Where’s My Money? Season 5, Episode 10
Season Five of multi-award-winning podcast Where’s My Money? is back to shed light on the common money questions New Zealanders are asking.
enable.me partners with rova to bring this podcast to life and stimulate the conversation about finances with everyday Kiwis. Where’s My Money? follows the story of Reagan – a man chasing the Kiwi Dream but feeling stuck living month-to-month – and his discussions with the experts about what he may be doing wrong and how to fix it.
One man. One million dollars of debt. One podcast to find a way out.
The end of the year is often a time of reflection – to review our progress throughout the year, measure our success, and adjust for the year ahead.
This episode of Where’s My Money? is no different – as enable.me financial coaches Katie Wesney and Shelley Palman join the podcast to recap on Reagan’s progress in 2025, and offer some tips on how to not only survive the holiday period ahead, but do so in a way that sets your finances up for success in 2026.
What’s top-of-mind for Kiwis?
Katie and Shelley begin by reflecting on the trends they saw over the course of 2025.
At the start of the year, the pair began Season 3 with the episode Thrive or Survive? How to Financially Get Ahead– where they challenged listeners to make the most of the lowering interest rates to get themselves further ahead and not to waste it.
Both practically in terms of negotiating refixes and loan structure, but also what to do with the freed-up cash.
With the recent OCR announcement in November, they remind listeners of the opportunity they have to use this relief to improve their financial situation.
Katie says, “I think we’re seeing some green shoots certainly. Interest rates coming down. Cautious optimism.”
But she warns about getting complacent, with the message: use the green shoots in the economy as a launchpad forwards, not to stall and be in the same place in 12 months.
“Don’t defer, ‘cause when things get rosier in terms of the economy and, you know, house prices start picking up again, that’s when we get complacent and we do diddly squat in terms of being better and strategic. We just spend all of our money again,” she adds.
Though the economy is in recovery, it’s not necessarily looking rosy for everyone.
The cost of living is still biting – everyday Kiwis are feeling it in the supermarket aisles and for essentials like utilities and fuel.
There’s also an undercurrent of job insecurity in New Zealand, with some businesses and public services still laying off staff as a flow-on effect from a period of economic downturn.
One of the most important lines of defence against these economic factors – and essential for embedding motivation and progress into your finances – is to have a plan.
A plan helps you make progress, identify opportunities, and supports in mitigating any negative effects from financial shocks you may experience.
Katie shares, “It’s what you do every day that actually counts. And you know, you put your foot… one foot in front of the other and then your whole trajectory shifts.”
“And that’s really what we want to instil in people. It’s the trajectory. So, you might get dips, things ebb and flow, but overall, you’re trending forward, which is all you can do.”
Be clever with your gifts and holiday budget
If you’ve blown your budget for this holiday period, it’s not about self-flagellation – it’s about using this as motivation to improve your end of year budgeting for next year.
We often say: It’s not your starting point that matters. It’s your trajectory.
Hit the ground running in January with your finances to make sure you are prepared by the time the holidays roll around again next year. Reagan says, “it can be such an expensive time of year and, like you say, you know it’s coming. It’s the same day every year.”
Although one of the costliest periods of the year – there’s also the opportunity to prepare and build the holiday budget into your plan, so a surprise expense doesn’t derail your progress within those few weeks.
Katie adds, “but people treat it like a curveball and it’s not. It happens every year… And absolutely the best time to plan for Christmas is now for next Christmas.”
Shelley has some tips to make the most out of Black Friday sales and shopping for gifts in the lead up to Christmas and the season of gift-giving.
“Thinking about the people that are near and dear to you and making just a list of them and going ‘this is what they want’. And Black Friday is a good opportunity to get the thing they want at a discount. But you’ve got to be really careful around that,” Shelley says.
“Don’t go to the supermarket hungry. Don’t go to Black Friday sales without a list.”
Hot Tip: If you’ve got a few teenagers, or even adult children, to shop for, ask them to make you a PowerPoint or document with what they want for Christmas – with shoppable links. Ahead of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales is the best time for this. You can even ask them to give you a pitch, which will help them to understand the value of the gift and then you are also more likely to get what they want. Win-win!
Remember the ‘wins’
The end of the year is a time to celebrate the wins you’ve had in the past 12 months. Use this reflection to motivate yourself and push further ahead in 2026 – level-up your goals to create even more success for yourself.
Katie says, “I think taking time to celebrate progress – whatever that might look like. You know, you get so caught up in your day job and kids… Looking after parents, etcetera… Sometimes you forget the wins. And I think it’s really important.”
Shelley shares the same sentiment. She says, “it’s really good to sometimes stop and go ‘but look what you did’ – and that was amazing.”
One of the best gifts you can give yourself this holiday season is the positivity and motivation to move forward and to make the best of 2026. Whatever that may look like for you.
And if you’re looking for support with your holiday budgeting – or your January recovery – enable.me has expert financial coaches that can help you make a resilient plan that factors your lifestyle into the equation. Book a consultation today to take advantage of our expertise to help you get ahead.
Get more tips on how to make the most of your holiday period, without breaking the bank. Watch the full episode here:
Disclaimer: The Where’s My Money? podcast and the information shared by host Reagan White and his guests does not constitute individual financial advice. If you’re interested in receiving financial advice, you can book a consultation with an enable.me coach. Costs apply.
