Cooking The Books

Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it’s how a teacher changed her finances to prioritise travel and spend time with family. Hosted by Frances Cook. There are many different strategies to reach financial independence, some more extreme than others. If you have the freedom to travel, it can also mean the opportunity to take your financial strategies to the next level. That’s what today’s guest did. She combined seeking out the highest paid jobs in her field from around the world, with a very low cost of living, in order to hit a 90% savings rate. You read that right – she saved and invested 90% of the money she earned. That doesn’t mean it was all plain sailing though, because she had some money behaviours that nearly held her back from her dream early retirement. For the latest podcast I talked to Amy Minkley. If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm

A highlight clip from the February 2020 episode "The tax realities of making a side hustle work" with Hnry co-founder James Fuller.  If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it’s why ETF trading is down, and what it means for your strategy. Hosted by Frances Cook. After a couple of years of hype and covid boredom, it looks like the shares investing scene is crashing back to earth. Figures from the NZX show New Zealand ETF trading down about 75% in the last year, aka, investors aren’t buying and selling as many of those Exchange Traded Funds. There are a few things that could be feeding this trend, and I suspect higher interest rates and a higher cost of living are part of it. We’ll get into those as part of the discussion today. But another factor is that if other investors aren’t so keen on shares right now, does this mean there’s an opportunity for the investors who stay in the game? Quite possibly. For the latest podcast I talked to Dean Anderson founder and CEO of Kernel. If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, co

A highlight clip from the September 2022 episode "How to invest in shares through a crisis" with Dean Anderson, CEO of Kernel Wealth.  If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it’s how one New Zealander learned more about money and decided to get strategic. Hosted by Frances Cook. It’s amazing what can happen when you’ve got a money goal, and this week’s guest is living proof of that.From having no understanding of money, and living paycheck to paycheck, she turned things around to boost her income, build an emergency fund, and then pay off the mortgage in just seven years.She’s the first to admit that increasing her income was key, but that’s the thing – it was all part of the plan.And she says that without learning how money works, she would have just wasted that increased money anyway.For the latest podcast I talked to Cathy Anderson from Curated Money. If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i

A highlight clip from the December 2018 episode "why do sales make us irrational?" with AUT lecturer Sommer Kapitan. If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it’s what to make of the prediction that house prices will fall further. Hosted by Frances Cook. Behind the headlines of the Government’s Budget, there’s a bunch of nerdy stuff that can help us make better decisions with our money. At the same time as saying what the Government is going to spend its cash on, they also release documents and forecasts, showing how the wheels are turning in our economy. So the latest release with what Treasury had to say about housing was pretty interesting. It’s expecting house prices fall 13.4% by the time we hit June 30th, the end of the financial year. Then it’s predicting another 4.6% drop next year. If that happened, from the top to the bottom of the market, house prices will have fallen 21.3% all together. After that? A slow, slow climb back in house prices until 2027, of around 3% each year. It’s also picked up a drop in investors buying homes to rent. What’s be

A highlight clip from the October 2022 episode "How a NZ couple used sharemarket investments to become 'work optional' in 11 years" with Ruth Henderson, from The Happy Saver. If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it’s how to work out how much reliable income you can get from investments. Hosted by Frances Cook. One of my favourite money sayings is ‘every dollar you invest gets you closer to the day you don’t have to work anymore’. It’s no secret I’m a big fan of investing and the financial security it can bring by adding a stream of income that doesn’t rely on you heading off to work every day. But how much can you actually rely on it? How much do you need to invest before that trickle of income becomes a flood? We ran some numbers to test it.For the latest podcast I talked to Will Tieu from Goldsmith Mortgages, also known as Your Financial Engineer. If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it’s a side hustle that could make your hundreds of dollars while only needing a few hours of your time. Hosted by Frances Cook. Earning some extra money on the side can be useful for all sorts of reasons, but it’s important to make sure it doesn’t soak up all your free time, and that it actually makes you money. After all, we don’t want to be working all hours of the day for very little return. Well, one New Zealander has found selling items online, usually just using Facebook marketplace, to be very much worth her while. She spends about three hours a week listing items, and monitoring her listings. For that, she can earn anywhere from a few hundred bucks, to a thousand dollars. Not bad if you can get it. The best part is, she’s happy to share the secrets to her success with all of us. For the latest podcast I talked to lifestyle influencer Sabby Jey. If you have a question about this podcast, or a

A highlight clip from the February 2020 episode "The common insurance mistake NZers are making", with then-Herald money editor Tamsyn Parker. If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A highlight clip from the June 2019 episode "Myth busting the golden ratio for your money", with Dr Ayesha Scott from AUT. If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it’s how to make the most of your credit card, and the different deals at the moment. Hosted by Frances Cook. Credit cards can be a divisive topicOn the one hand, they’re a source of debt, which often has high interest rates, and can hold you back. But on the other hand, if you use them carefully, you can get rewards and perks for no cost. What those rewards and perks can actually be varies widely, and is often quite different in New Zealand and Australia from the rest of the world. For the latest podcast I talked to Jose George, General Manager for Canstar New Zealand. If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A highlight clip from the April 2021 episode, "Can you reach financial security without a house?" with then-Hatch CEO Kristen Lunman. If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it’s how a 25-year-old has overhauled her finances to pursue financial independence. Hosted by Frances Cook. When you talk to people about taking control of their money and learning to invest, you’ll often hear this particular phrase – “I wish I started earlier”.Today’s guest, however, doesn’t have to worry about that.At 25 years old she’s decided she’s ready to ditch old habits like a fast fashion addiction, and focus on hitting financial freedom, ideally within the next 10 years.No, she’s not earning mega-bucks, and she’s not someone who has a lot of family help, or a business degree to guide her.What she does have is a solid full-time job, a willingness to learn, and a focus on making the money changes that could give her the freedom to live life on her terms. For the latest podcast I talked to “Baddie”, from the Instagram account @BaddieAndMoney, who is staying anonymous for work reasons. If you

A highlight clip from the November 2019 episode "How to budget without feeling deprived", with PocketSmith CEO Jason Leong. If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it’s the pros and cons of peer-to-peer lending. Hosted by Frances Cook. There’s been a lot of talk about bank profits lately, and whether or not they make too much money. But if you had the opportunity to step into their shoes and make money in a similar way, would you? Enter peer-to-peer lending, where regular New Zealanders are given the opportunity to invest into someone else’s mortgage. Just like the banks do, you can lend cash to someone else who is wanting to do something like buy their home. They then pay you back, with interest, just like you usually do with a bank. It’s an interesting type of investment, and one that isn’t commonly talked about in New Zealand. For the latest podcast I talked to David Cunningham, CEO of Squirrel. If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here, and

A highlight clip from the March 2021 episode "How to choose a financial advisor", with Gillian Boyes from the Financial Markets Authority. If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it’s how the founder of Twiice is finding investment to help them break into Europe. Hosted by Frances Cook. It’s one of those pieces of advice that gets trotted out like it’s so simple; if you want to increase your income, consider starting a business of your own.Now it’s true that a successful business can create wealth, but that’s also the trick. Most businesses aren’t successful. It’s hard to do well.New Zealand particularly suffers from a very small investing environment, so it can be hard for our businesses to get the cash injection they need once they’re ready to take things to the next level.Well one business owner is willing to share their journey of how they’ve tackled these problems.You might have heard of Twiice, which produces edible coffee cups, and had a big early success when Air New Zealand got on board with their idea.Now they’re courting investors including private equity funds, hi

A highlight clip from the August 2022 episode "Your KiwiSaver questions answered, part one", with Dr Claire Matthews, associate professor from Massey Business School. If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.