Money Made Simple

In this episode of Money Made Simple, Jennie and Liv take the show to Reddit, asking the often wise, very debate-happy r/PersonalFinanceNZ community for their very best money tips and tricks. More than 40 people came to the party, and the ones that made the cut are the ones the community upvoted most, so this is a genuinely crowd-sourced list from everyday Kiwis who think hard about their money. Jennie and Liv work through the top ten, from the deceptively simple to the slightly technical. 
*Please note, these tips and tricks do not constitute financial advice, and are personal opinions collected from Reddit and shared by the Simplicity team.*
This episode covers:
The one-week pause that stops a want turning into a regrettable purchase, and the savings trick that turns leftovers into investments
Why "buy assets, not crap" might be the most useful money slogan we've heard
The payday order of operations that makes budgeting boring but effective
How compounding works against you on debt, and what to do about it
Giving money or investments instead of stuff, and why the kids will come round (eventually)
The risk question most people have never honestly understood, or put into practice*
Why and how playing it TOO safe carries a risk of its own
Dollar cost averaging on the way in, and the part most people miss on the way out
How sinking funds work, why they're handy, and why Jennie wants to rename them
Offset and revolving credit mortgages, explained in a nutshell
The perspective check that showed one Redditor they were $300 a week better off than they thought
Liv and Jennie's own additions: the fee question nobody asks, and why you do not need to be an expert to start
*Editor's note: there is a subtle difference between risk aversion and loss aversion, although the two are often closely related - often people in higher risk investments are comfortable with risk, until it plays out via a market crash. And this is where loss aversion can kick in, where people switch to more conservative funds upon seeing a drop in their balance.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- r/PersonalFinanceNZ - the Reddit community that supplied the tips: https://www.reddit.com/r/PersonalFinanceNZ/
- A longer explainer on everything mortgages, discussed in MMS episode #9:  https://open.spotify.com/episode/1YZXRdwRNeQcUjYuHZv0Y8
- Simplicity First Home Loans: https://simplicity.kiwi/first-home-loans
- Sorted's Money Month: https://sorted.org.nz/money-month-2026-sorted/
This episode will deliver you ten tips that real people actually use and agree on, plus a nudge to check a couple of super important things most of us either avoid or don't know to consider. And a huge shout out to r/PersonalFinanceNZ, for the collective help! If you hear your own tip in there, please feel free to get in touch (via whatever channel suits you), and we'll be happy to send out some goodies for the privilege.
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Please help us share the good word (and make Kiwis richer and smarter with money) - the more we grow, the more good we can do %) Don't forget to follow, subscribe and rate the podcast if you found it useful!

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Disclaimer: This podcast contains personal opinions and is intended to provide educational information only. It doesn't relate to your particular financial situation or goals and is not financial advice or recommendations. Simplicity New Zealand Limited is the issuer of the Simplicity KiwiSaver scheme and investment funds. For product disclosure statements please visit Simplicity's website simplicity. kiwi.

In this episode of Economy Made Simple, Shamubeel invites Liv over to the green side, to unpack one of the most used and least understood words in New Zealand economics: productivity. Not how hard we work, but what we get back for the effort.
New Zealanders work roughly two weeks more a year than Australians, yet our wages and business profits are about a third lower. Shamubeel explains why, and where the real levers sit.
This episode covers:
What productivity actually measures, and why "we're poor because we're poor" explains nothing
Why Kiwis work longer hours than Australians but earn around a third less
The three building blocks of any economy, and the bit of magic that separates strong businesses from average ones
How geography, institutions, culture and politics shape productivity far more than effort ever will
Why NZ's cultural dislike of management is quietly holding businesses back
What it costs a country when 40% of the workforce started their job in the past year
Where individuals, businesses and govt each sit on the scale of real influence
The education, health and immigration settings Shamubeel would change - first
How policy chop and change cost a town like Tokoroa more than it ever saved Wellington
By the end of this episode you should have a much clearer sense of why productivity is not a measure of effort, and why there is no single fix for it. You'll also understand which levers actually move the productivity scale - at home, at work, and at the ballot box with an election coming.
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Please help us share the good word (and make Kiwis richer and smarter with money) - the more we grow, the more good we can do %) Don't forget to follow, subscribe and rate the podcast if you found it useful!

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Disclaimer: This podcast contains personal opinions and is intended to provide educational information only. It doesn't relate to your particular financial situation or goals and is not financial advice or recommendations. Simplicity New Zealand Limited is the issuer of the Simplicity KiwiSaver scheme and investment funds. For product disclosure statements please visit Simplicity's website simplicity. kiwi.

Ever felt pressured to hit Buy now by a countdown clock, struggled to cancel a subscription, or been told there is “only one left” while shopping online? You may have encountered a dark pattern.
In this episode of Money Made Simple, Jennie is joined by Chandni Gupta from the Consumer Policy Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia and Jon Duffy from Consumer NZ to unpack the design tricks businesses use to steer our choices online - often encouraging us to spend more, stay subscribed longer or hand over more personal information than we intended.
They look at where the line sits between legitimate marketing and manipulation, why these techniques are so effective even when we know they exist, and whether consumer protection laws in New Zealand and Australia are keeping up.
From fake urgency and hard-to-find cancellation buttons to "drip pricing", data collection and personalised prices, Chandni and Jon explain why dark patterns can be so difficult to resist - and what consumers can do to protect themselves.
This episode covers:
What dark patterns are and how they influence our decisions online
Where the line sits between persuasion, marketing and coercion
Scarcity cues, countdown clocks and other tricks designed to create urgency
Why cancelling subscriptions can be deliberately difficult
How drip pricing can make something look cheaper than it really is
Why businesses want so much of our personal data, and how it can be used
The rise of personalised pricing and why two customers may not always see the same price
Why dark patterns work even when we know what to look for
What Australia is doing to strengthen consumer protection, and where New Zealand sits
Practical ways to avoid unwanted subscription renewals and other online traps
Why making it easy for customers to leave can actually help businesses build trust
Resources mentioned in this episode:

