Cooking The Books

Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald's Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's how to beat the banks at their own game. Hosted by Frances Cook. We’re back! Welcome to an all new season of the podcast. I may have left to have a baby, but I couldn’t stay away for too long, and boy some interesting stuff happened while I was gone. Not least of which are the changes to mortgage rules. You may have heard rumours that you can now be turned down for a mortgage simply for buying Uber Eats, or too many takeaway coffees, even if you can afford them. The rumours are true. Well, kind of. It’s all because of a change to lending rules, called the triple CCCFA, or the Credit Contract and Consumer Finance Act if we’re being formal. This law was brought in to stamp out loan sharks, and predatory debt schemes like what’s used by clothing trucks that patrol poorer neighbourhoods. Now that’s a good thing, but the unintended consequences, well, they haven&rs