48. Everything is working out perfectly!

48. Everything is working out perfectly!

Author: Ruth - Personal Finance Blogger October 21, 2020 Duration: 48:46
Jen freaked out at 49! She considered herself to be halfway through her life and had big concerns about what the other half might look like. She became heartily sick of working so hard. At the age of 16, she started full time work, at 20 she had bought her first house, then got married and slowly became mortgage free. But a divorce halved her net worth and becoming a single mother introduced a whole heap of new challenges. But amongst all this she constantly repeated her mantra of “everything is working out perfectly”, even when it clearly was not! Yet despite these challenges she pushed on. She worked hard! Now debt-free once again, she is fast tracking to an early retirement at the age of 55. Jen is a wonderful example of showing just what a woman on a mission is capable of!

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
54. Where are they now? A revisit with Lucas, Callum and Bradie. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:00
For the last episode in this series, I have once again reconnected with a few people that I’ve interviewed before. I like to check in on people and get a feel for the progress and changes they have made and I know you do…
53. On a flight path to financial independence. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:42
When Julian and Sophie met in 1999 they each had a car, a very small amount in savings and no debt. Just 21 ‘short’ years later they have an approximate net worth of $1,500,000. So, how did they do it? Their current weal…
52. I don’t want a student debt hangover! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:20
In today’s podcast, 26-year-old Bella shares the realities of student loan debt in New Zealand and how you can meander your way into debt, but it’s far harder to meander your way out again. She explains how the pressure…
50. An investor with military precision! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:54
I first heard from Hamish when he sent me an email in late 2020 telling me that back in 2018, at the age of just 24 he had saved up and bought a $379,00 house in Palmerston North with a big deposit of $125,000. Apparentl…
49. Everything I thought I knew about money was wrong [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:08
“Well this is awkward” I thought when some guy called Chris started secretly emailing me without his partner’s knowledge! Big long emails with tonnes of questions about personal finance, my favourite topic for sure! That…
47. Matching income with expectations is the secret. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:35
So often people tell me that they ‘wish their parents had talked to them more about money’ when they were growing up. Well, in today’s podcast that’s exactly what happened. Nina was homeschooled and part of her education…
46. I'm sick of living pay cheque to pay cheque! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:25
Alana’s debt of choice was buying household items on Hire Purchase. Lots of them! But before long she had precommitted her income years into the future so she could service these debts. Yet that still didn’t stop her bor…
45. Stop the bus! You paid off your mortgage? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:24
This week, I’m heading South to one of New Zealand's more underrated cities, Invercargill, where I had a chat with Steve who described his financial story as “not so much an epic dig out of deep debt”, or a “becoming fab…