Making Cents

Live replay from a YouTube listener mail question.After years of living paycheck to paycheck, a Making Cents listener has received a substantial inheritance.But now she's frozen, worried about making the right choice, and torn between buying a first home for her family, or investing the money.There's also a layer of emotional pressure to not waste the gift her beloved dad left her.Frances Cook lays out the best money options for this situation, as well as inviting the Making Cents community to offer their own advice for this situation.LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

Roy Chowdhury, founder of Homely, shares how he created an AI tool to make home lending easier, and the dangers of letting AI take part in your financial decisions.The property journey can be a frustrating one, and frankly, a bit intimidating. We’re talking big numbers, lots of jargon, and people in suits who are in charge of telling you yes or no to your dream. Lovely. So what about a digital helper? An app, that helps you figure out what’s possible and what’s not? Of course, it’s 2025, so it’s using AI. Now this might sound like a welcome handy helper, or it might freak you right out, because you’re wondering why you would trust AI with some of your most sensitive financial information. So let’s dive in - what’s possible, what’s not, and should you trust it? Making Cents is supported by our friends at Kiwibank. LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

Welcome to Ask the Experts, where each week we talk to people in the industry to get the inside word on what’s happening right now, and what that means for the tactics that you should use to make the most of your money.Interest rates are finally coming down, and so many of us breathe a sigh of relief, especially all the people with a mortgage. But how do you make the most of that, and maybe even get ahead, by putting that new interest rate to work?To get under the skin of the banking world we’ve partnered up with Kiwibank, who has kindly leant us their expert Nicole Pervan, and we’re going to smash through this.LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

A highlight clip from the February 10h episode, “Viral mortgage hacks debunked: Separating clickbait from real advice”, with Dan Bell, financial adviser and co-founder of Colab Mortgages.LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

Welcome to Making Cents, the podcast for people who want financial freedom without giving up their coffee, supported by our lovely friends at Kiwibank. I’m Frances Cook, an independent financial journalist and fellow financial freedom seeker who makes money simple for you. Have you ever wished you could hack your brain, so that you can actually do all of that good stuff you know you should be doing with your money? You know, saving for a rainy day, paying off debt, investing… we know we should, but we often don’t, because frankly there are other things to do that are way more fun. Well, enter the latest tech innovation. They’ve tapped into the behavioural psychology that’s often used to keep us online, or gambling, or doing other naughty things… and they’ve flipped it, to help us do the good stuff instead. 

Welcome to Ask the Experts, where each week we talk to people in the industry to get the inside word on what’s happening right now, and what that means for the tactics that you should use to make the most of your money. This week we’ve partnered up with Xero, which has kindly lent us their expert GM Sustainability and Impact Tam Somers, and we’re talking about how we shouldn’t let the fear of numbers hold us back from those dreams of launching a side hustle or small business, absolutely speaking my language on this one because I don’t love the spreadsheet side of my business either, but it’s still doable!LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

With tariffs flying, interest rates falling, and the job market looking a little rough... how do you survive? Here's a survival plan, and an Ask Me Anything session, so that you can feel more confident with your cash in 2025. LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

Welcome to Making Cents, the podcast for people who want financial freedom without giving up their coffee, supported by our lovely friends at Kiwibank. I’m Frances Cook, an independent financial journalist and fellow financial freedom seeker who makes money simple for you. How much money would it take for you to abandon your morals? Or sell something that you didn’t really believe in anymore?That’s the question that today’s guest Rosie McCarthy had to ask herself. She’d built up a career coaching business, Badass Careers, and was making over a million dollars in sales a year. And yet, as it progressed, she got disillusioned. She had ringside seats to exactly how bruising the world of work was becoming, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to encourage people into the corporate grind anymore. Instead, she was becoming more convinced of self-employment, and entrepreneurship, as the path to help people find financial freedom while still living a life that they found rewarding. So she decided… time to shut it all down, and start again. To leap into the unknown, stop being a career coach, and instead help people build a business for themselves. So why has the world of work turned so toxic, and should we all become our boss? Let’s talk about it. LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.

A replay of the live webinar version of Making Cents, answering audience questions on tariffs, how to invest when the market is down, what to do about KiwiSaver, best strategies for the mortgage while interest rates are falling, and whether your job is safe. LinksFollow Frances Cook on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week.