The Happy Saver Podcast - Personal Finance in New Zealand
Ruth - Personal Finance Blogger
100 episodes
1 week ago
Maria and Michelle were late financial bloomers who only really got started in their 50s. Now 71 and 69, they’ve paid off their mortgage and student loan, invested in the sharemarket, built up $1,000,000 in savings and investments, and receive NZ Super and a US pension. Through hard work, investing as much of their income as they possibly could, and carefully tracking and measuring their progress, they went from feeling anxious about retirement to completely calm about it. For Maria, money had always meant security, yet for a variety of reasons, she kept making poor financial decisions throughout much of her adult life. She knew what to do, save, invest, be sensible, but never quite managed to pull it all together. Moving from the US to New Zealand at age 50, however, felt like pressing a giant reset button. She’d always invested in her education, and she brought that knowledge with her. Soon after, she met her partner Michelle, who was equally qualified but also late to the financial party. Together, they realised they were well set up to succeed if they put in the effort. And so, they did. They’re a textbook example of starting right where you are, no matter your age. And I have to say, this was one of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve had in a long time.
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Maria and Michelle were late financial bloomers who only really got started in their 50s. Now 71 and 69, they’ve paid off their mortgage and student loan, invested in the sharemarket, built up $1,000,000 in savings and investments, and receive NZ Super and a US pension. Through hard work, investing as much of their income as they possibly could, and carefully tracking and measuring their progress, they went from feeling anxious about retirement to completely calm about it. For Maria, money had always meant security, yet for a variety of reasons, she kept making poor financial decisions throughout much of her adult life. She knew what to do, save, invest, be sensible, but never quite managed to pull it all together. Moving from the US to New Zealand at age 50, however, felt like pressing a giant reset button. She’d always invested in her education, and she brought that knowledge with her. Soon after, she met her partner Michelle, who was equally qualified but also late to the financial party. Together, they realised they were well set up to succeed if they put in the effort. And so, they did. They’re a textbook example of starting right where you are, no matter your age. And I have to say, this was one of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve had in a long time.
104. I Have Stopped Sleepwalking Through My Finances
The Happy Saver Podcast - Personal Finance in New Zealand
1 hour 3 minutes 7 seconds
6 months ago
104. I Have Stopped Sleepwalking Through My Finances
After my long kōrero with Sammy to prepare this episode, my head was spinning from all the twists and turns of her story. After 57 years of personal and financial trauma, last year, in 2024, Sammy had her “aha” moment when she said “Screw it, I’m sick of this,” and started to let a little light shine on her money. Once she had opened the door a crack, she basically just ripped the whole roof off her financial life, and has had a complete, and hopefully permanent, financial transformation. She’s not done yet; she has some mahi in front of her, but she is well on her way. I’ll often meet people who blow up their financial lives for the better, and the progress they make is astounding. Sammy is one of these people. Twice divorced, and with three children, one of whom has special needs, she has spent many years often living below the poverty line and buying bread and milk on a credit card that she could not pay off, and sometimes she has made decisions that kept her on the poverty line. Over the decades, she trained as a teacher and stabilised her situation, but still made questionable financial choices, until finally, aged 58 today, she is charging ahead.
The Happy Saver Podcast - Personal Finance in New Zealand
Maria and Michelle were late financial bloomers who only really got started in their 50s. Now 71 and 69, they’ve paid off their mortgage and student loan, invested in the sharemarket, built up $1,000,000 in savings and investments, and receive NZ Super and a US pension. Through hard work, investing as much of their income as they possibly could, and carefully tracking and measuring their progress, they went from feeling anxious about retirement to completely calm about it. For Maria, money had always meant security, yet for a variety of reasons, she kept making poor financial decisions throughout much of her adult life. She knew what to do, save, invest, be sensible, but never quite managed to pull it all together. Moving from the US to New Zealand at age 50, however, felt like pressing a giant reset button. She’d always invested in her education, and she brought that knowledge with her. Soon after, she met her partner Michelle, who was equally qualified but also late to the financial party. Together, they realised they were well set up to succeed if they put in the effort. And so, they did. They’re a textbook example of starting right where you are, no matter your age. And I have to say, this was one of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve had in a long time.
