The Happy Saver Podcast - Personal Finance in New Zealand

Today I’m doing something a bit different. I thought I’d give you a little update on what Jonny and I are up to. If you've been listening for a while, you might remember that way back in 2018 I released Episode 12, It’s All About Me. Since then, The Happy Saver blog has become a bit of a diary, tracking our financial journey and the thinking behind the decisions we’ve made. The podcast, on the other hand, has always been about everybody else. But while kind people constantly tell me they love hearing other people’s money stories, I’m still...

I had a great chat with Rose and Adam on a cold winter’s day in July, and this warm and friendly duo came to our conversation well prepared. Just over 20 years ago, they made the move from Israel to Ōtautahi Christchurch. They joined KiwiSaver early, eventually bought a home of their own, and continued investing in both the sharemarket and residential property. Mindfulness is also central to their lives. Their daily meditation practice and Zen philosophy have taught them to let go of drama, avoid dwelling on setbacks and view mistakes as opportunities to learn. That perspective is particularly val...

Today’s guest is Olivia, a 59-year-old single woman who is on track to pay off a 30-year mortgage in just 10 years, entirely on one income. But this is not simply a story about paying off debt. It is a story about rebuilding financial safety after divorce, relationship breakdowns, solo parenting, financial mistakes, grief, and years of carrying the full load alone. Olivia shares why becoming mortgage-free matters so much to her, why she believes financial independence is essential for women, and how she changed her financial life through consistency, frugal living, tracking every dollar for 27 years, and learning to tr...

Anna has developed strong money habits through years of study, careful saving, and living well below her means. After following the traditional advice to buy a home, Anna and her partner, Thom, began to question whether home ownership really suited the life they wanted. Once they ran the numbers, they made the bold decision to sell their house, rent a home that better fits their lifestyle, and redirect their surplus income into sharemarket investments instead. Anna’s story is about much more than money. It’s about questioning lifestyle creep, rethinking housing as the automatic path to wealth, biking instead of d...

Today, we hear from Petra, whose life has taken her from the UK to Australia and then to New Zealand, with a few moves back and forth along the way. Auckland is home for now, but aged 60 and widowed about five years ago, Petra is still rebuilding her life without the love of her life beside her. She shares the deeply personal story of losing James suddenly at just 53, and finding herself forced to untangle a complicated financial life while grieving. For decades, they did what many ordinary families do: worked hard, raised children, bought houses, carried big mortgages, spent...

This episode shares the story of Emma, a solo mum who, from the outside, appears to have it all together: a home of her own, strong finances, and a clear plan for the future. But behind that picture is years of hardship, resilience, and determination to rebuild her life after leaving an unhealthy marriage. She is now rebuilding from a much stronger foundation, describing her life as being in “financial rehab,” making up for lost time as she steadily rights her waka and moves into calmer waters. Through grit, determination, and a series of deliberate, intentional steps, she has rebuilt her...

Back in November 2017, in Episode 04, I sat down with Rachel and David. They had reached financial independence long before the term was widely used, doing it through property and achieving what many Kiwi investors dream of: owning a portfolio of rental properties outright, spending little time managing them, and living off the income. They had around $3 million in equity across their rental properties, not including their own home, and a lifestyle built on freedom, travel, and choice. It was one of the first real examples I’d seen of property generating enough income to fully fund a life. Eight years la...

Emily and I first met over email and via one of my Phone A Friend chats back in late 2023. Like me, she loves regional Aotearoa and everything it has to offer. She’s happily ensconced in the Taumarunui community, and she has exactly the right attitude to thrive in a small town. She gets stuck in, makes things happen, and helps out whenever needed. She owns a tiny house on rented land and works a variety of jobs. From a young age, Emily decided that financial independence was essential to her. Since the age of 19, she has stood on her ow...

I really enjoyed creating this episode because it explores a form of investing that doesn’t often feature heavily in the wealth-building stories I usually share. I spoke at length with Lilly about the successful property investment business she and her husband, James, built together, and what struck me most was the intention behind it. This wasn’t accidental landlording, but a strategy grounded in maths, business savvy, long hours, and consistent hard work. The more I learned about how they deliberately grew their rental portfolio, the more I wanted to share their story as an example of how property, when...

In today’s episode, I had the great pleasure of speaking with Carla. She lives in a small regional town in the South Island with her husband and their three children. Carla’s story is about money, but it’s also about health. I don’t think I’ve spoken with someone with quite the mix of things going on that Carla has, but listening to such a wide variety of people share their money journeys on this podcast has given her the courage to make some big changes in her own life, because she knows that no two people manage mon...

