed that there was a fairly significant election recently, with Donald Trump once again about to be President of the US. Well this has impacted all sorts of things, including the financial world, and one of those big impacts has been on crypto. In true Trump style, he’s done a 180, going from calling it a scam in 2021, to now starting his own cryptocurrency, and saying that the US government is going to ...

Nov 18, 202418 min

From women’s refuge to financial freedom at 33

Angela Strang, property investor and business owner, shares her tips for reaching financial independence. Sometimes a difficult experience early in life will shape you, for better or worse. For Angela, it was an early experience of finding herself as a child with her family in women’s refuge, that made her determined she would create financial stability for herself, and any future family that she had. So as a young adult she looked for highly paid jobs, and funneled that into property investment...

Nov 17, 202449 min

Brodie Kane on the pros and cons of buying a house with a friend

TV presenter Brodie Kane shares her co-ownership journey, and what she learned from hosting the new TV series On The Ladder with Kiwibank. Buying a house is far from easy, because let’s be honest, they’re expensive Building up a deposit, getting approval from the bank, then keeping paying it off, it’s all a bit of a mountain to climb Not to mention, if something goes wrong with the house, you’re now in charge and have to figure repairs, maintenance, and all the other very adult stuff. Well some ...

Nov 13, 202435 min

Your questions, answered: Why I quit, best investing strategy?

Frances Cook answers the questions that you sent in, in a solo episode covering the best investing strategies, and why she launched her own business. This week, it’s something a little different. Things have changed around here recently, and I know that’s left people with a few questions. So I opened things up through social media to say, what are the questions on your mind? Everytjing from investing strategies, to why I quit my old job, came through. So… let’s whip through and give you some ans...

Nov 10, 202445 min

Decoding the housing market's alphabet soup

Welcome to Ask the Experts, where each week we talk to people in the industry to get the inside word on what’s happening right now, and what that means for the tactics that you should use to make the most of your money. This week I’ve partnered up with realestate.co.nz, who has kindly leant us their expert Vanessa Williams, and we’re talking all of those acronyms that turn into alphabet soup when you’re just trying to figure out what’s going on in the property world. So today... we're jargon bus...

Nov 06, 202421 min

The no BS strategy for budgeting, investment, and ditching debt

Glen James, author of The Quick-Start Guide to Investing and host of the Money Money Money podcast, talks money pitfalls and how to invest successfully. Learning how to invest has to be one of the top questions I get in my inbox each week. And I love investing - it’s one of the fun parts of taking control of your money, to see it grow as well. But of course there are pitfalls, and you need to have your financial house in order before you give it a whirl. So how do you avoid the bear traps? Let’s...

Nov 03, 20241 hr 8 min

How to avoid being tricked about what's in your investments

Welcome to Ask the Experts, where each week we talk to people in the industry to get the inside word on what’s happening right now, and what that means for the tactics that you should use to make the most of your money. This week we’ve partnered up with AMP, which has kindly leant us their expert Kate Brownsey, a sustainable investment analyst, and we’re talking about greenwashing and how to avoid being tricked by it... because nobody likes that. Links Follow Frances Cook on Facebook , Instagram...

Oct 30, 202420 min

How financial freedom can lead to a career change

Natasha Etschmann, as known as Tash Invests, shares how investing into stocks and the sharemarket created the opportunity to move from working in health, to running her own business. When you think about starting your own business, the usual advice is to take what you already do for work, and turn it into something you can do on your own. So what if an opportunity comes along that’s totally different to what you’ve been doing until now? That’s what happened to Tash Invests, otherwise known as Na...

Oct 27, 202446 min

Quick Hit: Instagram versus reality, for digital nomad life

A highlight clip from the September 30th episode, "How house sitting with alpacas turned into a digital nomad dream", with Sarah Kelsey from the OneUp Project. 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Oct 23, 20246 min

From professional poker, to a podcast empire: the realities of starting a business in the internet age

Steve Holloway and Seamus Marten from Between Two Beers share what it takes to make a business work in the internet age. In some ways, it’s never been easier to start a business. But it’s one thing to start a business, and another to keep it running and making money. Many entrepreneurs start out in an area that they’re passionate about, but soon realise they have to wear a lot of other hats too that they’re not so passionate about, in order to get the business off the ground. People might see yo...

Oct 20, 20241 hr 1 min

Is the forever home no more?

Welcome to Ask the Experts, where each week we talk to people in the industry to get the inside word on what’s happening right now, and what that means for the tactics that you should use to make the most of your money. This week I’ve partnered up with realestate.co.nz, which has kindly leant us their expert Vanessa Williams, and we’re talking about how long people actually hold on to their homes. Spoiler alert, it’s not as long as you might think! Links Follow Frances Cook on Facebook , Instagr...

Oct 16, 202416 min

The key to reaching financial independence while raising a family

Ana Kresina, financial educator and author, shares her tactics for career and investments, to get to financial independence faster. Having enough in investments that you don’t need to work anymore sounds, frankly, hard enough for the average person. But what about if you’re trying to raise children as well, a notoriously expensive activity? As always, I’m a believer that it’s possible, as long as you’ve got a strategy. Today’s guest has that same belief. She heard about the financial independenc...

Oct 13, 202452 min

The underrated way to pay off the mortgage early

Welcome to Ask the Experts, where each week we talk to people in the industry to get the inside word on what’s happening right now, and what that means for the tactics that you should use to make the most of your money. This week we’ve partnered up with Enable.Me, who has kindly leant us their expert Katie Wesney, a head strategic coach, and we’re talking paying off the mortgage early. Links Follow Frances Cook on Facebook , Instagram and TikTok , or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free wee...

Oct 09, 202419 min

Getting BDE vibes for your budget

Cameron Wislang, founder of Big Dollar Energy budgets, shares the tricks for confidence with your money, and budgeting without missing out on life. Budget is often a dirty word, immediately making you think of cutting back and missing out. But what if you used it as a way to create happiness and calm instead? That’s what the founder of Big Dollar Energy Budgets is all about, pushing for an approach that reduces stress and stops you from having to think about money all day every day. And surely, ...

Oct 06, 202443 min

The traveller’s guide to staying money smart

Welcome to Ask the Experts, where each week we talk to people in the industry to get the inside word on what’s happening right now, and what that means for the tactics that you should use to make the most of your money. This week we’ve partnered up with Kiwibank, who has kindly leant us their expert Hayley Tito, senior product manager for everyday banking, and we’re talking travel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Oct 02, 202415 min

How house sitting with alpacas turned into a digital nomad dream

Sarah Kelsey from the OneUp Project shares the highs and lows of digital nomad life, and how she uses house sitting to make the dream a reality. The idea of taking off to see the world, but still getting to have a career, is an enticing one, and that’s the obvious appeal behind the idea of becoming a digital nomad. If so many people can work from home, then why can’t you also work from anywhere but home? Travel is made easier with money to fund it, and if you’re able to keep working remotely, th...

Sep 29, 202457 min

Trailer

Welcome to Making Cents, where we do exactly what it says on the tin - make the money world make sense. I'm Frances Cook, a best-selling author and award-winning journalist, who's been helping people figure out the money world for a few years now. So whether you want to invest your way to financial independence, buy your first home, or just get your spending under control, let's talk about it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Aug 26, 202424 sec
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