Making Cents

In this episode of Making Cents, Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to talk about the growing "resist and unsubscribe" movement, how everyday New Zealanders can use their wallets to make a statement, and why your KiwiSaver might be one of the biggest votes you'll ever cast.

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What if you genuinely can’t earn more? Are you stuck financially?

In this Ask the Experts mailbag episode of Making Cents, we tackle a question that so many teachers, nurses, and public sector workers quietly wrestle with: what do you do when your income is capped?

Today’s letter writer is a teacher. She’s hearing the usual advice, to “earn more”, “start a side hustle”, “increase your income”, but her reality is strict salary bands, long hours, and family commitments.

So if climbing the income ladder isn’t straightforward, what’s the next best move?

In the hot seat is Kristin Sutherland, financial advisor at EnableMe, and we break this down properly:

– Are you really “stuck” in a capped-income career, or is there more wiggle room than it feels like?
– If a pay rise isn’t coming anytime soon, what should you focus on instead? Investing, spending strategy, debt reduction, or something else?
– Does investing still make sense when your income is flat?
– How to think strategically about promotions, specialisation, or changing employers
– Whether side hustles are worth it (and how to avoid burnout)
– Navigating relationship dynamics when one partner is aggressively pursuing higher income and the other offers stability

Listen now to learn how to move forward — even when your income doesn’t.

If you have a letter you’d like us to answer, please send it through to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) and you might feature on our next episode!

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This podcast was filmed & produced by Fanaticals

Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

#MakingCents #FrancesCook

If you want the truth about retiring early as a regular person, it doesn’t come from highlight reels or motivational posts. It comes from the numbers.

When you strip away the vibes, hacks, and hot takes, the numbers show what actually works, what doesn’t, and how real people build passive income that gives them real choice over their time.

That’s where Bronwyn Candish comes in.

Bronwyn is a chartered accountant who specialises in working with everyday people who want to retire early. It’s not the theory of it, but the messy, real-life version. By digging into people’s finances, she sees the patterns others miss: the spending leaks, the mindset traps, and the systems that move the needle over time.

In this episode, Bronwyn shares what she’s seen behind the scenes, including the common mistakes that hold people back, the simple tactics that actually stick, and why automation beats motivation every time.

She’s not just advising from the sidelines either. Bronwyn is building her own retire-early plan, using the same investing strategies, income levers, and intentional spending choices she recommends to her clients.

This is a grounded, honest look at how normal people really make progress, from passive income through shares, to optimising KiwiSaver, to getting your partner on the same page, and using community as a secret weapon.

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This podcast was filmed & produced by Fanaticals

Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

#MakingCents #FrancesCook #FinancialIndependence #FIREmovement #PassiveInvesting #PassiveIncome #FIRE #RetireEarly #Retirement

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:32 Meet Bronwyn: the accountant for people pursuing financial independence
00:05:14 Bronwyn's financial independence journey: divorce, debt, and discovery
00:07:23 COVID, parenthood, and purchasing a practice
00:09:10 Who Bronwyn works with: from lazy balance sheets to FIRE enthusiasts
00:13:00 Is financial independence accessible for normal people?
00:14:43 Best tactics for regular people: business as a bank account and expense awareness
00:15:45 The power of increasing income and self-employment
00:18:48 Black Friday: building community and brainwashing partners
00:27:23 Bronwyn's personal tactics: index funds, automation, and intentional spending
00:30:00 Mindset shifts: from deprivation to appreciation
00:33:45 The debt-free journey and the power of teamwork
00:35:50 Advice for skeptics and where to find Bronwyn

Money fights aren’t really about money. They’re about expectations, and how differently we respond to them.

In this episode of Making Cents, I’m breaking down the four money personalities that shape how you save, spend, budget, and argue about money. Get ready to finally understand why financial advice works brilliantly for some people and completely falls apart for others.

Based on Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies framework, these personalities explain why:

You can know what to do with your money… and still not do it

Your partner’s approach makes perfect sense to them, but drives you mad

Discipline isn’t the issue, but mismatched systems are.

You’ll learn how the Upholder, Questioner, Obliger, and Rebel money personalities actually behave with money, where each one thrives, where it goes wrong, and what strategies genuinely work for each type.

We also dig into how different money personalities clash (and connect) in relationships. Why money is such a common source of tension, and how to design shared systems that don’t leave one person feeling controlled, rushed, unsupported, or sabotaged.

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Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribe

This podcast was filmed & produced by Fanaticals

Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

#MakingCents #FrancesCook #moneypersonality #moneymindset #financialpsychology #financialfreedom #FourTendencies #Upholder #Questioner #Obliger #Rebel

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction
00:03:11 The upholder: the goody two shoes who follow all the rules
00:05:58 The questioner: research everything, customize everything
00:10:54 The obliger: brilliant for others, terrible at prioritizing themselves
00:13:51 The rebel: identity over obligations
00:17:33 Why most money advice is written for upholders
00:18:27 Money personalities in relationships: why couples fight about expectations
00:20:49 Wrapping up: stop fighting yourself and design systems that fit
00:21:08 Outro

From the real risks behind AI hype and whether we're heading for a crash, to the surprising weakness hiding inside Big Tech's profits, and why digital advertising might be the canary in the coal mine that nobody's watching… it’s time to make sense of the chaos.

Fast Money with Jim Mora on RNZ’s Sunday Mornings, it’s time for the money update you need.

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Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

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