Making Cents

Frances Cook breaks down why the most popular index fund strategy in the world may not be spreading your risk the way you think, what history tells us about industries that have dominated the market before and what to do if the current AI concentration concerns you.

Follow me everywhere!
Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZ
Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz
TikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknz

Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribe
Become a confident sharemarket investor by signing up to the Market Memo newsletter https://www.francescook.co.nz/invest

The difference between long-term travel being the best decision you ever make and a very expensive mistake usually comes down to one thing: whether you had a plan.
This week on Ask the Experts, Frances Cook and Georgia Grange, head of Revolut NZ, answer a letter from a twenty-something who wants to take a couple of years to travel properly, but without going into debt or derailing their finances.

This episode covers:
How much money you actually need saved before you go
The hidden costs of international travel that drain your budget without you noticing
How to manage money across multiple countries and currencies on a long trip
Simple ways to make your budget last longer when you're travelling on a limited amount
Earning money while you travel, including the choice between bar work, remote work, and the digital nomad lifestyle

If you have a letter you’d like us to answer, please send it through to ask@francescook.co.nz and you might feature on our next episode!

This episode of Making Cents is proudly supported by Revolut, the card and app for everyday spending in NZ, and smarter money on your travels. Use this link https://get.revolut.com/e9Jc/makingcents1 to try them out, spend, and Revolut will give you $40 to get started.
T&Cs apply. Spend min $1 to receive reward. Exchange rates will vary. Comparison to major bank rates based on exchanging NZD $1K Mon-Fri, within your plan’s fair usage limits. More info:https://www.revolut.com/en-NZ/nz-fx-substantiation . Revolut Payments New Zealand Pty Ltd

Follow me everywhere!
Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZ
Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz
TikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknz

Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribe
Become a confident sharemarket investor by signing up to the Market Memo newsletter https://www.francescook.co.nz/invest

#MakingCents #FrancesCook #MakingCentsPodcast #InvestingPodcast #MoneyPodcast #FinancialFreedom

Production and video editing by Lana Byrne
Audio engineering by Tash Chittock
Filmed by Fanaticals

There's a belief that's almost a religion to some people: buy a home, hold onto it, pay off the mortgage, and you're financially sorted.
More often than not, it's not true. And if you let that belief guide you, you could miss real opportunities for building wealth, because you feel like you're ahead when you're actually not.
Janika ter Ellen knows this better than most. She's a property reporter for Stuff, covering these issues every day.
So when she finally sat down and ran the actual numbers on her own home, what she found surprised her, and not in a good way.
Turns out there are hidden costs to owning a home, and missed opportunities while you're paying off that mortgage, that change the story we've all been sold.
So if your home isn't quite the investment you thought it was, what is it? And does that change whether you should buy at all?
In this episode:
Is buying a house a good investment in New Zealand, and what happened when she ran the numbers on 11 years of home ownership
Why city and regional property markets tell completely different stories
House vs shares returns over 10 years
What she'd have been worth if she'd invested her deposit instead of buying
The hidden costs of home ownership
Renting vs buying a house
The difference between a home as an asset versus a home as an investment
Auckland house prices vs regional house prices

This episode of Making Cents is proudly supported by Odoo. Go to http://odoo.com/r/hpl now and try it for free, for 15 days.

Follow me everywhere!
Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZ
Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz
TikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknz

Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribe
Become a confident sharemarket investor by signing up to the Market Memo newsletter https://www.francescook.co.nz/invest

#MakingCents #FrancesCook #MakingCentsPodcast #InvestingPodcast #MoneyPodcast #FinancialFreedom

Production and video editing by Lana Byrne
Audio engineering by Tash Chittock
Filmed by Fanaticals

If it feels like getting a pay rise is harder than ever, you're not imagining it.
But even in a tough market, there are strategies that work, and people using them to get ahead.
Frances Cook is joined by University of Auckland senior lecturer Dr Kenny Ching, MyCareerBrand career coach Kaela Hindle, and Side Hustles NZ founder Rachel Mills to break down how to actually earn more in this environment.
We're covering:
– Which skills are gaining value right now, and which are losing ground
– How AI is reshaping the job market, and how to protect your career from it
– The script and tactics that actually work when asking for a pay rise
– How to find your most monetisable skill and turn it into a side hustle that pays properly
– Whether a portfolio career beats going all-in on one thing

You can't control the wage stats. But you can control your strategy.

Follow me everywhere!
Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZ
Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz
TikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknz

Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribe
Become a confident sharemarket investor by signing up to the Market Memo newsletter https://www.francescook.co.nz/invest

The highest number of June listings just hit the NZ property market, since 2020.
But the impact isn’t what you would think.
Despite the flood of listings, prices haven't moved.
Nationally, prices have barely moved in three and a half years, even as listings pile up. The picture also varies sharply depending on where in New Zealand you're looking, with wide swings across regions, within that national average.
Vanessa Williams from http://realestate.co.nz is ready to break down the story behind the numbers:
- NZ property market update June 2026: why listings are rising while national house prices stay flat
- Regional house prices vs national average NZ: which areas are outpacing the rest of the country, and why
- OCR interest rate rise 2026: what it means for mortgage holders, first home buyers, and savers
- How to sell a house in a slow market NZ: pricing and marketing strategy for a stock-flooded market
- First home buyer tips NZ: avoiding overwhelm and knowing your non-negotiables when house hunting

Follow me everywhere!
Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZ
Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz
TikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknz

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

Become a confident sharemarket investor by signing up to the Market Memo newsletter
https://www.francescook.co.nz/invest

#MakingCents #FrancesCook #MakingCentsPodcast #InvestingPodcast #MoneyPodcast #FinancialFreedom

Production and video editing by Lana Byrne
Audio engineering by Tash Chittock
Filmed by Fanaticals