All in Money Journey

104. I Have Stopped Sleepwalking Through My Finances

104. I Have Stopped Sleepwalking Through My Finances

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith, Money Education

MONEY JOURNEY

After 57 years of personal and financial trauma, Sammy had her “aha” moment in 2024 when she said, “Screw it, I’m sick of this,” and began to shine a little light on her money. That small shift led to a complete financial transformation. Twice divorced, and with three children, one of whom has special needs, Sammy had often lived below the poverty line, buying basics on a credit card she couldn’t pay off. 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.

103. 20-Year-Old on the Path to Financial Freedom

103. 20-Year-Old on the Path to Financial Freedom

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith, Money Education

MONEY JOURNEY

In November 2024, I attended Black FI-Day, New Zealand’s first financial independence hui. Nearly 40 people gathered for this three-day event to share their financial journeys. One of them was Amelie, the person in the spotlight today. Just 19 at the time, she showed up on her own and was understandably nervous. But before long, every participant was in awe of this young wahine from Taranaki. She got fully involved in the weekend, even sharing her situation in a case study that she presented to the group. Now 20, she joined me for a kōrero, giving me the chance to dive deeper into her money journey.

102. Once you have won the money game, stop and enjoy life.

102. Once you have won the money game, stop and enjoy life.

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith, Money Education

MONEY JOURNEY

Today, I’m sharing the financial ins and outs of Alan and Katie Donegan, the world-travelling English couple behind Rebel Finance School. They finally made it to New Zealand, and back in early December 2024, we sat down at my kitchen table, where they generously answered all of my nosy questions. I’m looking forward to sharing their personal finance journey with you because once they discovered the concept of financial independence, these two were on FIRE!

101. Pushing Themselves - Financially Going For It!

101. Pushing Themselves - Financially Going For It!

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith

MONEY JOURNEY

I first met today's guest, Ajith, when he emailed me with a couple of questions back in 2024. He’d come across The Happy Saver while on the hunt for some motivation to keep pushing towards the goal that he and his wife Arya have to become debt-free by his 39th birthday. When I spoke with them they were debt-free except for the $223,000 mortgage they have on the home they had built in 2021. I wanted to share their journey today because his email to me and our subsequent kōrero threw up the dilemma of paying down debt fast vs investing. I think you will enjoy it.

100. A Solo Journey to Financial Independence

100. A Solo Journey to Financial Independence

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith

MONEY JOURNEY

In mid-October 2024, I brewed a coffee, sat down, and gave Poto a call. She’s been a long-time listener of the podcast, drawing on insights from past guests to help guide her decisions over the years. She had been heading down a few avenues that didn’t sit quite right with her and backing out to take another path, but steadily, she tracked towards the FI (Financial Independence) community and a more simple path to wealth. With dedication and mahi, she’s reached a point of financial independence—and today, she’s here to share her story.

99. Work, Life, Balance: With Plenty of Free Time!

99. Work, Life, Balance: With Plenty of Free Time!

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith

MONEY JOURNEY

Rob, a 33-year-old plumber from Western Australia, took a little persuading to come on my podcast, but I persisted because I knew enough about him to know that his personal finance story is one that many of us will be able to relate to and draw ideas from. Rob is essentially financially independent, working just a quarter of the year, and he recently hosted Tribe FI, a personal finance retreat. In this episode, I delve into Rob’s journey to financial independence and what inspired him to create a space for like-minded people to connect.

98. Life and times of a property investor, turned global traveller.

98. Life and times of a property investor, turned global traveller.

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith

MONEY JOURNEY

In today's episode, I will be sharing Jack's financial journey. Jack found The Happy Saver when he was searching for podcasts on money. As an investor in rental property, he was looking to learn about shares. As you’ll find out shortly, he leads an interesting life. When we chatted for this podcast, he was sitting in San Fransisco, having just had many months overseas and was getting ready to board a three-week cruise to bring him back home to Aotearoa. 

97. Revisit with Chris and Rosemary: These two are not mucking around!

97. Revisit with Chris and Rosemary: These two are not mucking around!

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith

MONEY JOURNEY

Today’s episode is an update on North Island couple Chris and Rosemary. Their first episode came out in March 2021 — it was episode number 49. Since then, we’ve kept in touch, and today’s episode is an update on where this couple are now, in terms of both money and life. It’s safe to say they have absolutely transformed their situation. They’ve both utterly transformed their financial lives, embarking on a new journey toward financial independence. Today’s update won’t disappoint — these two are not mucking around.

96. Reality Check

96. Reality Check

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith

MONEY JOURNEY

Today's episode began with an email from a Kiwi couple in their mid-40s. Tokyo reached out just before Christmas 2023, sharing how a sinking fund she started nearly a year ago was making her happy amidst a tough financial year. They were considering a $15,000 mortgage top-up to cover a tough financial year. But Tokyo wanted to know if there was a better way. Of course, there is another option. I hit reply to her email and proceeded to throw the cat amongst the pigeons.

94. Continuous Improvement

94. Continuous Improvement

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith

MONEY JOURNEY

Ruby first emailed me with a couple of questions in October 2022. She’d recently signed up with Sharesies and wondered where to start, and she had a question about her KiwiSaver. While at home with two young tamariki, she realised she could voluntarily contribute to her account even when not in paid work. Taking a moment to think about investing made her start digging around for more information about her money, leading her to seek more information. Now 34, with her husband Tim, 38, they live in rural Canterbury with their two preschool children. I think their journey is typical of a lot of Kiwis, and what I particularly like is that they continue to adjust their financial course as new information comes to light.

93. Revisit with Nic: In the process of making a financial U-turn!

93. Revisit with Nic: In the process of making a financial U-turn!

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith

MONEY JOURNEY

Today, I have an update on Nic from Episode 78, released in March 2023. A year after we spoke, an update email arrived in my inbox. She said it's been an interesting 12-plus months, and they are slowly but surely getting ahead. It seems like a case of one step forward and then half a step back, as on occasions in the last year or so, it seemed her luck had deserted her. But even with some upheaval thrown into her life, plus some pretty ill-controlled budgets, she said they are still managing to pay down debt, lower their mortgage, and increase her KiwiSaver balance. I wanted to share her update because many of you listening will relate to her progress.

92. An adventurous 19-year-old

92. An adventurous 19-year-old

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith

MONEY JOURNEY

I met 19-year-old Josephine in mid-2023 when she emailed me with some questions about money. She mentioned that her Mum had sparked an interest in personal finances in her, which had led her to do a lot of reflecting on her money skills. She had been out of school and working for a couple of years, managed to save up a solid chunk of money and was planning on heading into study in 2024. Her intention was to get through her study with no student loan. However, there was one small problem. She had caught the travel bug and she knew it had the potential to be pricey. Her question to me was how could she balance living in the now while planning for the future and how could she set herself and her pūtea up to do both.

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