Making Cents

Financial freedom is a series of levels, and once you understand them, the whole thing stops feeling impossible and starts feeling like a plan.

In this solo episode of Making Cents, Frances Cook breaks down the five levels of financial freedom, from knowing your numbers for the first time, to the point where work becomes genuinely optional.

Each level builds on the last. Each one makes the next one easier to reach, not harder. And the first level doesn't require much money at all - just honesty.

We talk about:
Why knowing your numbers is an underrated form of financial freedom
The one thing that reduces money stress at every income level
What "I have options" actually looks like in real NZ dollars
How compounding returns turn into a second job that requires nothing from you
The 4% rule, and how to use it to figure out your number
Why level five isn't the absence of work, it's the absence of fear

Whether you're drowning in debt and just trying to get a grip, or you're already investing and wondering what comes next, this episode will tell you exactly where you are, and where to aim next.

Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribe
Become a confident sharemarket investor by signing up to the Market Memo newsletter https://www.francescook.co.nz/invest

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#MakingCents #FrancesCook #MakingCentsPodcast #InvestingPodcast #MoneyPodcast #FinancialFreedom

This podcast was filmed & produced by Fanaticals
Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne
Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

You know what you should be doing with your money. So why aren't you doing it?
You know you should ask for the raise. Start investing. Stop spending on things you don't care about. And yet, somehow, you don't.
Counsellor and change therapist Charlotte Cummings has a name for what's stopping you, and it's not laziness or lack of discipline.
It's your unbearable feeling.
In this episode, Frances Cook sits down with Charlotte to unpack one of the most powerful concepts in psychology: the one or two feelings we hate so much, we structure our entire lives around never experiencing them.
And in doing so, we sabotage ourselves financially, professionally, and in our relationships — without ever realising why.

We talk about:
- What an "unbearable feeling" is and where it comes from
- How to figure out what yours is
- Why it's often behind the very thing making you successful, as well as being the very thing holding you back
- Common unbearable feelings that block people from investing, saving, or asking for more
- How to stop being run by your own fears (and what changes when you do)

This one will make you think differently about every money decision you've been putting off.

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.

Follow me everywhere!
Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZ
Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz
TikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknz

Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribe
Become a confident sharemarket investor by signing up to the Market Memo newsletter https://www.francescook.co.nz/invest

#MakingCents #FrancesCook #MakingCentsPodcast #InvestingPodcast #MoneyPodcast #FinancialFreedom

This podcast was filmed & produced by Fanaticals
Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne
Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

The war in Iran is already moving mortgage rates, and it's not done yet.
Interest rates are moving, and this will change everything with your money. Beyond the mortgage, it’s also your savings, your investments, and even your job.
So what's actually happening, and what should you do about it?
Frances Cook is joined by Massey University’s Christoph Schumacher and EnableMe financial coach Katie Wesney to break down the chain reaction from a conflict on the other side of the world, straight to your bank balance.
We're covering:
– How a war in the Middle East ends up pushing up your interest rate
– What the Reserve Bank is likely to do next, and when
– The key decisions to help you be smarter with your money, and especially your mortgage
– How to build genuine financial resilience when the future is uncertain
You can’t control the war. But you can control how you prepare.

The New Zealand property market is shifting, and the latest data from http://realestate.co.nz tells us exactly how.
In just the last three months, sellers dropped their prices enough for a total of $54 million to be wiped off asking prices across New Zealand.
But strangely, it could be good news, as it’s slowing from previous falls.
So are we at a turning point?
In this episode of Making Cents Ask the Experts, financial journalist Frances Cook sits down with Vanessa Williams from realestate.co.nz, to break down what's actually happening in the NZ property market right now. Not the vibes, the real numbers.
We cover:
Whether New Zealand is still in a buyer's market, and how long that might last
How the Iran conflict and rising oil prices could affect property
The best strategies for sellers in this market
How buyers can negotiate hard, and where the best opportunities are hiding
What the data hints at for the next 6 to 12 months

Whether you're buying, selling, or just watching the market, this episode gives you the real picture on New Zealand property in 2026.

If you have a letter you’d like us to answer, send it through to [email protected] and you might feature on our next episode!

Follow me everywhere!
Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZ
Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz
TikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknz

Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribe
Become a confident sharemarket investor by signing up to the Market Memo newsletter https://www.francescook.co.nz/invest

#MakingCents #FrancesCook #MakingCentsPodcast #InvestingPodcast #MoneyPodcast #FinancialFreedom

This podcast was filmed & produced by Fanaticals
Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne
Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Made redundant in your 50s? It might just be the start of something.
After decades as one of New Zealand's most recognised news presenters, Wendy Petrie was made redundant from the 6pm news. No warning, no plan B, just the sudden reality of starting over at a stage of life when most people assume the big career moves are behind them.
So she bought a business. Built it from the ground up. And figured it out as she went.
In this episode of Making Cents, Wendy Petrie opens up about what redundancy really feels like when it hits, why she chose to bet on herself instead of looking for another job, and the raw truth about buying and building a business in your 50s - the financial risk, the steep learning curve, and what nobody tells you before you take the leap.
This is the episode for anyone who's been made redundant, anyone who's wondered whether it's too late to start over, and anyone asking themselves: could I actually do this?
Spoiler: you might be surprised.

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.

Follow me everywhere!
Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZ
Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz
TikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknz

Join the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribe
Become a confident sharemarket investor by signing up to the Market Memo newsletter https://www.francescook.co.nz/invest

#MakingCents #FrancesCook #MakingCentsPodcast #InvestingPodcast #MoneyPodcast #FinancialFreedom

This podcast was filmed & produced by Fanaticals
Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne
Audio engineering by Tash Chittock