Jennifer first emailed me in early 2023 after listening to all my podcasts. She knew I was a big advocate for parents teaching kids to invest and had a few questions, including one detail that really caught my attention. Her then 17 and 19-year-old children didn’t know they had a small amount of money coming their way at 25. She wanted to keep it secret, plus they had zero interest in investing. That sparked an ongoing email exchange, and nearly three years later, we’re here, with Jennifer finally agreeing to share a much deeper financial story than she first intended. She genu...

Today I’m sharing the story of Steve and Sarah, a UK couple who, many years ago, packed up their lives, moved to Aotearoa, and built a really solid financial life together. From the get-go, they’ve been a great team with money: well-educated, curious, hard-working, and brave enough to take big leaps when the chance came along. Over the years, they’ve invested in property, shares, and themselves, learning plenty along the way. Like many of us, they’ve had a few financial detours, several property disasters, but their long-term habit of saving and investing has quietly set them up for a...

Maria and Michelle were late financial bloomers who only really got started in their 50s. Now 71 and 69, they’ve paid off their mortgage and student loan, invested in the sharemarket, built up $1,000,000 in savings and investments, and receive NZ Super and a US pension. Through hard work, investing as much of their income as they possibly could, and carefully tracking and measuring their progress, they went from feeling anxious about retirement to completely calm about it. For Maria, money had always meant security, yet for a variety of reasons, she kept making poor financial decisions throughout much of her adult li...

This week, I’m sharing the story of Rachel, a 90s kid from Timaru. Rachel is the youngest of four, with three brothers, and a ten year gap between her and her oldest brother, and they all grew up with a stay at home mum and a Dad who always took any and every job he could to provide for their family. Although Rachel just assumed that hers might be a standard life plan of go to school, complete some tertiary study at some point, get a full-time job and work your way up the career ladder, she has ended up...

In today’s episode, I spoke with Marian, who in turn spoke on behalf of herself and her husband, Jon. Originally from the Netherlands and now based in New Zealand, they’re in the middle of a big transition, preparing to sell their home in the greater Wellington region and move down to Canterbury as they edge closer to semi-retirement. It’s a big transition in many ways, but moving location is something this couple have regularly done throughout their lives, and Marian in particular enjoys the whole process of heading off to live in a new house and discover a new...

Today’s guest, Gail, has been on quite the financial trip and she’s still very much on it. Back in 2019, at age 41, she experienced a wake-up call. She found herself with plenty on her plate: a failing business, an income of just $25,000, no savings, no emergency fund, drawing down on her mortgage to pay the mortgage, mounting IRD debt, $4,000 on the credit card, and using buy now, pay later just to cover the basics in life. After listing down her not insignificant problems, she asked herself how on earth she could get out of this mess. But, at that stag...

This week's podcast is all about 51-year-old Julian. We picked up the phone for a good old kōrero in late June 2025. Let’s just say, if talking were an Olympic sport, Julian and I would tie for first place. Late in 2023, useful financial resources started appearing on his radar, not that he tuned into them fully, but they set him on a journey. From there, he began his financial U-turn, which led him to The Happy Saver and all the inspiring stories I’ve shared. He discovered The Barefoot Investor, Rebel Finance School, Mr. Money Mustache, and the world of fi...

In today’s episode, you’ll hear from an awesome couple, Kate and Taka, aged 33 and 34, who are doing life and money a little differently, and doing it well. From the moment we started talking, I could tell they’d put a lot of thought into not just their finances, but how they want to live. Over the past few years, they’ve made some bold, intentional choices: moving south, stepping back from full-time work to each working just two days a week, and prioritising time with their three young kids. It’s not the typical path, but it’s one they’ve...

This is a revisit episode, I enjoy doing these because I like you wonder, “Whatever happened to…?” I last spoke with Hamish in 2021, Episode 50, An Investor With Military Precision, back when he was a 27-year-old solo homeowner and disciplined saver working in the New Zealand military. Fast-forward four years, and life has changed: he’s now 31, married to Sophie, and the two of them are navigating homeownership, investing, and future planning as a team. It’s clear from talking to Hamish that theirs is a partnership built on communication, respect, and shared goals. With two minds on the case, they’re refining...

