Making Cents

Why does it feel like you’re always spending more than you meant to?
No, you’re not imagining it. Modern consumer life is full of supermarket tricks, subscription traps, hidden fees, dark patterns, and pricing tactics designed to get more money out of you.

Luckily Consumer senior investigative journalist Chris Schulz knows all the psychological tricks companies use to drive overspending, and the practical ways you can fight back.

From supermarket layouts and loyalty pricing, to hard-to-cancel subscriptions, hidden online fees, insurance costs, and power bills, this episode breaks down why saving money now can feel like a full-time job, and where you can actually make real gains.

We’re talking:
what “dark patterns” are, and how online shopping traps you into spending more
how subscription traps and hard-to-cancel services cost you money
the best ways to compare supermarket prices and cut your grocery bill
how to review your insurance and avoid overpaying
why almost everyone could save money on their power bill

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

Just as we were hoping for a break in the cost of living, fuel and food prices are heading up again. So how can you protect your cash, and find savings everywhere from insurance, to KiwiSaver, to your subscriptions?
A replay of the conversation with Jesse Mulligan on RNZ’s Afternoons.
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KiwiSaver is changing, and you need to know what that means for your money.
The Government has changed the rules, and they’re coming in to force now.
Your own contribution rates, government contribution rules, and employer payments are all shifting. And depending on your income, age, or how your salary package works, the impact on your take-home pay could be very different.
In this episode of Ask the Experts, Kristin Sutherland, strategic coach at EnableMe, helps us figure out what these changes mean in reality.
We’re talking:
The key KiwiSaver rule changes you need to know
How higher contribution rates could affect your take-home pay
Whether the employer contribution changes are actually a boost or just a reshuffle
Why higher earners lose the government contribution
The biggest KiwiSaver mistakes people make during rule changes
How to review your fund, fees, and settings so your KiwiSaver works harder for you

If you have a letter you’d like us to answer, please send it through to [email protected] and you might feature on our next episode!
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This podcast was filmed & produced by Fanaticals
Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne
Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

What would it take to quit your job, take your kids out of school, and spend a year travelling Australia in a caravan?
For Kellie Dawson, it took years of careful planning, property investing, budgeting, and building enough financial freedom to press pause on normal life and ask a bigger question: what do we actually want?
In this episode, Kellie shares:
- how they planned a year of family travel around Australia
- what financial freedom means to them in real life
- how they used property investing helped build financial freedom
- why they came home rethinking money, careers, and what matters most

If you’ve ever dreamed of quitting the grind, creating passive income, travelling with your family, or building financial independence in a way that supports your real life, this episode is for you.

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

Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to talk about why "playing dead" is the best response when your money is hit by a global crisis.
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Audio engineering by Tash Chittock