Simple Money NZ

Simple Money NZ
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Money, investing, personal finance, and fee-only, independent financial advice for Kiwis. Grounded in low-cost, automated, diversified, and simple investing strategies that work over decades, not days.

Episodes

  1. 1 day ago

    Time Billionaires + 6 Simple Money Steps with Tom Hartmann from Sorted

    Looking for an independent, fee-only financial planner? → https://simplemoney.nz/ Spencer is joined by Tom Hartmann from Sorted to explore the free tools and resources available to help Kiwis make better financial decisions at every stage of life. Tom explains Sorted’s six-step framework for getting your finances on track, beginning with an emergency fund and KiwiSaver before tackling debt, insurance, retirement planning, and longer-term goals, while highlighting tools such as Buffer Builder, the KiwiSaver Fund Finder, Smart Investor, the mortgage calculator, and the Retirement Navigator. The conversation explores why automation and paying yourself first can make saving easier, how small changes to mortgage repayments and investment contributions can compound into significant long-term results, and why fees are one of the most important factors investors can actually control. Spencer and Tom also discuss the challenge of turning accumulated assets into sustainable retirement income, the role of NZ Super and KiwiSaver, the risk of becoming house rich but cash poor, and the decisions involved when receiving an inheritance or other windfall. Throughout the conversation, they reinforce a simple principle: personal finance does not need to be complicated, and the right tools, systems, and small decisions made consistently over time can put Kiwis in a much stronger financial position. Key Takeaways: • An emergency fund can be more important initially than aggressively repaying debt because it reduces the likelihood of going straight back into debt when an unexpected expense occurs. • Financial planning does not have to follow a perfectly linear sequence; some goals, such as eliminating debt, can take years while other financial priorities are addressed alongside them. • Time is one of the greatest advantages younger investors have because small changes have decades to compound into substantially larger outcomes. • Retirement introduces a fundamentally different challenge because people must transition from accumulating assets to drawing them down without knowing exactly how long they will live or what markets and inflation will do. • Waiting until the mortgage is completely repaid before investing can sacrifice valuable years of compounding, particularly as people increasingly buy their first homes later in life. • Large financial goals become less intimidating when people work backwards to determine the smaller weekly or fortnightly amount required and then automate it. Key Timestamps: (4:10) - The Advantage of Being a Time Billionaire (7:20) - Sorted's Six Steps for Your Money (12:14) - Moving From Accumulation to Retirement (23:30) - Why You Shouldn't Wait to Start Investing (29:30) - Focus on What You Can Control (41:23) - Understanding Time and Compounding Mentions: https://sorted.org.nz/ https://sorted.org.nz/buffer-builder/ More of Simple Money: Looking for a fee-only financial planner? → https://simplemoney.nz/ Contact me at spencer@simplemoney.nz Simple Money is a personal podcast meant for education and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

  2. 31 Aug

    Build Savings Automatically | Free App for Kiwis to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck

    Looking for a fee-only financial planner?  → https://simplemoney.nz/ Spencer is joined by Sam Garraway from Christians Against Poverty (CAP) to explore why building an emergency fund can be one of the most powerful steps Kiwis take towards greater financial resilience. Sam shares the story behind Buffer Builder, a free app developed by CAP in partnership with Sorted that uses open banking, automation, behavioral psychology, and features such as pay-yourself-first transfers, spending round-ups, savings goals, and personalized nudges to make saving easier and more consistent. They discuss why relying on willpower and financial education alone is often not enough, particularly when consumers are surrounded by sophisticated marketing designed to encourage spending, and how technology can instead be used to reinforce positive financial habits. Sam also explains CAP’s work helping New Zealanders experiencing serious debt and “money chaos”, including the importance of taking immediate financial pressure off, creating visibility around money, setting meaningful goals, and surrounding people with a supportive community. Through practical examples and stories of generational change, Spencer and Sam show how seemingly small actions — whether saving $20, paying down debt, or simply asking for help — can compound over time into greater financial security, confidence, and freedom. Key Takeaways: • An emergency fund creates a financial buffer that helps people absorb unexpected expenses without immediately turning to debt. • Around 40% of New Zealanders have less than $1,000 in savings, highlighting the importance of improving financial resilience. • Having an emergency fund can make life feel like it has fewer financial emergencies because unexpected costs become manageable rather than disruptive. • Meaningful financial change begins by identifying a desired future, understanding the reality of the current situation, and taking incremental steps between the two. • Financial education can create generational change as people who develop healthier money habits pass those skills and attitudes on to their children. • Small financial decisions can compound just like investment returns; one positive action may seem insignificant today but can contribute to dramatically different outcomes over years or decades. Key Timestamps: (00:00) – Breaking Out of the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle (08:00) – CAP Origin Story (14:45) – How Buffer Builder Works (22:33) – Why Budget Apps Struggle (30:18) – Generational Change Stories (35:41) – How to Get Support More of Simple Money: Looking for a fee-only financial planner?  → https://simplemoney.nz/ Contact me at spencer@simplemoney.nz Simple Money is a personal podcast meant for education and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

  3. 16 Aug

    Home Country Bias in New Zealand: Are You Over Invested in NZ?

