When stage 4 cancer hit, financial independence gave her room to breathe

What if the worst happened, but you were financially ready?

When Caroline Gordon was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer, everything changed. But because she’d already built financial independence, she had something many people in crisis don’t: options.

In this episode of Making Cents, we dive into how financial freedom became Caroline’s safety net. She shares how it allowed her to:

- Self-fund private cancer treatment not available in the public system

- Travel overseas for surgery when time was critical

- Step away from a stressful job to focus on recovery

- Maintain her quality of life without financial panic

Whether you’re working towards FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), building your first emergency fund, or just trying to create more security, this episode shows what financial freedom really means.

Caroline shares her investing strategy (including index funds and ethical investing), and what she wishes more people understood about money, health, and freedom.

It’s not about the money.

It’s about what the money makes possible, especially when life gets messy.

Making Cents is supported by our friends at Kiwibank.

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