This episode revisits my August 2022 conversation with Neil in Episode 69, A Financially Complicated Breakup. Now 52, Neil has lived in New Zealand for 20 years, working in IT since moving from the UK in 2005. He retained his UK property as a rental and began learning about personal finance around 2006. When KiwiSaver started in 2007, he joined up, and by our first chat, his KiwiSaver had grown to $200,000. After a previous long-term relationship ended with a fair asset split, Neil began to invest more and more in a range of ETF funds. A new relationship followed, and he became a father, but without a...

In this episode, I chat with Tracey, a long-time reader and listener of The Happy Saver who first came on my radar through her detailed Debt Free Questionnaire in 2022. Tracey and her husband have reached what's known as Coast FI—meaning they already have enough money invested that, even if they never added another dollar to their investments, by the time they reach 65, it will have grown to their required amount. This gives them the flexibility to reduce their working hours in their self-employed HR roles if they choose. We dig into how Tracey got herself to this point and wh...

After my long kōrero with Sammy to prepare this episode, my head was spinning from all the twists and turns of her story. After 57 years of personal and financial trauma, last year, in 2024, Sammy had her “aha” moment when she said “Screw it, I’m sick of this,” and started to let a little light shine on her money. Once she had opened the door a crack, she basically just ripped the whole roof off her financial life, and has had a complete, and hopefully permanent, financial transformation. She’s not done yet; she has some mahi in front of her, but s...

In November 2024, I attended Black FI-Day, New Zealand’s first financial independence hui. Nearly 40 people gathered for this three-day event to share their financial journeys. One of them was Amelie, the person in the spotlight today. Just 19 at the time, she showed up on her own and was understandably nervous. But before long, every participant was in awe of this young wahine from Taranaki, who had decided that if spending a weekend with a bunch of strangers meant learning about money and building financial confidence, it was worth the risk. She got fully involved in the weekend, even sharing her si...

Today, I’m sharing the financial ins and outs of Alan and Katie Donegan, the world-travelling English couple behind Rebel Finance School. Over the years, we have become friends, and learning about their journey to financial independence and then watching them move into full retirement has been incredibly motivating for both Jonny and me. They finally made it to New Zealand, and back in early December 2024, we sat down at my kitchen table, where they generously answered all of my nosy questions. I’m looking forward to sharing their personal finance journey with you because once they discovered the concept of f...

I first met today's guest, Ajith, when he emailed me with a couple of questions back in 2024. He’d come across The Happy Saver while on the hunt for some motivation to keep pushing towards the goal that he and his wife Arya have to become debt-free by his 39th birthday, which is in 2028. When they began to lose patience and motivation, hearing both my journey with money and that of others helped to keep them on track. This couple are in their mid-thirties, with an eight-year-old daughter and live on the East Coast of the North Island. When I sp...

In mid-October 2024, I brewed a coffee, sat down, and gave Poto a call. She’s been a long-time listener of the podcast, drawing on insights from past guests to help guide her decisions over the years. Back in 2021, she and I started exchanging emails, and we've stayed in touch ever since. When we recently crossed paths in person, I learned more about her journey and couldn’t help asking if she’d join me for a kōrero. True to her kind and generous nature, she agreed. Poto is 57 years old and calls the Central Plateau, in the centre of the Nor...

This week, I’m making a bit of an exception and chatting with someone who was a bit reluctant to talk about money. Which is ironic, given this is a podcast that talks about money. Rob, a 33-year-old plumber from Western Australia, took a little persuading to come on my podcast, but I persisted because I knew enough about him to know that his personal finance story is one that many of us will be able to relate to and draw ideas from. Rob is essentially financially independent, working just a quarter of the year, and he recently hosted Tribe FI...

In today's episode, I will be sharing the financial journey of Jack, a Kiwi from the lower North Island. Jack found The Happy Saver when he was searching for podcasts on money. As an investor in rental property, he was looking to learn about shares. As you’ll find out shortly, he leads an interesting life. He has a personality that I can relate to; he said he could talk to a lamp post, and as a result, he meets heaps of people, so he had no qualms about stopping in to visit Jonny and I when he was down in...

Today’s episode is an update on North Island couple Chris and Rosemary. Their first episode came out in March 2021 — it was episode number 49. Since then, we’ve kept in touch, and today’s episode is an update on where this couple are now, in terms of both money and life. It’s safe to say they have absolutely transformed their situation, and I hope this episode lights a fire under those listening and prompts you to reach for a few stretch goals, whatever they might be. Over the last four years, Chris has sent me some pretty epic emails as he went...

