Making Cents

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 answers. Questions in this episode: Is there any hope for people just starting out to achieve Financial Independence?Advice for 26yo you?Is there a way to get your kiwisaver out without buying a house? Other investment schemes are better.What small things can I do to kick off investing when I don’t have a lot of money at all? Financial book recommendations?Are you scared to start your own business in a recession?What was your full time job before? What happened to Cooking the Books? I loved it!Do you miss writing about non-financial topics? How do you personally manage the currency risk of your investments? Do you buy hedged products?How is your hair so shiny?What’s your favourite luxury product you’ll never scrimp on? Mine’s fancy toilet roll. Just listened to the episode about how to pay off your home loan faster and it was fantastic and made so much sense. But what about for people who maybe can only save couple of thousand a year? Not really enough to warrant floating, or is it? Or what if you’re just a terrible saver (asking for a friend) or live almost week to week? How much difference does using a mortgage offset actually make?How many ETFs is good. And if you can’t buy a house, what’s the next best thing to do please. LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

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 busting.LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

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 talk to someone who’s ready to drop… more than a few truth bombs. LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

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.LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

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 Natasha Etschmann.One minute she was working as a support worker, finishing her studies to become a full-time occupational therapy worker, and the next her videos about her savings and investments were blowing up online.Making the leap from health, to finance and content creation, is a fairly big one.But she eventually decided, it was time to at least try.Here’s how she made it work.LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

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. LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

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 your business selling one thing, but what they don’t see is the strategy behind the scenes, the marketing, the accounts, the taxes, ugh the taxes. So what does it take to be in business now, and does making use of the online world make it easier, or harder? Well, there’s a couple of New Zealanders smashing this right now, so I figured it was time to pick their brains. LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

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!LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

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 independence movement and decided actually, she could go for that. So she made moves including changing her career to boost her earning power, and seriously schooling up on finances. The family is along for the ride, and safe to say, there are a few money conversations around the kitchen table. She’s become so good at walking the family and money tightrope that she’s now written two books on it, which have gone on to win awards, and smash sales records. LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

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. LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

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, that’s the dream - to feel like you have control over where your money is going, without stressing about every cent?So what’s possible, particularly if you’re not rolling in it? LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

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. 

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, that’s one big tick to help you out.Another smart tactic is to cut your costs, such as by finding free accommodation by house sitting.The digital nomad world is, however, often full of hype, with only whispers about how hard it can be in reality.That’s not what we do here though…Today, it’s a conversation with someone who’s making this dream a reality, but is also more than willing to share both the highs and the lows of the journey. Like being surrounded by friendly alpacas one minute, and the next, feeling horribly alone without friends and family.So how strategic do you need to get to pull off the digital nomad life, and how do you improve the odds of actually being successful? LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

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.