Making Cents

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.

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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

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

There’s nothing quite like starting young. But most of us don’t build a business before we can vote. Never mind several of them.
Hamish Sutherland is 17 and already on his fourth business.
He felt the spark to get ahead early on but turns out it’s hard to get a job when you’re eight. Rather than let a tricky thing like employment law hold him back, he just started his own business instead.
By 13, that was a lawn mowing and water blasting business. At 15, he wrote a Kindle book that made $60,000. Then he moved into a property investment project. Now he’s building AI-focused businesses, fresh off an entrepreneurship intensive in Malaysia.
The world of work is changing fast, and it’s easy to freeze when you’re not sure where you fit into that change. Hamish isn’t freezing. He’s looking for the opportunity in it.

In this podcast we talk about:
• How to start a business as a teenager with no money or experience
• Making money on Kindle direct publishing, and how his book made $60,000
• Investing in property young
• AI business ideas for 2026, and where he’s focusing next
• Using social media to grow a business as a young entrepreneur
• Gen Z entrepreneurship, and why young people are more willing to take the risk
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re too young, too late, or too unqualified to start something of your own, this episode is the reminder that none of that has to be true.

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

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

With the OCR on the rise and inflation heading up again, Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to explain why the safest place for your money depends entirely on when you need it and why bank accounts are not always the answer.

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Free Power Forever? The Real Cost, Payback Time, and Battery Truth on Solar in NZ
18 months ago, I spent $89,000 on home solar and an electric car. I told you about it, and was flooded with questions on how this could work for other people.
(You can listen to the previous episode from 1 April, titled "I Spent $89,000 on Solar And Electric Car In NZ… Was It Worth It?")
This episode is the follow-up, answering every question from the practical (does my roof even work?) to the financial (do I actually need a $10,000 battery?).

I’ll break down:
Would solar work on your house, and what it takes to make solar power work
How to run the numbers to find out how long solar would take to pay itself off. I’ve got a three-figure back-of-envelope calculation anyone can do with last year's power bills
Do you need a battery to make solar power worthwhile?
What to do if money's tight, or you rent
Where solar power is heading next, including balcony solar and virtual power plants

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