The Happy Saver Podcast - Personal Finance in New Zealand

I stumbled upon Sandra and Paul in 2018 when I not only discovered their blog about travel and minimalism but also that they were passing through my town that very week! Naturally I contacted them and invited them over for a coffee! Such an interesting couple who have both saved up, whittled down their lives to an 11kg backpack each, quit their jobs and transitioned into a new life of travel, adventure and a location-independent lifestyle.

I’m going to tell you about a fabulous 42 year old woman I know, called Kate. We met via my blog when she reached out to me and that is when I knew that she had an interesting money journey to tell. What you pay attention to gets done and Kate worked this out from an early age so when she set her sights on moving to New Zealand, establishing a career, buying a house, paying it off and retiring before 50 there is little that will keep her from achieving her goals.

This could have been a textbook case of “Investing 101”. Tom had the key components in there like: live on less than you make, invest in mutual funds and spend mindfully while living a great life into retirement and beyond. But he was investing through the 80s so investing in the stock market and buying a Porsche had to fit somewhere in the mix right? Tom’s story gives a fascinating look at the rocky ride of a share investor, a life well lived and a net worth that reflects that it all worked out OK in the end.

Today in my final episode for this series I speak with Alison and Tom who are parents to four children under the age of four. With a house build on the cards, a tight budget and a single income, we hear how this family of six manage to not just survive but thrive.

Three kids and an almost paid for house? It sounds like an impossible dream but I’m pleased to tell you it is a reality for this Wellington couple. But it has not happened by accident, it has taken planning and a lot of time to achieve it...

Today I am telling the story of Simon, a guy I’ve actually spoken to a number of times, but everything I thought and assumed about him turned out not to be 100% correct. With a finance related masters degree I thought he would have graphs for Africa. But no, although he knows where he is at financially, much more importantly he knows what kind of life he wants to live today and into the future.

Tenants of a beautiful house and buying the latest gadgets meant that this married Mum of one had it all. Well, she appeared to have it all from those on the outside looking in. ​​​​​​​Instead, she was feeling crushed by consumer debt and was forced back to work when she would rather be at home with her daughter. Something had to change and she was the only person to make that change.

Recently I spoke with Bret, a guy who has spent the last year and a half going from super consumer to super saver. He said he felt like he had been in the Matrix and has only just woken up after realising he had been sucked into a giant consumer machine. Where he used to use money to buy endless stuff, he is now using it as a currency to buy back his time.

A holiday is a great opportunity to clear your head and make future plans that you can put into action when you get back home. Unless you are Nellie. She decided that if you are going to make a plan to completely change your financial life then you might as well start right now, even if it means the holiday you are on grinds to a halt.

Shane is fed up with working and he wants to spend more time at home with his family instead. He wants to retire in his early forties! Years of DIY investing has worked him into a very good financial position but putting his hand up and asking for help to improve his portfolio has meant that his retirement will happen just that much sooner.

Ashley has been on a wild ride, one that saw her take her business to great highs and then crashing lows. But like a phoenix from the ashes she kept rising up again, dusting herself off and literally getting back on her horse. Today she is debt free and enjoying every moment, but it sure has been a rocky ride.

What were you doing at 23? I was still mucking around at University and having a grand old time. Not today’s guest. Callum was a fully qualified builder by the age of 19 and took a step up into his second career by the age of 21. Today, at just 23 he has a ​​​​​​​net worth that would make others stand up and notice and a heap of plans for the future where he takes every opportunity to grow his skills, invest carefully and spend mindfully.

If you want the good oil on how to invest well, track down a retired English and History teacher! If anyone is going to remember key points and dates about their life it is them. I was delighted to speak to Alan about his money journey and I’ve picked up a lot of tips on how to live not only a good financial life but how to cherish my personal relationships too.

I wanted to have a catch up with two people that I spoke to in the first podcast series because although separate, each of them were on a mission. One of them was on a mission to become debt free in the shortest time possible and the other was on a mission to retire at the grand old age of 44. Well, our catch ups did not disappoint and both of them have in the last six months made some fantastic progress towards their own unique goals.

