Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it’s what to expect from the year ahead, and how you can prepare your money for it. Hosted by Frances Cook.


A new year often means it’s time to take stock, pause and think about what’s next. 

If you’re doing that this year, it might make you wince a little. 

The headlines have been grim lately, with recessions predicted here and around the world, house prices and share prices bouncing around in an unsettling way, the cost of living up, and interest rates increasing. 

It’s not all doom and gloom, but it can certainly feel that way sometimes. There are still opportunities – you just need to know where to look.

Even when there is bad news, the trick is to make sure that you’re well prepared so you can ride out the storm a little easier.

So, I’ve pulled in a couple of my colleagues to make sense of it all, find the opportunities, and help us batten down the hatches.

For the latest podcast I talked to Pattrick Smellie, managing editor of BusinessDesk, and Tamsyn Parker, personal finance editor for the New Zealand Herald.

For the interview, listen to the podcast here.


• If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.

• Listen to the full interview on the Cooking the Books podcast. You can subscribe on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.