Where's My Money Season 3, Episode 5
Budget Like a Boss: Side Hustles & Grocery Hacks
Season Three of the multi-award-winning podcast Where’s My Money? is done and dusted, and here we bring you the hot tips shared by host Reagan White and his guests over the season.
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.
Debt-Free Diva, Tracy Hemingway, and Ganesh Raj, co-host of Eat Well For Less, join Reagan to share their tips and tricks for New Zealanders wanting to make progress with their finances.
From where to find multiple side-hustles and income streams, to keeping more of your cash week-to-week – if you want to get ahead faster, this episode is for you.
Six figures of debt to financial security
Hot on the heels of her last podcast appearance in early 2024 during Season 1, Episode 3, Tracy is back on Where’s My Money? to share her journey after clearing $100,000 of consumer debt through side hustles.
Tracy now owns her own home, has an investment property, and is a qualified financial adviser.
When asked where the average Kiwi could start, she shares “focus on that 5 dollars. Just get that 5 dollars underway, after that it’s another 5 dollars… just break it right down into smaller bite size pieces.”
Small steps make large progress; the biggest hurdle is to just get started. As a self-professed side hustle queen, Tracy emphasises getting out there to find ways to earn extra income.
TIP: Even when you are working hard to pay off debt, also make sure to invest in yourself. Whether that’s paying for something you enjoy, as Tracy does with her one Zumba class per week, or just consistently showing up for activities that make you feel happy, like walking your dog.
Life is for living, not constantly feeling stress – carve out time for yourself rather than spending that extra time stressing about your side hustles and financial life.
In the words of the viral TikTok trend: ‘almost forgot this is the whole point’.
Tracy shares not to be scared to change the people around you if they are holding you back, or if they don’t support you on your journey to financial freedom. She lost friends along the way but gained resilience and trust in herself.
Managing your food budget with high grocery costs
One daily cost that is part of everyone’s life is food. As Reagan says, “day-to-day, Kiwis need to eat. And it’s often one of the biggest parts of their weekly spend.”
Ganesh Raj, Co-Host of Eat Well For Less shares his top three tips to reduce a household’s grocery cost. These are to:
- Buy in bulk (with this – cook eight meals, eat four, freeze four).
- Purchase supermarket brand only, rather than specialty brands.
- Make a list and plan before you step into the grocery store.
There are a range of psychological tricks that supermarkets use to try and make you buy more items, or more expensive brands. Ganesh discusses these – from placing desired items in your eyeline, to grocery store layout – and how it’s all intended to make you spend more of your money.
Ganesh shares how to master the art of small changes, like being able to throw any leftover items in your freezer or cupboard.
“What to me is a crucial part of all of this is food education,” Ganesh says.
“Food education to me is how people will free themselves from what anything could cost. So they don’t control you anymore, you control you.”
He says to have a range of meals with easy-to-make recipes that you can pull out, so you have options no matter the season. If one week a certain food item in a recipe is too expensive, you can simply switch to a different reliable recipe. It’s having a plan, but also a Plan B, so you don’t feel stressed at the checkout.
TIP: Stick to your financial mindset and positive habits – even when your income increases. If you could manage your budget and keep your head above water when you earned less, you can do the same with more and translate the extra into progress.
One of the largest weapons in your armoury is to be adaptable and know how to put different, leftover foods in your kitchen together to make a new meal. Something like an ‘everything’ fried rice, or the “family quiche.”
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.
Listen to (and watch!) Season 3, Episode 5 to get the full benefit of Tracy and Ganesh’s hacks:
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.