115. I Feel Like I’m The Only One

115. I Feel Like I’m The Only One

Author: Ruth - Personal Finance Blogger December 17, 2025 Duration: 57:49
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 genuinely thought she was the only one in her position, struggling to make ends meet, trying to get out of debt, and managing a solo financial journey within a happy marriage. This episode is a frank look at how so many couples who think about money very differently are actually dealing with it today, and why her experience is far more normal than she realised. I know there will be people listening who see themselves in her story and come away with reassurance, clarity, and a sense of what’s possible.

Money conversations can feel awkward, but they don't have to be. On The Happy Saver Podcast-Personal Finance in New Zealand, host Ruth brings her perspective as a longtime personal finance blogger to break down that barrier. Each episode is built around real stories from everyday Kiwis, exploring the nuanced and often personal relationship people have with their finances. You'll hear frank discussions about how money influences life choices, for better or worse. The focus is on practical, grounded experiences within the New Zealand context-where people save, how they invest, and whether those strategies actually pan out over time. Ruth guides conversations that delve into both financial victories and those moments that feel like train wrecks, always with an eye toward learning. The underlying question is how to design a life rich in experience without spending a fortune to get there. This isn't about theoretical jargon; it's about the applied reality of making dollars and sense work together in Aotearoa. By listening to this podcast, you gain a collective wisdom from a community navigating the same economic landscape, from everyday budgeting to long-term investing goals. Ruth facilitates a space where money is simply a tool to be understood and mastered, one honest story at a time.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

The Happy Saver Podcast - Personal Finance in New Zealand
Podcast Episodes
44. Please can I buy a boat? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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43. Help yourself first so you can then help others [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:28
There were many points during Ella’s 40 plus years that her gut instinct told her to make a few changes to the way her family handled money. Many of us can relate to this. 2020 has been a huge time of change with her rea…
42. Coming a long way in a short space of time. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:45
In this final podcast of this series, I’m doing a recap of two people that I’ve spoken with earlier. Firstly there was Bret from episode #20, a guy who had gone from being a super consumer to someone who is finally, much…
41. Turbulent Times [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:00
This week I tell you all about Catherine and her husband Luke. Both of them had been enjoying successful careers and had been working to a financial plan that had them thinking years into the future. Life was sailing alo…
40. It's never too late to change. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:06
This week I’m going to share the story of Linda, a woman in her early 50’s who has had a huge shift in mindset over the last ten months. Linda’s journey with money had just been trundling along year in year out for, oh I…
39. Battling the desire to just spend, spend, spend! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:54
Becky described herself as a spender at heart who has to constantly battle against the desire to just spend, spend, spend. The spiral began with interest free debt in her first year of university and continued on from th…
38. Keep On Truckin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:17
Aaron and his wife Shannon have a young son, just six months old and it’s what they did in the lead up to his birth that got my attention. They decided to work like crazy people, as many hours as they possibly could, in…
37. This is what Starting Young Looks Like [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:24
Often when I speak with people their one regret is that “they didn’t start saving and investing earlier”. Well today, you are going to hear about Nat and she DID manage to start investing early in life and the proof sure…
36. Divorced and Determined Budgeting Queen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:19
When I think of Mandy, the word that keeps coming to my mind is ‘determined’. She was living the good life right up until she wasn’t. We pick up her story at the point of her divorce when she had two young children, a sm…
35. Rebalancing the Portfolio [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:34:02
Jo is a busy Mum of a two year old, they had just returned from an overseas trip and she is juggling parenting with a 30 hour work week, while her partner is working as well. We had a great chat where she told me how at…