Today's episode began with an email from a Kiwi couple in their mid-40s, who asked to be called Tokyo and Rio, inspired by the show Money Heist. Tokyo reached out just before Christmas 2023, sharing how a sinking fund she started nearly a year ago was making her happy amidst a tough financial year. It had been a challenging one—an overseas trip, big bills for their rental property, tax and ACC bills, and a lower-than-expected income. They were considering a $15,000 mortgage top-up to cover it all. But Tokyo wanted to know if there was a better way. Of course, th...

When I received an email from a guy called John saying that he and his wife Betty have gone from being terrible with money and trying (unsuccessfully) to grow wealth via debt to completely changing their mentality to one of getting away from debt, even going so far as to head to the mines in Australia to clean up the consumer debt mess they had created, they had my attention. Today, I want to share the story of a 38 and 39-year-old married couple with two primary school-aged kids who are on the crest of a knowledge wave when it comes...

Ruby stumbled across The Happy Saver in October of 2022, prompting her to email me with a couple of questions. She’d recently signed up with Sharesies and was testing the waters by investing $20 a week, and had a few questions about where to start. Plus, she had a question about her KiwiSaver. While at home with two young tamariki, she had just realised that even when she was not in the paid workforce, she could voluntarily contribute money into her account, which she immediately started doing. Taking a moment to think about investing made her start digging around for more in...

Congratulations, you have made it to the final episode of this series of six: INVESTING. Investing can be incredibly complex, but I found a way to simplify it. I used to feel overwhelmed by the options available, but now I don't. I’m hoping to help you feel the same way. But still, this is one of the most challenging podcasts I have EVER written. Condensing “investing” into a single episode is no easy feat. The Happy Saver was born out of my search for information about what I could invest our money in. It took me years to arrive at our...

Get out of debt, and stay out of debt. I think of debt as a phase of life that I moved through. That period has passed, and I’ve moved on. Jonny and I have been entirely debt-free since our early 30s, and I encourage you to head down the debt-free path as well. Debt has always had an ‘ick’ factor for me, a feeling I am grateful for. I like earning interest, but I hate paying it. Despite our bank trying to lure us back into debt to buy a rental property, there has never been a day that we reg...

The fourth part of this six-part series is one of the easier topics to cover, KiwiSaver. Joining KiwiSaver is a no-brainer, and it still surprises me when I meet people who are not in it. I’m always looking ahead and doing my best to determine what I might need money for and how much I might need. I keep my ear to the ground about how affordable retirement is for New Zealanders. I talk to people over 65 and ask them what advice they would give me about financially preparing for retirement. Then I ask myself if, on my current tr...

The best thing I ever did was set some cash into a bank account, which we could instantly access in a financial emergency. It is an amount of money set aside in a specific bank account to be used for bailing myself out if something happens that I didn’t otherwise plan for, but I need money to pay for. It takes me less than one minute to log into my banking and move money from my emergency account to my spending account. My previous episode discussed budgeting and planning for upcoming expenses. However, try as I might, I can’t thin...

In the first episode in this series of six, I quickly showed you how to calculate your net worth. It will take a little longer today, but I want to explain why you need to keep an eye on how and where you earn and spend your money, i.e., budgeting. When you learn to budget, your net worth will begin to increase. Budgeting is simply making a plan for your pūtea (money). Although I meet hundreds of people who are keen, motivated, and willing to do better with their money, I meet few who are, “Oh yay, let’s tra...

Welcome to the first episode in a short six-part series. On my blog, thehappysaver.com, I created a comprehensive Financial Independence Series of six blog posts where I mapped out a plan to help you on your way to becoming financially independent. Because I know that there are some in my audience who only read my blog and others who only listen to this podcast, I wanted to make sure that both parts of my audience got the same information, so what I've done is I have turned each blog post into a podcast episode. Part 1 focuses on ‘Net Worth’. How...

Today, I have an update on Nic from Episode 78, released in March 2023. A lot can happen in a year, which I wanted to share with you today. When Nic and I spoke in early 2023, Nic was still very new to the whole concept of personal finance and long after we had finished the episode, I wondered how she was getting on. A year after we spoke, an update email arrived in my inbox. She said it's been an interesting 12-plus months, and they are slowly but surely getting ahead. It seems like a case of one step forward and then...

I met 19-year-old Josephine in mid-2023 when she emailed me with some questions about money. I actually already knew a little about her because her Mum and I have been in contact for a number of years, chatting about personal finances over email. Josephine hoped that I might be able to answer a few of her questions too. She mentioned that her Mum had sparked an interest in personal finances in her, which had led her to do a lot of reflecting on her money skills. She had been out of school and working for a couple of years, managed...