Sorting your finances step by step

In Mary's new book, Rich Enough? A laid-back guide for every Kiwi, she writes about eight steps to get your finances sorted. She talks with Jesse about why it's best to do it in steps.In Mary Holm's new book, Rich Enough? A laid-back guide for every Kiwi, she writes about eight steps to get your finances sorted. Listen to the full interview with Mary HolmMary talks with Jesse about why it's best to do it in steps, why she's put the steps in a particular order, and what each step covers. She says many people in many stages of life find finances either scary or boring, so don't think much about it."They just get on with their lives - which is great - but they could be doing the money ... more easily. "A lot of them are doing more work than they need to ... once you get things set up the right way for you then you can forget about it and get on with other things in your life." She says the book also contains insights about people's psychology around money matters like spending, or problems with financial disputes, as well as a section about how to steer clear of scams. Step 1: Start now - it's easy"Stop mucking around and saying this is too hard or too boring or too whatever - get going and set yourself up with a plan."Step 2: Kill off high-interest debt"Credit card debt basically, or anything higher interest than a mortgage - so bank overdrafts ... then of course you get into the really silly debt like 'pay days'." She says finance companies are also included. "Anything higher than 20 percent ... is very serious stuff, it does huge huge damage to people's long-term wealth." She says there's one example in the book - a true story - of a couple who had $180,000 of credit card debt and got rid of it. "What a massive amount of debt that was, and so I'm hoping people who've got credit card debt they're not paying off on a regular basis might be inspired by that story, because the guy did outline how he got rid of it."Step 3: Set up insurance - and a rainy day fund"If you can get yourself out of credit card debt then you might fall back into it if something goes wrong."That's what happens to people, they might be made redundant, or might be running a business and something happens to the business or ... a marriage ends."She says if you can afford to pay for something yourself, however, don't insure for it. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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