In this episode of Recorded At Red Nine, Andy Rowe sits down with mortgage advisor and Fresh Moni founder Willie Leota.
Willie shares his powerful story growing up in a family of seven kids sleeping in a garage, learning the hard lessons of money, and eventually building a career in banking and finance.
Today, he’s on a mission to help Pacific and Māori communities better understand the financial system through his platform Fresh Moni — a financial education podcast and platform designed to make money conversations more accessible.
From cultural differences around money to the realities of home ownership in New Zealand, this conversation explores how financial knowledge can transform lives.
We talk about:
• Growing up with seven kids sharing a garage
• Why Western financial systems can be difficult for Pacific communities
• Lessons learned working in banking
• Why people who look wealthy often aren’t
• The mission behind the Fresh Moni podcast
• Why home ownership in New Zealand isn’t impossible
🎙 Hosted by Andy Rowe
📍 Recorded at Red Nine Studios – Christchurch
Recorded At Red Nine explores the stories of people building businesses, ideas and communities across Canterbury.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
01:10 What is Fresh Moni?
02:00 Why Pacific communities struggle with finance
04:00 The cultural difference around money
06:40 Growing up with seven kids in one house
09:00 Discovering there was another way to live
12:00 Lessons learned working in banking
15:00 Why wealthy people don’t always look wealthy
18:00 Playing rugby in Scotland
20:00 Reconnecting with culture in Samoa
23:30 Understanding his parents’ struggles
25:00 The mission behind Fresh Moni
26:00 Advice for starting a business
27:00 Advice for getting your first mortgage
29:00 The biggest myth about buying property
30:20 Where to find Willie
","author_name":"Andy Rowe"}