The Happy Saver Podcast - Personal Finance in New Zealand
Ruth - Personal Finance Blogger
100 episodes
4 days ago
Today I’m sharing the story of Steve and Sarah, a UK couple who, many years ago, packed up their lives, moved to Aotearoa, and built a really solid financial life together. From the get-go, they’ve been a great team with money: well-educated, curious, hard-working, and brave enough to take big leaps when the chance came along. Over the years, they’ve invested in property, shares, and themselves, learning plenty along the way. Like many of us, they’ve had a few financial detours, several property disasters, but their long-term habit of saving and investing has quietly set them up for a strong and flexible future as they approach retirement in their late 50s. This conversation is full of insights from Steve’s engineer’s brain, the steady teamwork he and Sarah share, and the real-life curveballs that have made them rethink what matters most. It’s an honest, practical story about the power of keeping things simple, staying curious, and building the kind of financial life that lets you enjoy today, while still planning for tomorrow. Whenever I pick up the phone for a kōrero with someone like Steve, I know I’m in for a detailed chat, and he didn’t disappoint, and I’m sure that those listening will be able to pull out little nuggets of wisdom from the information he shared.
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Today I’m sharing the story of Steve and Sarah, a UK couple who, many years ago, packed up their lives, moved to Aotearoa, and built a really solid financial life together. From the get-go, they’ve been a great team with money: well-educated, curious, hard-working, and brave enough to take big leaps when the chance came along. Over the years, they’ve invested in property, shares, and themselves, learning plenty along the way. Like many of us, they’ve had a few financial detours, several property disasters, but their long-term habit of saving and investing has quietly set them up for a strong and flexible future as they approach retirement in their late 50s. This conversation is full of insights from Steve’s engineer’s brain, the steady teamwork he and Sarah share, and the real-life curveballs that have made them rethink what matters most. It’s an honest, practical story about the power of keeping things simple, staying curious, and building the kind of financial life that lets you enjoy today, while still planning for tomorrow. Whenever I pick up the phone for a kōrero with someone like Steve, I know I’m in for a detailed chat, and he didn’t disappoint, and I’m sure that those listening will be able to pull out little nuggets of wisdom from the information he shared.
105. A Lumpy Journey – No Need to Go Anywhere in a Straight Line
The Happy Saver Podcast - Personal Finance in New Zealand
51 minutes 59 seconds
6 months ago
105. A Lumpy Journey – No Need to Go Anywhere in a Straight Line
In this episode, I chat with Tracey, a long-time reader and listener of The Happy Saver who first came on my radar through her detailed Debt Free Questionnaire in 2022. Tracey and her husband have reached what's known as Coast FI—meaning they already have enough money invested that, even if they never added another dollar to their investments, by the time they reach 65, it will have grown to their required amount. This gives them the flexibility to reduce their working hours in their self-employed HR roles if they choose. We dig into how Tracey got herself to this point and where she plans to take it from here. It’s an interesting episode, with quite a bit of complexity, but I think it’s a fascinating one, as this couple have independently and collectively created a lot of options for themselves. Tracey said she has had a “lumpy” journey, and that “there is no need to go anywhere in a straight line.” The key for her is that she is making progress. She is a firm believer in setting up an investment, making regular contributions to it, but not being afraid to make changes and do things differently as you continue to research and learn new information.
The Happy Saver Podcast - Personal Finance in New Zealand
Today I’m sharing the story of Steve and Sarah, a UK couple who, many years ago, packed up their lives, moved to Aotearoa, and built a really solid financial life together. From the get-go, they’ve been a great team with money: well-educated, curious, hard-working, and brave enough to take big leaps when the chance came along. Over the years, they’ve invested in property, shares, and themselves, learning plenty along the way. Like many of us, they’ve had a few financial detours, several property disasters, but their long-term habit of saving and investing has quietly set them up for a strong and flexible future as they approach retirement in their late 50s. This conversation is full of insights from Steve’s engineer’s brain, the steady teamwork he and Sarah share, and the real-life curveballs that have made them rethink what matters most. It’s an honest, practical story about the power of keeping things simple, staying curious, and building the kind of financial life that lets you enjoy today, while still planning for tomorrow. Whenever I pick up the phone for a kōrero with someone like Steve, I know I’m in for a detailed chat, and he didn’t disappoint, and I’m sure that those listening will be able to pull out little nuggets of wisdom from the information he shared.
