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.

91. With only $100 in the bank, something had to change.

91. With only $100 in the bank, something had to change.

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith

MONEY JOURNEY

I was lucky enough to have a long chat with Grace, who is now in her late 20s. Her money journey did a sharp U-turn as she moved out of about $40,000 of consumer and education debt and onto a new path of saving up to buy a home by the age of 30. Listening to money stories on this very podcast gave her ideas of where to start because, for her, this whole ‘money thing’ was pretty overwhelming, so hearing from others has been imperative in helping her plot her path.

90. Revisit with Bradie and Paul: The First Year of Early Retirement

90. Revisit with Bradie and Paul: The First Year of Early Retirement

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith, Retirement, Index Funds, Investing, KiwiSaver, Debt Free, Financial Independence, SmartShares

MONEY JOURNEYS

I’m particularly excited about today’s podcast because it is a revisit episode with Bradie and Paul. The elevator pitch for them is that they felt they were drowning in debt just seven short years ago, and now they have just completed their first year of early retirement! Today, I’m really happy to give you an update on a story that keeps getting better over time. 

89. Creative Planners Working Towards a Retirement of Plenty

89. Creative Planners Working Towards a Retirement of Plenty

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

MONEY JOURNEYS

I chatted with Isobel and Sam for almost three hours on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Straight out of the gate, we were into the nuts and bolts of the financial lives of this 56 and 57-year-old deeply-in-love couple who are parents to three adult tamariki. Very handily, Sam had sent me a four page Vision Board, of their financial and life journey. To sum it up I’d say they are creative planners who work as a tight team towards their goal of creating a really strong financial footing by the age of 60.

88. Birds of a Feather Flock Together

88. Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith

MONEY JOURNEYS

In this episode, I’m going to be sharing the experiences of Scott and Jane. This couple are from completely different backgrounds and also from different countries. I want to share how they have melded their lives together and where they are headed from here. Birds of a feather do flock together, and although these two hail from completely different parts of the globe, they managed to connect with each other and build a life together.

87. My Partner Died Without a Will

87. My Partner Died Without a Will

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith

MONEY JOURNEYS

Today I am really looking forward to sharing the financial ins and outs of Rachael, a wonderful wahine who has been listening to this very podcast for years. In mid-2020, her partner of eight years, Tony, died suddenly and without a will. Coping with her grief was hard enough; sorting out the settlement of his estate made it doubly hard, and she wants you to avoid this same situation at all costs.

86. You can’t live with a lifestyle that is above your income.

86. You can’t live with a lifestyle that is above your income.

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

MONEY JOURNEYS

Helen and Scott have lived a life common to many of us, with good bits, not-so-good bits and, to a large extent, following the crowd for whom managing money is a struggle. With five tamariki between them, they have known each other a long time, yet only became a couple a few years ago. Both carry the scars and financial lessons from previous marriages, including reliance on consumer debt. Working harder was always their way out of a financial jam, but finally, they are learning to work smarter.

85. Revisit with Kiri: The Rollercoaster Continues

85. Revisit with Kiri: The Rollercoaster Continues

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

MONEY JOURNEYS

Back in September of 2021, I released episode: 60. First Home Buyers, where I detailed the rollercoaster that Kiri and her husband John had been on with their money and their life. That episode was all about the lead-up to buying a home. Today’s episode is what happened after that; it’s much less house focussed, much more life-focused, but it’s safe to say that the rollercoaster continues.

84. Early Retirement: But still working stuff out.

84. Early Retirement: But still working stuff out.

Ruth
Money Journey, Personal Finance, Podcast, PocketSmith, Debt Free, Financial Independence, KiwiSaver, Retirement

MONEY JOURNEYS

Today, I have the pleasure of sharing the story behind how Tony and his wife Karen came to create a net worth of $2.8 million and retire aged 49 and 54, respectively. They own one home and have a large retirement fund which they built from always investing a portion of their take-home pay from their 20+ year careers in the New Zealand Police. There are still many unknowns as they try to work out how to structure their money to support them during their long and adventurous retirement.

82. From Paycheque to Paycheque to Home Sweet Home

82. From Paycheque to Paycheque to Home Sweet Home

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

MONEY JOURNEYS

In this episode, we hear from Jess, a single 52-year-old woman who reached out to me in early 2022 when she sent me a lovely email telling me she had been using my blog and podcast, plus The Barefoot Investor, to learn more about money to help her keep on track with some long-term money goals. Today we explore how Jess went from a house being out of her league to owning one.

81. Turning good opportunities into reality!

81. Turning good opportunities into reality!

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

MONEY JOURNEYS

Through luck and good timing, 29-year-old Dylan found himself buying his first property, an empty section, aged just 21, and then one thing led to another; he stumbled upon a cracking good deal, paying just $18,000 for a second section. Today I will share not only how he purchased property but the numbers behind it, the lucky breaks he has had and the fact that since he learned about FIRE, he is now diversifying by investing in KiwiSaver and ETF share investments. This late 20-year-old is on an excellent trajectory for a great financial future.

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