Making Cents
The podcast for people who want financial freedom, without giving up their coffee. That means it's time to make the money world make cents. Join Frances Cook, best-selling author and award-winning journalist, to talk about the proven ways to invest your way to financial independence, buy your first home, or just get your spending under control. Every Monday we have the week's feature interview, with someone who's done something interesting with their money. From paying off a mountain of debt, or investing for financial independence, or starting a new business, these are the ordinary people making the extraordinary possible. On Thursday we have Ask the Experts, where industry insiders answer your questions on the money world. From earning more in your career, to investing, or sticking to a budget, they'll help make money simple. Every now and then you'll get a bonus episode too, but the fun of those is that you never know when they're coming!
Episodes
Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to talk about the ways to save money on daily life, and maybe even earn some extra cash, to get through the cost of living crunch.
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Losing a partner is devastating. Then on top of the grief, there’s paperwork, big life changes, and financial decisions that feel urgent and overwhelming.
In this episode of Ask the Experts, we’re answering a listener question from a woman in her early 50s who recently lost her husband. They had just finished putting their kids through school and were about to ramp up re...
When you’re working hard, ticking the boxes, doing everything “right”, yet still not getting the promotion or pay rise? It’s easy to feel stuck.
You’re not imagining it.
New Zealand’s job market has cooled. Job listings are down. Businesses are cautious. Pay rises are harder to secure. Career progression can feel slower.
A small change to a payment strategy can save hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of repayment time from your mortgage, cutting one of the biggest expenses most people will face.
A replay of Frances Cook's column for Stuff.co.nz, read here with permission.
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What do you do when you’re stuck between two bad options?
Sell a home you bought near the peak of the market, even though it’s now worth hundreds of thousands less, or stay put in a house that no longer fits your life?
That’s the dilemma facing this week’s listener. They bought in late 2020, welcomed kids, watched their house value fall by around ...
For decades in New Zealand, property wasn’t just an investment, it was THE investment.
The safest bet. The biggest capital gains. Often tax-advantaged. And for many households, the clearest path to building long-term wealth.
But that narrative is starting to shift.
House prices remain high....
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...
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.
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 othe...
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.
There is a lot of mortgage advice out there that is confidently wrong.
And the cost of following it isn’t just money, it’s time. Sometimes years of your life spent under pressure you didn’t actually need.
In this episode of Making Cents, we’re cutting through the biggest mortgage myths that trip people up both before they buy a ho...
If you're feeling the February slump and wondering how to get back on track without starting from scratch, this one's for you!
A replay of Frances Cook's column for 1 News, read here with permission, on 7 science-backed ways to get your money back under control.
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This episode was originally part of the Market Memo newsletter, where you learn about sharemarket investing every week. You can subscribe to that, here https://marketmemoweekly.substack.com/
It’s never been easier to start investing. And that’s both brilliant, and part of the problem.
Between constant headlines, market swings, hot takes on social medi...
If you’ve ever wondered what’s actually going on behind the scenes of the 1%, beyond the headlines, Instagram posts, and glossy business profiles, this episode pulls back the curtain.
Because beneath the public image of wealth is usually a highly deliberate money strategy. And it doesn’t have to be exclusive to the ultra-rich.
In ...
Everyone says you should start investing in the stock market, but how do you actually do that?
Time for a quick roadmap to get you started. Whether you’re starting from scratch, or you’ve been investing for a while but you’re not sure you’re nailing it, this is the live session to help you feel like the confident investor you should be.
With top industry experts
Are home renovations actually an investment, or just an expensive way to make your house nicer to live in?
In this Ask the Experts mailbag episode, it’s time to answer the question many are scared of: have I overcapitalised my home?
Which renovations genuinely add value, and which ones don’t?
Is your own home an investment, or a lifestyle choice?
And if you’ve alrea...
Quick-fire tips and tricks for feeling more in control of your money in 2026.
Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to talk about it, replayed here with permission.
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Gold and silver prices are booming, and it’s being driven by something deeper: how people are feeling about their money.
When trust starts to break down, investors don’t just talk about it, they move their money.
Darcy Ungaro, a financial adviser and host of the NZ Everyday Investor, is seeing more New Zealanders actively asking a...
Opposites attract, until it comes to money.
This week’s listener says she’s a saver, her partner is a spender, and every attempt to “get serious” about their finances ends the same way: frustration, guilt, splurging out of spite, and a plan that falls apart by March.
Instead of moving forward, they’re cancelling each other out, and it’s starting to wear them both down.
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