That Home Loan Hub

Money doesn’t just sit in a bank account, it lives in our memories, our families, and the choices we make when no one is watching. We sit down with Kunchai Adams to trace her money story from arriving in Aotearoa New Zealand as a five-year-old refugee to becoming a financial adviser who still has to wrestle with the everyday temptations of spending, convenience, and “we’ll just grab dinner out”. 

We talk about what it’s like growing up with parents who don’t speak English, living on a benefit, and still being shielded from the stress as a kid, until the teen years make money feel loud through labels, clothing, and fitting in. Kunch shares the moment she starts working at 14 so she can earn her own money, the classic first purchases that are really about belonging, and the early jobs that taught her how income creates options. Then we zoom out to the big turning point: her parents’ disciplined saving and first home purchase, and how that foundation becomes a practical lesson in financial resilience and belief. 

From there, we get into real-world personal finance: stumbling into banking, learning how people handle debt and savings, navigating a saver-spender dynamic in a relationship, and the hard part, raising kids who have everything they need while still teaching financial literacy. We also name a common New Zealand trap: financing a flash car early, then spending years in a loan cycle, and why “it’s faster to save your earnings than repay the debt” is advice worth keeping. If you care about budgeting, money mindset, KiwiSaver, home deposits, and raising financially capable kids, this one will stick with you. 

If it resonates, subscribe, share it with a mate, and leave a review so more people can build a healthier money relationship. What money rule did you grow up with?
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Buy your first home in NZ Weekly Webinars 
You thought it's not possible or the dream is too far away? Come to my webinar and I will show you, you are much closer to your dream, than you think you are!
Join Here - https://bit.ly/4m9SL72

A $28-a-week change doesn’t feel like much until you zoom out and see what it can do to your retirement. We’ve got Dave back to walk through a real-world KiwiSaver case study for a 40-year-old on a $75,000 salary with a $30,000 balance, contributing 4% (with an employer match) and aiming to retire at 65 on the same income. We talk through the assumptions, then pressure-test the settings that quietly shape the outcome.

We dig into two practical levers most Kiwis can actually control: choosing a KiwiSaver fund that matches your time horizon (balanced versus aggressive) and adjusting your contribution rate (moving from 4% to 6%). The projected difference is massive: retirement income lifting from around $39,000 a year to about $54,000, and a potential lump sum shift from roughly $325,000 to about $559,000. We also translate the extra savings into real life terms, about $28 a week, to show how habits and automation can make better investing feel easier.

From there we step back and tackle the wider issue of financial advice in New Zealand: why so many people believe they’re “not wealthy enough” to talk to an adviser, and why that mindset can cost you years of progress. We also get honest about the Kiwi tendency to chat OCR and interest rates at a barbecue, while avoiding our own numbers, and why copying someone else’s returns without talking risk, ethics, and goals can backfire.

If you want smarter KiwiSaver decisions, clearer retirement planning, and a healthier relationship with money, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a mate who needs a nudge, and leave a review. What’s one KiwiSaver question you’ve been putting off asking?
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Buy your first home in NZ Weekly Webinars 
You thought it's not possible or the dream is too far away? Come to my webinar and I will show you, you are much closer to your dream, than you think you are!
Join Here - https://bit.ly/4m9SL72

3.4 million New Zealanders are in KiwiSaver, and the total invested is about $142 billion. Those aren’t trivia stats, they’re a snapshot of how fast KiwiSaver has become a core part of retirement savings in New Zealand, and why it’s worth checking whether your settings still make sense. We bring Dave back to lean into the numbers people keep asking for, then translate them into the real-world choices they affect.

We talk about what’s working well: strong growth, rising average balances around $40,000, and the way KiwiSaver can turn into a genuine first-home deposit boost when two people combine savings. We also compare the KiwiSaver contribution rate to Australia’s superannuation system, and what higher contribution settings can mean for both personal wealth and the wider economy when more money is invested locally.

Then we get into what’s not working as well, especially for self-employed people and tradies who don’t have automatic employer contributions. If all you can see is work, work, work, KiwiSaver can feel like a “nice to have”, but we argue it functions as a long-term safety net, with hardship access as a last resort. We finish with a practical lens on KiwiSaver funds: don’t just compare fees, compare returns after fees, and ask what you’re actually getting for your money, including advice and service.

If you want a clearer handle on your KiwiSaver provider, fund choice, and contribution habits, press play. Subscribe, share this with a mate who loves a good stat, and leave a review with the one KiwiSaver question you want answered next.
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Buy your first home in NZ Weekly Webinars 
You thought it's not possible or the dream is too far away? Come to my webinar and I will show you, you are much closer to your dream, than you think you are!
Join Here - https://bit.ly/4m9SL72

A thousand dollars at birth sounds nice, but the real question is what happens when you pair an early start with a simple weekly habit. We’re joined again by Dave Cobson from Booster to talk KiwiSaver for kids, the proposed $1,000 newborn kickstart, and why starting early is less about perfection and more about momentum.

We run the numbers in plain language: what $20 a week could grow into by age 20, how a balanced fund compares with a growth fund, and why time in the market can matter more than trying to time anything. We also look at a more realistic option for many households, $10 a week, and how that can still add up to a meaningful balance that could support a first-home deposit in New Zealand. Along the way we unpack the idea that KiwiSaver is not just an account, it’s a structure that can protect savings from being casually spent.

Then we get practical and personal. We talk about using birthday money and gifts from grandparents as contributions, plus the importance of sitting down with kids to show them their balance so they learn that money can grow. We even share a fun story about a child winning prize money and creating a simple rule: invest some, spend some, and give some. We finish with a teaser for what’s next, including KiwiSaver data on men and women.

If you care about raising financially confident kids, press play, then subscribe, share this with a parent or grandparent, and leave a review with your best tip for helping kids build money habits.
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Buy your first home in NZ Weekly Webinars 
You thought it's not possible or the dream is too far away? Come to my webinar and I will show you, you are much closer to your dream, than you think you are!
Join Here - https://bit.ly/4m9SL72

Your relationship with money usually starts long before your first pay packet, and sometimes it starts with fear. Lucy from Lucy Nutrition joins us for a personal conversation about growing up in Wellington with constant financial stress, how that anxiety can follow you into adulthood, and why even a small childhood purchase can carry a surprising emotional load.

From there we get practical about what changes when you finally earn your own money. We talk first jobs, the temptation to spend for relief, and the very New Zealand reality of teenage binge drinking and what it costs your health and your future. Lucy shares the parts she’d redo, and the parts she wouldn’t, plus how those experiences shaped the way she now supports clients with zero judgement and a lot more realism.

We also go deep on money and relationships: what happens when incomes are uneven, when caregiving seasons change your earning power, and why shared morals matter more than fancy spreadsheets. Lucy explains how she and Gabe merge finances, why they still keep personal weekly pocket money, and how they teach their kids budgeting through a simple thirds system that builds saving habits and normalises tax and household costs.

To bring it back to everyday life, we swap strategies for healthy eating on a budget in Aotearoa: buying seasonal produce, reading labels, stretching the pantry, batch cooking, and using a slow cooker to avoid expensive takeaways. If you care about financial literacy, money mindset, budgeting, and building a calmer partnership with money, this one will hit home. Subscribe, share it with a mate, leave a review, and tell us: what belief about money are you ready to unlearn?
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Buy your first home in NZ Weekly Webinars 
You thought it's not possible or the dream is too far away? Come to my webinar and I will show you, you are much closer to your dream, than you think you are!
Join Here - https://bit.ly/4m9SL72