Photography: Sarah Marshall.
With two kids, a busy home in Whangārei, a third novel on the way, plus a brand-new podcast and newsletter, Susan Edmunds is refreshingly honest about life behind the microphone.
“I used to be terrible with money,” laughs the 42-year-old journalist.
“I had bad habits, like buying an energy drink every time I filled the car. And I had one of those $1000 overdrafts from the bank that was completely overdrawn for a really long time!”
But it’s that approachable, no-judgement style that’s made her one of the country’s most trusted voices in personal finance. Now the RNZ money correspondent is on a mission to take the fear out of talking about dollars and cents.
“People have this idea that money and maths are the same thing,” Susan says.
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“But they’re not. I avoided anything to do with numbers for years, but I’ve always been fascinated by how people make and spend money. That’s what drew me in.”
In her new podcast No Stupid Questions and the weekly newsletter Money With Susan Edmunds, the mum of two is helping everyday Kiwis get clear, practical answers to the financial questions they’re often too embarrassed to ask.
Money talks starts at home
“So many interviews I’ve done have started with, ‘Sorry, this might be a stupid question, but …’ and it’s never stupid. We all have questions – we just don’t always feel safe asking them.”
When she’s not solving listeners’ dilemmas or breaking down things like KiwiSaver fees and the OCR on Morning Report, Susan is having those same chats at home with her children, Liam, 11, and Olivia, nine.
“I try to be really open about money with my kids,” she says.
“It’s not always easy. They’re just like everyone else’s kids – they want to spend every cent on Roblox and junk food. I talk with them about budgeting and making good choices.”
Every now and then, she gets a sign it’s working.
“My son randomly asked me yesterday what the S&P [Standard & Poors 500 stock market index] is and how it makes you money,” she beams.
“I was like, ‘My time has come!’ Some parents know about rugby, but finally, this was my moment.”
From storytelling to finance
Susan never set out to be a financial journalist or a money expert.
She says, “I was more into storytelling. I was always good with words, not numbers.”
After graduating from AUT and reading news on Mai FM at just 20, Susan went on to hold a range of media roles at kids’ TV series Flipside, More FM, Radio Live, The Northern Advocate, Herald On Sunday and eventually Stuff, where she became money editor. It was there she began to notice a theme.
“So many smart, capable women would tell me they just weren’t ‘good at money’ – and often that came from never being taught, having a bad experience early on or just being told they weren’t the kind of person who could manage finances.”
Susan knew that wasn’t true and decided to do something about it. She wrote Starting Out, Starting Over, a financial guide aimed at single women, and ghostwrote a finance book for Sharesies. She describes her work as “translating”, taking dense, intimidating financial concepts and turning them into stories people can relate to.
“Finance doesn’t have to be a secret club with a special language. I try to strip back the jargon and just talk about it like I would with a friend.”
Turning complex questions into everyday answers
These days, Susan’s inbox is filled with questions from New Zealanders wanting advice, from KiwiSaver confusion to the real cost of pizza.
She smiles, “One listener sent in a question about whether the GST was being hidden in pizza pricing. It’s exactly the kind of thing No Stupid Questions is about! I take those little things people wonder about and get to the bottom of them.”
Susan’s particularly passionate about helping other women learn from her experiences.
She says, “I bought a house during the global financial crisis, went through a break-up and lost money when we sold. There have definitely been money low points in my life.”
Building love and money
Susan and her accountant husband Jeremy Tauri try to set financial goals together, though they don’t always respond the same way to economic stress.
“We lost a lot of money when we bought a pool from a company that liquidated before they delivered it,” she says.
“He was very calm, like, ‘Oh, well, we can’t do anything. Let’s move on.’ But I was raging for weeks!”
Despite their differences, the couple strives to find balance between their home and work lives, setting aside money to make special memories.
“I’ll never give up spending on fun things for the kids, like little getaways or experiences together,” shares Susan.
“That’s the stuff that matters. Time away together, whether it’s in Fiji or at a local beach, is so important. You can always do it in a way that fits your budget.”
Helping Kiwis feel confident with money
Susan hopes her new podcast will help remove the shame from money talk and help Kiwis take back control.
“I just want people to feel more confident,” she says.
“To realise that they deserve to understand it and that they’re not stupid or bad with money.”
Listen to No Stupid Questions With Susan Edmunds at rnz.co.nz/podcasts or on any major podcast app.