    Investors everywhere tend to pile into their own country's shares, and Kiwis are no exception. In this episode, Spencer Reese explains home country bias, why it's a bigger risk than most Kiwis realise, and how cheap global index funds now make it easy to spread your bets across the world. We cover: What home country bias is, and how it shows up in Australia, the UK, Japan, Canada and New ZealandJust how small the NZX really is: about 0.1% of the global share market, sitting between Kuwait and Poland, and worth less than a single US company most people have never heard ofWhy the average Kiwi is already heavily exposed to New Zealand through their home, job, bank accounts and KiwiSaver, before they buy a single shareFour questions from InvestNow to gauge how much of your wealth is already tied to New ZealandWhat the last three years looked like: the NZX50 at 1.4% a year against 19% in the US, alongside falling house prices, flat wages and rising unemploymentWhy diversification is one of the only free lunches in investing, and how funds like the Foundation Series Hedged Total World Fund open up around 10,000 companies worldwideThe point isn't that there's anything wrong with New Zealand. It's that so much of your financial life already rides on one small economy, and global diversification is now cheap, simple and easy to access. Book a free 30-minute consultation at https://simplemoney.nz Spencer Reese is a fee-only financial adviser and the Financial Advice Provider for Simple Money NZ (FSP 1009459). Disclosure statement: https://simplemoney.nz/disclosurePrivacy policy: https://simplemoney.nz/privacy

  4. 9 Aug

    How to Save $1 Million: The 3 Types of Financial Advisors You'll Meet in NZ

    The three ways New Zealand financial advisers get paid (and how one choice could cost you a million dollars) New Zealand financial advisers are paid in one of three ways: commission, assets under management (AUM), or fee only. In this episode, Spencer Reese from SimpleMoney.nz breaks down how each model works, where the incentives line up with your interests and where they don't, and why the difference can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime. We cover: Why "free" advice usually isn't, and how commissions can steer you into products that pay the adviser rather than suit youThe AUM model: not as conflicted, just expensive, and why the advice rarely changes whether you bring $100k or $10mThe fee-only (advice-only) model, where you pay the adviser directly and nobody elseHow to check any adviser's compensation model in seconds using their disclosure statementA worked example: Dylan pays 1.25% a year, Danny pays a flat $300, and after 40 years of investing $750 a month they end up roughly $1m apartWhen an ongoing fee model can still make sense (for example, an elderly client in drawdown with no one to help manage the money)As John Bogle put it, performance comes and goes, but costs are forever. Book a free 30-minute consultation at https://simplemoney.nz Spencer Reese is a fee-only financial adviser and the Financial Advice Provider for Simple Money NZ (FSP 1009459). Disclosure statement: https://simplemoney.nz/disclosure

  5. 3 Aug

    Pay Yourself First: The Simple Money Rule Kiwis Ignore

    Looking for an independent, fee-only financial planner?  → https://simplemoney.nz/ Spencer breaks down the deceptively simple but highly effective principle of “paying yourself first” and explains why it’s one of the most important behavioral shifts people can make with their finances. Drawing from the classic book The Richest Man in Babylon, Spencer challenges the common habit of saving whatever is left at the end of the month and instead advocates for automating savings and investments the moment income arrives. He explores the psychology behind money management, arguing that willpower and manual budgeting systems often fail because humans naturally spend what they see in their bank account. Using KiwiSaver as a familiar example, he outlines a practical framework for building automated savings habits, establishing an emergency fund, and investing through low-cost, diversified, index funds. Spencer emphasizes that successful financial systems are built less on perfect discipline and more on creating simple, automatic processes that remove friction and help people consistently build wealth over time. Key Takeaways: • Paying yourself first means saving or investing money before paying bills or spending on anything else. • Most people fail to save consistently because they wait to see what’s left over at the end of the month. • Behavioral finance matters because people naturally spend what they see available in their bank account. • People with irregular income can still use this method by immediately skimming a percentage off every payment received. • After building an emergency fund, additional savings can be directed into diversified investments. • Financial success is often less about complex budgeting and more about creating systems that work automatically in the background. Key Timestamps: (00:00) – Pay Yourself First (02:34) – How to Implement Paying Yourself First (04:12) – Common Objections More of Simple Money: Looking for a fee-only financial planner?  → https://simplemoney.nz/ Contact me at hello@simplemoney.nz Simple Money NZ is a personal podcast meant for education and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your personal financial situation.

  • 5 Episodes

About

Money, investing, personal finance, and fee-only, independent financial advice for Kiwis. Grounded in low-cost, automated, diversified, and simple investing strategies that work over decades, not days.

Information

  • Creator
    Simple Money NZ
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Simple Money NZ
  • Show Website
    Simple Money NZ