Money regrets? She has a few.
Even the people in charge make money mistakes.
Welcome to Frances Cook's Money Memo, where you stay up to date with the latest tips to keep your cash under control.
Hey team
I often say that none of us are born knowing about money.
Maybe you learn about it when you’re five, maybe when you’re 50. But we all have to learn about it at some point, and the number one regret I hear from people is that they didn’t learn more, sooner.
Turns out, the Retirement Commissioner is no different.
Jane Wrightson’s job is literally helping people get their money sorted for the long term.
And even she has regrets.
In this week’s Making Cents podcast, Jane opened up about playing it too safe with her money.
She looks back at the conservative, safe choices she made, out of a place of fear, and not understanding money. And she kicks herself, because it means she has less money now.
In her own words? That’s “nut bar”. Or at least, it’s nut bar to be too conservative when you’re young.
Money history is everything
It’s not a choice that was made in a vacuum, though.
Her parents grew up in a time of real poverty, having to leave school at 12 and14 respectively, in order to help their families survive.
They were barefoot at school until they left, and then ‘farmed out’ to bring in money that was sorely needed.
As Jane points out, that’s the type of family history that doesn’t leave you. It stays in your bones.
It’s the type of family history that makes you cautious. Conservative with money. Careful.
But in hindsight? Those cautious, conservative choices can also hurt.
That’s why she’s so passionate now about making changes to KiwiSaver (by changing our own, and employer contributions) and getting a proper system underway for money education in schools.
Also on the wishlist is changes to our housing, and taking better care of the many self-employed New Zealanders.
It’s a cracking episode, genuinely one of my favourites, so tune in on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Save yourself
Here’s the kicker:
Jane’s not alone in her experience of being too conservative. And it’s not too late to do something about it.
Not sure what fund you’re in?
Haven’t looked at your settings since you signed up?
Unsure if you should be growth or conservative at your life stage?
These things are super common. But this is your nudge to check.
Start with the Sorted Fund Finder – it’s free, independent, and easy to use. I love it, because it almost makes it too easy.
15 minutes, a chat about what your goals are, and how much time you have. Then you get a recommendation for whether you should be in conservative or growth, as well as a ranking of different KiwiSaver fund providers.
Tell your mates.
Coming Up
If you’ve ever wanted to launch a side hustle, or even turn it into a business, you’ll often hear the mantra – “you need to know your numbers!”
Which is about as helpful as telling someone “make sure you turn a profit!” Well yes, obviously, thanks genius.
What numbers do we actually need to look at? How do we make sense of them? And how do we use the numbers from the past, to figure out what’s going to happen next, and make some good business decisions?
Xero expert Mere Teinaki, from Northland Chartered Accountants, came on the podcast to explain all of that to us, and she broke it down so beautifully.
You don’t need to become a big brain accountant like her, but you can learn just enough so that you can have a conversation with someone like her, and it finally actually makes sense.
The episode drops on Making Cents this Thursday, so tune in!
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, and you’ll get it automatically.
There’s also a discount code for you - you can get a huge 90% off for six months on a Xero subscription, for any first-time or new customers until 31 July, when you use the link xero.com/francescook. Share it amongst your friends, I won’t tell…
Legal bit? Yeah, it’s important.
This offer is only available to organisations new to Xero that are based in New Zealand. Offer available until 11:59pm NZT on 31 July 2025 using the form on this link: Xero.com/francescook. Discount applies to base Ignite, Grow, Comprehensive or Ultimate plan subscriptions only. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other plan offer and cannot be exchanged for any other Xero offer. At the end of the offer period, the plan will be charged at Xero’s standard rates.
Until next time!
- Frances
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