Making Cents

Jenny-May Clarkson is one of the most recognisable faces in Aotearoa, from her years as a Silver Fern to fronting the TVNZ Breakfast couch every morning.

She’s also living proof that starting over and reinventing your career is now incredibly common. And sometimes, incredibly public.

After quite quickly leaving the TVNZ Breakfast team, Jenny-May is now facing the same reality so many Kiwis deal with: when a secure job disappears, what happens next?

Because behind the lights and glamour, the truth is simple. People on screen rely on that pay cheque just as much as anyone else. And when the TVNZ cameras turn off, the bills don’t.

In this episode, Jenny-May opens up about leaving TVNZ Breakfast, the burnout she didn’t see coming, the financial reality of walking away from a stable salary, and the fear of starting over at 51 with no guaranteed next step. She talks about losing confidence, rebuilding it, and why she believes reinvention is a skill anyone can learn, no matter when it happens in life.

Because she’s also now looking to build something new, and create opportunities through self-employment.

For anyone facing a crossroads, Jenny-May shares the mindset shifts and practical steps that helped her take control of her money, her career, and her identity again.

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A quick and dirty update of mortgage tricks to get rid of the debt faster. Including using the bank's money, instead of yours!

Frances Cook joins the TVNZ Breakfast team to talk about it, replayed here with permission.

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Ever wondered whether those “mortgage-free in five years” hacks you see online are real, or just clever marketing?

With so many mortgage “shortcuts” floating around social media, it’s hard to know what actually works, especially in New Zealand’s property market.

In this Ask the Experts episode, we break down the truth behind mortgage-freedom shortcuts: the strategies that genuinely speed up your repayment timeline, the red flags to watch for, and the behavioural traps that can cost you thousands.

Financial coach Shelley Palman from EnableMe has tricks from smart mortgage structures like offset and revolving credit, to how much extra principal you actually need to pay to shave years (and hundreds of thousands of dollars) off your loan.

We cover:

• which “mortgage-free fast” claims are legitimate

• the tactics that work for ordinary Kiwi households

• common mortgage mistakes that slow you down

• how to avoid clickbait mortgage hacks

• mindset strategies to stay motivated on a long payoff plan

If you’re trying to pay off your mortgage faster, avoid bad mortgage advice, or understand how to structure your home loan for long-term financial freedom, this episode will give you the clarity you need.

Don't forget, if you have a letter you’d like us to answer, please send it through to [email protected] and you might feature on our next episode!

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If you’ve ever wondered whether living in a tiny home can genuinely change your life, this is a story worth hearing.

After nearly nine years in her tiny house, Kasia Morrison has rebuilt her entire life from the ground up - financially, personally, and professionally.

Downsizing didn’t just cut her cost of living. It gave her the freedom to start over when everything else collapsed: her marriage, her business, and the future she thought she was building.

But tiny-home living comes with financial fish hooks too, from higher-interest loans, to the reality that a tiny house doesn’t behave like a traditional property when it comes to long-term wealth.

In this episode, we dig into how to make tiny-home life work in the real world: the strategy you need, the money plan that sits beneath it, and the mindset shifts that help you rebuild after a major life change.

Kasia shares what surprised her about living tiny, how it changed her definition of success, and why she’s committed to this lifestyle for the long haul.

Whether you’re dreaming about downsizing, craving more financial freedom, or standing at the bottom of your own “start again” moment, this conversation shows what’s possible when you strip life back to the essentials.

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If property prices are doing your head in and you’re starting to wonder whether buying a first home is even possible anymore, it’s time to figure out what’s actually happening.

A listener from Wellington writes in to say they love their city, they want stability for their kids, but every time they look at the market, it feels completely out of reach.