Consumer NZ – consumer advice, research and a report on dark patterns: Invisible influence: Dark patterns and digital deception in Aotearoa New Zealand

Consumer Policy Research Centre – Australian consumer research, including Duped by Design and Let Me Out

Office of the Privacy Commissioner – for concerns about how your personal information has been collected or used

Commerce Commission – for complaints about potentially misleading or deceptive conduct
You’ll come away from this episode much more aware of the subtle ways websites and apps can influence your behaviour,  and with some simple strategies for slowing down, questioning the urgency and keeping more control over your money and your data.
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Please help us share the good word (and make Kiwis richer and smarter with money) - the more we grow, the more good we can do %) Don't forget to follow, subscribe and rate the podcast if you found it useful!

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Disclaimer: This podcast contains personal opinions and is intended to provide educational information only. It doesn't relate to your particular financial situation or goals and is not financial advice or recommendations. Simplicity New Zealand Limited is the issuer of the Simplicity KiwiSaver scheme and investment funds. For product disclosure statements please visit Simplicity's website simplicity. kiwi.

It's officially Sorted's Money Month - and we have a special guest in to celebrate! In this episode of Money Made Simple, Liv sits down with Kate Hannah from Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission - the team behind Sorted.org.nz, to unpack what financial resilience really means, and why it's about much more than just having enough money.
With cost-of-living pressures still biting, Kate explains why an emergency fund is the foundation for getting your finances sorted. She shares the research on how Kiwis are feeling, why young people are being hit hardest, and how small, achievable steps are the real key to building a buffer. They also talk through Sorted's brand new Buffer builder app, launching for August's Money Month - linked below!

This episode covers:
What financial resilience actually means, and how it's more than just having enough cash
Why an emergency fund is the foundation everything else is built on
The research on how Kiwis are really feeling about their finances right now
Why young people are among the hardest hit, and how to start when money is already tight
Whether the "$1,000 rule" is a good, genuine goal to start with
The power of small, achievable steps and building a "saver" identity
How Sorted's new Buffer builder app uses open banking to make saving almost automatic

Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Sorted Buffer builder app – free emergency savings app to make saving automatic, available on Android and Apple
- Sorted – free, independent tools, guides and calculators from the Retirement Commission: https://sorted.org.nz
- Sorted Retirement Navigator – helps you plan how to draw down your savings in retirement: https://sorted.org.nz/tools/retirement-navigator/
- Sorted Mortgage Calculator – includes a first-home-buyer mode for planning your first mortgage: https://sorted.org.nz/tools/mortgage-calculator/
- Sorted Smart Investor – compare KiwiSaver and Managed Funds on fees, returns and more: https://smartinvestor.sorted.org.nz
- Money Matters 2025: The Power of Emergency Savings (Retirement Commission research paper)

You will come away from this episode armed with the small steps you can take to start building your financial safety net. Whether you are just starting out or topping up an existing buffer, there are free, independent tools to help you meet money where you are at.
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Please help us share the good word (and make Kiwis richer and smarter with money) - the more we grow, the more good we can do %) Don't forget to follow, subscribe and rate the podcast if you found it useful!

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Disclaimer: This podcast contains personal opinions and is intended to provide educational information only. It doesn't relate to your particular financial situation or goals and is not financial advice or recommendations. Simplicity New Zealand Limited is the issuer of the Simplicity KiwiSaver scheme and investment funds. For product disclosure statements please visit Simplicity's website simplicity. kiwi.

In this episode of Economy Made Simple, Chief Economist Shamubeel Eaqub unpacks why insurance has become one of the fastest-rising costs in NZ, and what that means for the assets we most need to protect.
Insuring everything you own would now swallow close to 15% of the average income, and with disasters growing more frequent, Shamubeel argues the days of leaning on a government bailout may be numbered. He explains how to keep meaningful cover as premiums climb.
This episode covers:
Why insuring everything could now cost close to 15% of your income
How and why home insurance has risen  over the last 20 years
The disasters that made reinsurers decide NZ is riskier than they thought
The rise in natural disaster costs as a percentage of total GDP
Why the government backstop we've been seeing come into play after floods and cyclones may not last
Which types of cover people tend to drop first when money is tight
Three practical ways to keep insurance affordable without losing protection
How auto-renewing your policy could be quietly costing you
By the end of this episode, you'll understand why insurance costs keep climbing, and three practical moves to keep the cover you actually need: knowing your sum insured, adjusting your excess, and shopping around every year.
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Please help us share the good word (and make Kiwis richer and smarter with money) - the more we grow, the more good we can do %) Don't forget to follow, subscribe and rate the podcast if you found it useful!

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Instagram
Facebook
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Disclaimer: This podcast contains personal opinions and is intended to provide educational information only. It doesn't relate to your particular financial situation or goals and is not financial advice or recommendations. Simplicity New Zealand Limited is the issuer of the Simplicity KiwiSaver scheme and investment funds. For product disclosure statements please visit Simplicity's website simplicity. kiwi.