Would you have the guts to move to another country? Well, Chris and Kazia did just that when they moved from the Philippines to New Zealand in 2010. It is an incredibly bold move but they have hit the ground running and Chris shared with me how his Filipino culture shaped his views on money but also how they are now merging those views with the Kiwi way of doing things.

Welcome to the last podcast of this series of twelve. I thought to round out the series I would let you know a bit more about me as you may have been thinking “who is this person who keeps on banging on about Personal Finance in New Zealand?” and I also thought that I might make this one a quick one, but realising how much I like to talk, it probably won’t be!

Living in Queenstown is a dream to many but it ain’t easy making it happen. All of that stunning scenery you feast your eyes on everyday does not pay the bills and buying not just A house, but your first house takes a lot of work and dedication. Kurt and Ruth have dedication in spades and they have created a whole of life plan to make sure they don’t just survive there, but thrive.

In January 2016 Ronnie woke up one morning and went to a job she didn’t much like and wondered how she had reached 39 years of age and still wasn’t rich. In fact she was just one or two pay cheques away from having next to nothing. So she YouTubed “how to be rich” and her journey out of debt began.

Jane loves buying individual shares in companies. She enjoys the research, the tracking of her investments and the sporadic hunt for the “next big thing”. Find out how this self taught investor fits share trading in around her busy family life.

SmartShares is an investment product I use and I met their product manager Dean Anderson because I kept contacting him with lots of questions regarding my own ETF funds. He struck me as a guy with a good story to tell and I knew there was more to him than just index funds. During our chat he told me about where, how and most importantly why he is an investor and you will come away from listening to him and put some more thought into your own money journey, of that I am certain.

Today I’m telling you all about my sister Liz. While I inherited the saver gene, she inherited the spending gene but a life of debt finally caught up with her and she has spent the last couple of years completely changing her mindset about the money in her life and is now firmly on a path to financial independence.

I met Victoria via my blog when we began to chat by email. So when I knew I wanted to create a podcast and wanted to interview a woman who gives her financial situation careful consideration, she was high up on my list. This is a snapshot of a calm and calculated Kiwi woman having a go and succeeding at setting her own financial path.

If you thought that every teenager spends their days wagging school and walking around with their head down looking at the latest iPhone, then think again. Today we meet James who is finishing up his final year of school before heading on to University in 2018. He is no slouch and is involved in a huge variety of community groups, holds down a job, listens to his mother and is saving hard for the future.

On this episode of the Happy Saver Podcast I talk with Rachel and David who are a New Zealand success story. When quite young they stumbled upon buying rental properties, in Auckland no less, and over time they bought a few more while working their day jobs. But it was their day job that enabled them to pay off their mortgages and today they go into detail about how they did it.

Lisa followed a fella all the way back to NZ and set up a successful business in which she toiled day after day. All her time and all of her energy went into it until one day she was forced to walk away, with nothing except a mortgage laden building. Broke, tired and uncertain of the future she started all over again. With no idea about what to do with money she set about teaching herself how and where to invest and now, at the young age of 44 she has reached financial independence and is about to retire!

This week I’m excited to tell you about Ryan Johnson, a fellow blogger on personal finance in New Zealand. He had a very interesting start to his working career as it involved a pack of 52 playing cards. He is self taught when it comes to investing and is putting careful thought into exactly where to invest his savings and he openly shares that with me today. With student loans now paid off he has bucked the home ownership trend for now and has chosen to rent rather than buy a home. Month by month he is building a strong financial footing and he has learned a tonne about investing along the way.

This week I had a chat with Bradie from Kiwi Girl On A Budget who has gone well down the rabbit hole of debt and is busy finding her way back out. She bought not one but three rental properties in one year in an attempt to set herself up for life. But life has a way of turning you in another direction when you least expect it and a series of events led her to completely rethink the way she thought about money.

Your friends might not want to talk about money, but I do! Hi, I’m Ruth and I’m a blogger on Personal Finance and in this podcast I tell the stories of Kiwi’s and their experiences with the money in their lives. How do they use it or how does it use them? Where do they save and invest it and does it work? What are their financial triumphs and financial train wrecks? How can you extract the most out of life and spend as little as possible while doing it? Join me as I ask the questions everyone else is too polite to ask, but is dying to know about New Zealanders and their money. Happy Saving! Ruth