RADIO STAR SUSAN 'I'VE MADE SO MANY MISTAKES WITH MONEY'

After some epic financial fails, the Northland journalist is helping Kiwi women get smart with their cash

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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. “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.

“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.